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Special Features
32-page commemorative book
New interviews with cast (Linden, Gail, Vigoda)
First season of the spin-off show, Fish, starring Abe Vigoda
Original unaired pilot
Writers commentary on select episodes
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
The sprawling, 25-disc presentation of Barney Miller: The Complete Series pays proper and long-overdue tribute to what is arguably one of the best sitcoms ever produced on television. All 168 episodes of the groundbreaking series, which ran between 1974 and 1982, are included in the set, as are a respectable, if not abundant, number of extras. But bells and whistles cannot improve upon Miller's chief attribute--the humor and humanity inherent in each episode, which detailed the life of a police captain (Hal Linden) at New York's dreary 12th Precinct, which was populated by a squad of offbeat but hardworking detectives. Time has not dampened the show's smart, honest writing by series creators Danny Arnold and Theodore J. Flicker, among many others, or the theater-quality acting of Linden and the talented cast, which began with Abe Vigoda, Ron Glass, Max Gail, and Jack Soo before adding Steve Landesberg and Ron Carey in season four. As with other blue-collar "workplace" shows like M*A*S*H, Hill Street Blues, and St. Elsewhere, viewers came to care about the characters (real-life police, in particular, applauded the show's portrayal of working law officers) because they accurately reflected the steady, unyielding stream of joys and heartbreak that made up every day in a job where people's lives were at stake, and how that experience affected the personalities that worked there. Barney Miller was a rare series, one that has not been duplicated (though emulated by shows like Rescue Me and Homicide: Life on the Street) or, thankfully, remade, and this impressive set from Shout Factory serves as its best and most complete presentation to date.
Like the show itself, the extras on The Complete Series are heartfelt and often hilarious. Series writer-producers Tony Sheehan, Jeff Stein, and Frank Dungan, all of whom continued to collaborate on series like Mr. Belvedere and King of Queens, are featured on commentary tracks for the show's final three-part episode, "Landmark," which concerned the closing of the 12th Precinct. The commentaries are informal but informative--the show's notorious late shoots and last-minute rewrites are discussed--and often very funny. Stein and Dungan also appear on a trio of overlapping making-of featurettes that additionally include new interviews with Linden, Gail, and Vigoda. More important to Miller completists will be the entire original pilot, "The Life and Times of Captain Barney Miller," which aired on an ABC comedy anthology series in 1974. Linden and Vigoda are featured in a cast that includes Charles Haid (Hill Street Blues) among the One-Two's detectives. The complete version of the series pilot, "Ramon," which essentially tells the same story as "Life and Times," is also included in an uncut version that adds two minutes of footage. In addition, there's an excerpt from You Don't Know Jack, a 2009 documentary about Jack Soo that includes interviews with Landesberg and Gail about their well-loved fellow actor whom the entire cast feted in a special 1979 episode (included in the set). For many, the set's curiosity piece is the first season of Fish, the short-lived spinoff series that featured Vigoda's character riding herd on a quintet of foster children (including Todd Bridges of Diff'rent Strokes). The 13 episodes included here are largely laugh-free affairs and the complete antithesis to the intelligent comedy of Barney Miller. Image quality on many episodes remains as murky as they appeared on the three stand-alone DVD releases from Sony, though this is the case with shows created on videotape rather than film. Such issues, however, should not prevent fans and newcomers alike from spending quality time with the men of the 12th Precinct. --Paul Gaita
Product Description
All 168 episodes of the series are featured on this 25-disc set that also includes the original unaired pilot, interviews, audio commentary on selected episodes, the first season of the spin-off show "Fish," and a commemorative 40-page book.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
282 of 295 people found the following review helpful
By T. Sniffin
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
UPDATE: Because my "review" keeps popping up first, here's a real one now. Hope it helps. (I'll leave an edited potion of my original post at the end.)
Got an early Christmas gift this month. Essentially raised on Barney Miller, I had a couple of lost weekends after the complete series landed on my porch. Here's what I got on Shout's treatment of my favorite series....
The First Three Seasons--Unfortunately, Shout! Factory used what Sony created for their season sets; other than the packaging, they're the exact same discs, menus and all. That means the first season still looks woeful and that two of its episodes (Ramon and The Bureaucrat) are the syndicated cuts. However, Shout has included a complete version of Ramon with the extras (Harris in drag!). The video quality of that version is pretty bad, which should indicate the kind of job Shout faced in getting complete episodes. Which brings me to....
