“Barney Miller” Character Analysis : Max Gail as Detective Stan “Wojo” Wojciehowicz

[Zoneboy]

Link

Detective Stan "Wojo" Wojciehowicz is the character who changes the most during the 8 seasons of Barney Miller. In the first couple of seasons, Wojo comes off as a guy who is somewhat ignorant of those who are different from him. For instance, when Detective Janice Wentworth begins to work at the 12TH precinct in the 1st season episode Ms.Cop, Wojo is the one person in the all male squad room who cannot get past the fact that Wentworth is a woman. In second season, he does get past that fact when he and Wentworth have a short-lived romance (mainly because Wentworth's portrayer Linda Lavin left the show to star on another sitcom called Alice). One could argue that having a romantic relationship with Wentworth does not equal him seeing her as his professional equal. However, the relationship allowed Wojo to know her as a person and to see that she was his equal in every way.

Another way in which Wojo becomes more enlightened is in how he views homosexuals. Two of the most frequently seen recurring characters on Barney Miller are Marty Morrison (played by Jack DeLeon) and his partner Darryl Driscoll (played by Ray Stewart). Marty is a small time thief, who simply doesn't consider the consequences of stealing when he does it. Marty appears first in the second episode of Barney Miller Experience. Mr. Driscoll appears for the first time in the eighth episode of the second season Discovery. In this episode, which I have linked via You Tube below, Wojo learns that people cannot always be taken at face value(I am sorry that I couldn't embed the video into the post. If you go about 14 minutes into the episode, you will see the part which is directly related to my above statement).

This was only the second season of Barney Miller and Wojo had a lot to learn. A turning point for Wojo, as far as his view of homosexuality goes, occurs in the two-part third season episode Quarantine: Part 1 & 2. In 2008, I wrote the an article for the website Associated Content about my personal top ten favorite Barney Miller episodes. The Quarantine two-parter is on this list and in the article I explain how Wojo is somewhat enlightened by the end of the second part: "Barney Miller: Top 10 Episodes" .

In addition to Detective Janice Wentworth, Wojo has many other temporary love interests throughout the series. Some of these women are only talked about and not actually seen. However, there are many who we do see because he meets them while on the job (if you haven't seen the show, it's not as unprofessional as it sounds). Even though when Barney Miller ended Wojo was still a swinging bachelor, his attitudes toward women had definately evolved. For instance, in the first season episode The Courtesans, Wojo is extremely rude to a woman who is arrested for prostitution. From the begining of the episode, it is clear that Wojo's attraction to this woman makes both embarassed and infurated. Jump ahead to season five one-hour episode Wojo's Girl, we learn that not only is he openly dating a woman who is a former prostitute (not the same woman as the one in the The Courtesans), she is actually living with him! This is a unique episode of Barney Miller not only because it originally aired as an hour-long episode (in syndication its aired in two parts), but it also is one of only 13 episodes to include a set other than that of the squad room. Of course this relationship doesn't last, but once again we see Wojo's attitude shift from one end of the spetrum to the complete opposite end.

The character of Wojo represented a group that was not very popular during the 1970′s, Vietnam Veterans. In the seventh season episode Agent Orange, Wojo learns that he was one of many who was exposed to the dangerous herbicide. He is obviously outraged over how the US Military could be so untruthful about the sides effects of Agent Orange and so neglectful to those who were exposed to it. In the first episode of the eighth season Paternity, Wojo is proved not to have impreganated a former lover because he is sterile. The cause of his sterility is attributed to his exposure of Agent Orange. Many times when an episode of a TV show focuses on a real life unglamorous issue like Agent Orange, the topic is limited to that episode. In the case of Barney Miller though, it is shown that real life is full terrible realities that do not happen all at once. When something is related to someone's health, it often takes time to reveal itself. In Wojo's case, this is something that is life changing because he wanted to have a child in the future. Of course, infertility does not mean that one cannot be a parent. For the often stuborn Wojo, this yet another instance when he will have to adjust to something that he is not comfortable with and accept something that was unexpected.

I believe that after the 12TH Precinct closed, Wojo went on to become a captain very much modeled after his former Captain Barney Miller. His experiences while working in the 12TH Precinct help to obtain fairness and loyality that is necessary for anyone to be a successful leader. Wojo was married when he was in his mid-forties and became a proud father when he and his wife adopted two children. He raised his family in the Rockland County area of New York and is now happily retired and looking forward to having grandchildren.

