View Full Version : Would the show not have worked if it ran through the '80s


TMC
08-23-2020, 01:41 AM
What I mean is that do you agree that Barney Miller is a clear cut example of a show that ended right when they should have ended (https://www.quora.com/Which-TV-shows-in-your-opinion-ended-right-when-they-should-have-ended-being-neither-overly-long-nor-cancelled-prematurely/answer/David-Holliday-27), being neither overly long nor cancelled prematurely?

When Barney Miller (https://www.ibtimes.com/barney-miller-forty-years-later-most-intelligent-literate-us-sitcom-ever-1556406) debuted in the mid 1970s (https://www.criticsatlarge.ca/2017/06/very-well-put-watching-barney-miller.html), New York City (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_New_York_City_(1946%E2%80%931977)) was struggling, crime was rampant (https://guff.com/new-york-city-in-the-70s-was-crazy-af), the city had trouble meeting payrolls, and couldn’t provide anything close to the best equipment or training. In effect Barney Miller reflected that.

By the time that the series ended (https://tv.avclub.com/the-last-barney-miller-also-ended-an-era-1798276904) in 1982, NYC began to reevaluate their police department, closing down old precincts. So on that end, the show reflected this when the building was sold and the precinct disbanded.

Chocolate Moose
08-23-2020, 12:10 PM
It definitely left me wanting more!

TVFactFan
08-23-2020, 02:55 PM
The show was never really a big hit and never finished in the top. Plus its one of the only shows in TV history to get renewed after ranking 68th after season 1 and still getting renewed

Mace Dolex
08-23-2020, 03:54 PM
The show was never really a big hit and never finished in the top. Plus its one of the only shows in TV history to get renewed after ranking 68th after season 1 and still getting renewed
Yeah I know there were fewer options when it came to TV viewing but in my mind sitcoms that are centered in a specific location never got my interest and don't know why they lasted longer than they should have

Barney Miller (police station)
Alice (diner)
WKRP In Cincinnatti (radio station)

TVFactFan
08-23-2020, 04:31 PM
Yeah I know there were fewer options when it came to TV viewing but in my mind sitcoms that are centered in a specific location never got my interest and don't know why they lasted longer than they should have

Barney Miller (police station)
Alice (diner)
WKRP In Cincinnatti (radio station)

And probably the only sitcom in TV history that had a spinoff and never finished in the top ten