Completeness of Episodes--I wish I could say that Seasons 4 to 8 are complete, but one episode--Season 7's Rachel, the one in which Harris is sued for libel for Blood on the Badge--is about 2 minutes short, indicating a syndication cut. Given that Shout managed to find a complete Ramon, it's entirely possible that no complete version of Rachel (or The Bureaucrat) currently exists. The last episode of the series, in fact, comes with a warning because it was taken from the last surviving complete version. But it's still watchable, and while the other episodes do show varying video quality, sometimes even within the same episode, most look as good as or better than you can hope for with a three-decades-old videotaped series. Shout also has avoided the excessive edge enhancement that plagues Seasons 2 and 3. (Note: In the Season 6 episode Inquisition, the word "Musak" is silenced out three times at the beginning. Apparently, this was done in the episode's initial run because of trademark issues and that is what remains on the source materials.)
Extras--And this is where the fun begins. Everything's on the last disc. First up is a commentary on Landmark, the three-part series ender, with writer/producers Tony Sheehan, Jeff Stein, and Frank Dungan. Sheehan was show-runner Danny Arnold's right-hand man beginning in the second season and essentially ran Barney Miller after Arnold's on-set heart attack in 1979, while Stein and Dungan were the story editors for the final three seasons. Two great interview featurettes running nearly an hour altogether heavily feature Hal, Abe, and Max, as well as include a 2009 interview with the late, great Steve Landesberg (no Ron? Nuts). Abe Vigoda especially is a joy to listen to; the man bounces around so much in the interview that the focus-puller can't keep up! A third, shorter featurette features Stein and Dungan talking about the show's infamous way of writing episodes. The aforementioned uncut Ramon is here, along with an unannounced extra: a short excerpt from the recent Jack Soo documentary You Don't Know Jack. Season 1 of the spin-off Fish, which I haven't watched yet, is in its own separate slimcase.
But the centerpiece is the long-unseen pilot The Life and Times of Barney Miller. Shot on film and following an earlier version of the Ramon script, the pilot is like meeting childhood friend after he's had plastic surgery. The home movie opening indicates the show's original tone and focus, also implied by the pilot's different story structure (the precinct scenes bookend the episode). What's really interesting is seeing some familiar faces speaking other characters' lines. Two of the pilot's detectives appear in later episodes, played by the same actor: Wilson in Season 1's Experience and Del Vecchio (as a narcotics cop) in Season 2's You Dirty Rat. Fish also is here, but he seems far too lively. Most of all, Abby Dalton as Liz makes you really appreciate Barbara Barrie and the chemistry she had with Hal Linden.
Expectations are hard to meet, but Shout! Factory has made an excellent attempt. The porting over of the Sony discs and the cut Rachel prevents this from being a perfect set, but in the larger picture, I find those minor quibbles. The series has been treated with respect, and from the pilot to the lights going off in the ole one-two, nearly every single minute of Barney Miller is, like Levitt, present and accounted for (even if a little short). If you're a fan of the series, whether you grew up on it like I did or discovered it in syndication or on DVD, you've got every reason pick this up.
--------------
[Written When Set Was Announced in July]
1. This is not a case of a studio releasing a bunch of single season sets then a complete series release to milk more money. Sony released the first three seasons. Shout! Factory is releasing this set because Sony decided *not to release any more seasons.* They did not sell enough to justify doing more, which is the same reason why Night Court has gone to DVD-R releases.
2. Shout! Factory is giving Barney Miller the treatment that Sony never did. [See review]
3. This is not a rip-off. The set retails for $160, which means you're paying less per season (not counting the Fish season) than you would have if you waited and purchased each single set. Given the extras Shout! Factory is adding to the set, that's far, far better than the barebone jobs Sony was sporadically releasing. With Amazon's discounts, it's even better.
Is it irritating that a complete set has come out after three single-season sets? Of course, but that's the risk you take with any series release (just ask any Farscape fan) and I refuse to complain about it and "protest" by refusing to buy a perfectly excellent set of a series that has been more or less neglected while other classic 1970s series have been completely released. As a Barney Miller fan, I rejoiced when I saw this set listed. And the first three seasons I own? They'll go to friends who never heard of the series.
Got an early Christmas gift this month. Essentially raised on Barney Miller, I had a couple of lost weekends after the complete series landed on my porch. Here's what I got on Shout's treatment of my favorite series....
The First Three Seasons--Unfortunately, Shout! Factory used what Sony created for their season sets; other than the packaging, they're the exact same discs, menus and all. That means the first season still looks woeful and that two of its episodes (Ramon and The Bureaucrat) are the syndicated cuts. However, Shout has included a complete version of Ramon with the extras (Harris in drag!). The video quality of that version is pretty bad, which should indicate the kind of job Shout faced in getting complete episodes. Which brings me to....
