How Barney Miller's Gay Couple Defeated the Network Censors
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- čas přidán 2. 10. 2021
- In 1975, TV producer Danny Arnold created Barney Miller, a sitcom set at a police station in Greenwich Village. Danny wanted to make sure the show reflected the setting - which at the time was the heart of gay culture in New York, and as a result the show had a lot of firsts for queer representation on TV. But it wasn't easy: Television was under pressure from Congress to clean up its act, and networks had decided to scrub their gay content. This is the story of how a producer who got his start on Bewitched teamed up with a gay activist to defeat one of the most powerful censors in Hollywood.
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When cops in that era were asked which TV show was the most realistic, they'd always say "Barney Miller." Kudos to Danny Arnold for portraying reality.
I asked a 30 yr . Homicide det. In Manhattan the same question and that was his answer also.
Until the advent of "Hill Street Blues," real cops who were asked what the most accurate depiction of their job on TV was almost always said "Barney Miller." And when asked why, they usually said that it showed police work as it really was: an occasional few minutes of excitement and hours of boredom sitting around a police station drinking bad coffee and telling each other jokes (usually much more lame ones than Danny Arnold and his writers came up with).
@@mgconlan I remember in the fall preview issue of TV Guide, they described Hill Street Blues as a serious Barney Miller!
No. No . No they didn’t. That is a lie and totally made up just for you to make a comment.
@@salvagemonster3612 you silly yo!
"I'm not frivolous, I'm homosexual." I'm using that now.
Unfortunately for me, I'm both frivolous and homosexual.
🤣🤣
@@northstarjakobs 😊 good one 🤘
Rock that frivolocity!! 🎉
Barney Miller is a criminally underrated show.
I see what you did there!
Just because you've never heard of something, doesn't mean it's underrated by others. It was on the air for seven years.
“Punny”… with understated Double Entendres! 😂
@@waynemarvin5661 By today's standards it's underrated. It isn't talked about much at all these days. I just started watching the show and I wish it would get more attention. It really was groundbreaking and deserved all the accolades it received.
I binge watched Barney Miller during the 2020 lockdowns and, yeah, the "Quarantine" episodes kinda hit home.
Darryl: "I told you he was ugly."
Marty: "You were being kind."
My favorite thing about Barney Miller was it's theatricality - everything takes place on one set, with no location shots.
Location shots throughout the show’s 8 seasons are *extremely rare,* with most being in the 1st season. Two in later seasons were backdoor pilots for the spinoff “Fish” and a Wojo-based spinoff that wasn’t picked up. Other than that, I’m pretty sure that you can count the location shots on one hand.
I remember Barney visiting Chano's apartment once. It was very rare for them to step outside the squad room or Barney's office, though.
And a very dark, cramped set at that!
Originally Barney had a home life. It was pretty much dropped. Also I remember a stake out episode.
@@Foolish188 Yep. I remember a couple home life episodes, a stakeout, a visit to Chano’s apartment, a hotel stakeout with Wojo and Wentworth, a scene where Barney tries to get residents to move out of a condemned building, a scene where Barney goes to jail for not revealing his informant in court, a scene showing Dietrich’s apartment, and the 2 backdoor pilots for Fish and Wojo. I also only remember one scene where they show the inside of the squad room bathroom. Not sure if that’s all of them over 8 seasons, but I think that’s pretty close to it.
My college roommate’s dad was a retired NYC detective and he said Barney Miller was the only realistic cop show on television.
I've heard that cops really liked the show! Not surprising, since it does paint them in a pretty sympathetic light.
We had cops come to our school when we were kids to talk to us - and they said the same - they said Starsky and Hutch others of that ilk were nothing like being a cop. It was definitely more like Barney Miller - I watched this show with my parents when I was like 8 or 9 - funny how all the grown up humor went over my head haha
@@MattBaume in the future, it might be worth mentioning where the show under discussion can be watched if it currently is available. Maybe you could pin it at the top of the comments? Thank you for all your work on these episodes.
@@MattBaume I can believe it. I've heard that cops love _Reno 911!_ too, saying it shows the far more common (as opposed to the less common gritty, hard action) absurd and stupid things they have to deal with on a regular basis, even if not always painting them in the best nor most competent light.
The tedium was realistic, but the fact that after a couple of seasons they had Harris and Dietrich as 'intellectual cops' was over the top, as was Barney Miller himself. Certainly SOME police were like that, but I seriously doubt in the seventies they were. I think that was more 'wish fulfillment' which clearly didn't work out in too many cases.
A former cop told me that “Barney Miller” was the most realistic cop show on TV.
I’ve heard that too
I absolutely loved this show! Fish, who challenged ageism, Nick, an Asian, Wojo, and Harris...and Barney, the moral heart of the show.
I was in my twenties in the seventies (much more fun than being in my seventies in the twenties) and Barney Miller was one of my favourite shows. Thank you for pointing out all the nuances of the characters and their stories that as a straight young woman I simply watched and absorbed without appreciating the significance. I would love to go back and watch the show again with an extra 50 years of life experience.
You made the right choice
Bravo. You read my mind about the 70's & being 70 in the 20's. Loved Barney. Alot of great shows.
miniveedub When you are in your 70s you might change your mind. :) Just remember to stay away from bathtub hooch when you're on a spree. :)
I was in my teens in the 70's and I watched Barney Miller with my parents. Great show!
There's reruns aplenty, it's even here on CZcams for free. Enjoy!
