Police Story (1973 TV series)
This article needs additional citations for verification. (June 2011) |
Police Story | |
---|---|
![]() DVD cover | |
Created by | Joseph Wambaugh |
Opening theme | Jerry Goldsmith |
Country of origin | United States |
No. of seasons | 5 |
No. of episodes | 95 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producer | David Gerber |
Running time | 60 min. |
Production companies | David Gerber Productions Screen Gems Television (1973-1974) Columbia Pictures Television (1974-1978) |
Original release | |
Network | NBC |
Release | September 25, 1973 – May 28, 1978 |
Police Story is an anthology television crime drama that aired on NBC from 1973 through 1978. The show was the brainchild of author and former policeman Joseph Wambaugh and was described by The Complete Directory of Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows as "one of the more realistic police series to be seen on television." It was produced by David Gerber and Mel Swope.
Although it was an anthology, there were certain things that all episodes had in common; for instance, the main character in each episode was, obviously, always a police officer. The setting was always Los Angeles and the characters always worked for some branch of the LAPD. Notwithstanding the anthology format, there were recurring characters. Scott Brady appeared in more than a dozen episodes as "Vinnie," a former cop who, upon retirement, had opened a bar catering to police officers, and who acted as a sort of Greek chorus during the run of the series, commenting on the characters and plots. Tony Lo Bianco and Don Meredith made several appearances as Robbery-Homicide Division partners Tony Calabrese and Bert Jameson. Other recurring characters included surveillance specialist Joe LaFrieda, played by Vic Morrow, and vice officer turned homicide detective Charlie Czonka, played by James Farentino. Chuck Connors also starred in various episodes, as different characters on both sides of the law.
The anthology format allowed the series to depict a wider variety of police activities and experiences than was usual in police dramas. In addition to detectives investigating major crimes, or patrol officers patrolling high crime beats, the show depicted newly hired cadets trying to make it through the academy, woman officers trying to fit into a male-dominated profession, traffic officers investigating accidents, officers dealing with marital difficulties or alcohol dependence, fingerprint techs trying to develop suspects from a single print, high-ranking administrators dealing with the stresses of command in a major metropolitan police force, officers adjusting to permanent physical disabilities caused by on-duty injuries, and officers trying to juggle two different jobs to make enough money to support their families.
The anthology format also allowed the show to try out characters and settings for series development, and, during its broadcast run, Police Story generated three spin-offs. A first-season episode, "The Gamble," starring Angie Dickinson, became the pilot for the successful Police Woman, which ran from 1974 to 1978. "The Return of Joe Forrester," a second-season episode starring Lloyd Bridges, was developed into the weekly series Joe Forrester, which lasted a full season. Finally, "A Chance to Live," a special episode from the fifth season starring David Cassidy, was spun off into the series Man Undercover. That series didn't do as well, and lasted only ten episodes.
In later seasons, perhaps because of the expense of maintaining the anthology format on a weekly basis, Police Story became a series of irregularly scheduled TV movies.
Police Story was a precursor to later shows such as NBC's Hill Street Blues (1981-1987), Law & Order (1990-2010), ABC's NYPD Blue and NBC's Homicide: Life on the Street (both latters started in 1993).
Guest stars
Numerous actors, musicians, sports figures, radio personalities and former real-life cops who were familiar to audiences in the 1960s and 1970s made appearances on the series, including Claude Akins, Edward Albert, Robert Alda, Pedro Armendariz Jr., Desi Arnaz Jr., Ed Asner, Frankie Avalon, Noah Beery, Jr., Jim Brown, Dick Butkus, Edd Byrnes, Godfrey Cambridge, Joseph Campanella, David Cassidy, Dabney Coleman, Chuck Connors, Mike Connors, Jackie Cooper, James Cromwell, Kim Darby, Clifton Davis, Howard Duff, Patty Duke, Vince Edwards, Eddie Egan, Chad Everett, Joe Garagiola, Louis Gossett Jr., Harold Gould, Robert Goulet, David Groh, Clu Gulager, Larry Hagman, Earl Holliman, Rodolfo Hoyos, Jr., David Janssen, Gabe Kaplan, Lenore Kasdorf, Casey Kasem, Sally Kirkland, Cheryl Ladd, Steve Lawrence, Jerry Lee Lewis, Cleavon Little, Tony Lo Bianco, Gary Lockwood, Tina Louise, Robert Mandan, George Maharis, Darren McGavin, Donna Mills, Martin Milner, Sal Mineo, Cameron Mitchell, Diana Muldaur, Don Murray, Tony Musante, Joanna Pettet, Pernell Roberts, Smokey Robinson, Alex Rocco, Kurt Russell, John Saxon, William Shatner, Gregory Sierra, Robert Stack, Sylvester Stallone, Dean Stockwell, Jan-Michael Vincent, Stuart Whitman, Fred Williamson, and Lana Wood.
