Barney Miller S04E11 Atomic Bomb

[@markmerzweiler909]

You knew Dietrich was going to know.

[@eboracum2012]

Of course🥰 I loved the one in Dog Days when Wojo says something about foaming at the mouth and Landesburg's face dissolves into laughter.

[@carminerichards8299]

It's priceless I rewind it every time.... Dietrich was the best!

[@maxmulsanne7054]

His performance with the lie-detector Internal Affairs investigation was classic. Rivaled in character only by the inspector Scanlon dude.

[@CamilleGG451]

Yes! 😆

[@supermantra3437]

Yup. Haha

[@georgechambless2719]

Haven't seen this since it first aired. I only remembered Dietrich walked in and asked about the bomb. Great episode and thank you for posting it!

[@micnorton9487]

Yeah that smartazz Deitrick,, but the facts don't really square with the script because although the kid said that it was only lacking the plutonium to make it operational, chemical explosives would be needed to initiate the fission reaction and those WOULD DEFINITELY be illegal to have sitting in a Manhattan apartment...

[@crankychris2]

One of the best BM episodes ever!

[@GlennTillema]

That and the lie detector

[@johnwalsh6844]

One of the funniest scenes on TV with Arthur walks in and ask the question. It's up there with WKRP and I swear if God is my witness I thought turkeys could fly.

[@RedtideFla]

Good old HerbTarlik

[@MasterYoist]

@@RedtideFla That was Arthur Carlson. He then asked Herb, "Where'd you get those turkeys, anyway?" Les was pretty awesome in that one as well.

[@thermionic1234567]

Yep! Both shows are in the same, demented universe.

[@scarygary-qq1pj]

"OH, THE HUMANITY!"

[@blockcl]

I love it when the woman gets ahold of Barney's necktie and won't let go. It's the little touches like this one that made Barney Miller great.

[@tednapoleon7248]

wow sure enjoy watching these old shows, was a teen at 12,13, when always watched them with my family, bring a lot of memories with my late mom and late brother. youtube is the best.

[@eleanorchorao4875]

My late mother too!

[@fisterklister]

Best sitcom ever

[@natestaub5113]

10:29

[@natestaub5113]

When Barney said damn it's sounds like 1971

[@antonyconnolly2738]

Yes, Barney doesn't get lots of laughs, compared to the others, but His humour is more subtle. Like in the 'Ice Age' one, He says to one of the Detectives about to take a Statement from one of the People who they've brought in, paranoid about the Ice Age coming: "Get His name, His address... which Oceans are freezing over..." 😆

[@natestaub5113]

​@@antonyconnolly2738awesome

[@sirequinox4874]

"Where the hell did you get the atomic bomb?" One of THE great moments in television.

[@jamesdrynan]

Landsberg really played the erudite Dietrich so well. Also, did an amazing Peck imitation!

[@GladtobeinUSA]

Merry Christmas to all America. Best country there is. My opinion.

[@Eddie62070]

That Dietrich....too smart for his own good :D

[@leftcoaster67]

One of the best episodes. And even makes you think and laugh.

[@robertbaldwin2281]

Great acting clever themes addictive great laughs

[@elskid206]

FBI Agent: Our image image has suffered the last few years. Buddy, you ain't seen NOTHING yet.

[@BillieArd]

Wait till 1992....1993...Ruby Ridge, Waco and don't even start with the Trump Presidential yrs...story line was way beyond its time!!!!!

[@MasterYoist]

​@@BillieArdOh yeah. Then wait for the Biden years. SMH

[@13randydandy]

Loved the mans name from cryonics inc. Swanson, as in Swanson frozen TV dinners.

[@TheKitchenerLeslie]

Tucker Carlson is an heir to Swanson Fortune

[@vincegay986]

I guess it was that or Birdseye.

[@warrensamuels895]

😂

[@rickhinojosa5455]

Ralph Smith Oh yeah!! That's right! Good call out!

