Future Cop (TV series)

*Future Cop*
Future Cop
Genre	Science fiction
Created by	Anthony Wilson; Allen S. Epstein
Starring	Ernest Borgnine; Michael J. Shannon; John Amos; James Daughton;
Composer	J. J. Johnson
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	8 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Anthony Wilson; Gary Damsker
Running time	60 minutes
Production companies	The Culzean Corporation; Tovern Productions; Paramount Television;
Original release
Network	ABC
Release	May 1, 1976 –; March 28, 1978

Future Cop is an American crime drama television series that starred Ernest Borgnine and Michael J. Shannon. It was based on the TV movie of the same name and predated RoboCop by ten years. The series was aired on ABC in 1977 and was re-piloted as Cops and Robin on NBC in 1978.^[1] A veteran street cop gets an experimental android that has been programmed by the police lab for his new partner.

Cast

Ernest Borgnine – Off. Joe Cleaver
Michael J. Shannon – Off. John Haven
John Amos – Off. Bill Bundy

Episodes

TV Movie (1976)

Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
"Future Cop"	Jud Taylor	Anthony Wilson	May 1, 1976 (1976-05-01)

Season 1

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	"Fighting O'Haven"	Robert Douglas	Mann Rubin	March 5, 1977 (1977-03-05)
2	"The Mad Mad Bomber"	Ted Post	Story by : Ken Kolb Teleplay by : Ken Kolb & Harold Livingston	March 25, 1977 (1977-03-25)
3	"The Girl on the Ledge"	Earl Bellamy	Mann Rubin	April 7, 1977 (1977-04-07)
4	"The Carlisle Girl"	Vincent McEveety	Harold Livingston	April 22, 1977 (1977-04-22)
5	"The Kansas City Kid"	Robert Douglas	Harold Livingston	April 30, 1977 (1977-04-30)

List of Cops and Robin episodes with airdates

"Cops and Robin" (March 28, 1978)

Plagiarism lawsuit

Writers Harlan Ellison and Ben Bova filed a lawsuit against Paramount Television, ex-Paramount exec Terry Keegan, and ABC-TV, alleging that Future Cop was plagiarized from their own pitch for a TV series, which was based on their 1970 short story "Brillo." The lawsuit was settled in 1980, awarding Ellison and Bova $182,500 in compensatory damages and $154,500 in punitive damages.^[2] The story's title was allegedly a pun, as a robot policeman could be referred to as "steel fuzz", like Brillo soap pads.^{[citation needed]}

Home media

On March 1, 2016, Mill Creek Entertainment released the complete series on DVD in Region 1.^[3]

References

^ "A Review of the Nearly Forgotten TV Show, "Future Cop" on DVD". Retroist. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
^ Plagiarism--the Sincerest Form of Flattery
^ 'The Complete Series' of the Mid-'70s Show Pre-Dating 'RoboCop' Archived 2015-12-18 at the Wayback Machine

External links

Future Cop at IMDb

[1] "A Review of the Nearly Forgotten TV Show, "Future Cop" on DVD". Retroist. Retrieved September 24, 2017.

[2] Plagiarism--the Sincerest Form of Flattery

[3] 'The Complete Series' of the Mid-'70s Show Pre-Dating 'RoboCop' Archived 2015-12-18 at the Wayback Machine

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