"Shepherd, don't move." "Won't go far."

November 27, 2016 8:42 AM

Ron Glass, who played Ron Harris on "Barney Miller" and Shepherd Book on "Firefly," has died at 71.

‘Firefly’ Cast Members, Joss Whedon Pay Tribute to Ron Glass.

Remembering Evansville native Ron Glass.

posted by lharmon (110 comments total)

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posted by Bringer Tom at 8:51 AM on November 27, 2016

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posted by King Bee at 8:51 AM on November 27, 2016

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posted by Cat_Examiner at 8:51 AM on November 27, 2016

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posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 8:55 AM on November 27, 2016

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posted by comealongpole at 8:55 AM on November 27, 2016

Barney Miller was my first 'adult' TV show, one of the first that my Father and I watched together. I'll admit that Dietrich was my favorite character, but Det. Harris wasn't far behind.

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posted by Frayed Knot at 8:57 AM on November 27, 2016 [18 favorites]

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posted by greermahoney at 8:58 AM on November 27, 2016

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posted by sammyo at 8:59 AM on November 27, 2016

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posted by dfm500 at 9:00 AM on November 27, 2016

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posted by debgpi at 9:03 AM on November 27, 2016

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posted by Mooski at 9:03 AM on November 27, 2016

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There goes my plan for a Firefly spinoff where Shepherd Book and Wash return and start a zombie detective agency.
posted by kleinsteradikaleminderheit at 9:07 AM on November 27, 2016 [15 favorites]

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posted by killy willy at 9:10 AM on November 27, 2016

🚀
posted by clavdivs at 9:25 AM on November 27, 2016 [5 favorites]

Favorite Barney Miller line: Everyone except Barney has unknowingly consumer pot brownies. Barney asks Harris if he is fit enough to do something, and Harris replies, "Hey, sharp as a TACK!"

It's just a line on a page, but he made it golden.
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 9:26 AM on November 27, 2016 [16 favorites]

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posted by LobsterMitten at 9:31 AM on November 27, 2016

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posted by cirhosis at 9:33 AM on November 27, 2016

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posted by mordax at 9:50 AM on November 27, 2016

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posted by zaelic at 9:52 AM on November 27, 2016

Man he go to the special Heaven.
posted by Parasite Unseen at 9:56 AM on November 27, 2016 [36 favorites]

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posted by the Real Dan at 10:01 AM on November 27, 2016

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posted by Cash4Lead at 10:08 AM on November 27, 2016

Shepherd Book: [dying] "I killed the ship that killed us. Not very Christian."
Capt. Malcolm Reynolds: "You did what was right."
Shepherd Book: "Coming from you that means - almost nothing."
[grin]

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posted by fraula at 10:11 AM on November 27, 2016 [18 favorites]

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I really want to leave more than this but I'm at a loss for words. The Harris-Dietrich relationship was one of the best on TV. Both were solid, reliable,watchable actors and now both are gone. RIP Mr. Glass.
posted by sardonyx at 10:11 AM on November 27, 2016 [17 favorites]

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posted by mixedmetaphors at 10:14 AM on November 27, 2016

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posted by tdismukes at 10:19 AM on November 27, 2016

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posted by kinnakeet at 10:22 AM on November 27, 2016

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posted by Splunge at 10:22 AM on November 27, 2016

He was also excellent in this mini-episode from the '80's Twilight Zone revival.
posted by jonmc at 10:25 AM on November 27, 2016 [5 favorites]

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Barney Miller Hash Brownies Episode (SLYT)
posted by luckynerd at 10:30 AM on November 27, 2016 [11 favorites]

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posted by neushoorn at 10:35 AM on November 27, 2016

Barney Miller is my #1 sitcom from the 70s, and it was the realistic relationships that won me, even if I didn't understand much of what was going on until I saw it again in reruns in the mid-80s. Harris and Dietrich were my fave characters. I haven't seen Firefly, but I'm sure he was solid and smart on that show, also. There was no way he was ever going to believably play someone stupid.