[@scarygary-qq1pj]

Remember that before you buy the meatloaf entreé. 🍛🥩

[@victorkennedy62]

Almost 30 years an officer and detective in Montgomery County, MD. This was my favorite show, and yes...amazingly realistic !!

[@antonyconnolly2738]

Ahhh !! That's interesting to know, that it's realistic !!! 😀

[@haplessasshole9615]

It's interesting. It's always the comedies which the real doctors, attorneys, and cops say are the most realistic. I genuinely believe this should tell us something about the nature of comedy.

[@jimnoxious5671]

My uncle was a detective in Chicago for 35 years and he said the most realistic police tv show ever was Barney Miller. 😁

[@shotforshot5983]

Cops have told me about arresting the housing challenged and having to air out the squad afterwards.

[@ziraprod6090]

That wasn't your uncle

[@johnalang]

The Fraternal Order of Police said the said the same thing

[@CamilleGG451]

I've heard that as well! Also heard the same thing about Adam 12 and Hill Street Blues...

[@vpcproduction7070]

i heard that as well. A lot of the story ideas were taken from NYD precinct in lower Manhattan

[@vincegay986]

I love how straight-faced the bomb squad guy is. He has, like, two actual jokes (“We don’t even have a training film…”), but the rest of the time just sounds like every half-competent co-worker you’ve ever known, and it’s hilarious. It’s a tricky kind of comedy to pull off, and it’s seldom, if ever, been done better than on Barney Miller.

[@ziraprod6090]

And the kid.. I haven't painted it yet.

[@GPosner8]

Loved this show when I was a teenager and I love it even more now. Hal Linden and Max Gail are the last remaining members of the “ old 1-2”

[@arielfilmsinc1926]

and Chano

[@tuffteddy1446]

Chano passed away recently.

[@m42037]

@@tuffteddy1446 We all die fast, it don't last long here ☄️

[@lilajagears8317]

Hal Linden is now 91 and Max Gail is 79.

[@brianberman72]

Barbara Barrie

[@inyourfaceguitar5454]

Japanese-American actor Jack Soo was born in Oakland, California, in 1917, his real name being Goro Suzuki. Died January 11, 1979 in Los Angeles, California, USA (esophageal cancer) His last words to Hal Linden as he was being wheeled into the operating room before his death were "It must have been the coffee." This was a reference to the running gag of his character Nick Yemana from Barney Miller (1975) having the reputation for making horrible coffee. ( IMDb )

[@sbains560]

Jack soo was a comedic genius

[@HariSeldon913]

The fact that Linden (and probably other cast members) were there at the hospital says more than all the words they said about him.

[@BillieArd]

By the way...interesting encounter when my family and I went to Orlando, Florida 2 yrs before the Pandemic shut everything down. We were all sitting around a pool at Port Orleans at Disney Resort. There was a gentleman (who looked about 70, gray hair, )sitting with a woman his age. Also with a bunch of his grand-kids. He was from Queens, NY...and a retired cop. I told him that I loved a lot of the Law & Order tv shows set in NYC. I asked if they were "true to life" in the line of police work. He grinned for a moment & said "Not too much..." and he gave me a reason why....can't really remember the reason. BUT when I asked him; "ARE there any cop shows set in NY that resemble the real world of policing in that town?" AND guess what...He mentioned that "Barney Miller" came the closest to fit the definition of real NY cop stuff. Awesome.

[@denniskavanagh4587]

This show could never be remade. Out of all the actors now a days they could never remake this show.

[@jcox4904]

Heck no the guy says , is that a microwave oven ? No it's an Atomic Bomb . Lol ...Priceless !

[@scarygary-qq1pj]

Oh, thank goodness! What a relief!

[@davidjackson6152]

Loved these shows.

[@curtiswhiteheadjr7890]

Right on, Yamana! 👏👏👏 "Maybe he's giving us one."

[@tombrown1898]

Back in 1979 ABC had a great Thursday night: Barney Miller, Taxi, and The Associates.

