Barney Miller

Well-meaning nosy neighbors overrun a covert stakeout operation.

Guests to the 12th include a drunken bureaucrat and the 12-year-old who robbed Chano's apartment; Wojo closes the precinct's favorite delicatessen for minor health-code infractions.

An overzealous lady cop ruffles the feathers of the testosterone-run 12th; Chano nabs an obscene phone caller. Linda Lavin (""Alice"") debuts as Detective Janice Wentworth.

Barney is visited by Inspector Luger, who complains that his men aren't disliked enough by the public; a neighborhood vigilante is well into his twilight years; Wojo collars a cross-dressing teamster.

The 12th Precinct reluctantly guards a mob witness; Chano uses his co-workers' own cash stash to set up a narcotics buy.

A self-avowed ""bird-man"" drops in; Barney holds a resourceful escaped prisoner for the FBI; Harris decides to write a novel, setting up one of the series' most durable storylines.

A scruffy ""Serpico""-type cop has good reason to hide behind unruly hair; Bernice discovers that Fish spent the afternoon in a massage parlor.

Chano is guilt-stricken when he shoots a holdup man; Liz makes a citizen's arrest, after being robbed at ""stickpoint"" by a twelve-year-old.