Barney Miller (TV Series) Fear of Flying (1976) User Reviews

Valerie Curtin !!

[nycbren64 · 9/10 · 2 July 2023]

Valerie Curtin steals the episode! That's not easy to do with the amazing talent surrounding Her on Barney Miller. Such a great pace by the entire cast . This show puts a smile on my face every episode. They truly broke the mold after they made this show. 1976, Barney Miller was a staple in my home .. everyone stopped what they were doing to watch Barney Miller. To think how great all these character actors were in One show! Linda Lavin was fantastic on this series . I could go on and on about how great this show was from top to bottom. Fans of Barney Miller get it. If you don't get it , it's truly your loss. Long Live Reruns.

Jack Riley and Valerie Curtin

[kevinolzak · 10/10 · 10 March 2014]

"Fear of Flying" is another classic, beginning with Fish now tangling with Bernice because he wants them to take separate vacations ("people who hate each other go on separate vacations, people who love each other should at least be entitled to the same privilege!"). Charles Murphy plays Mr. Woolen, an honest citizen who finds $3500 in a small package and delivers it to the 12th; if no one claims it within 30 days, he can claim it for himself (resolved four episodes later in "The Kid"). The main focus is Jack Riley as Frederick Clooney, a bigamist with two wives (Fish: "Good Lord!"), one in New York, the other in Cleveland. Valerie Curtin plays his New York wife Gloria, who was totally unaware of the 'other woman' (Clooney: "they're taking me to Cleveland by force!" Yemana: "it's the only way I'd go!"). After she swallows a bottle of pills and must throw up to empty her stomach, Yemana's got the perfect solution: "yeah I know, give her some coffee!" Wojo: "two cups oughtta do it!" Fish and his hernia struggle to keep Gloria on her feet until the ambulance arrives (Gloria: "I'm built like my mother, she had four boys, three daughters, and one husband!"). Chano proclaims Nick a hero, saving the woman's life with his coffee (Yemana: "that's in very poor taste!"). It's Wojo who has the 'fear of flying,' but a certain book of the same name takes his mind off the fright. It was very perceptive to cast native Clevelander Jack Riley as the bigamist from Cleveland, following Tim Conway out to Hollywood for double duty as both writer and actor, best remembered for his movie work with Mel Brooks and television work on THE BOB NEWHART SHOW (one further episode, "The Counterfeiter").