[@TheSleepingonit]

Never heard of the Associstess

[@tombrown1898]

@@TheSleepingonit It was on for less than one season. About a group of young lawyers at a Wall Street firm. The "star" was Martin Short, and the theme song was performed by B.B. King. If you like Barney Miller and Taxi, you'd likely enjoy this show.

[@cariannette1]

In many ways, this show was ahead of its time. Many of the issues they dealt with on the show are actually happening now.

[@kendallrivers1119]

That's called being timeless. Most shows of any era don't get that.

[@23ograin53]

My favorite TV show of all time. I love the characters, acting, writing. This one was a little preachy but still GREAT.

[@jamesstuart3346]

Cryogenics, Oppenheimer, National Security, von Braun, Unaccounted For Plutonium, Immortality...just another comedy series.

[@scarygary-qq1pj]

Right. No such topics would be addressed on any "Lucy" show, that's for sure!

[@tuffteddy1446]

45 years ago and it's still relevant today. 🐱

[@blockcl]

The show assumed you were smart enough to "get it", and if you weren't...well, that's YOUR problem.

[@sallyspikes8009]

Why isn’t this on reruns. One of the best sitcoms ever made. Love Barney Miller and all cast.

[@roohamm2456]

Antenna TV.. 8:pm EST.. enjoy!!

[@TheSleepingonit]

Not politically correct enough

[@tltlstudioscovenantkeepers]

Sunday’s FETV

[@scarygary-qq1pj]

​@@TheSleepingonit Right. It showed people from different races & backgrounds joking and cooperating with each other. That's just unacceptable today.

[@anthony6600]

IT IS! In Chicago, we have Antenna-TV & it's on right now, weeknights on 8 p.m., Central

[@curtiswhiteheadjr1322]

17:30. “Mankind designed the atomic bomb, but a mouse would never construct a mousetrap.” Albert Einstein.

[@k.f.3282]

Very wise humans on this planet are a worry

[@GrowthruGod]

great symmetry as always with barney miller!

[@nonabusns3206]

"I'll write a note to your teacher"..."will it work?",…... "Like a Charm"...Aw.... The things that This Old Gal will do to ease down on my everyday stressed out living....Love watching old Barney Miller shows....

[@HariSeldon913]

They should have just brought the teacher to the station.

[@bernardseymour2640]

My favorite episode!

[@alcd6333]

The Manhattan Project in Manhattan!

[@geraldcalderone5228-x2p]

Fantastic writing on BM. The acting was superb.

[@highcopy]

My fave addiction: BARNEY MILLER ❤❤❤

[@guydegregg6869]

The 1970s sit coms had the best character actor's.

[@frankkolton1780]

Probably the best episode, or maybe it was the hashish one, or the waterlogged roof, or the rat in the station...never mind, they were all the best.

[@RedtideFla]

Damn I miss this show

[@djrychlak4443]

Could you imagine how things would be if we developed this first...? That's writing. Edit: Danny Arnold took shots at Operation Paperclip throughout the Barney Miller run.

[@lenawagenfuehr53]

The accent gives it away. Most people don't know about the free pass the US gave Nazis...

[@antonewilson4310]

...and the Trilateral Commission.

[@kevinbarksdale7897]

The nuke story line in this was based on real events. A student was needing something really BIG to pass his class. He designed a smaller nuclear bomb that could fit in the trunk of a car. I remember from reading about this that he was stuck on some aspect that would make the weapon work. Having spent days locked away trying to figure things out friends finally got him to go out with them for an evening. He hoped stepping away from the project would revitalize him so when he went back he could find the answer to what ever his problem. The friends took him to a strip club. Something about how on of the girls on stage was dancing gave him the solution to the problem he was having with his design. He ran back to school, finished the project, turned it in. He passed his course, and was immediately picked up by the FBI.