Completeness of Episodes--I wish I could say that Seasons 4 to 8 are complete, but one episode--Season 7's Rachel, the one in which Harris is sued for libel for Blood on the Badge--is about 2 minutes short, indicating a syndication cut. Given that Shout managed to find a complete Ramon, it's entirely possible that no complete version of Rachel (or The Bureaucrat) currently exists. The last episode of the series, in fact, comes with a warning because it was taken from the last surviving complete version. But it's still watchable, and while the other episodes do show varying video quality, sometimes even within the same episode, most look as good as or better than you can hope for with a three-decades-old videotaped series. Shout also has avoided the excessive edge enhancement that plagues Seasons 2 and 3. (Note: In the Season 6 episode Inquisition, the word "Musak" is silenced out three times at the beginning. Apparently, this was done in the episode's initial run because of trademark issues and that is what remains on the source materials.)
Extras--And this is where the fun begins. Everything's on the last disc. First up is a commentary on Landmark, the three-part series ender, with writer/producers Tony Sheehan, Jeff Stein, and Frank Dungan. Sheehan was show-runner Danny Arnold's right-hand man beginning in the second season and essentially ran Barney Miller after Arnold's on-set heart attack in 1979, while Stein and Dungan were the story editors for the final three seasons. Two great interview featurettes running nearly an hour altogether heavily feature Hal, Abe, and Max, as well as include a 2009 interview with the late, great Steve Landesberg (no Ron? Nuts). Abe Vigoda especially is a joy to listen to; the man bounces around so much in the interview that the focus-puller can't keep up! A third, shorter featurette features Stein and Dungan talking about the show's infamous way of writing episodes. The aforementioned uncut Ramon is here, along with an unannounced extra: a short excerpt from the recent Jack Soo documentary You Don't Know Jack. Season 1 of the spin-off Fish, which I haven't watched yet, is in its own separate slimcase.
But the centerpiece is the long-unseen pilot The Life and Times of Barney Miller. Shot on film and following an earlier version of the Ramon script, the pilot is like meeting childhood friend after he's had plastic surgery. The home movie opening indicates the show's original tone and focus, also implied by the pilot's different story structure (the precinct scenes bookend the episode). What's really interesting is seeing some familiar faces speaking other characters' lines. Two of the pilot's detectives appear in later episodes, played by the same actor: Wilson in Season 1's Experience and Del Vecchio (as a narcotics cop) in Season 2's You Dirty Rat. Fish also is here, but he seems far too lively. Most of all, Abby Dalton as Liz makes you really appreciate Barbara Barrie and the chemistry she had with Hal Linden.
Expectations are hard to meet, but Shout! Factory has made an excellent attempt. The porting over of the Sony discs and the cut Rachel prevents this from being a perfect set, but in the larger picture, I find those minor quibbles. The series has been treated with respect, and from the pilot to the lights going off in the ole one-two, nearly every single minute of Barney Miller is, like Levitt, present and accounted for (even if a little short). If you're a fan of the series, whether you grew up on it like I did or discovered it in syndication or on DVD, you've got every reason pick this up.
--------------
[Written When Set Was Announced in July]
1. This is not a case of a studio releasing a bunch of single season sets then a complete series release to milk more money. Sony released the first three seasons. Shout! Factory is releasing this set because Sony decided *not to release any more seasons.* They did not sell enough to justify doing more, which is the same reason why Night Court has gone to DVD-R releases.
2. Shout! Factory is giving Barney Miller the treatment that Sony never did. [See review]
3. This is not a rip-off. The set retails for $160, which means you're paying less per season (not counting the Fish season) than you would have if you waited and purchased each single set. Given the extras Shout! Factory is adding to the set, that's far, far better than the barebone jobs Sony was sporadically releasing. With Amazon's discounts, it's even better.
Is it irritating that a complete set has come out after three single-season sets? Of course, but that's the risk you take with any series release (just ask any Farscape fan) and I refuse to complain about it and "protest" by refusing to buy a perfectly excellent set of a series that has been more or less neglected while other classic 1970s series have been completely released. As a Barney Miller fan, I rejoiced when I saw this set listed. And the first three seasons I own? They'll go to friends who never heard of the series.
48 of 50 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Looks like I am the first reviewer here on Amazon to have actually viewed these discs, so hopefully people will find my initial reactions useful.
