We all know the death of actor Jack Soo was painful, but did it hurt the show any? What about the departure of Abe Vigoda? Which departure hurt the show more Or did the show never miss a beat? (no pun intended) ;)

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Of those two, I have to go with Jack Soo. Abe Vigoda DID come back for several guest appearances, in addition to starring in his spinoff. When Jack Soo died, a lot of the heart left the show. Things never quite were the same without Yemana.

Yep, that's a tough question.

I guess I'd agree with Monika. As far as the show goes, I think both characters added something very special but when you factor in the knowledge that Fish COULD (and did) return, and Soo had actually died, the impact of losing Yemana was a bit stronger.

Yep, that's a tough question.

I guess I'd agree with Monika. As far as the show goes, I think both characters added something very special but when you factor in the knowledge that Fish COULD (and did) return, and Soo had actually died, the impact of losing Yemana was a bit stronger.
I agree with Monika as well. Abe did return as a guest star and we could also see him on Fish. With Jack Soo passing away Nick was gone for good.

I definately felt the loss of Jack Soo, we could see Abe return for guest appearances but not Jack.

Plus, you just knew Jack would have stayed until the end of the show had he lived. You could just tell how much he loved the role and the show!

i agree jack soo

The show was so well written, acted, and directed, that it absorbed most of that pain. Abe Vigoda was so good at playing a cop about to retire(although in his mid-fifties), that his going almost seemed natural. Jack Soo did hurt more in the sudden loss of a truly, unique actor and human being.

Of the two, Jack's death definitely hurt the show more than Abe's departure. Things just weren't the same after Nick was written out, and (IMO) his absence impacted the tone of the series until the end. Any sense of lightness and fun was gone, and the heaviness of the day-to-day grind seemed to wear the characters (and the actors) down without Nick around to make a quip or an astute observation about the goings-on in the squad room. Levitt and his endless attempts at promotion were clearly supposed to fill the comedic void left behind, but he was a poor substitute.

I loved 'Barney Miller' from the first episode to the last.

But some of the heart and humor of the show was gone when Jack Soo passed away.

Besides, who else could pull off that "squint" line but Jack? :lol:

Steve Landesberg was a great addition, though. He helped fill the void.

^ :yeahthat