[@crankychris2]

John Aristotle Phillips designed an a bomb and built a mockup while at Princeton in 1976. While his design was solid, his mockup was just that...a model. He was quite a celebrity once his thesis was made public, "the Atomic Kid" today runs a very sucessful political consulting firm. Without him, this episode never would have existed.

[@RepentfollowJesus]

Wow

[@EarthSurferUSA]

What country did that happen in? A bit void of all detail, isn't it? A strip club is responsible for his break through. OK then. How progressive. If you keep thinking with your genitals, it's gonna be a rough life. :)

[@kevinbarksdale7897]

@@EarthSurferUSA No "thinking with my genitals". It actually happened and he was attending Columbia University in New York. Trying to analyze people you have zero knowledge about is just as bad if not worse, there is even less reason to that way of thinking.

[@HariSeldon913]

@@crankychris2 Would have to be. A big thing omitted from this episode is that an atomic bomb uses conventional explosives to detonate the fissionable core that this student says he lacks. If he's only missing the fissionable material, it's saying he has the conventional high explosives (something like C-4).

[@EarthSurferUSA]

Anybody who would like to be frozen to wake up 100 years later in a better world,---is quite the gambler. 100 years ago, (The Roaring 20's), where did they think we would be today? Nobody knew.

[@rodgertorkkola5056]

Building the Casing is not Illegal, possessing the enriched uranium or plutonium is

[@bsb1975]

As I understand it, a fission device (non thermonuclear) requires a chemical explosive to start the chain reaction . So it's still a bomb without the plutonium, albeit a conventional one.

[@55Quirll]

@@bsb1975 True, having a spherical set of charges around the core is what is required, last I saw - to drive the core in upon itself and set up a critical mass. There was a movie where a high school boy did something similar to this - The Manhattan Project 1986.

[@BlueSkyScholar]

Pacemaker batteries at the time contained Pu.

[@markseslstorytellerchannel3418]

Probably the most realistic-looking cops I've ever seen.

[@NOC1TIME]

Always loved the Swanson krionetics Co.

[@stretch753]

I learned how to build one in high school physics class. Without plutonium or uranium, it's a novelty.

[@dakotathacker3821]

there was a great joke about project paperclip slid in there. this show has some suprisingly browed humor

[@joellawag]

I love all the show

[@jamesdrynan]

As soon as D. D. said it, you knew everybody believed him! He's just that kind of guy.

[@TheSleepingonit]

Kid has a very good point about the A and B students

[@thomash.schwed3662]

And a disconcerting thought at that, considering he was only a "C" student.

[@roohamm2456]

DAMN...😆😆😆😆😆😆

[@curtiswhiteheadjr1322]

0:33. Textbook Harris! 🤣

[@thomash.schwed3662]

It was only one word, but Ron Glass' delivery of that line got everyone's attention.

[@sce2aux464]

"... *Fissionable* material?!?"

[@TheSleepingonit]

So glad this was not the 3 minute version

[@HariSeldon913]

Comments are turned off on the 3 minute version.

[@Phil_Melone]

Mexico, Europe, Jersey lol

[@brianberman72]

Being from "Jersey" I always get a laugh when good jokes are made at the expense of our state 😂😂😂😂

[@TheSleepingonit]

​@@brianberman72what is the difference between yogurt and a person from NJ? Yogurt has culture

[@g.t.g1111]

It’s something how the mind works… I could vaguely smell the stitch! 🤭🤭

[@studogable]

6:44 - for a second, I thought that was going to be the guy Harris was looking for

[@micnorton9487]

Yeah Harris just can't seem to find that upscale apartment he's looking for on Manhattan,, the condo craze was just starting in the 70s but Harris doesn't seem like the type that would be content as a homeowner and likes the flexibility of renting...

[@A_10_PaAng_111]

Only if we developed it first. We did. Oh right. Lmao

[@gilt2349]

Greatest advance in the history of mankind I'm part of that time in history 1963........?

