Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

UPDATE: Because my "review" keeps popping up first, here's a real one now. Hope it helps. (I'll leave an edited potion of my original post at the end.) Got an early Christmas gift this month. Essentially raised on Barney Miller, I had a couple of lost weekends after the complete series landed on my porch. Here's what I got on Shout's treatment of my favorite series.... The First Three Seasons--Unfortunately, Shout! Factory used what Sony created for their season sets; other than the packaging, they're the exact same discs, menus and all. That means the first season still looks woeful and that two of its episodes (Ramon and The Bureaucrat) are the syndicated cuts. However, Shout has included a complete version of Ramon with the extras (Harris in drag!). The video quality of that version is pretty bad, which should indicate the kind of job Shout faced in getting complete episodes. Which brings me to.... Completeness of Episodes--I wish I could say that Seasons 4 to 8 are complete, but one episode--Season 7's Rachel, the one in which Harris is sued for libel for Blood on the Badge--is about 2 minutes short, indicating a syndication cut. Given that Shout managed to find a complete Ramon, it's entirely possible that no complete version of Rachel (or The Bureaucrat) currently exists. The last episode of the series, in fact, comes with a warning because it was taken from the last surviving complete version. But it's still watchable, and while the other episodes do show varying video quality, sometimes even within the same episode, most look as good as or better than you can hope for with a three-decades-old videotaped series. Shout also has avoided the excessive edge enhancement that plagues Seasons 2 and 3. (Note: In the Season 6 episode Inquisition, the word "Musak" is silenced out three times at the beginning. Apparently, this was done in the episode's initial run because of trademark issues and that is what remains on the source materials.) Extras--And this is where the fun begins. Everything's on the last disc. First up is a commentary on Landmark, the three-part series ender, with writer/producers Tony Sheehan, Jeff Stein, and Frank Dungan. Sheehan was show-runner Danny Arnold's right-hand man beginning in the second season and essentially ran Barney Miller after Arnold's on-set heart attack in 1979, while Stein and Dungan were the story editors for the final three seasons. Two great interview featurettes running nearly an hour altogether heavily feature Hal, Abe, and Max, as well as include a 2009 interview with the late, great Steve Landesberg (no Ron? Nuts). Abe Vigoda especially is a joy to listen to; the man bounces around so much in the interview that the focus-puller can't keep up! A third, shorter featurette features Stein and Dungan talking about the show's infamous way of writing episodes. The aforementioned uncut Ramon is here, along with an unannounced extra: a short excerpt from the recent Jack Soo documentary You Don't Know Jack. Season 1 of the spin-off Fish, which I haven't watched yet, is in its own separate slimcase. But the centerpiece is the long-unseen pilot The Life and Times of Barney Miller. Shot on film and following an earlier version of the Ramon script, the pilot is like meeting childhood friend after he's had plastic surgery. The home movie opening indicates the show's original tone and focus, also implied by the pilot's different story structure (the precinct scenes bookend the episode). What's really interesting is seeing some familiar faces speaking other characters' lines. Two of the pilot's detectives appear in later episodes, played by the same actor: Wilson in Season 1's Experience and Del Vecchio (as a narcotics cop) in Season 2's You Dirty Rat. Fish also is here, but he seems far too lively. Most of all, Abby Dalton as Liz makes you really appreciate Barbara Barrie and the chemistry she had with Hal Linden. Expectations are hard to meet, but Shout! Factory has made an excellent attempt. The porting over of the Sony discs and the cut Rachel prevents this from being a perfect set, but in the larger picture, I find those minor quibbles. The series has been treated with respect, and from the pilot to the lights going off in the ole one-two, nearly every single minute of Barney Miller is, like Levitt, present and accounted for (even if a little short). If you're a fan of the series, whether you grew up on it like I did or discovered it in syndication or on DVD, you've got every reason pick this up. -------------- [Written When Set Was Announced in July] 1. This is not a case of a studio releasing a bunch of single season sets then a complete series release to milk more money. Sony released the first three seasons. Shout! Factory is releasing this set because Sony decided *not to release any more seasons.* They did not sell enough to justify doing more, which is the same reason why Night Court has gone to DVD-R releases. 2. Shout! Factory is giving Barney Miller the treatment that Sony never did. [See review] 3. This is not a rip-off. The set retails for $160, which means you're paying less per season (not counting the Fish season) than you would have if you waited and purchased each single set. Given the extras Shout! Factory is adding to the set, that's far, far better than the barebone jobs Sony was sporadically releasing. With Amazon's discounts, it's even better. Is it irritating that a complete set has come out after three single-season sets? Of course, but that's the risk you take with any series release (just ask any Farscape fan) and I refuse to complain about it and "protest" by refusing to buy a perfectly excellent set of a series that has been more or less neglected while other classic 1970s series have been completely released. As a Barney Miller fan, I rejoiced when I saw this set listed. And the first three seasons I own? They'll go to friends who never heard of the series.