And between Ron Glass, Tim Reid, Clifton Davis, and (for a minute) Cleavon Little, the 1970s had some good-looking brothers who were also fantastic actors beaming into homes across America, I have to say.


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posted by droplet at 10:46 AM on November 27, 2016 [17 favorites]

We've been watching Firefly with our kids, and I've been trying to convince my son that Book was actually played by Neil deGrassi Tyson. Time to get some Barney Miller episodes I guess.
posted by sneebler at 10:50 AM on November 27, 2016

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posted by Canageek at 10:50 AM on November 27, 2016

Aw. I spent part of my childhood living with my grandparents, and they made absolutely zero concession to suddenly having me and my sister in their household (because: reasons). They'd play us Sesame Street in the morning, for sure, but all other TV time was for their shows. I think I was 8 at the time, and Barney Miller was my favorite show.
posted by BlahLaLa at 10:53 AM on November 27, 2016 [6 favorites]

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posted by drezdn at 10:53 AM on November 27, 2016

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posted by shoesietart at 10:59 AM on November 27, 2016

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posted by The Ardship of Cambry at 11:00 AM on November 27, 2016

One of the great underrated sitcoms of the later 1970s, Barney Miller was -- grungy ramshackle police precinct, assorted wackos, nutjobs, and weirdoes in the can, and the detectives shooting off sarcasm and side-eye at each other left and right for 22 minutes. Just the way it should be, none of this self-righteous glossy bullshit you see on police shows nowadays. And Ron Glass was one of the best parts of making that show happen.

And that show theme (written by Jack Elliott and Allyn Ferguson) would have made anyone, including a pre-teen me, want to move to NYC just to be there -- somewhere that completely cool.
posted by blucevalo at 11:02 AM on November 27, 2016 [17 favorites]

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posted by XtinaS at 11:03 AM on November 27, 2016

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posted by neutralmojo at 11:11 AM on November 27, 2016

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posted by Joey Michaels at 11:16 AM on November 27, 2016

His obituary in the Star-Tribune noted that after college, he worked in regional theater in Minneapolis, including the Guthrie, before moving on to Los Angeles.

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posted by ZeusHumms at 11:20 AM on November 27, 2016 [3 favorites]

One of the new-school repertory broadcast networks (Decades, MeTV, Laff, GetTv, etc) had Barney Miller on its schedule for a few months earlier this year. I hadn't seen it since probably 1981. That show fucking ruled, and has aged extremely well. There's no logical reason why Three and a Half Men should be on TV and not that. Det. Harris was no token.

My most recent ex was from Evansville, and Ron Glass was a feature of our relationship. "So Evansville's best exports are Don Mattingly, Ron Glass...and YOU." That kind of thing. I never got Ron's take on who made the best stromboli, but you can't have everything, and besides that stromboli is always good.

Ron Glass, talented actor, relationship talisman. This one hits some feels.

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posted by rhizome at 11:21 AM on November 27, 2016 [8 favorites]

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posted by haiku warrior at 11:25 AM on November 27, 2016

Count me in as one of those who watched Barney Miller as a kid without really understanding everything that was going on. One of the things I did understand about it was that Det Ron Harris was cool af.

I didn't have many photos of actors, singers, or athletes on the wall of my room when I was a kid but I recall having one of Mr Glass as Det Harris.

Later in life, before I watched the series, one of my dearest friends recommended Firefly to me and said that Shepherd Book was pretty much exactly who I would be in that setting. Once I started watching the show, it didn't take me very many episodes to realize that that was high praise indeed from my friend and that Glass's acting was what made the character so awesome.

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posted by lord_wolf at 11:31 AM on November 27, 2016 [6 favorites]

The first time I met Ron he had his Shepherd Book hair which was cascading out into points like a furry grey palm tree and he was wearing a purple sweatsuit. He spoke in his mellifluous baritone, and I thought "OMG, I'm meeting Sideshow Bob!"

