I have to nfs that I never thought Barney Miller was a show for me. A child of the '80s, I would nstantly see on the syndited afternoon TV schle, but bee of s lack of aliens, puppets, or nja turtl I never gave a moment’s thought. Of urse, that’s before I learned about the show’s subversive gay backstory. Barney Miller buted 1975 as a mid-season replacement after ABC axed a whole...
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HOW BARNEY MILLER’S GAYS DEFEATED ABC’S NETWORK CENSORS
Of urse, that’s before I learned about the show’s subversive gay backstory. But Barney Miller charged right to relatively uncharted terrory, openg s first episo after the pilot wh a gay purse-snatcher storyle. ”) Personally, I love the character: He’s smart, he’s funny, he’s nfint, and he’s unambiguloly gay.
So Danny Arnold, the shownner, brought a nsultant om the Gay Media Task Force, a new anizatn that advoted for better pictns of gay characters. Gay dienc were miffed by Marty’s pictn: A sassy flamboyant crimal who leered at straight men, many viewers felt that Marty rerced negative stereotyp about gay people.
Of urse, flamboyant gay men exist, as do gay crimals. But bee those trop were particularly mon on TV at the time, there was ncern that viewers would get the imprsn that Marty reprented all gay men.