Episodes
This is a list of episodes for the television series Police Story.
Original series overview
Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
First aired | Last aired | |||
1 | 22 | September 25, 1973 | March 26, 1974 | |
2 | 22 | September 10, 1974 | May 6, 1975 | |
3 | 22 | September 9, 1975 | March 12, 1976 | |
4 | 22 | September 21, 1976 | April 5, 1977 | |
5 | 7 | September 27, 1977 | May 23, 1979 | |
6 | 3 | April 2, 1980 | May 3, 1987 |
Original series episodes
![]() | This section needs a plot summary. (October 2015) |
Season 1 (1973–74)
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Runtime | Original air date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Pilot | "Slow Boy" | E. Jack Neuman | William A. Graham | 120 min | March 20, 1973 |
2 | 1 | "Dangerous Games" | John Badham | Robert L. Collins | 60 min | October 2, 1973 |
3 | 2 | "Requiem for an Informer" | Marvin Chomsky | Sy Salkowitz | 60 min | October 9, 1973 |
4 | 3 | "The Ten Year Honeymoon" | Marvin Chomsky | E. Arthur Kean | 60 min | October 23, 1973 |
5 | 4 | "The Violent Homecoming" | Virgil Vogel | Mark Rodgers | 60 min | October 30, 1973 |
6 | 5 | "The Ho Chi Minh Trail" | Richard Benedict | Michael Donovan | 60 min | November 6, 1973 |
7 | 6 | "Collision Course" | David Friedkin | Stanford Whitmore | 60 min | November 20, 1973 |
8 | 7 | "Death on Credit" | Edward M. Abroms | Sy Salkowitz | 60 min | November 27, 1973 |
9 | 8 | "The Big Walk" | Robert Day | Don Ingalls | 60 min | December 4, 1973 |
10 | 9 | "Man on a Rack" | John Llewellyn Moxey | Adrian Spies | 60 min | December 11, 1973 |
11 | 10 | "Line of Fire" | Barry Crane | E. Arthur Kean | 60 min | December 18, 1973 |
12 | 11 | "Chain of Command" | Leo Penn | S : David Friedkin; S/T : Morton Fine | 60 min | January 8, 1974 |
13 | 12 | "Countdown: Part 1" | Richard Benedict | Mark Rodgers | 60 min | January 15, 1974 |
14 | 13 | "Countdown: Part 2" | Richard Benedict | Mark Rodgers | 60 min | January 22, 1974 |
15 | 14 | "Cop in the Middle" | Gary Nelson | Sy Salkowitz | 60 min | January 29, 1974 |
16 | 15 | "The Ripper" | Gary Nelson | Don Ingalls | 60 min | February 12, 1974 |
17 | 16 | "Country Boy" | Barry Crane | Michael Donovan | 60 min | February 19, 1974 |
18 | 17 | "The Hunters" "Big John Morrison" | Richard Benedict | Sy Salkowitz | 90 min | February 26, 1974 |
19 | 18 | "Wyatt Earp Syndrome" | Robert L. Collins | Robert L. Collins | 60 min | March 5, 1974 |
20 | 19 | "Fingerprint" | Barry Crane | Sy Salkowitz | 60 min | March 12, 1974 |
21 | 20 | "Chief" | Virgil Vogel | Robert L. Collins | 60 min | March 19, 1974 |
22 | 21 | "The Gamble" | Richard Benedict | Robert L. Collins | 60 min | March 26, 1974 |
Season 2 (1974–75)
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Runtime | Original air date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
23 | 1 | "A Dangerous Age" | Virgil Vogel | E. Arthur Kean | 60 min | September 10, 1974 |
24 | 2 | "Requiem for C.Z. Smith" | Paul Krasny | Robert L. Collins | 60 min | September 17, 1974 |
25 | 3 | "Robbery: 48 Hours" | Virgil Vogel | Robert L. Collins | 60 min | September 24, 1974 |
26 | 4 | "Fathers and Sons" | Gary Nelson | Leonardo Bercovici | 60 min | October 1, 1974 |
27 | 5 | "World Full of Hurt" | Barry Crane | Sean Baine | 60 min | October 8, 1974 |
28 | 6 | "Glamour Boy" | Virgil Vogel | Sy Salkowitz | 60 min | October 29, 1974 |
29 | 7 | "Across the Line" | Nicholas Colasanto | Mark Rodgers & E. Jack Neuman | 60 min | November 12, 1974 |