He was a lovely man who cared deeply about other people, and spent a lot of his time and energy helping and encouraging people.

RIP Ron. I hope we meet again next time around.
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 11:33 AM on November 27, 2016 [14 favorites]

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posted by leslies at 11:34 AM on November 27, 2016

My father-in-law is a retired cop. He said Barney Miller was the most realistic cop show he'd ever seen.

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posted by pxe2000 at 11:37 AM on November 27, 2016 [15 favorites]

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posted by Silverstone at 11:46 AM on November 27, 2016

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posted by sarcasticah at 11:50 AM on November 27, 2016

I came very late to the Firefly party (like, I only watched it a couple of years ago) and enjoyed it immensely. Ron Glass' Shepherd Book was a gem.

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posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 11:53 AM on November 27, 2016 [2 favorites]

I've enjoyed his work no matter what character he played. He always had an underlying bon vivant attribute.

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posted by Johnny Wallflower at 11:54 AM on November 27, 2016 [4 favorites]

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posted by Halloween Jack at 11:57 AM on November 27, 2016

I believe we lost Abe Vigoda this year too. Can we be done now?

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posted by BoscosMom at 12:03 PM on November 27, 2016 [1 favorite]

"That ain't no shepherd". One of the best things about Firefly was all those little mysteries in some of the characters backstories and Shepherd Book's were the best. There's plenty of actors that would have blown that "pastor/badass" dichotomy but Glass made it all...shiny.

I can't say enough either about his portrayal of Detective Harris either. Again, a complex man with an inner cool that was just compelling and watchable. Then again, that whole cast was watchable. Ensembles that good are exceptionally rare, even now in TVs golden age.
posted by Ber at 12:12 PM on November 27, 2016 [5 favorites]

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posted by radwolf76 at 12:26 PM on November 27, 2016

Kaylee: How come you don't care where you're going?
Book: 'Cause how you get there is the worthier part.


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posted by cooker girl at 12:29 PM on November 27, 2016 [15 favorites]

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I've just been rewatching Firefly, and wishing we'd gotten to Shepard Book's backstory. Now we never will. I'll put Barney Miller in the netflix queue. I've always meant to watch as an adult, and will now.
posted by Measured Out my Life in Coffeespoons at 12:31 PM on November 27, 2016 [2 favorites]

My kids tell me there's good Shepherd Book back story in the comics.

I just watched a couple of Barney Miller episodes. I watched the 2-parter "Quarantine," which someone had taped and uploaded from Nick at Nite. I was amused that the second part had a scene in the "previously" that had apparently been cut from the first part to make more time for commercials when it was re-shown.
posted by Orlop at 12:35 PM on November 27, 2016

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We met him in Dallas a few years ago at one of the Cons. Just a lovely, gracious man.
posted by getawaysticks at 1:05 PM on November 27, 2016 [1 favorite]

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posted by faceplantingcheetah at 1:07 PM on November 27, 2016

Oh, god, I always forget how utterly hysterical that episode is. I love the moment in the video where you can see Ron Glass the actor losing it at the glorious Jack Soo.
posted by tavella at 1:28 PM on November 27, 2016 [7 favorites]

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posted by zakur at 1:29 PM on November 27, 2016

There are few actors out there who have played two very different iconic characters in their careers, let alone in two different genres, and Ron Glass was one of them. But then, every character in Barney Miller's precinct was iconic, an archetype but never a stereotype, for which equal credit must be given to the actors and the creators, Danny Arnold and Theodore J. Flicker. (Have I mentioned that Flicker also wrote/directed one of my favorite movies, the '60s satire "The President's Analyst"? Of course I have, but I digress.) Glass was one of a small group of black actors who, for me, defined 'the right kind of cool' in the '70s; a previous commenter mentioned some others - Tim Reid, Clifton Davis, Cleavon Little - and I preferred them all to Billy Dee Williams (just imagine Ron Glass as Lando). It took a lot of guts (and a starkly realistic view of the media in the '80s) to go from Barney Miller to trying to make Felix in "The Black Odd Couple" work (as much as that show is better left forgotten). But Ron Glass never lost his Cool or his Dignity, and that was what made Shepherd Book in Firefly/Serenity one of Joss Whedon's best casting decisions ever.

