Reception By Police Officers
Years after Danny Arnold ended production (because he could not see any way to continue without repeating storylines; the show was not cancelled by the network), Barney Miller retains a devoted following among real-life police officers, who appreciate the show's emphasis on dialog and believably quirky characters, and its low-key portrayal of cops going about their jobs. In an 2005 op-ed for the New York Times, real-life New York police detective Lucas Miller wrote:
- Real cops are not usually fans of cop shows. Many police officers maintain that the most realistic police show in the history of television was the sitcom "Barney Miller,"
- The action was mostly off screen, the squad room the only set, and the guys were a motley bunch of character actors who were in no danger of being picked for the N.Y.P.D. pin-up calendar. But they worked hard, made jokes, got hurt and answered to their straight-man commander.
- For real detectives, most of the action does happen off screen, and we spend a lot of time back in the squad room writing reports about it. Like Barney Miller's squad, we crack jokes at one another, at the cases that come in, and at the crazy suspect locked in the holding cell six feet from the new guy's desk. Life really is more like "Barney Miller" than "NYPD Blue," but our jokes aren't nearly as funny.
Similarly, during his appearance on Jon Favreau's Independent Film Channel talk show Dinner for Five, Dennis Farina, who worked as a Chicago policeman before turning to acting, called Barney Miller the most realistic cop show ever seen on television.
Hal Linden has told interviewers that he is still occasionally called "Captain" by working police officers.
Read more about this topic: Barney Miller
Famous quotes containing the words reception, police and/or officers:
“I gave a speech in Omaha. After the speech I went to a reception elsewhere in town. A sweet old lady came up to me, put her gloved hand in mine, and said, “I hear you spoke here tonight.” “Oh, it was nothing,” I replied modestly. “Yes,” the little old lady nodded, “that’s what I heard.””
—Gerald R. Ford (b. 1913)
“I guess a career in the police didn’t really prepare you for this, did it?”
—Bob Hunt (b. 1951)
“Now for civil service reform. Legislation must be prepared and executive rules and maxims. We must limit and narrow the area of patronage. We must diminish the evils of office-seeking. We must stop interference of federal officers with elections. We must be relieved of congressional dictation as to appointments.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)