30 | 8 | "Wolf" | Barry Shear | E. Arthur Kean | 60 min | November 19, 1974 |
31 | 9 | "Love, Mabel" | Robert L. Collins | S : Shel Willens; S/T : Jerrold L. Ludwig | 60 min | November 26, 1974 |
32 | 10 | "Explosion" | Alex March | Sy Salkowitz | 60 min | December 3, 1974 |
33 | 11 | "Captain Hook" | Richard Benedict | Frank Telford | 60 min | December 17, 1974 |
34 | 12 | "Incident in the Kill Zone" | Alexander Singer | E. Arthur Kean | 60 min | January 7, 1975 |
35 | 13 | "Headhunter" | Alexander Singer | Jerrold L. Ludwig | 60 min | January 14, 1975 |
36 | 14 | "Year of the Dragon: Part 1" | Virgil Vogel | Mark Rodgers | 60 min | January 21, 1975 |
37 | 15 | "Year of the Dragon: Part 2" | Virgil Vogel | Mark Rodgers | 60 min | January 28, 1975 |
38 | 16 | "To Steal a Million" | Barry Crane | Calvin Clements Jr. | 60 min | February 4, 1975 |
39 | 17 | "Sniper" | Alex March | Larry Brody & Sy Salkowitz | 60 min | February 11, 1975 |
40 | 18 | "The Execution" | Alexander Singer | Sean Baine | 60 min | February 18, 1975 |
41 | 19 | "The Man in the Shadows" | Richard Benedict | Jerrold L. Ludwig | 60 min | February 25, 1975 |
42 | 20 | "War Games" | Richard Benedict | David Moessinger | 60 min | March 4, 1975 |
43 | 21 | "The Witness" | Edward M. Abroms | Ken Pettus & Sy Salkowitz | 60 min | March 11, 1975 |
44 | 22 | "The Return of Joe Forrester" | Virgil Vogel | Mark Rodgers | 90 min | May 6, 1975 |
Season 3 (1975–76)
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Runtime | Original air date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
45 | 1 | "Officer Needs Help" | Paul Wendkos | Ed Waters | 60 min | September 9, 1975 |
46 | 2 | "The Cutting Edge" | Michael O'Herlihy | E. Arthur Kean | 60 min | September 16, 1975 |
47 | 3 | "A Community of Victims" | Robert L. Collins | Robert L. Collins | 60 min | September 23, 1975 |
48 | 4 | "Losing Game" | Alex March | Mark Rodgers | 60 min | September 30, 1975 |
49 | 5 | "The Cut Man Caper" | Don Medford | Larry Brody | 120 min | October 28, 1975 |
50 | 6 | "Face for a Shadow" | Alex March | Don Ingalls | 60 min | November 7, 1975 |
51 | 7 | "Test of Brotherhood" | Don Medford | Rick Kelbaugh | 60 min | November 14, 1975 |
52 | 8 | "The Empty Weapon" | Michael O'Herlihy | Sean Baine | 60 min | November 21, 1975 |
53 | 9 | "Little Boy Lost" | Alexander Singer | Jerrold L. Ludwig | 60 min | November 28, 1975 |
54 | 10 | "Vice: 24 Hours" | Lee H. Katzin | Don Ingalls | 60 min | December 5, 1975 |
55 | 11 | "Breaking Point" | Robert L. Collins | Robert L. Collins & Christian Wise | 60 min | December 12, 1975 |
56 | 12 | "Company Man" | Alexander Singer | Jerrold L. Ludwig | 60 min | December 19, 1975 |
57 | 13 | "Spanish Class" | Gary Nelson | Mark Rodgers | 60 min | January 2, 1976 |
58 | 14 | "Odyssey of Death: Part 1" | Don Medford | Harold Medford | 60 min | January 9, 1976 |
59 | 15 | "Odyssey of Death: Part 2" | Don Medford | Harold Medford | 60 min | January 16, 1976 |
60 | 16 | "The Other Side of the Fence" | Alexander Singer | S : Joshua Hanke; T : Tim Maschler | 60 min | January 23, 1976 |
61 | 17 | "50¢ First Half Hour, $1.75 All Day" | Barry Crane | Millard Kaufman | 60 min | January 30, 1976 |
62 | 18 | "Firebird" | Lee H. Katzin | E. Arthur Kean | 60 min | February 6, 1976 |
63 | 19 | "The Long Ball" | Alexander Singer | Eric Bercovici | 60 min | February 13, 1976 |
64 | 20 | "Eamon Kinsella Royce" | Tony Lo Bianco | Michael Mann | 60 min | February 20, 1976 |
