1976-77: THE THIRD SEASON

Year-End Rating: 22.2 (17th place)

The precinct undergoes its only major personnel shake-down in season three, when Gregory Sierra's Chano and Linda Lavin's Wentworth leave the series and are replaced by new recruits Dietrich, Levitt, and briefly, Detective Maria Battista, played by Steve Landesberg, Ron Carey and June Gable. Producer Chris Hayward also departs at the close of season two, bound for greener pastures-- or at least shorter hours--elsewhere.

Danny Arnold serves as producer in the show's third year. Story editor Tony Sheehan is credited on most of the season's scripts; and there are multiple submissions from Reinhold Weege, Tom Reeder, and Danny Arnold. Jerry Ross is the executive script consultant.

36 Evacuation    First Aired: September 23, 1976
Writer: Danny Arnold
Story: Chris Hayward, Danny Arnold
Director: Noam Pitlik
Guest Stars: Joe Petrullo, Denise Miller, Paul Lichtman, Kenneth Mars

Wojo decides to beef up evacuation procedures for New York's eleven million citizens; and a young thief finds a friend in Fish.

37 Quarantine (Part 1)    First Aired: September 30, 1976
Writer: Tony Sheehan
Director: Lee Bernhardi
Guest Stars: Paula Shaw, Jack DeLeon, Ray Stewart, Arthur Peterson, David Darlow, Michael Kerns, Dennis Spiegelman

The station house is filled to capacity when authorities place it under quarantine because an ailing burglar may have smallpox.

38 Quarantine (Part 2)    First Aired: October 7, 1976
Writer: Tony Sheehan, Danny Arnold
Director: Noam Pitlik
Guest Stars: Paula Shaw, Jack DeLeon, Ray Stewart

The continued threat of smallpox forces an unlikely gathering of characters to spend the night in the Twelfth Precinct.

The underlying tension of a medical quarantine provides the ideal setting for a classic Barney Miller episode. The precinct emerges as a downtrodden Grand Hotel, with crackling dialogue flying nonstop among the disparate personalities suddenly forced together for a long night in very close quarters. Despite his initial resistance, Wojo comes to accept Marty and his gay lover; Inspector Luger learns to lighten up; and the writers even grant Fish a few privileged moments as the weary detective forms a tender platonic bond with an imperturbable prostitute--and for at least one night in his life, someone calls him Phil.

39 Bus Stop    First Aired: October 14, 1976
Writers: Tony Sheehan, Danny Arnold, Reinhold Weege, Jerry Ross
Story: Reinhold Weege, Chris Hayward, Danny Arnold
Director: Noam Pitlik
Guest Stars: Candy Azzara, Phil Bruns, Sal Viscuso, Florence Halop, Joe George, Howard Honig

A holdup man robs a busload of commuters and then faces their fury as they storm the precinct house.

40 The Election    First Aired: October 21, 1976
Writer: Tom Reeder
Director: Lee Bernhardi
Guest Stars: Brett Somers, Richard Venture, Gilbert Green, Steve Landesberg

On Election Day, a jailed shoplifter demands his right to cast a ballot; and the officers confront a husband who refuses to let his wife vote.

41 Werewolf    First Aired: October 28, 1976
Writers: Reinhold Weege, Tony Sheehan, Danny Arnold, Seymour Blicker
Story: Seymour Blicker, Tony Sheehan
Director: Noam Pitlik
Guest Stars: Kenneth Tigar, Janet MacLachlan, Queenie Smith, Jon Lormer

The usual loonies arrive during the full moon, including a man who swears he's turning into a werewolf.

42 The Recluse    First Aired: November 11, 1976
Writers: Reinhold Weege, Danny Arnold
Story: Chris Hayward, Reinhold Weege
Director: Bruce Bilson
Guest Stars: Arnold Soboloff, Ivor Francis, Florence Stanley, Denise Miller, John Cassisi

A doomsayer shares the cell with a recluse who hid in his apartment for three decades to avoid jury duty.

43 Non-Involvement    First Aired: November 18, 1976
Writers: Reinhold Weege
Story: Chris Hayward, Danny Arnold, Reinhold Weege
Director: Bruce Bilson
Guest Stars: Mike Kellin, Ron Feinberg, June Gable, Oliver Clark, Alex Henteloff, Lucille Meredith

Wojo arrests a man for refusing to interfere when he witnessed a mugging in progress.

June Gable appears as Detective Maria Battista, a short-lived addition to the precinct's ranks. "Every once in a while we'd bring in someone new, to shake things up. But it never seemed to work out," explained writer Tony Sheehan. "We had such a tight group that the newcomer always seemed like an outsider. It was very hard to get them past that point."

44 Power Failure    First Aired: December 9, 1976
Writers: Tony Sheehan, Danny Arnold
Story: Reinhold Weege, Danny Arnold, Tony Sheehan
Director: Noam Pitlik
Guest Stars: Susan Brown, Arny Freeman, Stefan Gierasch, Paul Lichtman

During a blackout, the station plays host to a suspect with a split personality.