So much has been said about the series itself I won't repeat any of it here. Just be assured that Barney Miller is one of the best written, best acted sitcoms (or any TV series for that matter) ever. I've seen every episode multiple times and have been collecting recordings of this show on commercially available VHS tapes, broadcast sources, and DVDs for many years. So I was very glad to see Shout Factory pick up the baton where Sony left off and release the show as it should have been from the beginning, as a complete series set.
I have not seen all the episodes in this set yet, but the ones I have seen run about 25 minutes instead of the 22-minute syndicated versions most often seen on TV since the show's original run. The picture quality is great for a TV series shot on video in the 1970s. About as good as it possibly can look, I'm sure. Sound quality is excellent. The packaging is very well done, tasteful, and discs are NOT stacked on top of each other on a single spindle as many of these mega-sets have been packaged recently. The 40-page book has a nice few pages of intro but the rest is essentially an episode guide for each season and disc.
The extras and supplements are great. There are about an hour and a half worth of shorts featuring Hal Linden, Max Gail, Abe Vigoda, and two of the writers. These are well worth watching. For me the real treat in the extras was the unaired pilot episode of "The Life and Times of Barney Miller" which is quite different from the show we know as Barney Miller. The pilot was shot on film, first of all, and looks very different from the "real" show for that one reason alone. The sets are almost exactly the same, but Linden and Vigoda are the only cops who play the same roles in the actual series. The show focused much more on Barney's home life and was split about 50/50 between the 2 sets.
There are several very insightful commentaries by the writers on some of the episodes. I learned a lot about the series that I did not know. Particularly fascinating were the "rules" of scriptwriting for Barney Miller, the unique way of shooting that was employed, and the unusual relationship (or lack of it) that Danny Arnold and the writing staff had with CBS. Really worthwhile and interesting stuff. The first season of Fish is a nice bonus but I have not gotten into viewing those discs.
If I have one complaint about this set it is that the first three seasons are absolutely identical to the previous Sony releases. Basically the Sony discs have been re-labeled with new artwork but the entire content of those discs (including the menus) are Sony's previous releases, manufactured again for this set. Ideally, Shout would have made new menus that matched their treatment of seasons 4-8, which in my opinion is better than what Sony did. This one gripe makes me wish Shout would have not just "ported over" the old discs into their set. But when you look at the massive amount of great stuff you get in this set, that is an imperfection well worth putting up with.
If you like Barney Miller, do not hesitate to buy this set. I sold my old single-season sets of the first 3 seasons on ebay to subsidize this purchase and when you look at Amazon's price which is currently in the $100 range you are talking about less than a dollar an episode for an absolutely top-notch show. This set was a tremendous undertaking by Shout Factory to produce and I must give kudos to them for all their work in preserving this deserving series for the digital age. You will not be disappointed by the results of that effort.
So much has been said about the series itself I won't repeat any of it here. Just be assured that Barney Miller is one of the best written, best acted sitcoms (or any TV series for that matter) ever. I've seen every episode multiple times and have been collecting recordings of this show on commercially available VHS tapes, broadcast sources, and DVDs for many years. So I was very glad to see Shout Factory pick up the baton where Sony left off and release the show as it should have been from the beginning, as a complete series set.
I have not seen all the episodes in this set yet, but the ones I have seen run about 25 minutes instead of the 22-minute syndicated versions most often seen on TV since the show's original run. The picture quality is great for a TV series shot on video in the 1970s. About as good as it possibly can look, I'm sure. Sound quality is excellent. The packaging is very well done, tasteful, and discs are NOT stacked on top of each other on a single spindle as many of these mega-sets have been packaged recently. The 40-page book has a nice few pages of intro but the rest is essentially an episode guide for each season and disc.
The extras and supplements are great. There are about an hour and a half worth of shorts featuring Hal Linden, Max Gail, Abe Vigoda, and two of the writers. These are well worth watching. For me the real treat in the extras was the unaired pilot episode of "The Life and Times of Barney Miller" which is quite different from the show we know as Barney Miller. The pilot was shot on film, first of all, and looks very different from the "real" show for that one reason alone. The sets are almost exactly the same, but Linden and Vigoda are the only cops who play the same roles in the actual series. The show focused much more on Barney's home life and was split about 50/50 between the 2 sets.
There are several very insightful commentaries by the writers on some of the episodes. I learned a lot about the series that I did not know. Particularly fascinating were the "rules" of scriptwriting for Barney Miller, the unique way of shooting that was employed, and the unusual relationship (or lack of it) that Danny Arnold and the writing staff had with CBS. Really worthwhile and interesting stuff. The first season of Fish is a nice bonus but I have not gotten into viewing those discs.