65 | 21 | "Officer Dooly" | E. Arthur Kean | E. Arthur Kean | 60 min | March 5, 1976 |
66 | 22 | "Open City" | Barry Crane | Sean Baine | 60 min | March 12, 1976 |
Season 4 (1976–77)
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Runtime | Original air date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
67 | 1 | "Payment Deferred" | Corey Allen | Eric Bercovici & Leonardo Bercovici | 60 min | September 21, 1976 |
68 | 2 | "Bought and Paid For" | Alf Kjellin | Sean Baine | 60 min | October 5, 1976 |
69 | 3 | "Two Frogs on a Mongoose" | Bob Kelljan | Rick Kelbaugh | 60 min | October 12, 1976 |
70 | 4 | "The Other Side of the Badge" | Gary Nelson | Eric Bercovici | 60 min | October 26, 1976 |
71 | 5 | "Three Days to Thirty" | Barry Crane | Shel Willens | 60 min | November 9, 1976 |
72 | 6 | "Trash Detail, Front and Center" | Seymour Robbie | Rick Kelbaugh | 60 min | November 16, 1976 |
73 | 7 | "Thanksgiving" | Jerry London | Michael Mann | 60 min | November 23, 1976 |
74 | 8 | "Monster Manor" | Barry Shear | John Sacret Young | 60 min | November 30, 1976 |
75 | 9 | "Oxford Gray" | Vince Edwards | Kendelle J. Blair & David Korn | 60 min | December 7, 1976 |
76 | 10 | "The Jar: Part 1" | Michael O'Herlihy | Shel Willens | 60 min | December 14, 1976 |
77 | 11 | "The Jar: Part 2" | Michael O'Herlihy | Shel Willens | 60 min | December 21, 1976 |
78 | 12 | "Trial Board" | Corey Allen | Michael Mann | 60 min | January 4, 1977 |
79 | 13 | "Spitfire" | Seymour Robbie | Ed Waters | 60 min | January 11, 1977 |
80 | 14 | "Nightmare on a Sunday Morning" | Bob Kelljan | S : David Korn; T : Liam O'Brien & Ed Waters | 60 min | January 18, 1977 |
81 | 15 | "The Malflores" | Alexander Singer | John Sacret Young | 60 min | January 25, 1977 |
82 | 16 | "The Blue Fog" | Michael O'Herlihy | Shel Willens | 60 min | February 1, 1977 |
83 | 17 | "Hard Rock Brown" | Alf Kjellin | Michael Donovan | 60 min | February 15, 1977 |
84 | 18 | "End of the Line" | Michael O'Herlihy | Sean Baine | 60 min | February 22, 1977 |
85 | 19 | "One of Our Cops Is Crazy" | E. Arthur Kean | E. Arthur Kean | 60 min | March 1, 1977 |
86 | 20 | "Ice Time" | Robert Scheerer | John Sacret Young | 60 min | March 8, 1977 |
87 | 21 | "The Six Foot Stretch" | Michael O'Herlihy | E. Arthur Kean | 60 min | March 24, 1977 |
88 | 22 | "Prime Rib" | Don McDougall | Ed Waters | 60 min | April 5, 1977 |
Season 5 (1977–78)
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Runtime | Original air date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
89 | 1 | "Trigger Point" | Jerry London | Mark Rodgers | 120 min | September 27, 1977 |
90 | 2 | "Stigma" | Barry Shear | Rick Kelbaugh | 120 min | November 9, 1977 |
91 | 3 | "River of Promises" | Lee H. Katzin | Michael Mann | 120 min | January 14, 1978 |
92 | 4 | "Day of Terror... Night of Fear" | E. Arthur Kean | E. Arthur Kean | 120 min | March 4, 1978 |
93 | 5 | "The Broken Badge" | Lee H. Katzin | Adrian Leeds | 120 min | March 19, 1978 |
94 | 6 | "No Margin for Error" | Virgil Vogel | Mark Rodgers | 120 min | April 30, 1978 |
95 | 7 | "A Chance to Live" | Corey Allen | S : Richard Fielder; T : Larry Brody | 120 min | May 28, 1978 |
Specials (1979–87)
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Runtime | Original air date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
96 | 1 | "A Cry for Justice" | Bob Kelljan | Calvin Clements Jr. | 120 min | May 23, 1979 |
97 | 2 | "Confessions of a Lady Cop" | Lee H. Katzin | Mark Rodgers | 120 min | April 28, 1980 |
