Though character-based to the end, Barney Miller's eight seasons never sugar-coat the realities that inspire it. The episode centered on a recent surge in criminality and lawlessness as the neighbourhood reeled from rumours of the precinct's closure. It sets this tone early on in the first-season episode ("Protection") that ends with the detectives standing around a radio listening to an actual speech given by President Ford only a few weeks before the show aired, in which he refused to bail out a near-bankrupt New York City while still committing aid to essential services like the police. Though filmed out in California, the series reflects and reacts not only to New York City's rugged pride in itself but also the dark, pre-Giuliani sense of the city that was held nation-wide. Television writers knew then what most – NBC's The Carmichael Show is a notable exception – seem to have forgotten: the more a story pretends it is timeless, the shorter its shelf-life often is. Like the best sitcoms of the 70s (the most obvious example being All in the Family), Barney Miller is firmly set in its time – regularly framing the action around topical events of its day. As a social document of its time, it is unquestionably relevant, but as a comedy Barney Miller is just plain delightful, notably of and ahead of its time: well-crafted and hilarious, pointed and sensitive, as often literate as it is slapstick. The show has had its successors (most notably Fox's Brooklyn Nine-Nine), but it holds up brilliantly on its own terms. Running from the last days of the Ford administration to the early days of Reagan, Barney Miller offers a current viewer a sustained window into a turbulent decade, even though nearly every scene is set within the crumbling four walls of a second-floor Lower Manhattan squad room. The groundbreaking sitcom – a multi-ethnic ensemble comedy set in New York City's fictional 12th Precinct – ran on ABC from 1975 to 1982, starring Tony-award winning Broadway actor Hal Linden as the eponymous Captain Miller. But a few weeks ago, prompted by my reading of Alan Sepinwall and Matt Zoller Seitz's TV (The Book), my wife and I sat down to watch the series from the beginning. – Barney Miller ("Copy Cat," Season 4) Barney Miller was in prime time and syndication throughout my childhood and, while I've long had strong memories of the show, until recently I hadn't watched a full episode in decades.
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