"Police Squad!" (1982) TV series

Creators:

Jim Abrahams
David Zucker
Jerry Zucker

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

4 March 1982 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Mystery

Plot:

Sight-gags and non-sequiturs dominate this spoof of police dramas. The six episodes formed the basis for later very successful "Naked Gun" movies.

Plot Keywords:

Police | Spoof | Thief | Sleeper Hit | Detective

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Leslie Nielsen	...	Det. Frank Drebin (6 episodes, 1982)
Alan North	...	Capt. Ed Hocken (6 episodes, 1982)
Rex Hamilton	...	Abraham Lincoln (6 episodes, 1982)
Ed Williams	...	Mr. Olson (6 episodes, 1982)
William Duell	...	Johnny (6 episodes, 1982)
Marvin Miller	...	Narrator (6 episodes, 1982)
Peter Lupus	...	Norberg (4 episodes, 1982)

Runtime:

30 min (6 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | USA:TV-PG | Singapore:PG | Norway:15 (DVD) (2007) | Sweden:15 (DVD) (2007) | Denmark:15 (DVD) (2007) | Finland:K-18 (DVD) (2007) (self applied) | Ireland:15 (DVD) | UK:15 (DVD)

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Television

Trivia:

ABC wanted the show to have a laugh track, but Jim Abrahams, Jerry Zucker, and 'David Zucker' wouldn't give in.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Operation Double 007 (#6.8)" (1993)

Hi, I'm Detective Lieutenant Sergeant Frank Drebin Police Squad

What can be said about this show, one of the funniest if not the funniest comedy ever?

Leslie Nielson played Frank Drebin who seemed to alternate each week between a Sergeant or a Lieutenant. He was joined by other detectives, particularly Al (only ever seen from the neck down).

The plots-if you can call them that-were crazy. The show was crazy from the opening title to the end credits. There were some hilarious one-liners throughout the show. Also, the narrator for each episode used to read out the title of the episode which always differed from the title on-screen. A special guest star was also introduced on the credits but never starred in the show itself. As for the ending credits, well Drebin seemed to be moving whilst the credits rolled. It was crazy.

Even though this series spawned three Naked Gun movies, it is the world's greatest mystery why this show only ran for six episodes. Where is the justice in the world where tripe such as Friends can run for years whilst a truly funny show like this can be cancelled after a mere six episodes?

I strongly recommend checking the series out and will someone please release it onto DVD?