98 | 3 | "The Freeway Killings" | William A. Graham | Mark Rodgers | 240 min | May 3, 1987 |
Revival series overview
Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
First aired | Last aired | |||
1 | 5 | October 29, 1988 | December 3, 1988 |
Revival series episodes
No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | U.S. viewers (millions) | Rating/share (households) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
R1 | "The Cop Killers" | Larry Shaw | Rick Kelbaugh | October 29, 1988 | 13.7[1] | 9.0/16[1] | |
Remake of "Stigma" | |||||||
R2 | "Gladiator School" | James Darren | Adrian Leeds | November 5, 1988 | 11.9[2] | 8.1/15[2] | |
Remake of "The Broken Badge" | |||||||
R3 | "The Watch Commander" | Gary Nelson | Mark Rodgers | November 12, 1988 | 13.6[3] | 8.9/16[3] | |
Remake of "Trigger Point" | |||||||
R4 | "Burnout" | Michael Switzer | Mark Rodgers | November 26, 1988 | 11.8[4] | 8.2/15[4] | |
Remake of "Confessions of a Lady Cop" | |||||||
R5 | "Monster Manor" | Aaron Lipstadt | John Sacret Young | December 3, 1988 | 10.1[5] | 6.6/12[5] | |
Remake of "Monster Manor" |
References
- ^ a b "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today. November 2, 1988. p. 3D. ProQuest 306129406.
- ^ a b "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today. November 9, 1988. p. 3D. ProQuest 306136856.
- ^ a b "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today. November 16, 1988. p. 3D. ProQuest 306140699.
- ^ a b "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today. November 30, 1988. p. 3D. ProQuest 306106502.
- ^ a b "Nielsen ratings". Life. USA Today. December 7, 1988. p. 3D. ProQuest 306146398.
External links
- Police Story at IMDb
- Police Story at The Classic TV Archive
Awards and nominations
Two episodes received an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best Episode in a Television Series: "Requiem for an Informer," written by Sy Salkowitz (from the first season), and "Requiem for C.Z. Smith," by Robert E. Collins (second season). In 1976, the show won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series.
DVD release
On September 6, 2011, Shout! Factory (under license from Sony Pictures) released season 1 of Police Story on DVD in Region 1.[1] As of August, 2015, 49 complete episodes were available on YouTube.com.
Revival
In 1988, ABC aired four Police Story TV films using scripts from the original run to fill in for the ABC Mystery Movie, then delayed by the writers' strike. The stars of the films included Ken Olin, Robert Conrad, and Jack Warden.[2]
References
- ^ http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Police-Story-Season-1-Press-Release/15605
- ^ The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present. Ballantine Books. 2003 pg. 945 ISBN 0-345-45542-8
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
Warning: Default sort key "Police Story (Tv Series)" overrides earlier default sort key "Police Story episodes".
- Lists of American crime drama television series episodes
- 1970s American television series
- 1973 American television series debuts
- 1977 American television series endings
- American anthology television series
- American crime television series
- Edgar Award-winning works
- NBC network shows
- Television series by Sony Pictures Television
- Television shows set in Los Angeles, California
- Fictional portrayals of the Los Angeles Police Department
- Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series winners