Police Squad!

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Police Squad!
Title Screen
Format	Crime Comedy
Created by	Jim Abrahams David Zucker Jerry Zucker
Developed by	Paramount Television
Starring	Leslie Nielsen Alan North Peter Lupus Ed Williams William Duell Rex Hamilton
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	6 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Jim Abrahams[1] David Zucker[1]
Running time	30 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	ABC[2].
Original run	March 4, 1982 – July 8, 1982[2]
Chronology
Followed by	The Naked Gun film series

Police Squad! is a television comedy series first broadcast in 1982. It was a spoof of police dramas, packed with visual gags and non sequiturs. While a parody of many television shows and movies, it bore a particular resemblance to the Lee Marvin cop show, M Squad (especially the opening credits), which the creators stated in a featurette for The Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear.

Contents 1 Overview 2 Cancellation 3 Cast 3.1 Main cast 3.2 Guest stars 4 Running gags and well-known sequences 4.1 Title sequence 4.1.1 Titles 4.2 Running gags 4.3 Music 5 Awards and nominations 5.1 Emmy Awards 5.2 Other Awards 6 Home video releases 7 Spin-offs 7.1 The Naked Gun Films 7.2 Red Rock Cider Commercials 7.3 Other Spin-Offs 8 See also 9 References 10 External links

[edit] Overview

Police Squad! was created by the comedy filmmaking trio Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker, who had previously worked together on The Kentucky Fried Movie and Airplane!. Despite critical acclaim, the show was cancelled by ABC after just six episodes.^[3] This was enough to gain a strong cult following through repeat broadcasts,^[4] which led to the 1988 film version The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! and two further sequels. Many gags from the show were recycled for the films.

Leslie Nielsen played a role that was written especially for him,^[5] as Detective Frank Drebin in the series and all three films. Alan North played the role of Captain Ed Hocken on the show; in the films, the role was played by George Kennedy. Peter Lupus co-starred as Officer Norberg (in the films, O.J. Simpson appeared as the similarly named Officer Nordberg). Ed Williams, who played scientist Ted Olson on the show, would reprise his role in the films, making him and Nielsen the only two actors from the series to appear in the movies. Robert Goulet, who appeared as one of the "special guest stars" who were invariably killed off at the beginning of their episodes, would appear as villain Quentin Hapsburg in the second Naked Gun film. Dr. Joyce Brothers played herself in The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! She played herself in Episode 4 of the television series.^[6]

The show was presented in the style of a Quinn Martin show of the early 1970s,^[7] with a portentous narrative over the opening titles which made a big feature of the show being "...in color" (a common real-life feature in opening credits and promos of TV shows in the 1960s, before color broadcasting became the norm), followed by numerous gags. Each episode would similarly play credits over a 1970s style freeze frame of the final scene, except that the frame was not frozen – the actors simply stood motionless in position while other activities (pouring coffee, convicts escaping, chimpanzees running amok) continued around them.

One noticeable difference between the series and the films is in the portrayal of Frank Drebin. In the series he is shown to be considerably more competent and strait-laced, and less Maxwell Smart-like than he is depicted in the films. The TV portrayal of Drebin was never intended to be overtly comic, merely a send-up of the ultra-serious Dragnet-like portrayal of TV cops, the kind of role Nielsen himself had played straight in the QM Production The New Breed and in The Protectors segment of The Bold Ones. In the series, Drebin was intended to be the archetype of the straight man, in contrast to the rampant hilarity going on around him. It was not until the films that Drebin was changed to a more outwardly comic character.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Cancellation

ABC announced the cancellation of Police Squad! after four of its six episodes had aired in March 1982. The final two episodes were aired that summer. According to then-ABC entertainment president Tony Thomopoulos (on Entertainment Tonight), "Police Squad! was cancelled because the viewer had to watch it in order to appreciate it."^{[citation needed]} What Thomopoulos meant was that the viewer had to actually pay close attention to the show in order to get much of the humor, while most other TV shows did not demand as much effort from the viewer.^{[original research?]} In its annual "Cheers and Jeers" issue, TV Guide magazine called the explanation for the cancellation "the most stupid reason a network ever gave for ending a series."^{[citation needed]}

Matt Groening is quoted as saying "If Police Squad! had been made twenty years later, it would have been a smash. It was before its time. In 1982 your average viewer was unable to cope with its pace, its quick-fire jokes. But these days they'd have no problems keeping up, I think we've proved that."^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Cast

[edit] Main cast

• Leslie Nielsen - Detective Frank Drebin
• Alan North - Captain Ed Hocken
• Peter Lupus - Officer Norberg
• Ed Williams - Ted Olson, Scientist
• William Duell - Johnny the Snitch
• Ronald "Tiny Ron" Taylor - Al
• Rex Hamilton - Abraham Lincoln

Of the main cast, Nielsen, Williams and Taylor were the only ones who returned and were portrayed by the same actors in The Naked Gun film series.