I miss Barney Miller. The stories depicted good people, multiple racial, female representation, the bigots were shut down, it was how I wished the world worked, gritty but idealistic.
What I loved most about Barney and his crew was that they treated everyone with humanity... even non humans (werewolf) 😀👍
Me too, but I can't help but wonder just how realistic as cops those guys were.
The werewolf episode was one of my favorites, as well as the one with the brownies 😂
Its fun to see guest stars early in their careers.
Eleanor's actions really aren't all that unrealistic. The gripe about the non-primary-custodial parent being the 'fun' one is common, particularly for ex-wives (who often have to carry the burden of providing food, shelter and discipline on their own). And once custody fights start, it's also not uncommon for the aggrieved (legitimately or otherwise) parent to use whatever tool is available, even if they don't really believe what they're saying. So her heel-face turn doesn't really read as all that improbable. Basically, if you remove Daryl's homosexuality, and then have her digging in her heels over some other issue, it would still stand on its own; it's just that in that time and place, in particular, that tactic would've been extremely successful with the courts.
Agreed. I think that her expressing frustrations as the primary caregiver was supposed to show that the distaste in homosexuality wasn’t true to peoples opinion of others. That it is being used as a scapegoating technique. This may have been used to show the changing opinions of the general public towards acceptance, or more so apathy towards the subject.
I've been both the custodial and non-custodial parent over the years (we switched partway between) and I can definitely see the difference. However, both sides of that coin have their advantages and disadvantages. There's a trade-off. Being the "fun one" is fun, but being the "non-fun one" has you far more involved in your childrens' lives.
Loved the episode!!! Some of us 70's Kids were watching over our parents shoulders and episodes like this helped us to realize that there were other stories out there to be told, and compassion for all was not a weakness. Thanks!
Well Said.
And then us 80s kids watched the show in afterschool syndication with no parental supervision. We learned a lot of real life stuff from it!
I was thinking the same.
God, yes. As a sheltered kid growing up in small town Texas, I loved this show and I remember these episodes. I do wonder if the great TV of the day helped me grow up into a decent human, rather than a bigoted jerk. I like to think so.
Today's Left has forgotten compassion. Too bad.
Barney Miller's theme song had the best bass line of the 70s & early 80s.
It's burned in my memory. The best 💯
Not being gay myself I really appreciate how far we have come and decry how many steps back we also have taken. The spectrum of sexuality has always been a part of being human. Accepting this fact is only accepting ones self and everyone we meet.
well stated. we LOVED this show growing up. the marty character was so real, so memorable, he reminded me much of my beloved older brother who had lived in the east village before coming to us out west. my children never got to meet him, but know the whole story. coexist
Nonsense. Homosexuality is deviant behavior and should not be publicized much less supported on TV. You believe that because you "accept" homosexuals that you are "enlightened". You are not.
Because it never was in OTA in syndication when I was growing up, I thought that it was just not a good show. And have avoided watching it.
Now I feel I've missed out. And I fully understand why I missed out.
Well Said ! Thank you for your complimentary comment about the " Barney Miller" Show 💖💝🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🔱
@@darthandeddeu DEFINE " OTA"
One reason the show worked so well is that it's also the invention of the "workplace comedy." Think Taxi, Night Court, Wings, Cheers, News Radio, and a ton of others that don't come to my mind right now. The general format of seeing the same repertory group set in their workplace, along with regular "customers" has been a basis of a ton of successful sitcoms to follow.
Literally gasped when you said "if he looks familiar, it's Shepherd Book from Firefly" - dramatic reaction maybe but a necessary one!
Imagine "our" surprise when we first saw Firefly and were like, "Holy shit, it's the guy from Barney Miller!"
@@markanquoe2612 and here I am knowing him as the voice of Suzy Carmichael's dad on Rugrats.
When I saw fire fly I said HEY! It’s Harris.
I've seen him in other things as well.
I came to the comments to post this, but you beat me to it. I said to myself, OMG it IS Shepherd Book from Firefly!
The bit about not realizing a song was not written for the Chipmunks nearly made me snort my water. I had several Chipmunks cassette tapes as a kid, and it was a legitimate surprise later in life to learn that they were all not, in fact, original Chipmunks creations. :P
I had the Chipmunks tape that was all songs from old movies, and James had the Chipmunks tape that was all pop songs, which kind of captures one way in which our childhoods were different.
Smurfin USA was superior - POSTED BY SMURFIN USA GANG
Tapes? My goodness. My parents had the red records when I was little.
@@MattBaume I think i had the ones James had.
Anytime I hear the original version of Only Wanna Be With You it just sounds weird and wrong (also that cover was only part of a chipmunks ds game so there are no recordings online, which is like torment for me)
Matt at 2:45: "By the way, if he looks familiar, it's Shepherd Book from Firefly."
Me thinking: "That's funny, when I first saw Firefly, I was like, 'Oh, it's that guy from Barney Miller!'" 😂💖
Same.
Me, too
@@kermitwilson So... they all look alike? Tim Reid, NOT Ron Glass, portrayed Venus Rising, mistakenly introduced and effectively renamed "Venus Flytrap" by Dr. Johnny Fever on WKRP.
@@johnalex6309 So weird I remembered it as Ron Glass in that role and I read your comment his face morphed into an angry Tim Reid.