45 Christmas Story    First Aired: December 23, 1976
Writers: Tony Sheehan, Reinhold Weege
Director: Bruce Bilson
Guest Stars: Nobu McCarthy, Jay Gerber, John Morgan Evans

Fish goes undercover as Santa Claus; Barney reluctantly invites Luger to spend Christmas with his family; and Nick falls under the spell of an Oriental call girl.

46 Hash    First Aired: December 30, 1976
Writer: Tom Reeder
Director: Noam Pitlik
Guest Stars: Ed Peck, Walter Janowitz, George Perina, Michael Tucci

It's a giddy evening at the Twelfth when the detectives sample Wojo's girlfriend's brownies before anyone realizes that her recipe included an ample portion of hashish.

47 Smog Alert    First Aired: January 6, 1977
Writer: Reinhold Weege
Story: Chris Hayward, Danny Arnold
Director: Bruce Bilson
Guest Stars: Lee Kessler, Alan Haufrect, June Gable

Fish bears up during a first-stage smog alert; and a suicidal woman strikes up a relationship with an obscene-graffiti artist.

48 Community Relations    First Aired: January 13, 1977
Writers: Tony Sheehan, Dennis Koenig, Larry Balmagia
Story: Tony Sheehan, Winston Moss
Director: Noam Pitlik
Guest Stars: David Tress, Ralph Manza, Joseph Perry, Judson Morgan

A homeless old man confronts his former landlord with a musket; and a lawyer accuses Barney of harassment after he books a blind shoplifter.

49 The Rand Report    First Aired: January 20, 1977
Writer: Reinhold Weege
Story: Roland Kibbee, Reinhold Weege
Director: Noam Pitlik
Guest Stars: Martin Garner, Anna Berger, John William Evans

Wojo resigns the force in protest after the department releases a critical study that recommends that the detectives return to uniformed patrol.

50 Fire '77    First Aired: January 27, 1977
Writer: Tony Sheehan
Director: Bruce Bilson
Guest Stars: Sal Viscuso, Howard Platt, K Callan, Russell Shannon

A suicidal couple is delighted when flames threaten to engulf the squad room after an arsonist sets fire to the station house.

51 Abduction    First Aired: February 3, 1977
Writer: Tom Reeder, Tony Sheehan, Reinhold Weege
Director: Bruce Bilson
Guest Stars: Buddy Lester, Vivi Janiss, Rod Colbin, Jane Alice Brandon, David Clennon, Florence Stanley

Nick's bookie is brought in; and a suburban couple turns to Barney for help after they kidnap their daughter back from a religious cult.

52 Sex Surrogate    First Aired: February 10, 1977
Writers: Tony Sheehan, Dennis Koenig, Larry Balmagia
Story: Jerry Ross, Tony Sheehan
Director: Noam Pitlik
Guest Stars: Eugene Elman, Doris Roberts, Marilyn Sokol, Billy Barty

A middle-aged woman shoots her husband for seeing a sexual surrogate; and Harris suffers the ultimate indignity when he's attacked by a gang of delinquents who ruin his suit.

53 Moonlighting    First Aired: February 17, 1977
Writer: Reinhold Weege
Director: Noam Pitlik
Guest Stars: George Pentecost, Cal Gibson, John Dullaghan, Jan Stuart Schwartz

Barney discovers that Harris has been moonlighting; Dietrich arrests a priest for fencing stolen goods; and a numbers racketeer uses a retarded boy as a runner.

54 Asylum    First Aired: February 24, 1977
Writers: Roland Kibbee, Tony Sheehan, Reinhold Weege, Danny Arnold
Director: Alex March
Guest Stars: Ion Teodorescu, Michael Panaieff, David Clennon, Louis Zito, Jack DeLeon

Wojo runs afoul of diplomatic protocol when he offers political asylum to a Russian defector; and the squad room's old friend Marty violates his probation with a half ounce of marijuana.

55 Group Home    First Aired: March 10, 1977
Writers: Tony Sheehan, Danny Arnold
Story: Dennis Koenig, Larry Balmagia
Director: Lee Bernhardi
Guest Stars: George Murdock, Don Calfa, Florence Stanley, John Cassisi

The squad tracks a mad bomber who's threatened to blow up an Army recruiting office; and Fish has to dress as a woman when it's his turn for mugging detail.

The running joke of the mugging detail afforded the audience at least one good belly laugh every season, as each member of the squad took his turn in drag.

56 Strike (Part 1)    First Aired: March 24, 1977
Writer: Reinhold Weege
Story: Dennis Koenig, Larry Balmagia
Director: Jeremiah Morris
Guest Stars: Peter Hobbs, Peggy Pope

A woman is robbed by her computer date; and the detectives must decide whether to honor an unauthorized policeman's strike.

57 Strike (Part 2)    First Aired: March 31, 1977
Writers: Reinhold Weege, Tony Sheehan, Danny Arnold
Story: Dennis Koenig, Larry Balmagia
Director: Danny Arnold
Guest Stars: Peter Hobbs, Peggy Pope

Inspector Luger fills in for the striking detectives; and the woman who was robbed by her computer date refuses to press charges.