[edit] Guest stars

During the opening credits of each episode, a well-known actor is introduced as a "special guest star", but then meets a grisly death during the introduction,^[3] thus completing their appearance on the show. Stars (along with their fates) included:

1. Lorne Greene (stabbed and thrown from a speeding car)
2. Georg Stanford Brown (crushed by a falling safe)
3. Robert Goulet (executed by firing squad)
4. William Shatner (dodges a salvo of bullets but drinks poisoned wine)
5. Florence Henderson (gunned down while singing in a kitchen)
6. William Conrad (stabbed and thrown from a speeding car)

A sequence was filmed with John Belushi (chained to concrete blocks underwater) but the actor died shortly before the episode was due to air, and the producers decided not to use the scene. According to the Internet Movie Database the producers wanted to include the Belushi scene when Police Squad was rebroadcast in the 1990s, but the footage could not be located and is presumed lost.^{[citation needed]}

In the first episode "A Substantial Gift (The Broken Promise)" two of the dental patients in Dr. Zubatsky's office would go on to star in major television hits of 1990s. Among the patients waiting on the couch is David Schwimmer who would go on to star on Friends. Meanwhile the patient walking out of Dr. Zubatsky's treatment room with his chin supported on a wheeled structure (who Frank Drebin steps aside for so he can pass) is Anthony Edwards who would go on to play "Goose" in Top Gun and Dr. Mark Greene on ER. Both Friends and ER debuted in September 1994 and would go on to anchor NBC's Thursday night line up for years. Neither Schwimmer nor Edwards has spoken lines or is credited in the episode.

[edit] Running gags and well-known sequences

[edit] Title sequence

The title sequence was packed with sight and visual gags. A selection:

• Spoofing 1960s police shows N.Y.P.D. and Hawaii Five-0, the opening credits would show a red flashing squad car light going down a city street. This would be carried over to the Naked Gun films, which has the light traversing many different environments just by going through doors, like a women's locker room or a hockey rink.
• Again spoofing Quinn Martin's crime dramas, the announcer was Hank Simms. Simms has done the introductory announcing for most of Martin's shows, like The F.B.I., The Streets of San Francisco and Barnaby Jones to name a few.
• The opening stated that it was "In Color." In the 1960s, when color was starting to replace black and white on television, many series filmed in color included the fact in their opening. On ABC, this voiceover replaced the musically oriented color logo. This practice ended when color had completely replaced black and white in television, long before the series first aired.
• All of the major regular characters are vocally introduced just before a burst of gunfire comes in their direction, at which they take cover and return fire. Notably, Leslie Nielsen as Frank Drebin returns fire in a different direction from the one from which he was shot at.
• When Captain Hocken is introduced in his office, someone offscreen starts shooting the place up, with ridiculous results (people catching on fire, jumping out windows, etc; one woman even throws her baby on the floor as she runs away).
• Rex Hamilton stars in a quick spot as Abraham Lincoln, who is narrowly missed when shot at, and returns fire. According to Pat Proft, had the show been renewed for a second season, this sequence would have been replaced by Mahatma Gandhi brandishing an assault rifle (a gag which later appeared in the "Weird Al" Yankovic film UHF, apparently developed independently).
• The getting shot at and shooting back part was taken from the Lee Marvin cop show, M Squad.^[8]

[edit] Titles

See also List of Police Squad! episodes

The opening sequence of each episode ends with an on-screen graphic listing the title of the episode, accompanied by an announcer's voice-over intentionally giving a different title for the episode. The list of episode titles, with the on-screen graphic title followed by the announcer's title in parentheses:

1. A Substantial Gift (The Broken Promise)
2. Ring of Fear (A Dangerous Assignment)
3. The Butler Did It (A Bird in the Hand)
4. Revenge and Remorse (The Guilty Alibi)
5. Rendezvous at Big Gulch (Terror in the Neighborhood)
6. Testimony of Evil (Dead Men Don't Laugh)

This joke was used in the series of commercials for Red Rock Cider (see below)

