After watching nearly every episode, the one that, in my opinion, is a damn near perfect episode is.....

The Mole.

It was hard to have a "best episode" without Dietrich on it, but almost everything in this episode is flawless. The action is just non-stop, one laugh after laugh. The climax, I think, is between the time Fish says "I better wait... I may be obstructing justice...!" after finding out Harris and Wojo are chasing a thief in the city sewer lines as he walks to the bathroom, up until Wojo hangs up the phone after explaining the situation. It's just one comedic hit after the other.

The only weak part I can think of is that of Randy Cook (the bum). Interestingly enough, with the exception of Luger and Dietrich, everybody in the cast is present : Barney, Wojo, Harris, Chano, Fish, Nick and even "Levitt" (as the Mole).

The "Fish" era is almost a totally different show than the "Dietrich" era, so it may be more accurate to say that "The Mole" is, in my opinion, the best "Fish" era episode. It's amazing how the show's writing never really declined in quality from about the third season, right up until it ended.

maclen

Originally posted by maclen
It was hard to have a "best episode" without Dietrich on it
That's for sure! Though I think the two episodes that I liked the most were Quarantine and Hash, and neither of those has Dietrich in it, either. I'd say Dietrich probably had most of the best lines on the show.

It's amazing how the show's writing never really declined in quality from about the third season, right up until it ended.
That's so true, but watching these earlier episodes again after seeing the later episodes, it makes me realize how much I really missed Jack Soo. Like when Abe Vigoda left, they had Steve Landesberg so it wasn't so bad, but when Jack Soo passed away, I think the show really suffered. Don't get me wrong, it was still great. But I think I didn't realize just how much Nick added to the show. I guess it was since he wasn't usually the focus of any particular episode.

The episode where Chano kills two bank robbers. When he broke down at the end of the episode, I knew I was watching a quality show. Have watched it ever since.

:lol: The brownies laced with hash has to be my favorite. Definitely the funniest in my book.

Fish: "First time in years I feel really good and it's illegal."

Of course there's Wojo signing himself Chief of Police.

I have to agree that HASH was the most memorable episode. So many quotable lines in that one! Since I started and run the BARNEY MILLER TV SHOW HOME PAGE (http://www.debw.com/barneymiller.html) I have found that HASH is the most popular episode. Another episode that had me on the floor was the two-part "Chinatown", where Dietrich & Harris had to spend the night together in a hotel room with a potential witness to a crime. Harris is transformed after one night of Dietrich's clarinet-playing, it's too, too funny!

AND YET there are so many great episodes from Barney Miller to remember, so in 1999, I put up a Barney Miller QUOTES Page (http://two.guestbook.de/gb.cgi?gid=307174&prot=dkvoli) on the site that people can add to, which is now 36 pages long! I put my very favorite BM shows on a tape. They are:

Werewolf
Hash
Appendicitis
Chinatown
Sperm Bank
The Accusation
The Radical
Lie-Detector
Identity
Strip Joint
Dietrich's Arrest
Experience
The Psychiatrist
The Mole
Bugs
Quarantine- 1&2

Hi Deb ~~~~~

I went to your site a while back and it was a lot of fun. I read through a message archive or something - it was fun to see everyone carrying on a bit. Thanks for posting the link, Ill have to hit it up again.

jenn

:)

Hash is my favorite but every one says that one. So to be different. I would say that I have always liked #54 Moonlighting. It has alot of great one-liners from Dietrich. Plus a great Jack Soo scene. The one where the guys wonders if he gets a phone call. "Sure," phone rings, "Maybe that's it now". :lol: Just great.

While arguably "Hash" was the funniest, my favorite was always "Lie Detector." I always had a soft spot in my heart for Lieutenant Scanlon episodes anyway, but his exchanges with Dietrich in this episode were all classic.

Scanlon: Your full name, Sergeant?
Dietrich: Arthur P. Dietrich.
Scanlon: The P stands for ...
Dietrich: I was never told.:lol:

And the questioning continued: "When were you born?"
Dietrich "It's hard to remember....it was long, long ago...in a galaxy far, far away..."

Reminds me of another show, where the officers were asked to describe ink blots:

Questioner (played by Fred Sadoff): "What does this look like to you?"
Yemana:"An elephant wearing a hat."
Questioner: " And what does THIS look like?"
Yemana:"An elephant.....upside-down........wearing a hat. Hey, this is kinda fun!"

Actually, there are too many good shows and lines to pick just ONE out. Barney Miller was a brilliant, memorable show, because there were so many great, well-written episodes.