Fish (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Fish was a spin-off
television series of the sitcom Barney Miller
. It starred Abe Vigoda
as New York Police Department Detective Phil Fish
and Florence Stanley
as his wife Bernice.
, Denise Miller
, Len Bari, John Cassisi
and Sarah Natoli.
Vigoda's character of Phil Fish continued to appear sporadically in the second half of Season 3 of Barney Miller while also leading the cast of Fish. Detective Fish retired from the NYPD in Season 4, Episode 2 of Barney Miller.
was originally against the idea of giving the character of Fish is own spin-off, believing that Fish was a character that was better suited in the precinct. Originally, Arnold agreed to the spin-off on the condition that Vigoda continued to play his Fish character on the show in half of the episodes of the third season, as well as future seasons. However, Vigoda persisted on quitting Barney Miller and staying on just Fish, wanting to be the star of his own series. "I found myself with a very unhappy actor on my hands. Abe would walk around the set like a man in shock. Who was I to deprive an actor of this once-in-a-lifetime break? Finally I said, 'Okay--just stay through the third year of Barney Miller, and we'll go with your show, too," recalled Arnold.
Fish was directed by Jeremiah Morris
and aired from February 1977 through June 1978 on ABC
.
announced on July 11th, 2011, that it had acquired the rights to release the entire Barney Miller series in a 25-disc DVD set that will be released on October 25th, 2011. A bonus feature of the set is the complete first season of Fish, making it the very first time that Fish has ever seen a DVD release.
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
television series of the sitcom Barney Miller
Barney Miller
Barney Miller is a situation comedy television series set in a New York City police station in Greenwich Village. The series originally was broadcast from January 23, 1975 to May 20, 1982 on ABC. It was created by Danny Arnold and Theodore J. Flicker...
. It starred Abe Vigoda
Abe Vigoda
Abe Vigoda is an American movie and television actor. Vigoda is well known for his portrayal of Sal Tessio in The Godfather, and for his portrayal of Detective Sgt. Phil Fish on the sitcom television series Barney Miller from 1975–1977 and on its spinoff show Fish that aired from February 1977 to...
as New York Police Department Detective Phil Fish
Phil Fish
Detective Phil Fish was a fictional police officer in the TV series Barney Miller. He was played by Abe Vigoda.Fish was an odd character for a television detective: aged, grumpy, and suffering from a variety of maladies for which he constantly needed medication. The most recurring malady was...
and Florence Stanley
Florence Stanley
Florence Stanley was an American actress of stage, film, and television.-Early life and career:Florence Stanley was born as Florence Schwartz in Chicago, the daughter of Hanna and Jack Schwartz. She began a long career on stage, film and TV starting in the 1940s...
as his wife Bernice.
Overview
The series Fish which focused on the domestic side of his life. Fish and Bernice became foster parents to five racially-mixed children known as "Persons in Need of Supervision", or PINS. The kids were played by Todd BridgesTodd Bridges
Todd Anthony Bridges is an American actor. He is best known for his childhood role as Willis Jackson on the NBC/ABC sitcom Diff'rent Strokes, and for his recurring role as Monk on the UPN/CW sitcom Everybody Hates Chris...
, Denise Miller
Denise Miller
Denise Miller was an American actress who appeared in television sit-coms Archie Bunker's Place, Fish, and the made-for-television movie Sooner or Later....
, Len Bari, John Cassisi
John Cassisi
John Cassisi is a former American child actor who starred in the television show Fish and in the movie Bugsy Malone as Fat Sam. He is now married with three children and is involved in construction work.-External links:...
and Sarah Natoli.
Vigoda's character of Phil Fish continued to appear sporadically in the second half of Season 3 of Barney Miller while also leading the cast of Fish. Detective Fish retired from the NYPD in Season 4, Episode 2 of Barney Miller.
Development
Creator Danny ArnoldDanny Arnold
Danny Arnold was an American producer, writer, comedian, actor and director known for producing Barney Miller, That Girl and Bewitched.-Life and career:...
was originally against the idea of giving the character of Fish is own spin-off, believing that Fish was a character that was better suited in the precinct. Originally, Arnold agreed to the spin-off on the condition that Vigoda continued to play his Fish character on the show in half of the episodes of the third season, as well as future seasons. However, Vigoda persisted on quitting Barney Miller and staying on just Fish, wanting to be the star of his own series. "I found myself with a very unhappy actor on my hands. Abe would walk around the set like a man in shock. Who was I to deprive an actor of this once-in-a-lifetime break? Finally I said, 'Okay--just stay through the third year of Barney Miller, and we'll go with your show, too," recalled Arnold.
Fish was directed by Jeremiah Morris
Jeremiah Morris
Jeremiah Morris was an American actor and television and theater director...
and aired from February 1977 through June 1978 on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
.
DVD release
Shout! FactoryShout! Factory
Shout! Factory is an entertainment company founded in 2003 that was started by Richard Foos , Bob Emmer and Garson Foos initially as a specialty music label...
announced on July 11th, 2011, that it had acquired the rights to release the entire Barney Miller series in a 25-disc DVD set that will be released on October 25th, 2011. A bonus feature of the set is the complete first season of Fish, making it the very first time that Fish has ever seen a DVD release.
| DVD Name | Ep # | Release Date |
|---|---|---|
| Barney Miller Barney Miller Barney Miller is a situation comedy television series set in a New York City police station in Greenwich Village. The series originally was broadcast from January 23, 1975 to May 20, 1982 on ABC. It was created by Danny Arnold and Theodore J. Flicker... : The Complete Series (First season of Fish included as a special feature) |
168 | October 25, 2011 |