[@TheSleepingonit]

You'd think Harris would look up Nemmings in the phone book

[@scarygary-qq1pj]

Or he could have Googled it. Oh... wait...🤔

[@TheSleepingonit]

​@@scarygary-qq1pjlol

[@theonetruerobb4852]

And, in his lush townhouse in the Hollywood Hills, Marshall Brickman rewinds the VHS tape of this episode and takes some careful notes...

[@robinstewart6510]

🤣 Making an atomic bomb is child's play. There are diagrams and drawings in books and magazines. Obtaining the fissionable material (uranium 235, plutonium 239, etc) is the hard part, which helps to keep the spread of nukes down. Of course, not blowing yourself up or irradiating yourself can be a hurdle too.

[@sbains560]

Some kind of stero

[@geraldcalderone5228-x2p]

Contrast this show with current offerings. It’s why I’ve given up on tv

[@derekdoubleut]

He said right away that the "bomb" lacked fissionable material. It's not lethal

[@echoecho3108]

I miss Barney Miller. Although amusing, this was a very thought-provoking episode. Yeah. Imagine what A or B students could do, depending on their attitude at the time. That would be funnier if it wasn't so scary. With all the wackos you hear about today, it's a possibility. Just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean they're Not out to get you.

[@williamf7401]

Sure Sure now we did but then we didn't

[@russellcampbell9198]

Love the ex-Nazi scientist who hasn't quite changed his allegiances. Shades of Werner Von Braun, perhaps?

[@roohamm2456]

And the space program...😆😆

[@lenawagenfuehr53]

Mm hmm, and you keep quiet about the "good guys" who gave anyone with know how a free pass. Nice to know ethics can be stretched like a bit of bubble gum...

[@felicia7756]

Couldn't they question that guy by an open window

[@Etobeeshawn]

The windows at the old 1-2 could not and were not able to open since the 1950s lol

[@felicia7756]

@@Etobeeshawn Hello, I like that old show, are u serious about windows 🙂

[@Etobeeshawn]

@@felicia7756 I can't recall the episode or season of the Barney Miller episode where they talked about the windows (somebody wanted them open 'cause of a heatwave that made the precinct too hot and unbearable to work in), but there was a mention of it of them talking about opening the windows and the story goes that the windows were either nailed shut, painted so much so that it became painted shut or some other reason I can't remember that literally prevents the windows from opening (back in the '50s or some decade prior). I love Barney Miller too and have all episodes on DVD, and I remember asking myself about opening the window and that episode answered it for me. Been awhile since I watched, so I currently can't help you to name off the episode or season

[@EarthSurferUSA]

"The kid says anybody in college can build one of these things." I am sure that statement had some merit in 1980, but college kids today can't figure out anything. It is called 'progress" in the schools. :(

[@thomash.schwed3662]

If by "progress" you mean private, for-profit religious "education", you're absolutely right.

[@McRocket]

10:41 - funniest part (for me). ☮

[@fredflintstoner596]

Mrs Richards: "I paid for a room with a view !" Basil: (pointing to the lovely view) "That is Torquay, Madam ." Mrs Richards: "It's not good enough!" Basil: "May I ask what you were expecting to see out of a Torquay hotel bedroom window ? Sydney Opera House, perhaps? the Hanging Gardens of Babylon? Herds of wildebeest sweeping majestically past?..." Mrs Richards: "Don't be silly! I expect to be able to see the sea!" Basil: "You can see the sea, it's over there between the land and the sky." Mrs Richards: "I'm not satisfied. But I shall stay. But I expect a reduction." Basil: "Why?! Because Krakatoa's not erupting at the moment ?"

[@jjaa6157]

The thing looked like a meat grinder.

[@denniskavanagh4587]

This show would not be the same without Abe Vigoda.

[@davidshowmaker4408]

Who is the student? Anyone know? His voice is familiar but not face

[@marksark1119]

David, the actor's name is Will Seltzer. Probably his stage name. This episode is one of my favorites.👍✌

[@tommyadkins844]

How the hell did a college kid make a atomic bomb ? If this happed in real life the kid would be arrested for terrorism .

