Fish

Fish was a spin-off of the Barney Miller TV series, with Abe Vigoda as the star. His incredibly whiny and annoying nag wife was played by Florence Stanley.

The kids were played by a repulsive cast of odd characters. The only exception was Todd Bridges as Loomis. Eventually he would be traded to the Different Strokes TV series, where he teamed up with Gary Coleman and made TV history.

John Cassissi, who played Victor, the big obnoxious kid, was later convicted of fraud and sentenced to 2-6 years in prison. When I saw this show as a kid, I thought Victor was a mentally handicapped character. He was always bouncing around and putting his face into people.

Len Bari and Sarah Natoli both disappeared from the acting profession by 1981, never to be seen again. This was one of those shows which had no young stars except for Todd Bridges. The rest of them are in the witness protection program.

I found this show on Crackle app, and tried to watch the first episode, and it reminded me of how incredibly lame this show was. I could not get past when all the annoying kids arrive and start yelling at Fish and his wife. The fact that Victor (Cassisi) and Len Bari are much older than the other kids is very creepy. Len Bari was 22 in 1977, and he looked it. Cassisi was a big fat 15 and he looked 25.

I watched this show when it was originally broadcast. Although it was cute, it didn't quite have the oomph to be a sustainable series. I love Abe Vigoda's look, especially his long-suffering, sad-eyed expression, but it was hard to hang a whole show around his character. Fish was better as a supporting role.

Although Bernice provided the nurturing for the kids, Fish loudly claimed to dislike them and long for a quieter life. My favorite quote from the show was when he blew out the candles on a birthday cake. The girl asked, "Did ya get ya wish, Mista Fish?" and he replied, "NO, you're ALL STILL HERE!"

Although later shows managed to center a sitcom around a negative character, such as Dabney Coleman ( http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001056 ) in Buffalo Bill ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084992 ), or the puppet alien in ALF ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090390 ), these succeeded because the bad boy was SO extremely bad that you couldn't help laughing. Quietly grumbling Fish with a (well hidden) soft side just didn't go far enough to grab and hold an audience.

Ok, I hated "Barney Miller" back in the 70's (though it does have nostalgic value today). And the character Fish was a nasty grumpy old man, played by Abe Vigoda. But this spin-off may be the BEST SITCOM EVER! Imagine a 70's era sitcom with great 70's clothing, funny jokes, and just add in five extremely talented charming kids: you'll love this show. If you ever do see it on TV (Nick at Nite or TV Land is bound to give this show a run) you are sure to be amazed that this show didn't run forever.

First of all, this wasn't a bad series and it had potential. It wasn't "Ethnic Mismatch #644" as one review said, but it proves that people of different races can live together under the same roof. Abe Vigoda is an excellent actor and sadly, he hasn't had nearly enough exposure.

Ok, I liked "Barney Miller" back in the '70s (its pretty dated now though). And the character Fish was an amusing grumpy old man, played by Abe Vigoda. But this spinoff may be the WORST SITCOM EVER! Imagine a '70s era sitcom with all bad clothing, lame jokes and canned laughter and just add in five extremely annoying smart-aleck kids: you get this show. If you ever do see it on TV (although I don't know if any station would broadcast reruns of this show), you are bound to be amazed that such an awful train-wreck of a sitcom not only made it on the air, but lasted for over a year! Avoid unless morbid curiosity draws you to it - in that case just be amazed.