I loved when Zetelli wrote the annonymous letter to the papers about being a gay cop (this was his first appearance and he was still closeted). Lt. Scanlon from IA came to the station to find out who it was. Barney informs him that the NYPD doesn't officially discriminate against officers, based on sexual orientation. Scanlon says he's aware. Barney asks why, in that case, he wants to find out who the gay cop is. Scanlon answers, "Because I want to tell him that."
Scanlon became the cop everyone loved to hate. His first role on Barney Miller was as a recruiter for the Army, and a bomb threat has him enter the precinct to report it. His masterful rendition of the bomber's voice, including the "cough" - which sounded like a person choking on a dead cat IMO - made viewers and actors alike cringe for its realism. A very talented actor, George Murdock has passed away.
@@simplywonderful449 Loved when he appeared on the show. He was such a great villain. And Harris's reaction to that "cough" was hysterical! It still makes me laugh!
@@simplywonderful449 I hated Levitt
I wasn’t born when these episodes first aired, but I recall watching Barney Miller reruns with my father as a kid. Some lines flew over my head however I strongly remember the gay characters, and I thought they were just the best! This show had some of the best one liner quips. Thank you Mr. Matt Baume for reminding me of the good times with my Dad, as well as continuing to teach me the culture and politics of it’s time.
Awesome comment, Irene. 😊
Ditto, but not by much :) I was born in 75 :) I guess I didn't realize the stereotype when I watched this on WGN.
@@jonathanmartin8716 I watched this from age 10 in to my high school years and I don't remember at all thinking Oh my God those are gay characters. I thought they were just more great weird characters on the show. As an adult in 2021 with what's on tv now it's hard to imagine how progressive this was at the time.
As a HUGE Barney Miller fan , I enjoyed your analysis here.
Also a huge fan of the show. When DJT was running for President I started bingeing episodes of Barney Miller to comfort myself.
@@MsVorpalBlade so how's the new guy working out for you
@@lfgone7014 pretty okay for me. Having lived under socialism though i find him far too right wing, cruel to the poor, and militarist. But i guess that's what passes for the 'center' in the US.
@@MsVorpalBlade Sounds like smart self care. Wish I'd thought of it.
When that first Darryl/Marty episode aired, I was fascinated: a gay couple on tv. And the police aren't contemptuous of their search for justice. It was definitely groundbreaking.
Marty and Daryl had to be in the finale. Their storyline was one of the most interesting story arcs on the show.
I was a big Barney Miller fan. If I may, years ago I was invited to an ASCAP fundraiser and Hal Linden was part of the show. He told some funny stories, sang, and then played a classical clarinet piece (with a full orchestra), and then played some jazz on an alto sax. He was a very fine musician. Who knew? Your video was very well written, presented, and edited, an interesting take on the intersection of media and culture.
Hal Linden has always been a big fan of jazz. In the early 90's they leveraged this into a TV series featuring Linden called _Jack's Place,_ where he owned a Jazz club. It only lasted about 18 episodes.
I had no idea! Learn something new every day
That Linden was a jazz fan shows me now how he made conversation sound natural. with the occasional smooth riff.
I believe he sang too!
@@randalllaue4042 Check out his number "Sons" from _The Rothschilds_ (for which he won a Tony) - the man had an incredible voice.
Perhaps it is just the similarity between their faces, but I swear Marty could have been Robin Williams twin. In addition, some of Marty's mannerisms remind me really strongly of 1996's The Birdcage.
I can see exactly what you are saying.
Even though Robin's portrayal was masculine?
Perhaps he took some inspiration!
Was thinking the same thing
The Birdcage itself was a remake of the 1978 French movie La Cage aux Folles, which itself had been based on a 1973 stage play, La Cage aux Folles, which also spawned a 1984 Broadway musical of the same name.
Barnie miller is a show that stands the test of time. It's witty ,funny and puts forth a lot of social topics.
I started re-watching Barney Miller last year. It was in syndication when I was growing up and I remember watching 2 episodes a night most week nights. I was amazed they were as open as they were with the gay characters, and I was also appalled by the episode where a transvestite is arrested for "Wearing a costume in public" even tho he had committed no crime. It was a really fascinating look into an another era. Thanks for another great video.
The 70’s were a period of astounding social progress and embrace of change in many ways. It felt like the Regan years clawed it all back, and we still haven’t recovered. This was great to watch. I remember watching this show when I was a kid and enjoying it, but I don’t remember any specific episodes.
Maybe we need a repeat of the 60s counterculture to reverse the totalitarian tide. I'm up for that. I still remember how to make tie-dyed clothes. I still grow my hair long. I know how to play a couple Grateful Dead tunes... My kis is 25 and would likely jump on the bandwagon.
There was an open gay scene in Berlin, right before the Nazi's came to power. Positive evolution is always met with conservative reactionism, but as a whole we're moving into the right direction.
Free to be you and me
In some ways the Reagan years clawed it back, but in some ways they mobilized people to get things done. Cleve Jones has meant a lot more to the gay community than Reagan ever did, for instance.
I remember a documentary on the gay scene in Germany, although I'm not positive that THAT is actually what led to nazism.
But I agree and it seems that they used the drug war successfully to imprison a lot of those in the civil rights movement.
I figure that Elanor was being bigoted at first and then changed her tunes so much because she figured that laying the bigotry on thick would be something that could convince the cops in her case against Darryl (not necessarily her real opinions), because the idea of her being overshadowed by him in their son's eyes wouldn't hold a lot of weight.
