Barney Miller
The Prisoner
TV Flash files “The Prisoner” as hour 87 of 170 in the TV Flash guide — Barney Miller (1975–1982) on ABC, season 5, episode 7, aired 1978-10-19, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S05E07: listed hour 87 of 170 in the Barney Miller guide, hour 7 of 24 in season 5. It aired 1978-10-19 (30 min). The listed hour before it is “Accusation” (S05E06). Next is “Loan Shark” (S05E08).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Dietrich and Harris are working on a case involving a cat burglar that causes Harris to shares familiar details to a past case. As a result, they soon discover that suspect‘s widow has taken up her late husband's proclivities. When Wojo and Yemana bring in a recent parolee on a gun possession charge, Wojo is surprised to hear that he did what he did because he wants to go back to prison, where life is structured and his time behind bars didn't prepare him for freedom. Meanwhile, Inspector Luger stops by to warns Barney the department is sending a chaplain to see him about his recent separation with Liz.
Viewer FAQ
Where does The Prisoner sit in the Barney Miller guide?
S05E07 is listed hour 87 of 170 — hour 7 of 24 in season 5, season 5 episode 7.
When did Barney Miller S05E07 air?
The Prisoner aired 1978-10-19 and is listed at 30 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…