TJ
07-21-2000, 12:58 AM
The streets of TV Land are safe now that Barney Miller is offering his protection.
Cop comedy "Barney Miller," which aired on ABC from 1975 to 1982, begins walking the TV Land beat Saturday, Nov. 25 when a 48-hour
marathon kicks off the show's retro run at 6 a.m. ET. At Saturday's annual Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour, the cast waxed nostalgic for "Miller's"
conscience and precedent-setting diversity as well as its funny moments.
One episode dealt with Detective Harris (Ron Glass) getting shot at while in plain clothes because, as an African American, he was automatically deemed suspicious. Originally Harris was supposed to apologize for being
oversensitive at the end of the half-hour, but during one of the show's all-night shoots, Glass realized his character didn't
have anything to apologize for.
Glass confronted Exec Producer Danny Arnold with the dilemma. "He rewrote (the scene) for a Harris that was conscious of something bigger than himself," Glass recalled. It was a step for the typically self-absorbed Harris and for television.
On a less socially conscious note, TV Land is also re-broadcasting "Charlie's Angels" in a six-day marathon that begins October 2. "The Dick Van Dyke Show" begins a TV Land run with a similar celebration Sept. 11 at 10 p.m.
Cop comedy "Barney Miller," which aired on ABC from 1975 to 1982, begins walking the TV Land beat Saturday, Nov. 25 when a 48-hour
marathon kicks off the show's retro run at 6 a.m. ET. At Saturday's annual Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour, the cast waxed nostalgic for "Miller's"
conscience and precedent-setting diversity as well as its funny moments.
One episode dealt with Detective Harris (Ron Glass) getting shot at while in plain clothes because, as an African American, he was automatically deemed suspicious. Originally Harris was supposed to apologize for being
oversensitive at the end of the half-hour, but during one of the show's all-night shoots, Glass realized his character didn't
have anything to apologize for.
Glass confronted Exec Producer Danny Arnold with the dilemma. "He rewrote (the scene) for a Harris that was conscious of something bigger than himself," Glass recalled. It was a step for the typically self-absorbed Harris and for television.
On a less socially conscious note, TV Land is also re-broadcasting "Charlie's Angels" in a six-day marathon that begins October 2. "The Dick Van Dyke Show" begins a TV Land run with a similar celebration Sept. 11 at 10 p.m.