Perhaps, but bigotry is often rooted in insecurity. People who are secure and confident in themselves and know who they are are less threatened by people who are different. It's not just the repressed closet-cases who become gay bashers (though I'm sure that stereotype has some truth to it), but anyone who knows deep down that if it weren't for their unearned advantages, they'd never be able to compete. I think a lot of bigots are on some level aware that they themselves are shitty, but instead of working on themselves, they project their fears onto other people and blame everyone else for their shortcomings. Ever notice how many bigots are fairly pathetic in their own lives? Like how the only outwardly bigoted, trump-supporting, anti-vax celebrities are total has-beens?
Anyway, I'd have no problem believing that a straight white lady could be so insecure about how much of a stick in the mud she is, that instead of loosening up, she turns full Karen and decides that fun itself is "degrading".
I had never seen it before but it came off very white woman, code switching for her own benefit to gain the cops sympathy
She used anti-gay sentiment as a counter to her fear of anti-female sentiment in the idea of a bunch of "macho-cops" being prejudiced against a single woman raising a boy. Being a product of a single mom in the 80's the number of people that told her I would be "deviant/sissy/gay" without a "strong male" role model around was/is pretty standard thinking. Sadly many "social movements" and cultural minorities will come to loggerheads in the fight for egalitarian standing because of the fear of there not being "enough" justice to go around.
I thought the same thing. Peace.
My mom had this complaint about my dad when I had visitation with him.
Which is a telling phrase in itself.
My mom complained that my dad got to do the fun stuff with me, when she just had to keep working. He also had more disposable income than she, which led to further hard feelings, and she wasn't shy about sharing those feelings with me..
Maybe what we need isn't to be teaching the unsanitized history of what has become the United States of America.
Or, better said, not just that.
We must do that: and more
Maybe we should have everyone watch Barney Miller.
Everyone.
In the country.
Barney Miller's episodes are a masterclass in making peace with who you are, accepting others as they are, making relationships, getting along, and working toward the common good.
Isn't this what we want, for ourselves, and for our children?
This is television that brings out the best in people, which could help us overcome our differences with those around us, and come together with understanding.
The show was way ahead of it's time, and I am so grateful that it began airing when it did, because - I may be making this up - it seems to me that things in general started seeming less tense, both at home, and when out and about.
Because of the humanity of the characters involved, and the intelligence of the scripts, I have little doubt that the series, over time, helped curb crime.
The one where they eat hash brownies is hilarious! 😂
Frankly tho, there are no bad episodes of Barney Miller. Watched it every summer night at 11pm when I was 11-13. I should watch them again...
My fave lol!
Hell yeah that ep. waz hilarious! 😂
Mooshy mooshy.
I can't feel my legs! 😂
@@cc1k435have you seen my legs, there about this big.
One of my dad's friends worked for a local police department and I asked him what the most realistic cop show was; he said "Barney Miller". I loved that show, grew up watching the episodes the first time they aired.
I think your channel is one of the most important lgbt content on you tube.
It shows that the media can easily revoke support of the LGBT if they are pressured by powerful groups.
@Something Clever I agree. I'm straight, almost 60 yrs old, but I have never understood why they made such a big deal over people who are gay. They are human beings as we all are. And if I may interject a bit of religion here. We are ALL God's children.
@@debbie4503 - you had me at "They are human beings as we all are", then lost me at "We are all god's children". The religious part was really not needed, the first part said all that needed to be said
It was a laugh track
Religion is important to some people, and not to others.
@@terry9238 - it may be important to some people but added nothing to of value to the comment
Only 4 minutes in and I'm immediately in love with Marty as a character
The character of Marty would have gotten a spin off if he was introduced 20 years later.
Funny you should say that. Danny Arnold wrote (but I'm not sure it was ever filmed) a spin-off for Marty. The actor, Jack Deleon who portrayed Marty, was a good friend of mine and he told me that they cast Werner Klemperer as his partner and the premise was that they ran a dog kennel. The show was to be called Man's Best Friend. The network said No Way!!!
@@garygibson5983 ~ Just SO Fascinating!! I Adore Your Lore From Yesteryear!!
@@garygibson5983 too bad Netflix wasn't around then !
@@garygibson5983 I would've watched that!! 😍
@@garygibson5983 that would have been so good!
Prejudice and bigotry is always the same, once the unfamiliar becomes familiar and everyday many people forget what they hated in the first place. My family was upset that I married a non-Indian man, it took very little time before that went away and they realized he was just a person like them. It just takes time and an a lot of courage to challenge what is considered different or "unnatural". There is not much you can do about the zealots, they will always be like that.
One of the best written, acted, and cast shows ever. They don't make them like this anymore. I like when Barney took Mr. Driscoll around the squad room to try to see if one if his detectives was the cop shaking people down for money. They walk up to Nick Yemana, and Barney asks Driscoll, "Is this the man?" Driscoll responds, "No he wasn't Chinese." Yemanan(a Japanese-American) responds, "Neither am I." That is so real and so funny!
I think Driscoll's ex-wife was just mad at him and hurt that he left her for a man. I think she was trying to hurt him like she was hurt. I think she really resented that her son had more fun with his dad than with her. That is real, since mothers are seen as more caring and the father is usually the disciplinarian and the "heavy" strict parent.
I grew up with Paul Lynde and Clifton Webb as my film hero. Yet I didn't understand I was Gay until my 40's. After I came out my brother and I connected with each other as your posts shinned a light on how I gravitated toward certain programs and tastes. Thank you for helping to open the channels of understanding
It’s good that those posts shone a light on different programmes and tastes!