If I have one complaint about this set it is that the first three seasons are absolutely identical to the previous Sony releases. Basically the Sony discs have been re-labeled with new artwork but the entire content of those discs (including the menus) are Sony's previous releases, manufactured again for this set. Ideally, Shout would have made new menus that matched their treatment of seasons 4-8, which in my opinion is better than what Sony did. This one gripe makes me wish Shout would have not just "ported over" the old discs into their set. But when you look at the massive amount of great stuff you get in this set, that is an imperfection well worth putting up with.
If you like Barney Miller, do not hesitate to buy this set. I sold my old single-season sets of the first 3 seasons on ebay to subsidize this purchase and when you look at Amazon's price which is currently in the $100 range you are talking about less than a dollar an episode for an absolutely top-notch show. This set was a tremendous undertaking by Shout Factory to produce and I must give kudos to them for all their work in preserving this deserving series for the digital age. You will not be disappointed by the results of that effort.
94 of 104 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
There's a lot of confusion in some of the low rated reviews that is based on a lack of information. No one is pulling bait and switch. Sony released the first three seasons then stopped. Shout! Factory has picked up the rights and is releasing this set. In the past they have also released the remaining seasons in individual season format for shows they picked up like this.
This set, beyond the creative packaging contains:
* All eight seasons on 25 discs
* Newly-produced and never-before-seen bonus features
* 32 page commemorative book
* New interviews with the cast (Linden, Gail, Vigoda)
* Original unaired pilot
* Writers' commentary on select episodes
* Entire first season of Fish (the Abe Vigoda spin-off).
The original news is here: [...]
Amazon is offering this at 30% off! This is an incredible deal, and beyond the best news fans of Barney Miller could have hoped for. Emmy- and Gold Globe-winning, hilarious, and still one of the best comedies ever produced, Barney Miller is finally getting the DVD treatment it deserves.
This set, beyond the creative packaging contains:
* All eight seasons on 25 discs
* Newly-produced and never-before-seen bonus features
* 32 page commemorative book
* New interviews with the cast (Linden, Gail, Vigoda)
* Original unaired pilot
* Writers' commentary on select episodes
* Entire first season of Fish (the Abe Vigoda spin-off).
The original news is here: [...]
Amazon is offering this at 30% off! This is an incredible deal, and beyond the best news fans of Barney Miller could have hoped for. Emmy- and Gold Globe-winning, hilarious, and still one of the best comedies ever produced, Barney Miller is finally getting the DVD treatment it deserves.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Classic!
One of my favorite TV comedies of all time. Barney Miller still is quite funny yet deals with topics that are still relevant
Published 7 days ago by Greg Moody
5.0 out of 5 stars
The BEST EVER!!!
Yes I have given 5 stars to Night Court as i would to Big Bang but for me and probably millions of others
BM is not only the greatest comedy of all time but it will never be... Read more
BM is not only the greatest comedy of all time but it will never be... Read more
Published 14 days ago by rotciv
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another Great Series Revisited
We remembered enjoying this series when it was originally on tv and remembered the characters but not the stories, so it's a treat to get to see it again.
Published 16 days ago by C. Meyer
4.0 out of 5 stars
Affordable for 8 seasons!
I have always wanted this complete series, somehow it got to be when I checked on amazon.com.
The color and audio on this series was great. Read more
The color and audio on this series was great. Read more
Published 19 days ago by Darlene Z. Bates
5.0 out of 5 stars
Old show, still good to watch
I got this for my kids, they love the show. Still, with very few exceptions, fresh and funny. Few references to the time when it was made (like who is "Karl Malden and... Read more
Published 25 days ago by Rodney A Hauck
5.0 out of 5 stars
great comedy
barney miller shows the way comedy can be/.subdued and simple/and can be rewatched for some time//no stupid stuff just comedy
Published 1 month ago by spoiled maltese
5.0 out of 5 stars
I saw the original broadcasts
I'm old enough that I watched the original broadcasts when they were first aired on TV. I enjoyed them then, and I enjoy them now. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Ken From Oxford
5.0 out of 5 stars
tv show barney miller
i really enjoyed watchiing the old show from the 70's...this one is really a good one...you will get lots of laughs ..purely enjoyable...good entertainment for any age... Read more
Published 1 month ago by connie
5.0 out of 5 stars
Classis...
What can I say...but it if you enjoy the series, buy it. Its a realistic look at the NYPD squad room...how do I know?
Published 1 month ago by Jimmy
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent quality
Always get great quality products with these old TV shows. Have had no trouble with any of the discs. We watch them very often.
Published 1 month ago by R. Hunter
