Police Squad!

[Amasov]

Oh. My. God.

I just finished watching all six episodes of this short-lived series, which eventually gave birth to The Naked Gun films. I knew of Police Squad! and saw several clips, but never actually sat down and watch all the episodes. I finally did this past weekend and it was a rock from start to finish. Absolutely and undeniably hysterical; so dumb, it's brilliant. I was quite surprised when I saw that many of the jokes from the first Naked Gun film actually originated on the series ("There's something on the side of your mouth, Al. No, no, the other side.").

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pmdE-xP_K4[/yt]

This may very well have been my favorite moment in the series.

- "You're under arrest. Sergeant, take her away and book her."
- "Sergeant Take-Her-Away. Sergeant Booker."



A shame the series didn't last beyond its six episodes, but I suppose had it gone on, it may not have led to the films.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ Those damn movies totally ruined the character of Frank Drebin, IMHO.

If you'll notice, Drebin - in the original series - is actually a decent cop who's good at his job. He's the classic comedy "straight man". He doesn't DO the funny things, he just does his job while being oblivious to the fun going on around him. In fact, nobody in the whole show actually ACTS funny - they just deliver their lines as if it was a serious drama, but some of the lines are actually humorous. That's the whole fucking POINT of this series!!!

Drebin in the movies is a bumbling idiot. He's not supposed to be like that! The TV series is a tribute to those old classic Quinn Martin Productions series, and the central hook is to get serious dramatic actors and make them still 'act' dramatic, but put it in a funny context.

Rest in peace, Leslie Nielsen. There will never be another one like you. (Michael Hogan, maybe. God, I'd love to see him try something like this... )

"Sorry, Bobby. No sax before a fight."

"Our next stop was a neighborhood known as Little Italy..."

And REX HAMILTON as Abraham Lincoln!

 

[Amasov]

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_3rJqHWYjs[/yt]

I was laughing so hard when I first saw these. They are absolutely brilliant.

A friend of mine once commented that it was hard to believe that Nielsen was once a serious actor, to which I think helped him in these roles. As you point out, he's being serious in all of these comedies, treating all the comedic events as if it's the norm.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ And just remember this: At least 75% of the script for the movie Airplane! (which Nielsen also starred in of course, and is basically the same kind of humor) was taken, VERBATIM, from a serious disaster film (Zero Hour!).

"Tonight's special guest star...Florence Henderson!"

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynJdsaE9rps[/yt]

 

[Christopher]

I was quite surprised when I saw that many of the jokes from the first Naked Gun film actually originated on the series...

Oh, yes. At the time the movie was made, the filmmakers had no idea that the series would one day be released on home video, so they basically used the movie as a sort of remake of the series, a way of recycling material that, as far as they knew, was otherwise lost forever.

But I agree with Mr. Laser Beam that the movies changed the intent and nature of the humor, although it's not just Drebin that they changed, but the whole world. Police Squad!, like Airplane! and Top Secret (and before them, the Adam West Batman), was built around deadpan humor -- presenting an absurd world but having its occupants play it absolutely seriously, as if its craziness were perfectly normal. Drebin was a tough, no-nonsense, capable cop by the standards of a ludicrous, cartoony world. But the movies turned him more into an Inspector Clouseau character, a bumbling fool who was looked on with scorn by the people around him.

It parallels the evolution of Nielsen's own career. The whole reason he was cast in Airplane! and Police Squad! is because he was known as a serious actor, and they wanted him to play the goofy material as seriously as possible and mine humor from the incongruity. But somehow that led to him having a reputation as a comedy actor, and he started getting his roles written accordingly, becoming a perennial clown. To some extent, a similar thing happened with other actors who appeared in the Airplane films, including Lloyd Bridges, Peter Graves, and William Shatner.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I miss those old Quinn Martin shows.

 

[Haggis and tatties]

I miss those old Quinn Martin shows.

I just need to hear the clip below and i travel back to the late 70's on Saturday night staying at my wee grannies.......Cannon or Starky and Hutch, then it was the BBC2 horror double bill were i saw the classic frankenstein and werewolf movies and we stayed up till the unbeleivable time of 1:00am. lol

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGJ82yhdMqk&feature=related[/yt]


God those were the days......and only this year did i once again see cannon and saw the Salinas jackpot.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

And as much as I hated the Naked Gun movies, they did have one of my favorite lines.

"How could you do something so VICIOUS?"
"It was easy. You forget, I spent two years as a building contractor."

See? Even Ricardo Montalban can be funny...

 

[MacLeod]

I suspect if they did many more episodes it might not be as fondly remembered

 

[Admiral2]

I miss those old Quinn Martin shows.

Here's the actual old cop show Police Squad borrowed the most from:

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaOsNhSGYoE[/yt]

 

[Christopher]

Here's the actual old cop show Police Squad borrowed the most from:

Wow, awesome music.

 

[Harvey]

I suspect if they did many more episodes it might not be as fondly remembered

Considering the sheer number of jokes packed into each episode, it's hard to imagine they could have kept up the pace for a full season each year.

 

[Stiletto]

"Is this some kind of bust?" - woman

"Yes, ma'am, it's very impressive" - Drebin

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Act II: Lieber

 

[JustAFriend]

Leslie Neilsen had a thing for fart jokes.
Here's his tombstone in Fort Lauderdale, FL...

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Our next stop was a neighborhood known as Little Italy.

 

[Forbin]

Oh, man my wife and I just watched the whole series a couple of weeks ago. It was... well, exactly as I remember it.

 

[Trekker4747]

^ Those damn movies totally ruined the character of Frank Drebin, IMHO.

If you'll notice, Drebin - in the original series - is actually a decent cop who's good at his job. He's the classic comedy "straight man". He doesn't DO the funny things, he just does his job while being oblivious to the fun going on around him. In fact, nobody in the whole show actually ACTS funny - they just deliver their lines as if it was a serious drama, but some of the lines are actually humorous. That's the whole fucking POINT of this series!!!

Yeah. I liked the NG movies, but Police Squad was much more the better tone because of this. It's like in "Airplane!" where Neilsen is playing the "straight man" to the silliness going on around him. That was the point of Police Squad! Drebin was unaware he was in a sitcom and behaved like a regular police officer in a regular show.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

 

[Balrog]

Classic!