Dreadfully Boring

The film was still a fun one that will make you laugh and have you leaving the theater feeling like you just stole something valuable and got away with it.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

Well, I guess beauty really is in the eye of the beholder. THIS beholder still finds Barney Miller THE most overrated "comedy" show in the history of television -- even after 40 years. It's even worse than Night Court, no mean feat. (Interestingly[?], Night Court was created by Reinhold Weege, who worked earlier on Barney Miller.) The writing is stilted, the dialog dull, and the situations contrived. The cramped set looks like it's smaller than a walk-in closet. The laugh-track runs on steroids. The characters are walking clichés, and there are usually too many per episode. Hal Linden as B.M. is miscast; so is Barbara Barrie as his wife. Abe Vigoda's character makes me want to hurl the moment he appears on screen. Max Gail's mentally-challenged "Wojo" is an affront to Polish folks everywhere. I could go on, but why beat a dead horse?

Barney Miller is one of my favorite TV sitcoms and always will be. Acting & writing were top-notch and there always seemed to be a feeling that the cast really enjoyed working together. There does seem to be one common trait associated with successful sit-coms, from "Andy Griffith," to "All In The Family," to "Barney Miller" to "Cheers." It usually takes a season or two to hash out the delineation of the characters in a show. A period of time is needed to discard what doesn't work or fit until the actors find the characters "niche" or "comfort zone." Barney Miller was a much better series after Fish & Chano left, mainly because those 2 characters seemed to be the main focus in the first couple of seasons. On their departure, the other characters seemed to crystallize and the ensemble became more cohesive. You "knew" how these guys would, or could react in certain situations. I thought the "Mary Tyler Moore Show" was better after Rhoda & Phyllis left. The "Andy Griffith Show" became better when Griffith(to his great credit) began playing it "straighter" when he recognized Don Knotts brilliance. "Cheers" was better after Shelly Long departed, etc.I guess my ultimate point here is that I wonder how many possibly great shows were axed to early, before reaching that "comfort zone" area of character development? Luckily, "Barney Miller" was not.

"Barney Miller" showed the gritty realism of police work in New York City in the 1970s, albeit with humor. Skits about the impending bankruptcy of the city, some of the futile criminal behavior (man stuck inside ductwork trying to burglarize a store), the mundane day in, day out existence of police officers with the occasional heart-pounding, adrenalin rush of excitement, and of course, what we in the profession called "the hairbags" - the old cops, forever full of stories, content to live in the past as Inspector Lugar exemplifies. To those who say "Barney Miller" is dated, I say the show is a timeless slice of life, and can be set in almost any locale and time period. The cast could not have been picked with any more brilliance, and the production was seamless. I say "Barney Miller" is a classic for the generations.

Barney Miller(Hal Linden) is a police captain of the NYPD 12th Precient and all the great characters like Det. Phil Fish(Abe Vigoda), Det. Ron Harris(Ron Glass), Det. SGT. Stan Wojciehowicz(Max Gail), Det. Nick Yemana(Jack Soo), Det. SGT. Chano Amenguale(Gregory Sierra),Det. Arthur Dietrich(Steve Landesburg), Officer Levitt(Ron Carey), and Inspector Luger(James Gregory).The best cop sitcom of the 1970s.The best.I give it *****.