Barney Miller is the kind of cop we'd all like to run into. Always sensible, he maintains order over a band of detectives who gamble, hit on anything in skirts, go to renaissance philosophy conventions for fun, and would really prefer to be writing. Nearly all of the action takes place in the squad room where citizens and criminals are brought in to complicate the mix.

A research scientist explores the boundaries and frontiers of human consciousness. Using sensory deprivation and hallucinogenic mixtures from Native American shamans, he explores these altered states of cognizance and finds that memory, time, and reality itself are states of mind.

Executive George Dupler loses his temper and is demoted to the night manager at a 24 hour drugstore. After he suggests to his teenage son Freddie that he stop having an affair with suburban housewife Cheryl Gibbons, who is a distant cousin, Cheryl tries to seduce George. At home, in front of his mother, Freddie accuses his dad of stealing his girl, because he found Cheryl serving George a meal in the middle of the night, while her husband Bobby was on duty at the fire station. George then separates from his wife Helen, quits his job, moves into a warehouse, and asks Cheryl to move in with him.

Young troublemaker Michael learns about his native American roots from his grandfather who lives at a reservation. The boy starts to bond with a horse his grandfather buys him, whom he decides to call 'Three Warriors'. When a trio of horse rustlers get hold of the horse, Michael gets to put his newfound appreciation for his grandfather's ways into effect.

A naive chicken farmer from New Jersey moves to Greenwich Village to open a coffee house.