Barney Miller
Kidnapping (1)
TV Flash files “Kidnapping (1)” as the first listed hour of season 5 — Barney Miller (1975–1982) on ABC, season 5, episode 1, aired 1978-09-14, 3 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S05E01: listed hour 81 of 170 in the Barney Miller guide, first listed hour of season 5. It aired 1978-09-14 (3 min). The listed hour before it is “Inauguration” (S04E23). Next is “Kidnapping (2)” (S05E02).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
After Wojo brings in a prostitute and her john, a call comes in about a political activist kidnapping a department store magnate, resulting in Barney and his detectives to find the victim before his captors d something drastic.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Kidnapping (1) sit in the Barney Miller guide?
S05E01 is listed hour 81 of 170 — first listed hour of season 5, season 5 episode 1.
When did Barney Miller S05E01 air?
Kidnapping (1) aired 1978-09-14 and is listed at 3 minutes.
Is this an action cop show?
No. It is a character-driven workplace comedy about police as municipal workers. Most of the series lives inside the 12th Precinct squad room.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Hal Linden runs the 12th Precinct like a therapist with a badge while the squad room does all the traveling. Danny Arnold's cop comedy barely leaves the station: talk, character, civic absurdity, Abe Vigoda deadpan. Workplace sitcom architecture without car-chase fetish.
The first image is not a siren. It is a squad room that looks like municipal beige: Hal Linden's Captain Barney Miller in a therapist's calm, a badge worn like office wear, and New York weirdness walking in without an appointment. ABC's Barney Miller (1975–1982) rarely left the 12th Precinct. Danny Arnold and Theodore J. Flicker treated cops as workers, not superheroes. Abe Vigoda's Fish, Max Gail's Wojo, Ron Glass's Harris, Jack Soo's Yemana — the ensemble as a look board of civic patience. Complainants enter.…
Filed against
- Hal Linden as Capt. Barney Miller
Hal Linden ran the 12th Precinct as Capt. Barney Miller — therapist with a badge, Danny Arnold cop comedy that barely leaves the station, talk and civic absurdity, Abe Vigoda deadpan. Workplace sitcom architecture without car-chase…
- Abe Vigoda as Det. Phil Fish
Abe Vigoda’s Det. Phil Fish made Barney Miller’s 12th Precinct a deadpan climate — Hal Linden as therapist-with-a-badge, Danny Arnold’s cop comedy that barely leaves the station. Talk, character, civic absurdity, no car-chase fetish. TV…
- Max Gail as Det. Stan Wojciehowicz
Max Gail’s Det. Stan Wojciehowicz filled Barney Miller’s 12th Precinct like a big man who had already done the traveling — 1970s cop comedy that barely left the squad room. Talk, civic absurdity, a badge that behaved like a therapist’s…
- Ron Glass as Det. Ron Harris
Ron Glass's Det. Ron Harris gave Barney Miller its dapper squad-room wit — Hal Linden running the 12th Precinct like a therapist with a badge, Danny Arnold's cop comedy barely leaving the station. Talk, character, civic absurdity. TV…
- Jack Soo as Det. Nick Yemana
Jack Soo’s Det. Nick Yemana made Barney Miller’s squad room taste like bad coffee and perfect timing — 12th Precinct talk comedy, civic absurdity, a 1970s workplace that barely left the station. Deadpan as a pour. TV Flash files him as…