@@ralphlyda4545 Paul Lynde was GAY??!!?
Matt, what a great post. As an 18 year old Gay kid in 1975, these shows were very significant to me at the time. Thanks for the back stories and history bits that I wouldn't have known, and the reminder of why Det. Wojciehowicz was important to me then. Beautifully produced episode, Thanks.
I think maybe when you said the episode loses steam, you are missing a crucial point. Even now, it is not unusual in a custody fight for one parent to seize upon something that they think will give them an advantage over the other parent even if they don't personally care about it.
Since Eleanor knew the courts were hostile to gay people, it is not unusual for her to use it to her advantage in court. When she sees that instead of making her more sympathetic to the cops, it makes her less sympathetic, it would make sense for her to quickly drop it and pretend she was more like the cops she wanted sympathy from.
The insight makes her not so much homophobic , but manipulative and shows a dynamic that we see today: some people are truly bigots and others use bigotry to move forward some other end. Both are despicable, but they are not quite the same thing.
Eleanor's frustration about Darrell, the noncustodial parent, being the "fun" parent, is pretty spot-on, too. The custodial parent is often limited on time and/or money to do many fun activities, plus having to handle the day-to-day responsibilities, often leaves them frustrated, and maybe resentful, of all the fun their ex-spouse has with their child/children. Not the most mature attitude, of course, and Eleanor's manipulative actions are terrible and disrespectful, but can be understood.
Partly in thanks to Barney Miller, I grew up with diversity in our small all-white town. Even though my father was of a racist era, as a family we watched Barney Miller, Sanford & Son, Chico & The Man, The Flip Wilson Show, The Jeffersons, All in the Family, Maude. Nowhere else would I have been exposed to gay, black, Asian or even someone outwardly proud of being Polish. Thanks dad. Even though your occasionally bigoted comments were upsetting, I guess it wasn't all that often and maybe exposing us to all types of people on tv, who you never spoke ill of iirc, shows you weren't so bad after all. Too bad my brothers didn't get the message.
I grew up in the 60s and 70s, and in cleveland there was a couple who did the movie introductions (it preceded Hoolihan and Big Chuck) who depicted a Polish character which was rather stereotypical which considering the huge polish population in Parma was rather risky, and although the character called "meathead" by Archie, his character wasn't depicted in Polish stereotypes.
I loved all those shows, but for me all that started with _Sesame Street._
A person who demands perfection demonstrates how far from that state they actually are.
I'm glad you can see your father with the nuisance all human beings deserve.
@@dwc1964 Excellent point about Sesame Street!! (The Electric Company, too -- where Morgan Freeman got his start!)
@@shaydowsith348 Stash Kowalski?
It’s weird to me that my prudish grandfather made me turn the channel whenever he caught me watching Bosom Buddies, but he loved his Barney Miller. 😏
I was 14 when Bosom Buddies first aired, and for sure knew I was gay, but I would have changed the channel too. Still loved Barney Miller though. 😉
Wasn't that the sitcom that introduced Tom Hanks ???
@@josephinetyree1476 Yep.
My parents were conservative too but at least they recognized Bosom Buddies was about 2 straight guys scheming to get close to women who live in a women only apartment bldg but what got their hackles up was the show Perfect Strangers LOL. They thought the guys were 2 gays living together when actually both characters were straight. No matter how I tried to convince them Balki emigrated from a small backward county to live with his never met before cousin in the U.S., they wouldn't believe me lol
And "Bosom Buddies" was a ripoff of a highly successful 1950s film "Some like it Hot," with Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis and Marilyn Monroe. It was hardly unfamiliar territory.
Recently discovered this show while trying to find something to watch on my elderly mom's antenna-only TV and stumbled on a Barney Miller marathon. Great sitcom writing. Loveable characters.
I'm from a tiny, rural farming community in southern Illinois; my parents and grandparents grew up there, too (It's what is now know as "Trump country"). I was 5 when Barney Miller debuted, but my mom and I watched this show every single week. Even being so young, I loved it. It was a look into a city and a life I would never have normally seen, and was funny instead of melodramatic like most cop shows. In one episode there was a character who was arrested for escaping Bellevue mental hospital. He thought he was from the future. I seem to recall Marty being in the "cage" with him and asking if there were gays in the future. The guy said not only were there gays but due to extreme overpopulation, homosexuality was encouraged in the future. I haven't seen the show except for clips here and there since I was very young, but for some reason I've always remembered that specific plot point. This show truly helped form my world view and I'm thankful for it.
All my family is from southern I'll. Vienna, Rosiclare and Elizabeth-Town in Hardin county. Love the area but jobs are few and far in between.
I hope they do coaching in the future because I'm pretty sure I'll give a crap bj.
The time traveler told Marty, "I hadn't planned to materialize on the bridge, but my coordinates were off". Marty looked him up and down and said, "That's not such a bad outfit. Certainly nothing to kill yourself over".
So it was worth all the money and effort people like Danny Arnold spent to open up the minds of people from all over to understand that it takes all kinds of people to make up a world. And making you laugh while they do it is just extra points☺
@@nancymontgomery8897 Awesome.
Barney Miller is one of the few 1970s programs that I really enjoyed in primetime. when it appeared on DVD, I bought the entire series.
I watched every episode as they aired. Most other television shows of the time were visual bubblegum. The cast of Barney Miller were not only populated with great actors, but depicted real people in the writing.