[edit] Running gags

• Frank Drebin's rank constantly changes, often many times within a single scene, or even a single sentence. He often introduces himself (in narrative) as "Sergeant Frank Drebin, Detective Lieutenant Police Squad", which is a non-existent rank made up of three real ones (larger police departments often have Detective Lieutenants and Detective Sergeants, but not all three titles). In the first episode, a witness first refers to Drebin as 'Sergeant' then a few lines later calls him both 'Lieutenant Drebin' and finally 'Captain Drebin'.
• Drebin repeatedly drives into something (usually trash cans) when he parks his car. The number of trash cans he hits matches the episode number, e.g. one in episode one, two in episode two, and so on.
• Each episode had a crime lab scene where Ted Olson is giving a highly suspect or dangerous lesson to a kid, in a parody of Watch Mr. Wizard, when Frank interrupts him.
• Ted uses the doorway while Frank walks around the set. This gag is repeated in The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!
• Drebin would offer a cigarette or coffee to people he was interviewing with the line "Cigarette?" (or "Coffee?") as if offering, to which they would respond "Yes, I know" or "Yes, it is."^[9] Drebin's usual response would be a slightly nonplussed "Well..." This joke was used in The Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult.
• Drebin would be shown driving, narrating himself from off-camera (in the style of Dragnet and M Squad) and at some point would mention driving through the "Little Italy" section of the city, with stock footage of the Roman Colosseum visible behind the car. This gag was carried over to the films.
• Drebin would be shown driving in reverse, while narrating off-camera about driving "back to the office".
• The elevator makes stops in interesting places, including at the diving board of a swimming pool and onstage at a nightclub.
• Drebin frequently needs to meet with Johnny, the omniscient shoeshine boy, for "the word on the street". Johnny won't actually tell Frank anything until Frank slips him a bribe (often saying, "I dunno anything about it," or, "It's a big city," until he's paid). Each time Frank leaves Johnny, a specialist or celebrity arrives, and asks Johnny for advice about their particular profession:
  • A priest inquires about Johnny's views on life after death
  • A doctor asks Johnny how to perform an operation
  • A fireman is instructed how to fight a fire at a furniture warehouse
  • Dick Clark asks about ska and has Johnny give him more "Secret Formula Youth Cream" which he smears on his face
  • Joyce Brothers talks with Johnny about psychology
  • Tommy Lasorda wonders about baseball, specifically his problems with his pitching staff; Johnny chides Lasorda for trading Tommy John
• The Act II label is followed by a joke:
  • Act II: Bruté?
  • Act II: Gesundheit
  • Act II: Richard III
  • Act II: Ball III
  • Act II: Lieber
  • Act II: Yankees One
• The weekly criminal is always sent to "the Statesville prison." Captain Hocken recites the names of the criminals caught in the previous episodes, so by episode six, five names are recited plus the final culprit.
• The glass door of the squad room has "Police Squad" written on it in gold in such a manner that whichever side you look at it, one of the words is written backwards.
• The Zucker Brothers hailed from Shorewood, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee. In every episode, a discreet reference is made to Milwaukee.
• Al is often seen wearing a shirt relevant to a conversation of Ed and Drebin, usually involving locations. He wears something on his head, even though his head is always out of frame for his being so tall.
• The moment before the ending credits, the characters would freeze up and hold a pose, while action in the background continued normally during the credits, parodying the "freeze-frame" credit endings typical of police dramas and action shows of the era.
• A very tall policeman—whose face is always cut off by the top of the screen—appeared in each episode as he was instructed by Frank Drebin.
• Frank Drebin talks to what looks like an intercom but the camera cuts to show a very small police officer.
• Frank Drebin seems to be able to do anything that is required of him to solve a case and do it successfully. For instance, he plays basketball to speak to a witness and at first it looks like it is his first time but then shows a lot of skill and scores several times. When he is undercover he manages to pull off whatever job his cover is. For instance, he runs a very successful locksmith shop, and becomes an amazing stand-up comedian and singer.

[edit] Music

	Police Squad! Opening Theme The famous theme, composed by Ira Newborn.
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

The opening and closing music was penned by composer Ira Newborn. The jumping big band/blues theme was retained for the Naked Gun movies (along with the opening police-light visual of the Police Squad! series) and may be Newborn's best-known single tune. It has been covered by some swing-style dance bands on CD, and has even been scored in marching-band style by arranger Paul Jennings.