Actor Max Gail was born on April 5 1943. In addition to Barney Miller, Gail has appeared as a guest star on TV shows such as The Streets of San Francisco, Murder, She Wrote , Matlock, Quantum Leap , Home Inprovement , Chicago Hope , Entourage , and many others. He recently was had a recurring role on the canceled CBS show Gary Unmarried. Gail also narrated a documentary in 1983 called Vietnam: The Secret Agent, which was about the horrific effects that Agent Orange had those who were exposed to it during the Vietnam War.

[catlover79]

There's a mistake in the first paragraph - Max Gail wasn't even IN the first season episode "Ms. Cop" - which I believe was the only Barney Miller episode he did not appear in.

[Telephoria]

Originally Posted by catlover79

There's a mistake in the first paragraph - Max Gail wasn't even IN the first season episode "Ms. Cop" - which I believe was the only Barney Miller episode he did not appear in.

Thank you for catching that. I went back and edited the post. I am sorry for the mistake.

[catlover79]

Originally Posted by Telephoria

Thank you for catching that. I went back and edited the post. I am sorry for the mistake.

No problem! Ron Glass was also absent in that episode, if I'm not mistaken.

[MickeyMac]

Wojo is one of my favorite characters on the show.

[catlover79]

Max Gail was letter perfect as Wojo - I can't imagine anyone else but him in the role.

[Marvo301]

Wojo was a great character and Max Gail did a masterful job in portraying him.

[Retro4Life]

He was indeed completely believable in the role; ironic, too since it seems like he wasn't very much at all like Wojo in real life.

All of this is REALLY making me jones for a Barney Miller retrospective; I've never really seen the actors sit around and discuss the show and their characters; it's way past time!

[catlover79]

Me, too - I'd so LOVE to see a retrospective!!!

[Marvo301]

Originally Posted by catlover79

Me, too - I'd so LOVE to see a retrospective!!!

Me three! I would definitely that!

[catlover79]

Originally Posted by Retro4Life

He was indeed completely believable in the role; ironic, too since it seems like he wasn't very much at all like Wojo in real life.

All of this is REALLY making me jones for a Barney Miller retrospective; I've never really seen the actors sit around and discuss the show and their characters; it's way past time!

You're so right. Max is highly educated (he was a teacher at University Liggett School in Grosse Pointe Woods, MI before going into acting), so I highly doubt he was walking around chomping gum all the time like Wojo did at the outset of BM. He is still very involved with all sorts of causes and humanitarian efforts, such as the plight of Native Americans.

Max married a year after Barney Miller went off the air, but sadly his wife passed away from cancer only after three years of marriage - leaving him to raise their young daughter alone. Happily, he remarried several years later and had two more children with his second wife, Nan (they are still together after over 20 years and even helped raise her nephew).

One big quality that Max and Wojo share - a HUGE heart for others.

[SueWalsh]

Wojo is a wonderful character. I was so glad when they stopped writing him as a raging stereotype (same goes for Harris!). I especially loved how he went from being incredibly mean to Fish to looking up to him as a mentor and friend. He was so sweet to him in later episodes, especially the one when Fish retires.

BTW, Max and his wife are no longer together. At least not according to his Facebook profile which shows his status as "In a Relationship" with another woman. He seems very happy though!

I agree that Max is a kind, big hearted guy. He also looks incredibly good for a man of his age. He still has that Wojo physique!

[Edison]

Swell (just like he sounds) !

[catlover79]

Originally Posted by SueWalsh

Wojo is a wonderful character. I was so glad when they stopped writing him as a raging stereotype (same goes for Harris!). I especially loved how he went from being incredibly mean to Fish to looking up to him as a mentor and friend. He was so sweet to him in later episodes, especially the one when Fish retires.

BTW, Max and his wife are no longer together. At least not according to his Facebook profile which shows his status as "In a Relationship" with another woman. He seems very happy though!

I agree that Max is a kind, big hearted guy. He also looks incredibly good for a man of his age. He still has that Wojo physique!

Oh, I didn't hear that they were no longer together. Sad, because they were together for quite a long time. But Max does seem like a nice guy - and he was hilarious on the now-defunct Gary Unmarried as Jay Mohr's stoner dad.