I loved watching Barney Miller growing up and still do in my advanced years. I had no idea it was such a ground breaking show. Thank you for this very well done tribute and giving credit where's it due.
The "...I need someone who's known me for two years." was *hilarious*.
Omgosh, I keep cackling out loud just from the one liners you've included from the clips in the episodes, they're so good! I need to watch this show!
I don't know why, but I loved this show as a 5 year old. It was so strange seeing cops do something besides shoot people and get in car chases.
You must be about my age. I remember loving this show, but for sure a lot went over my head.
I grew from 14 years old to 21 in the years Barney Miller was on. I'm not sure I had even heard the term 'gay' before that show. It was and remains one of my favorite shows, and this was a fantastic look at it. Thanks!
I really like your combination of giving insight but showing enough of the actual show to let the viewer see what you're talking about.
Great episode. Barney Miller was cutting edge in a lot of ways, including Marty's character. One thing that character introduced, along with others shown over the show's course, was that those arrested for crimes weren't necessarily, or even usually, evil. They were people who made mistakes, and whose mistakes were a product of their place and circumstances. They could change, and reform their ways, but their circumstances had to change. For Marty to reform, the change involved his relationship with Darryl.
That is so true about the criminality of the "bad guys". If you take away the incredibly good humorous dialogue you would be left with people dealing with poverty and racism and mental health issues, bad relationships and prejudice. The ability to weave all this in to a 30 minute sitcom proved the talent of the writers, the directors, the regulars and the phenomenal character actors involved in one of the best shows in tv history. Finding out that there was such a passionate person with a strong voice behind the scenes just makes it all the better.
I was hoping you'd cover Barney Miller some day! I had never seen the show until a couple of years ago while visiting my mom, who doesn't have cable but gets this on one of those digital channels. I was amazed at how a show from the 70s seemed to actually deal with topics that are still relevant (albeit in a very 70s way).
Love Barney Miller for everything. Love that I can view it at primetime every night at 8pm on ANTTV. Thank you
I’m so deeply grateful to the creators of Barney Miller, and other shows back then with positive gay portrayals.
Loved and still love Barney Miller, hasn't lost any of its relevance, and its humor is still spot on decades later, the 70s really was a golden era for the TV sitcom, and then the 80s came along.
I legit yelped when the cop came out to the mother! That was NOT how I was expecting that scene to go!
This was really good, thank you for what you do!
To be fair, almost all clothing in the 70s was flamboyant.
You clearly didn't watch Barney MIller:)
Thanks for this wonderful behind-the-scenes look at one of my favorite old shows. I was surprised by how many storylines and jokes came back to me when you mentioned them. When the show aired, I was 9, 10, 11 years old. The fact that it stuck with me all these years shows the impact it had. The quarantine episode may have been the one with my favorite line by Jack Soo, whose character Detective Yemana was constantly ribbed for how bad his coffee was. When a man collapses in the precinct and everyone stares in silent shock, Yemana declares, "It was a fresh pot!"
Barney Miller was a good show, smartly written, and well cast. I always appreciated their depiction of the gay community.
So interesting to learn about these shows. I was a gay kid and most these characters went right over my head. I rewatch them now and can appreciate them for all the hard work they did…..and the laughs.
I was finishing high school when Barney Miller first aired, and struggling with being gay. The retrospective on the gay characters is nice, and I now understand what the show was doing. However, seeing the only gay characters on TV as stereotypical punchlines was very damaging. It only added to the years of isolation and freakishness. . I think people were laughing at the stereotypes , and not seeing the larger picture.
Ahhh yes...Barney Miller...talking about a classic comedy... this show is one of my all-time favorites. Marty was one of my favorites so adorable and funny as hell...he was always on point with his one-liners.
I'm currently watching Barney Miller. I've always loved the show growing up in da 70's. I love Marty's character from start to finish. By at least initially going with the stereotype. It was a good starting point. Then growing the character/s so that we can see beyond the stereotype and focus more on the storyline.
I think the reason for the success of Barney Miller. Is that it told a story without trying to be all things to all people. The characters felt real; their attitudes; their interactions with one another. The show addressed some of the current things going on at the time. It also showed us how we as a society can do better at trying to view people with compassion and kindness. No matter who they are: rich or poor, gay or straight, young or old, etc.
Nice job bringing this important piece of pop culture history to CZcams. I loved Barney Miller back in the day, but never realized that it pushed the envelope this way.
I only remember bits and pieces of the show, but Darryl's line about perpetuating a stereotype has been stuck in my mind since I first heard it.
I also had a thing for Max Gail. He was so hunky, and I loved his chest in those tight shirts.
Same. Gail was always hawt.
@@injunsun Yesss!
He was an amazing guy, he built a quirky home in Malibu that he shared with his beautiful African American wife.
Who didn’t?
@@leefi1 Oh, cool. I haven't heard anything about him since sometime in the 1980s, when he was in a movie without his tupé, and I was surprised to be attracted to a bald man for the first time. Do they have beautiful, talented kids, all grown up by now? I know, I could Google it, but figure I'll just ask first, since you got the deets already.
Holy crap. I just Googled him, and found out his middle name is Trowbridge, which is a surname I have in common with Cindi Crawford, presumably meaning, like her, he is a distant cousin of mine! She's like a 10th cousin or so, from waaaay back. Now I want to look up his family tree.