The animated TV series Family Guy used the theme in the opening of its "PTV" episode, complete with character Stewie Griffin's tricycle replacing the visual of the Police Squad car.^[10]

[edit] Awards and nominations

[edit] Emmy Awards

1982 - Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series - Leslie Nielsen - Nominated^[11].
1982 - Outstanding Writing In A Comedy Series - David Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker - for the episode: A Substantial Gift (The Broken Promise) - Nominated^[11]

[edit] Other Awards

2006 - Satellite Award for Best DVD Release of a TV Show - "The Complete Series" - Nominated ^[12]

[edit] Home video releases

In 1985, Paramount Home Video first released all six episodes of the show on VHS; Paramount released the show on two separate volumes: Police Squad!: Help Wanted! and More! Police Squad!, each tape containing three episodes.^[13][14] On the release of the show, Washington Post critic Tom Shales commented "People can rent them and laugh, and then cry that ABC was so cruel."^[15]

Paramount first released the series on DVD in 2006 in a keepcase, on one disc.^[16] The DVD contained various extras, including actual production notes from network executives, a "freeze-frame" that was filmed but never used, bloopers, casting tests, and an interview with Nielsen.^[17] Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker, producer Robert K. Weiss and writer Robert Wuhl recorded audio commentary for the first, third and sixth episodes.^[18] Critics universally praised how the show was still funny after more than twenty years after its cancellation.^[19][20][21] The DVD set was nominated for a Satellite Award for Best DVD Release of a TV Show, though it lost to the DVD set of the eighth season of FOX's The Simpsons.^[22]

[edit] Spin-offs

[edit] The Naked Gun Films

Six years after the cancellation of Police Squad! (see above for more information), the first Naked Gun film was released called The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!. It performed well at the box office grossing around $78,756,177.^[23] It became a hit comedy, it became so popular that two sequels The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (1991) and Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult (1994) were released, The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear was considered the most successful of the three, grossing around $86,930,411.^[24] (while Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult grossed $51,132,598^[25]) Roger Ebert rated the first movie 3 1/2 out of four stars, and gave 3 stars to the two following films.^[26] The second film won a Golden Screen award for Best Picture.^[27]

[edit] Red Rock Cider Commercials

A series of British advertisements for Red Rock Cider made in the same style, with the opening titles changed to other names such as "Fraud Squad" or "Fried Squid", featured Leslie Nielsen. In one of these ads, Nielsen shouts, "Hey! You, over there, in the shadows!" The man steps forward and reveals himself to be Hank Marvin,^[28] guitarist with sixties pop group, the Shadows. The catchphrase was "Red Rock Cider—it's not red, and there's no rocks in it." The opening titles were re-used for the commercials (see above), they included:

• There Go My Trousers (Terror in the Night)
• Operation Undercover (The Secret Assignment)^[29]

Some of the jokes that were used in the commercials were originally taken from Police Squad! such as when Frank says "Cover me!" he gets covered with a blanket, which was one of the gags taken from The Butler Did It (A Bird in the Hand).

[edit] Other Spin-Offs

After the show's cancellation (and well before production on the Naked Gun movies), the producers considered turning the show into a movie by linking several episodes together with new scenes. A few of these scenes were actually filmed (including an elaborate "freeze frame" gag involving a burning courtroom) before the project was abandoned. This footage can be viewed on the DVD release.^{[citation needed]}

The Police Squad characters were resurrected during the WWF's Summerslam 1994 PPV. In this guise, they were looking for The Undertaker, who in storylines had previously vanished.^[30].

[edit] See also

• Sledge Hammer!

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Police Squad!

• Police Squad! at the Internet Movie Database
• Police Squad! at TV.com
• The TV MegaSite's Police Squad Site
• Intro video for TV series "M Squad"

v • d • e The Naked Gun series TV series Police Squad! (Episodes) Films The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! • The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear • Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult Cast Leslie Nielsen • Alan North • Peter Lupus • William Duell • Ed Williams • Priscilla Presley • George Kennedy • O. J. Simpson • "Weird Al" Yankovic • Ricardo Montalbán • Robert Goulet • Fred Ward • Anna Nicole Smith Crew Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker (Jerry Zucker · Jim Abrahams · David Zucker) • Pat Proft • Peter Segal • Robert K. Weiss Characters Lieutenant Frank Drebin

v • d • e Zucker, Abrahams, and Zucker David Zucker · Jim Abrahams · Jerry Zucker Collaborative works The Kentucky Fried Movie · Airplane! · Top Secret! · Police Squad! · Ruthless People · The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! David Zucker films The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear · Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult · High School High · BASEketball · My Boss's Daughter · Scary Movie 3 · Scary Movie 4 · Superhero Movie · The Onion Movie · An American Carol Jim Abrahams films Big Business · Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael · Hot Shots! · Hot Shots! Part Deux · …First Do No Harm · Jane Austen's Mafia! · Scary Movie 4 Jerry Zucker films Ghost · First Knight · Rat Race