Customer Reviews
Marmite Man Correction - By: Mr. T. Glister, 08 Oct 2008 
Slight correction to MarmiteMan's review. Police Squad was shown on TV long before 1989, I beleive 1983. I finished schoolin 1983 & remember 'discussing' it at school. I believe that ITV (it may have just been local ITVin Hampshire)showed itin the early evening.
Police Squad - An American Comedy which is funny for Brits - By: T. Lindsay, 08 Aug 2007 Ironic that it got cancelled then. This was because 'you had to watch it to understand it', obviously they never watched 'Lost' then cause i don't bloody understand that even now. This type of humour can't help but raise smiles & can get better everytime you view it due to noticing things you didn't see the first time. American comedy for me can sometimes just be rubbish but this is a definate exception, this is laugh out loud stuff which really was meant for the movie screen. This is certainly reflectedin The Naked Gun Trilogy (well 1 & 2 1/2 anyway), so is highly recommended.
irony can be pretty ironic sometimes - By: D. abbott, 25 Jun 2007 cant believe there was only 6in the series.and the outtakes are even worse.a rare thing something from the u.s. that is funny.loved it then & now
There are 8 million stories in the Naked City. Here are six. - By: MarmiteMan, 18 May 2007 Ah yes, I remember it well. Remember first seeing them, remember where I was, remember what I was doing, & remember whom I was not doing it with/to [sigh]. Produced by ABC, the series saw its first US transmission on 4 March, 1982, but I believe its first UK transmission wasin 1989 on BBC2, late-evening.
"My name is Sergeant Frank Drebin, Detective-Lieutenant, Police Squad, a special division of the Police Department"
Forget done-to-death POLICE ACADEMY, this is the best police drama spoof ever! Yes, you may now have guessed it, I refer to POLICE SQUAD (in colour), that marvellous creation of David & Jerry Zucker with Jim Abrahams, who gave us other classics such as AIRPLANE! and, of course, THE NAKED GUN series - which fans may recall of its subtitle comes "from the files of Police Squad."
Which is the original, featuring Leslie Nielsen parodying his previous 'serious' cop series THE PROTECTORS & THE NEW BREED, delivering puns & non-sequiteurs whilst playing it straight amid an avalanche of sight & sound gags. He had recently done deadpan comedyin AIRPLANE! butin POLICE SQUAD (in colour) he found his niche. The opening credits always featured Drebin, his boss Ed Hocken (Alan North) & Abraham Lincoln (Rex Hamilton) confidently returning fire following an ambush by assailants unknown, & "tonight's guest star" suffering some spectacular death, often after they, too, had confidently returned fire during an ambush. Drebin is then seenin his car, with deliberately-awful backdrops, introducing the flavour of the episode. "I'd just come from the stockyards. We'd gotten reports of hundreds of cows had been senselessly slaughteredin the area, but I couldn't find any evidence. I stopped off for a hamburger & checkedin with headquarters. My boss was already there."
There were three regular supportsin the series. There was Nordberg (played by Peter Lupus - strongman Willy Armitagein the MISSION IMPOSSIBLE TV series) but who became O.J. Simpsonin THE NAKED GUN. There was 'Dr. Olson'in the lab, who was slightly sinister, if not seedy as he explained some physical or chemical procedure to some wide-eyed pre-teen kid amazed to be at the police station ("Run along Jenny, & next week I'll show you why women can't play professional football."). He featured only oncein THE NAKED GUN, much toned-down. By my favourite character did not: Johnny the Snitch, who - for a consideration - always has the word-on-the-street, but also advises genuine professionals on tricky technical procedures, eg. Dr. Joyce Brothers (noted psychologist), Dick Clark (noted TV presenter), Tommy Lasorda (celebrated coach of the L.A. Dodgers), et al.
The TV series POLICE SQUAD (in colour) received two Emmy nominations (Nielsen as lead comedy actor & Zucker, Zucker & Abrahams as series writers, 1982), & a Satellite Nomination (best DVD release of a TV show, 2006). Incredibly, however - & I quote from Cult, the strip that used to run down the edge of the Radio Times - "ABC cancelled Police Squad after six programmes, reportedly because it required above-average concentration from US viewers." [am folding it up again, & it's going backin the wallet] Well, we love hearing that of Americans, of course, however unfair, but this apparent 'shortcoming' was elaborated upon during the interview with Leslie Nielsen. It was due to screen size: whilst Nielsen & North were being deadpanin the foreground, both around & behind them there was too much going on for most viewers to follow on a small television screen. So several years later they expanded the format & made THE NAKED GUN. And the rest, as they say, is expenses!
And now finally available on DVD: POLICE SQUAD (in colour) THE COMPLETE SERIES. A single disc, all six classic episodes are backed-up by a great Special Features list: the above-mentioned Leslie Nielsen Interview, "Behind The Freeze Frames" Featurette, Gag Reel (what we call out-takes!), Casting Test - Alan North, Casting Test - Ed Williams, Producers' Photo Gallery Of Scenery Sets And Props, List Of Celebrity Death Shots & Production Memo Highlights. Don't understand why it is rated 15, though; am pretty sure the British censor would rate it 12A or even PG.
POLICE SQUAD, THE COMPLETE SERIES (did I mention it'sin colour?) - RECOMMENDED!
An instant classic! - By: The Beast, 13 May 2007 one of the funniest things i have seenin a long time. I am not sure why it is a 15 though????