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posted by oneswellfoop at 1:32 PM on November 27, 2016 [5 favorites]

We just binge-watched Firefly this fall. My wife had seen the series, I never had.

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posted by Artful Codger at 1:38 PM on November 27, 2016

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posted by weathergal at 1:50 PM on November 27, 2016

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posted by montag2k at 1:51 PM on November 27, 2016

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posted by XMLicious at 1:53 PM on November 27, 2016

In recent years, thinking of Barney Miller or Ron Glass has never failed to make me think of this wonderful story from teleri025 about meeting Ron Glass at ComicCon. It's one of my all-time favorite MetaFilter comments.

And the comment is from an excellent Barney Miller post on the blue that zarq put together.

This past Friday, I was reading AskMe and saw a mention of Barney Miller from sardonyx. This of course got me thinking about Ron Glass and the warm fuzzies from teleri025's story, and was a nice bright spot in my evening. When I saw an obit of Glass the very next day, my heart sank and I literally said aloud, "You're kidding me." There have been too many of those moments this year.

I had somehow missed watching Barney Miller and hadn't been too familiar with the show until zarq's post. Thanks to the post and teleri025's story, I've since watched some episodes and gotten a better understanding of why it's so beloved, and why a lot of its topics and its diversity are still (unfortunately) so relevant and important today, and why Ron Glass was especially proud of his work in it.

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posted by rangefinder 1.4 at 1:54 PM on November 27, 2016 [6 favorites]

My girlfriend told me she's getting me a "2016 SUCKED" t-shirt for Christmas. It just keeps getting more and more true.

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posted by Alterscape at 2:21 PM on November 27, 2016 [1 favorite]

I do not envy the people who have to make the In Memoriam segments for the awards shows this year. The cuts are going to be brutal.

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posted by Etrigan at 2:39 PM on November 27, 2016 [7 favorites]

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posted by mikurski at 2:59 PM on November 27, 2016

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posted by cashman at 3:46 PM on November 27, 2016

Rangefinder, this is for you.
Me and Mr. Glass.

It's been a hard year, and his loss just makes it even harder.
posted by teleri025 at 3:47 PM on November 27, 2016 [8 favorites]

Barney Miller was one of my first adult shows, too, and still one of my favorites. About 10 years ago a boyfriend kept trying to get me into Firefly. I finally sat down to watch it and as soon as I saw Shepherd I emailed him. "I didn't know Ron Glass was in this!" He promptly emailed me back with "copies" of "old" emails he'd sent telling me to watch it because Ron Glass was in it. I always felt that Ron Glass would have found that as funny as I did.

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posted by Room 641-A at 4:00 PM on November 27, 2016 [6 favorites]

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posted by Jackson at 4:27 PM on November 27, 2016

He was Felix in a short lived TV revival of The Odd Couple, playing off Demond Wilson's Oscar. I remember this mostly because in one episode, Felix replaced Oscar's typewriter with an Apple Lisa, the expensive anscestor to the Mac.
posted by ZeusHumms at 4:38 PM on November 27, 2016 [3 favorites]

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posted by Faintdreams at 4:48 PM on November 27, 2016

Mal: Ah, hell, Shepherd, I ain't looking for help from on high. That's a long wait for a train don't come.

Shepherd Book: Why when I talk about belief, why do you always assume I'm talking about God?

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posted by The Wrong Kind of Cheese at 5:23 PM on November 27, 2016 [3 favorites]

Oh, goddammit.

