The black guy with the medical problem is the same as Fish on Barney Miller.

Consistantly excellent with good stories and fascinating characters.

I've known more than a few cops in my life (51 years) and the ONLY shows they have said capture the day-to-day with any accuracy are Hill Street Blues and Barney Miller.The ensemble here was brilliant. Unfortunately one of the indicators of perfection in an ensemble series is the failure of any of the actors to succeed later in other series... and Hill Street Blues was no exception. Barney Miller less so, as some of the actors already were established onstage and elsewhere.I was glued to this show when it was on TV. I gotta say that it is the only thing I've seen that presented a partnership so perfectly that one of 'em could call his male colleagues "babe" and a viewer wouldn't bat an eye.What a sorry shame this age of tv has died for good. MTM was a super production company, and St Elsewhere was the hospital version of HSB. I was glued to that too, and having worked in hospitals I can say it too was a perfect reflection of the day-to-day.