Police Squad!

[Mr+Ripley]

  If you've ever enjoyed the franchise of The Naked Gun movies but were unaware of the original TV series that spawned them, or did know, but have never had the chance to watch it, you're in luck..

  The series Police Squad! is airing from next Tuesday on Comedy Central at 10.55 pm with the first two episodes ( E2 at 11.30 pm ). Unfortunately, due to a dumb TV executive decision, it only ran for one season, 6 episodes. 

  For some reason, it's been one of those shows that hardly ever gets shown. I recall seeing it the first time it aired in the UK, which would be many decades ago now. It was made in the early 80s. It was finally released on DVD in 2006 & that would have been the next time I saw it. I'm sure the reason I bought the DVD was that I could never find it on TV over here.

  Anyway, it's definitely worth watching if you like the films, it's the same team behind it as the films, and Leslie Nielsen is Frank Drebin. I'm guessing it's finally getting shown over here to tie in with the new Naked Gun movie coming out soon, with Liam Neeson as Frank Drebin Jnr

[Anonymous]

Is it in Color? 

[MarkGoldsmith]

Funnily enough, I just rewatched the Naked Gun films a few weeks ago after seeing the trailer for the new movie, and it made me Google to see if there was a way to watch the full Police Squad episodes. I'll certainly be watching these.

[Anonymous]

@MarkGoldsmith Have had the DVD for years. I only remember them being shown once on BBC2 when the first Naked Gun film was in cinemas. 

[Mr+Ripley]

  This reminded me of another US comedy that almost never gets shown in the UK, Soap. It was very funny & had one of the first openly gay characters on US TV, Jodie Dallas, played by Billy Crystal in a breakout role. It was created by Susan Harris, who then went on to create The Golden Girls ( currently available on Disney+, so why not Soap as well? ). 

  I saw it when it came to the UK in the late 70s, & I don't think it's been on over here since. I did have S1 on DVD at one point, but it's really hard to buy the whole series; it's either expensive or on Region 1, requiring a multi-region DVD player to see it. 

  Does anyone else remember it?

[Mr+Ripley]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Is it in Color? 

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  @Anonymous  It certainly is, & let's not forget the freeze-frame endings when the titles roll. 😉

[Anonymous]

@Mr+Ripley Or the special guest stars! 

[ozsat]

First shown in many ITV regions in 1983 - but repeats later were on BBC.

Excellent series.

[oj01]

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@Mr+Ripley wrote:

  If you've ever enjoyed the franchise of The Naked Gun movies but were unaware of the original TV series that spawned them, or did know, but have never had the chance to watch it, you're in luck..

  The series Police Squad! is airing from next Tuesday on Comedy Central at 10.55 pm with the first two episodes ( E2 at 11.30 pm ). Unfortunately, due to a dumb TV executive decision, it only ran for one season, 6 episodes. 

  For some reason, it's been one of those shows that hardly ever gets shown. I recall seeing it the first time it aired in the UK, which would be many decades ago now. It was made in the early 80s. It was finally released on DVD in 2006 & that would have been the next time I saw it. I'm sure the reason I bought the DVD was that I could never find it on TV over here.

  Anyway, it's definitely worth watching if you like the films, it's the same team behind it as the films, and Leslie Nielsen is Frank Drebin. I'm guessing it's finally getting shown over here to tie in with the new Naked Gun movie coming out soon, with Liam Neeson as Frank Drebin Jnr

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Thanks for this. Can't believe they only made 6.

[oj01]

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@Mr+Ripley wrote:

  This reminded me of another US comedy that almost never gets shown in the UK, Soap. It was very funny & had one of the first openly gay characters on US TV, Jodie Dallas, played by Billy Crystal in a breakout role. It was created by Susan Harris, who then went on to create The Golden Girls ( currently available on Disney+, so why not Soap as well? ). 

