Customer Reviews

Barney Miller: Season Four [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Once upon a time, in the days before Ronald Reagan succeeded in re-convincing America that material wealth and shallow religiosity were the sole defining features of American society, it was possible to make TV comedies that were both "socially pertinent" and extremely funny. "All in the Family" and "Barney Miller" represented the crest of that short-lived wave. It's one of those very rare comedies that, in terms of acting and writing, can be compared with the best dramas. (I find it amazing that, despite being a comedy, police say "Barney Miller" is the most-accurate depiction of police life they've seen.)

Both series are "social documents", and deserve public preservation in a readily accessible format. I don't know how much it costs to transfer a single season to DVD -- I'd guess $25K to $50K. At that price, you don't have to sell a lot of sets simply to break even. Sony should easily sell enough to turn a decent profit.

20 or 30 years from now, when the tapes have deteriorated to the point where they can no longer be played, people will be asking "Why weren't they preserved?", especially when it could have been done at relatively low cost, and made Sony a few bucks in the process.

How often have the Sony executives browsed the Columbia catalog and thought "Why wasn't the camera negative for this picture taken better care of?" "Barney Miller" is no different. Whatever is not intentionally preserved /will/ almost certainly be lost.

PS: I asked a friend "in the business", and he sent the following...

"In real numbers, I think it's about $1000 per show -- probably more if there's extensive fixes to be made to the original 2" quadruplex master videotapes. If they did a real digital restoration (which is what the company I'm freelancing for specializes in), it'd probably be several times that. Then the actual DVD authoring is probably about $5000 per disc (round numbers). Once you do all that, it's a buck a disc for manufacturing."

What a shame that the complete Barney Miller is not yet available! I would be willing to pay an expensive price to buy the remaining seasons on DVD ( 4 to 8 ). Barney Miller is the best comedy I have ever experienced in television or movies. The humor is sometimes subtle, sometimes outragiously funny, and always ingenious. There is enough drama and seriousness to give added impact to the humor. There is never a bad show, because the Barney Miller series never indulges in slapstick or vulgarity. I have seen some episodes four or five times and never get a feeling of tediousness, because the characters are genuine and lovable, the timing of the humor is perfect, and there is always something new to be discovered, for example in the nuances of facial expressions. I am also amazed at the creativity of the writers: the way they develop so many important themes in such a fresh and creative way.

There are many moments which remain unforgetable, such as Dietrich immediately identifying an atom bomb (which a student had made as a project), after a bomb expert claimed that that the strange object was a harmless device. There are many such moments of delicious irony, which one wants to savour again and again.

I cannot understand why so many silly and trivial sit-coms are on the market with complete sets, but an all-time classic like Barney Miller is not yet available in its entirety. What a shame that this high quality entertainment, perhaps the best tv series ever, is locked away in some vault, where no one can enjoy it.

"Barney Miller" is, by far, one of the best shows of the last 40 years. I bought the first three seasons and would gladly buy the remaining seasons -- if they were available!

Please release the remaining seasons of this great show! "Barney Miller's" fans are waiting!

Great characters, writing, acting, etc. Just a great show that I remember from my childhood. I've bought the first three seasons on DVD and can't wait till they RELEASE THE REMAINING SEASONS OF THIS SHOW.

It makes no sense that a show of this caliber is not released while shows of far less value and quality are released within months of production close. I've had to rely on my 18-minute shows taped from TV Land years back. They have been so chopped up to allow for commercials that it's tantamount to a lobotomy. The show consistently ranked between #13-40 through it's tenure. I don't get it. I support Sony in the purchase of its' electronics but every time I think about this slight it makes me want to put them all on EBAY.

Hey Sony! What the hell is the hold up on Season 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8?? Really! Why is this taking so long? What could possibly be the excuse? There are millions of fans out there anxiously waiting for at least Season 4 to be released. Come on! It's been nearly two years now since Season 3 was released. Give the people what they want. It's time. It's past time! Thank you.

I'm also a fan of this show, along with Nite Court and several other TV series.

It is just SO much nicer to be able to have a marathon viewing of episodes back to back

that having them on DVD is kind of a must, but, be warned the quality of the

previous dvd's were quite shoddy, I don't remember the show's being filmed

in such a bad way before, but some of the older seasons were almost unwatchable

if it were not for the content, I'd not have kept it on, so when SONY does

finally release the remaining seasons, hopefully sooner than later,

that the transfer will be a much cleaner process this time round.

G2

Barney Miller was a favorite series of mine -- which I've also enjoyed in reruns and the first three seasons on DVD.Bsrney Miller was a funny, witty and warm-hearted show -- that never disappointed.Now I'm "patiently" waiting for season four to be released on DVD.Please release season four soon!!

Sony, if you expect me to buy Barney Miller on dvd, then respect the fans by releasing the rest of this show on dvd. I will not buy this show on dvd if you guys are NEVER going to release the remaining 5 season sets. There's no incentive or point for me to pay for something that will NEVER be finished. I am actually thinking of selling off ALL of my Jeffersons dvds because of this same problem. Why should i keep them if you aren't EVER gonna complete the series on dvd? There's no point.

Until I hear otherwise about your releasing of these dvds, this collection and ALL future collections of The Jeffersons will get a 1 star review.