I have several litmus tests for a series. Does it have great writing? Does the series improve season to season? Does the show continue at a high quality or even improve with cast changes? If I'm watching it years later, does the show stand the test of time? Surprisingly, the answer to all of the questions is yes, unlike many of its contemporaries, M*A*S*H and All in the Family to name two off the top of my head. Both of those very highly awarded very popular shows were well written, but, cast changes did not improve or even maintain the quality of the shows. The shows do not stand the test of time for me. They played much better closer to their air dates. I believed when it originally aired and I maintain today that Barney Miller is a highly underrated television show.
Review of Barney Miller