  I saw it when it came to the UK in the late 70s, & I don't think it's been on over here since. I did have S1 on DVD at one point, but it's really hard to buy the whole series; it's either expensive or on Region 1, requiring a multi-region DVD player to see it. 

  Does anyone else remember it?

---

Wow! Another blast from the past!

"This is the story of two sisters, Jessica Tate and Mary Campbell......"

(How can I remember that and not something that happened last week 🤣?)

Created the spin off series of Benson, which more people will probably remember.

[Mr+Ripley]

  @oj01 Remember I wrote about a " dumb TV executive decision "?  Found this on Wiki, an explanation for the 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. In an interview for the DVD release of the series, Nielsen said ABC entertainment president Tony Thomopoulos asserted Police Squad! was canceled because viewers had to pay close attention to the show in order to get much of the humor: "the viewer had to watch it in order to appreciate it".  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".

  And there you have it. 

[Mr+Ripley]

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@oj01 wrote:

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@Mr+Ripley wrote:

  This reminded me of another US comedy that almost never gets shown in the UK, Soap. It was very funny & had one of the first openly gay characters on US TV, Jodie Dallas, played by Billy Crystal in a breakout role. It was created by Susan Harris, who then went on to create The Golden Girls ( currently available on Disney+, so why not Soap as well? ). 

  I saw it when it came to the UK in the late 70s, & I don't think it's been on over here since. I did have S1 on DVD at one point, but it's really hard to buy the whole series; it's either expensive or on Region 1, requiring a multi-region DVD player to see it. 

  Does anyone else remember it?

---

Wow! Another blast from the past!

"This is the story of two sisters, Jessica Tate and Mary Campbell......"

(How can I remember that and not something that happened last week 🤣?)

Created the spin off series of Benson, which more people will probably remember.

---

  Apart from Billy Crystal, the standout for me was Richard Mulligan as Burt Campbell; he was hilarious. Chuck & his sidekick dummy, Bob, were also good. 

  A very funny line I've always remembered was when Jodie ( Billy Crystal ) tells Jessica Tate that Plato was homosexual, to which she responds, " Really, Mickey Mouse's dog was gay? "

  Such a funny series, it really should be shown again, I don't get why it hasn't been with all the platforms we have now.

[Mr+Ripley]

---

@Mr+Ripley wrote:

  If you've ever enjoyed the franchise of The Naked Gun movies but were unaware of the original TV series that spawned them, or did know, but have never had the chance to watch it, you're in luck..

  The series Police Squad! is airing from next Tuesday on Comedy Central at 10.55 pm with the first two episodes ( E2 at 11.30 pm ). Unfortunately, due to a dumb TV executive decision, it only ran for one season, 6 episodes. 

  For some reason, it's been one of those shows that hardly ever gets shown. I recall seeing it the first time it aired in the UK, which would be many decades ago now. It was made in the early 80s. It was finally released on DVD in 2006 & that would have been the next time I saw it. I'm sure the reason I bought the DVD was that I could never find it on TV over here.

  Anyway, it's definitely worth watching if you like the films, it's the same team behind it as the films, and Leslie Nielsen is Frank Drebin. I'm guessing it's finally getting shown over here to tie in with the new Naked Gun movie coming out soon, with Liam Neeson as Frank Drebin Jnr

---

  My partner & I saw the new film yesterday at the cinema. Oh, what a joy it was to see a comedy that is actually funny. Very little in the way of comedy shows or films makes me laugh these days, mostly due to them thinking they're funnier than they actually are. I'm sure everyone has a great time making them & there's lots of laughs on set, but for some reason it never transfers to the screen. 

  This is not the case with the new Naked Gun film. The makers have done a great job of capturing the spirit of the original Naked Gun films. I must admit, I was a bit unsure going in as to whether it would hold up, but within five minutes, I knew I was going to have a good time. There were so many laugh-out-loud moments, whether it be straightforward jokes, sight gags, or plain ol' silliness, it was all there.