[@leonandrews7180]

One would need enriched uranium or plutonium which is pretty impossible to get. If one had the uranium or plutonium, building a bomb probably wouldn’t be that hard, it’s just getting the product for the explosive.

[@lindycorgey2743]

In the Late 1970s. A College Kid actually designed a Trinity/Nagasaki type device. The design was so accurate and workable that the U.S. Govt/NRC jumped on it and him. In the Late 1980s or Early 1990s. A kid scraped all kinds of old radioactive paint off clocks. He collected so much of it the EPA had to tear down his Parent's garage.

[@doorswhofan]

Today, yes. This was the 70s. Kids still brought hunting rifles into rural schools with total impunity. It was a far less paranoid, looser time. Something like this would likely go down more or less as portrayed here.

[@Ishkur23]

@@leonandrews7180 Not that hard to get. All you need is a couple frisbees and an all terrain RC monster truck.

[@leftcoaster67]

Wasn't there a Popular Science or Mechanics magazine issue on how to build one?

[@MarkEdwardCuestas]

That's goddamn right I heard the same thing

[@antonewilson4310]

That yenta, though...

[@greggh]

"You're entitled to your opinion." 20:25

[@leostgeorge2080]

I laughed out loud when the FBI agent said we been getting bad press the last few years. He had no clue how bad it was going to get. That was the good ol' days. Today it is a weaponized burrow of the president against the American people. lmao

[@thomash.schwed3662]

Great day in the morning! I didn't realize Donald John Trump was still squatting in the Oval Office. Thanks for the heads up. I suppose I need to watch the F-word Channel in order to get my "news".

[@leostgeorge2080]

@@thomash.schwed3662 Don't get so triggered little boy. Just hold your pee pee tight.

[@jimtaucher791]

The sewer guy buys the 12th precinct eventually i believe

[@kevinsmith9502]

I walked by some homeless the other day that smelt so bad I started to gag.

[@RM-we7px]

We did. Lol

[@stevejohnson1577]

You know Lenny had the plutonium in an apartment in Milwaukee

[@GladtobeinUSA]

Love my You Tube

[@robhofer2390]

It shouldn't be the FBI. The ATF should be there!

[@robhofer2390]

It's actually the ATF & Explosives, now.

[@lindycorgey2743]

Guess they could be there for the chemical explosive part.🤣

[@23ograin53]

ATF is too busy creating arbitrary restrictions on citizens that they actually have no constitutional authority to.

[@DP-hy4vh]

It should be NEST (Nuclear Emergency Search Team) from the Department of Energy. They'd have jurisdiction.

[@edwardmoore5325]

It should be some guys that humpty trumpty knows cause he always knows some good people that can do anything.lol

[@gio5969]

plot twist: his real name was Ted Kaczynski

[@JenniferEvans-e5n]

The bomb looks like a meat-grinder.

[@jacobclemence2730]

Frank Gabrielson

[@apachemimi447]

science is universal! .. critical mass ..can be reached.. .. Even easier now!! .. isotopes everywhere..!!🤔 .. just balance THAT.. equation!!🤔😳🤙!!

[@bobcatwelder00]

3:36

[@accavanos]

So would the kid get whacked or join the government if this was true.

[@EarthSurferUSA]

We can see now how this show was a bit Orwellian. Some may call it subtle warnings. Some may call it "predictive programming".

[@JenniferEvans-e5n]

Harris was such a jerk sometimes.

[@vpcproduction7070]

lol love the old nazi..

[@trudehunnicutt8214]

I bet Mr. Swanson came up with frozen dinners. 😁

[@HariSeldon913]

Swanson dinners were around in the early 50's and probably a few years before that. They were a big sponsor for the early game shows.

[@scarygary-qq1pj]

​@@HariSeldon913 Isn't it thought-provoking that the rise in popularity of T.V. dinners coincided with the rise in divorce rates? 🤔