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posted by allthinky at 5:27 PM on November 27, 2016

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posted by pjmoy at 5:51 PM on November 27, 2016

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posted by annsunny at 6:05 PM on November 27, 2016

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posted by scaryblackdeath at 6:05 PM on November 27, 2016

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posted by ST!NG at 6:15 PM on November 27, 2016

Aww, bummer. I always loved his dapper suits and urbane ways on Barney Miller. He was a classic 70s character.
posted by GospelofWesleyWillis at 6:45 PM on November 27, 2016 [2 favorites]

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posted by the sobsister at 7:01 PM on November 27, 2016

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posted by wallgrub at 7:40 PM on November 27, 2016

Of all the terrible losses we've suffered this year, this one hits me hard. Ron Glass was truly a class act.

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posted by bryon at 8:07 PM on November 27, 2016 [1 favorite]

My first .
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posted by eggkeeper at 8:21 PM on November 27, 2016

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posted by Ignorantsavage at 8:38 PM on November 27, 2016

I've just been rewatching Firefly, and wishing we'd gotten to Shepard Book's backstory. Now we never will.

From the movie:

Capt. Malcolm Reynolds: It's of interest to me how much you seem to know about that world.
Shepherd Book: I wasn't born a shepherd, Mal.
Capt. Malcolm Reynolds: You have to tell me about that sometime.
Shepherd Book: [pause] No, I don't.

His performance closed that book for me.
posted by disconnect at 8:40 PM on November 27, 2016 [7 favorites]

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posted by grimmelm at 8:52 PM on November 27, 2016

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posted by evilDoug at 9:18 PM on November 27, 2016

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posted by Coaticass at 2:04 AM on November 28, 2016

I loved him in "Firefly".
Shit, I loved everyone in "Firefly".

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posted by james33 at 3:26 AM on November 28, 2016 [2 favorites]

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posted by valkane at 4:14 AM on November 28, 2016

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Enough already, 2016.
posted by Gelatin at 4:32 AM on November 28, 2016 [1 favorite]

Requiem aeternam dona ei, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis. Requiescat in pace.
posted by ob1quixote at 4:56 AM on November 28, 2016 [3 favorites]

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posted by dannyboybell at 5:01 AM on November 28, 2016

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posted by double bubble at 5:16 AM on November 28, 2016

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posted by Ilira at 5:46 AM on November 28, 2016

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posted by ants at 9:37 AM on November 28, 2016

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Watched the hell out of Barney Miller as a child. It made Glass' work in Firefly even more awesome. RIP, you sharp mf-er, you.
posted by blurker at 11:54 AM on November 28, 2016

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posted by PROD_TPSL at 3:46 PM on November 28, 2016

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posted by Spatch at 7:37 PM on November 28, 2016

I just watched that hash brownie episode of Barney Miller, and not only am I impressed that the dialogue holds up, but also that Ron Glass's suits hold up! This was the 70s! Most suits from that era look all Saturday Night Fever and so on. Big-ass lapels, horrible plaids with massive wide ties. But Ron was stylin'!
posted by GospelofWesleyWillis at 8:48 PM on November 28, 2016 [1 favorite]

We didn't have TV when Barney Miller was on so I only know him from Firefly where he was excellent. The Special Hell is a go to line of course but I also really like Book when he was playing the honest man when everyone else was distorting the truth.

Dr. Simon Tam: I've never shot anyone before.
Book: I was there, son. I'm fair sure you haven't shot anyone yet.

"I brought you some supper but if you'd prefer a lecture, I've a few very catchy ones prepped...sin and hellfire... one has lepers."

Measured Out my Life in Coffeespoons: "I've just been rewatching Firefly, and wishing we'd gotten to Shepard Book's backstory. Now we never will. "

Book's back story is probably better handled by a younger actor anyways. It was never going to happen anyways but the reason hasn't changed.
posted by Mitheral at 4:03 PM on November 29, 2016

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posted by bricoleur at 5:29 PM on November 29, 2016

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posted by MoTLD at 2:27 PM on November 30, 2016