![]() ![]() When one character complains about feeling like they are living in Orwell’s 1984, Yamana replies, “or 1942”: a stealthy quip about the Japanese internment camps (Soo and his family were real life internees) in America that Roosevelt created during World War Two.Īt the same time, none of the detectives on the squad are presented as perfect human beings. It matters that Yamana is Japanese and not Chinese. Whenever Yamana corrects someone who mislabels his background it is done with a joke, but it’s the kind of joke that sticks to you. There’s a running joke about how Detective Nick Yamana is often mistaken for being Chinese when he is in fact Japanese. Often, issues of race were touched on with subtlety and humor. When Harris is told that the follow up to the incident will go “by the book,” Harris rages, saying “…and the book was written by the man!” The moment is powerful enough to resonate in our current day, but thinking that this episode aired in the ‘70s, well, it feels almost revolutionary upon reflection. Perhaps the most powerful moment in the show’s history involves the squad’s one black detective, Ron Harris (superbly played by Ron Glass), being shot at by two white uniformed cops who assumed he was a criminal. This gift of thoughtfulness is in large part due to the writing and the humane perspective the show takes towards both officers and the criminals they interface with. I suspect that many members of the audience felt the same way taking in the episode. Wojo may still not fully understand once the conversation ends, but he walks away from the discussion clearly thinking about something that he does not understand. And in the cluelessness of his question, we are told that being gay is not a choice by the character Wojo is addressing. Wojo is just a big lug who is foolish enough to ask a gay man why he didn’t try harder to be straight. ![]() And while one character (Stan “Wojo” Wojciehowicz ) is notably homophobic, he’s not viciously so. There are two recurring gay characters who on occasion run afoul of the law. Who wouldn’t want to think that a detective squad full of officers like those in the 12th precinct still exist? Maybe the more depressing question is, did they ever exist outside of this show? I don’t know, but I certainly want to believe. It’s a show with relevance that extends well beyond its time. Everyone on this remarkably diverse and progressive show, from the cops to the lawbreakers were treated like people who were worthy of being seen. Among the issues the series covered during its run from 1975 to 1982 were sexuality, race, gender, nuclear power, politics, economics, and freedom of speech, all in admirable fashion. So, what could be so astonishing about a nearly half century old sitcom about a squad of undermanned detectives working out of a rundown building in an era of high crime, high inflation, and political unrest?īarney Miller was the rare show of its era to comment on subjects affecting the days the characters lived in. So, while the Reframe space has always been set aside for films, I decided that, for the first time, maybe it would be useful to take advantage of this historical column for a television show. What I discovered in revisiting the show astonished me. Being pretty caught up and looking for something to pass the time, I came by the recommendation of Barney Miller from one of the streaming services.įeeling a bit nostalgic, but also a little trepidatious, I decided to hit play on the pilot for this 47-year-old sitcom that I loved so much in my younger days. For the most part, back then, you were either a TV actor or a film actor, and the latter was held in far higher esteem than the former.ĭuring these slower days of the first quarter of the new year, there just isn’t as much prestige TV or film to watch unless you are catching up on shows and films you missed from the previous year. We live in a new golden age of TV, where the work done on the small screen is no longer seen as lesser when compared to film. While I enjoyed the show as a youth, it’s always dicey to go back and look at a series that started way back in 1976 and see how it holds up. If memory serves correctly (always a bit of a guessing game), I first encountered the show in syndication, which meant you could watch the comedic (and sometimes quite serious) machinations of the twelfth precinct detective squad in NYC pretty much every weeknight. ![]() As an adolescent, Barney Miller was a staple in my household. ![]()
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