Have you covered "Are You Being Served?" And Mister Humphries/John Inman?
would love this
I would also find this interesting, as well as Lieutenant Gruber in Allo Allo (same writer & producer as Are You Being Served?). Rather stereotyped and played for laughs, but the characters I feel are the most sympathetic in their respective shows.
BRITISH tv was very different….they were fine with it…
Oh, I'd love background on Are You Being Served! I love that show.
One of the greatest sitcoms of all time. Amazing cast, hilarious lines that my family still quotes to this day.
I was so lucky to live in a time when homosexuality was becoming increasingly acceptable, and these episodes of Barney Miller, one of my favorite shows of all time, were being broadcast while I was in my teens, developing my idea of what is normal. While I was brought up with a liberal attitude, I have no doubt that Barney Miller helped cement my open-mindedness.
Shortly after, I lived in a cooperative household where homosexuality was not only acceptable, but bisexuality was even fashionable. There was a gay man who frequented the household, and his behavior was very much like Marty’s. He was quite the celebrity among us.
I feel so much of our society is declining, but at least acceptance of alternative lifestyles has been growing. In that regard, I am lucky to be living in this era.
Normal. Natural. That is how the gay characters on Barney Miller seemed to be portrayed to me. Which was a shot in the foot to me because when I was a teen, I thought homosexuality was a learned behavior, something that was the result of environment. I've since learned better and it all started with a single sentence uttered by a classmate in my first sociology class in college. Since then I've seen that homosexuality is normal and is entirely an expression of nature. I think the Barney Miller episodes laid the foundation for me all those years before.
I lived through the beginning of gay acceptance and it pains me to live through a resurgence of the hatred directed at those who's "lifestyle choices " exist outside of "religious norms". Just another example of people lives being controlled by a small group of rich old white men.
Hey there, "alternative lifestyles" is a bit old, you can also say "LGBTQ+ acceptance" or "acceptance of queer people" (yes, you can say 'queer people,' just not 'the queers' or 'queers'). Being gay isn't (always) a lifestyle, it's an identity that, as you know, deserves equal treatment and respect.
@@stormcloudsabound To me, vegetarianism, asexuality, asceticism, co-op living, otaku, nudism, polygamy, party-hopping, and full-time musician are some of the many alternative lifestyles. You can call some or all of those identity as well. With all due respect, I feel I have the same right to choose my terminology as anyone else. There is no "I can". There is no authority to give me permission to select which words I choose to use.
Excellent episode. I was a teenager during Barney Miller’s run on ABC, and I had an immediate connection to its gay characters and storylines. I appreciated learning more about how this series, its cast, and crew pushed the envelope.
Bravo Matt! Ever since I discovered your channel I was hoping you'd do a Marty and Daryl episode and you did not disappoint. Barney Miller is one of my favorite shows, so much so that when I took bass guitar lessons years ago, the first song I wanted to learn was the Barney Miller theme song.
Same here! I emailed Matt a few years ago about these Barney Miller storylines and am so happy he presented them so well. I learned a LOT of new things here, too. So good!
We adored the show and all the characters because they seemed so real. Love your channel!! It's wonderful to find out the fascinating backstory🙌🌈
This is the most awesome thing I've seen in a long time.
My family used to watch Barney Miller every week, and I felt like I was watching it all for the first time.
Thanks for leading such an enjoyable journey through the connections. I've subscribed and am looking forward to future videos.
I was born in Hollywood, raised in L.A., and have been a film and video buff all my life.
Barney Miller started just shortly before I graduated from high school, in January 1976, and while I loved the show, I had enough gay people around me in my daily life that I had seriously not realized how groundbreaking a show it really was.
Now I want to see the whole series again. Thanks for that.
💞😁💞
Great episode, Matt!
I always love hearing the stories of how shows got around the TV censors of their time. They had SO much power over what we saw & therefore 'normalized' in our society - thank goodness for creative showrunners!
All this unfortunately tends to get overshadowed these days by the show's rather less enlightened views toward spousal abuse. Luckily, the worst of that is all just in one episode you can easily skip.
What were their views on spousal abuse?
@@bobbobby632 An episode simply titled Rape ends with the lesson that it's a woman's fault if her husband beats her up, because she should be putting out more. There's also Heat Wave, with a woman deciding whether to sign an abuse complaint against her husband being played for laughs. And although she does eventually go through with it, the studio audience is quite clearly rooting for her not to.
@@Rmlohner that first episode sounds surprising, given how TV was doing groundbreaking work on Rape. All in the family had done different episodes where both Gloria, and later Edith, were almost raped. While Gloria’s was ‘off camera’, the scene where Edith is almost raped is one of the most memorable TV moments of the 70s, along with Roots, and the scene at the end of The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, with her drinking from the ‘whites only’ drinking fountain.
@@RLucas3000 Have you seen that All in the Family rape/assault scene with Edith more recently? I'm not sure I'd say it was a positive depiction, as the scene has a laugh track. It's up there with the Different Strokes ep with the child molester as really tone deaf.
I am not sure I agree with you that they made it the woman's fault. They did make it where she wanted to be respected and not treated like an object. That is all she wanted.
This video was so well-researched and so fun to watch! I literally have _no idea_ what path I took to get it in my recommendations, but I'm really glad. Thanks so much for posting this!
“I know I’ve seen that view myself” will never not make me cry.
Thank you for this episode! This was my favorite sitcom when I was 12 years old. It was already in re-runs (I was born in 1978), but I recorded as many as I could on VHS and watched them over and over. I loved learning everything in this video about it.
