Greetings:
It's getting to the point where probably a large percentage of people
visiting RF Cafe are too young to remember a TV show called
Barney Miller (starring
Hal Linden). It was a prime time sitcom from the 1970s that centered a New York City
police detective office. The main character was Capt. Barney Miller, and there was an
accompanying cast of characters that dealt with events and people in their own unique
ways.
My favorite was Detective Sgt. Arthur Dietrich (
Steve
Landesberg). He was the serious intellectual with a very dry sense of humor that
came out at just the right moment.
One episode has always stuck out in my memory
where a college student claims to have built a working model of a thermonuclear bomb
as part of his Master's thesis project. All it lacks, per him, is plutonium. The bomb
squad expert ridiculed the idea of it being any kind of bomb - his decades of experience
on the force being his guide. All the guys in the office have just finished dismissing
the notion, when Dietrich walks in, takes a look at the contraption, and casually asks,
"Where did you get the atom bomb?"
Since I don't care much for the newer shows
(except Numb3ers, 24, and Chuck), I was looking through the selection of classics available
on the HuLu website and, amazingly, there it was! The link below will get you to the
episode. Enjoy!
Barney Miller: The Atom Bomb
