Police Squad!: The Complete Series
Includes all 6 episodes!
Marginally a "straight" police drama in the Jack Webb/Quinn Martin school, Police Squad! occurs in a strange universe where everything is taken literally (when a name "rings a bell" we here bells go off everytime someone mentions it), non sequiturs occur (a mime tries to spell out a ransom note, and Officer Nordberg guesses "Theme From a Summer Place") and sight gags abound (while looking for a corpse, someone wants to know the time and the dead man's hand drops out of a tree).
Member Reviews
Just brilliant! - SStones
I can see why it didn't catch on in the 1980s. The combination of wordplay consistantly keeping the viewer refocussing on the new "Straight man" while the sight gags and horrible visual puns go on would have been too much for the audience of the time. We must remember, Mork and Mindy was off the air and comedies were back to the pace of the obvious lead-up, the joke, and the laughtrack followed by a pause and a close-up of the character to whom the audience was supposed to attribute the humour. (WKRP, or later, Family Ties etc.) Something fast paced like this, hilarious as it is, would have been uncomfortable to the average viewers, they'd be switching over to the comfortable comedy of the Huxtables.
It was so good to see this again. I think I must have only ever seen 2 episodes back in the day. So much of this was totally new.
Seeing it on DVD with the episodes in order is great as you can appreciate the development and progression of so many of the running gags.If you like Naked Gun, you will love this! - MovieB
I did not know that this short lived series were released on DVD. I am a big fan of Naked Gun and I loved every minute of this DVD, including the special futures. I think, all the episodes are as funny as the movies, and for a couple of moments, even funnier. I strongly advice all fans to watch this DVD, at least for the loving memory of Leslie Nielsen.Still funny after all these years - Steady
I’m not sure how this type of comedy would stand up to today’s standards but for those of us who grew up with it, this still touches the funny bone. Leslie Nelson is a genius of slapstick, innuendo comedy and this series shows him at his best. Lots of funnier series have come along since but no one has matched Neilson in how he can deliver a line or give a look to get a laugh.
Member Reviews
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Just brilliant! - SStones
I can see why it didn't catch on in the 1980s. The combination of wordplay consistantly keeping the viewer refocussing on the new "Straight man" while the sight gags and horrible visual puns go on would have been too much for the audience of the time. We ...If you like Naked Gun, you will love this! - MovieB
I did not know that this short lived series were released on DVD. I am a big fan of Naked Gun and I loved every minute of this DVD, including the special futures. I think, all the episodes are as funny as the movies, and for a couple of moments, even funnier. ...Still funny after all these years - Steady
I’m not sure how this type of comedy would stand up to today’s standards but for those of us who grew up with it, this still touches the funny bone. Leslie Nelson is a genius of slapstick, innuendo comedy and this series shows him at his best. Lots of funnier ...