YAY!!!! When I encountered your channel awhile back, I immediately looked to see if Barney Miller was covered. So stoked to see it finally make an episode! Also, my mom LOVED Barney Miller and would have really enjoyed learning this history.
I used to watch Barney Miller frequently, but I didn't really recall the arc of the gay characters. So thanks for bringing it back up, and thanks to Danny Arnold!
Thank you for covering this show. I've been watching this with my parents for the past year, it runs consistently, it has such good writing, and in my opinion a pretty good show overall. Not a perfect show, it's a show from the 70s not everything ages perfectly, but it's still a pretty good, funny, and surprisingly dramatic show. This video also game me insight about the production, I had no idea that gay or just LGBT representation was THAT heavily censored, I knew that there wasn't too much rep, or even good rep, cause you know the 70s, but dear god wow.
Also, this show has interesting cop rep too. It really is the only cop show I can think of that really shows the paperwork, criminal processing, and like most of what cops actually do. Hell, like 90% of this show is just set at the precinct, it's like a weekly theater play really. Now, that's another bag of worms with cops, the whole de-fund police situation, but I think this show shows us what cops should be, level headed, compassionate, good relations with the community, flawed in each their own way, but not ready to trigger happy. Granted, this show isn't perfect with what these guys do, but like most of the time they resort to talking rather than pulling a gun. Hell, they even did an episode where Chano killed two bank robbers and was just mentally destroyed that he had to do that. I don't claim to know exactly what goes on in a real precinct or with real cops, but with what has been happening for the past few years, I like to think/hope that most cops are like Barney Miller, call it wishful thinking I guess.
I literally cheered when Zitelli (or however it was spelled) came out like that. That did take guts. And thank you for always cheering me up with your videos.
Loves that episode, too!
Matt, here is something you did not know, Max Gail / Wojo was a frequent pianist at a "Gay Club" here in New York City, back in the late 60's and early 70's as a side job of course. But I can't find any mention of this anywhere but, I remember seeing him back then. I can't for the life of me remember the name of the "Club".
Barney Miller was one of my favorite shows, I still watch it today !!! It was and is a great funny show and it’s even better when you really get to know the characters !!! Great chemistry between them all !!! 👍👍👍
I found your channel from Be Kind Rewind Non-Christmas video and I am thrilled. This video was fantastic, smart, and well presented. I learned so much about one of the best sitcoms. Thank you.
I must say, this was probably one of the better videos I’ve seen on CZcams in a long time. Barney Miller has always been a favorite of mine since I was a kid. Those characters all changed and morphed. As have I. Good job 👍🏻
It tells me that, with a little inexplicable luck (the pre 'digging up the dirt' version), fighting for your ideals can be rewarding.
Wow, really loved learning all of this! Old enough to remember these shows existed, but wasn't quite old enough to have watched the reruns in my youth. Great coverage!
So this video showed up randomly on my home page and I have to say that after watching it I found myself binge watching a majority of your content. Great and informative stuff about shows I watched and enjoyed years ago. Well done, you have a new subscriber, straight but nobody's perfect, and I look forward to seeing more of your videos. Thank you for this.
You did an exceptional job on this. Clear, concise, entertaining and educational Its the first time I have watched any of your You Tube work. Thank you
Thanks Matt! Appreciate you :) One of my favorite shows ever! I watch my box set over and over and often something I have on as "comfort food" for my head when trying to fall asleep!
Being a sound tech, I know a truly cool bass player when they sound check with the shows fantastic bass lines!
Chris Pelletier ~ Philly USA
All Matt's videos are so well put together, expertly narrated and crisply edited into a story that just bounces along and usually ends up on a feel good note...this one being no exception 🙂
This is a great episode. Put together really well. Nice job. That's my cousin Ray playing Darryl!
I was born in 1968, in Los Angeles. Barney Miller was one of my dad's favorite TV shows, and it became one of mine, because it was police stuff (we lived down the street from a fire station), set in New York City (where my dad was from), and while I might not have understood the nuances of what was being portrayed, it did help shape who I am today. I will admit that, even at age 9, I rolled my eyes at Marty, because he wasn't ANYTHING like my Uncle Bob or his partner Ben. Uncle Bob and Ben were just regular people.
Well done, dude! I loved the show as a kid but somehow don't remember this. The networks could have not aired them in syndication/reruns. I wish I did! The bits shown were excellently written and portrayed. You did this justice.
I remember all of those clips when the show originally aired. Thanks for the memories. This is an excellent recap of the topic and the issues surrounding it.
Every time I watch one of your videos I end up emotional and pretty much trying to resist sobbing out loud.
I remember so many of these moments when I was growing up and everything was so ... well, yeah.
Thank you.
Bravo, Matt. Thank you for another delightful history lesson. Like many of your videos (most, actually), this one made me cry. I was almost certain that an examination of "Barney Miller" wouldn't trigger any sobbing, but I was wrong. Que será, será.
The episodes with Marty and then Marty & Darryl were my FAVORITE episodes, even as a kid. I didn't understand that they were gay, back then, but it was obvious later in life and hilarious! They MADE those episodes! Also: This video NEEDS a
Very well done, Matt! I'm pals with one of the stars of SOAP, as well as Aaron Berman, who wrote the book about the series.
Looking forward to your Patreon work! Best, Amelia Z-C
Thankyou so much for making this. My mother loved this show, and we always watched it in my house.