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Police Squad:Help Wanted [VHS]

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"Police Squad," which aired in 1982, starred Leslie Nielsen as Detective Frank Drebin, Alan North as Captain Ed Hocken, Ed Williams as scientist Ted Olson, William Duell as Johnny the Snitch, and Rex Hamilton as Abraham Lincoln. The first three episodes from the short-lived but well-remembered comedy created by the Zucker Brothers are preserved on this tape. I have included both the title that appeared on the screen and the one intoned by the narrator (in that order). Oh, and please remember that the "guest star" for each episode is always killed during the title credits. Now, back to the episodes:

(1) "A Substantial Gift"/"The Broken Promise," the March 4, 1982 series premier with guest star Lorne Greene (dumped out of a car with a knife buried in his chest), finds Frank investigating the murder of a teller at the bank. His girlfriend Sally says it was a recently fired employee, but Frank has his doubts. There is a great scene involving Frank trying to get clear about "Jim Fell" and an equally funny visit to the Dentist. (2) "Ring of Fear"/"A Dangerous Assignment," with guest star Georg Stanford Brown" (crushed by a falling safe), has Frank working the case of a boxer who is murdered after refusing to take a dive. This means a visit to Jim's Gym for Frank, who ends up working with a real dog. (3) "Rendevouz at Big Gulch"/"Terror in the Neighborhood" takes out guest star Florence Henderson (gunned down in her kitchen while making a meal and singing) before Frank and Norberg go undercover at a dance studio to crack down on a protection racket. I really like the fight at the studio.

Why on earth did this hysterical show not succeed? Well, apparently there were so many sight gags (e.g., the Japanese Garden consisting of Japanese people standing in large flower pots), that people actually had to WATCH the show, which, it seems, they did not like to do. Now they have to pay to watch Frank Drebin in the movies. Go figure.

Why isn't this on DVD? Taken together, the six episodes of 'Police Squad!' (in colour, no less) form three of the most consistently funny hours of television comedy. Like 'Fawlty Towers', it didn't go on long enough to be boring, and it's a lot funnier and more focused than the 'Naked Gun' films. And any series which features William Shatner being poisoned deserves respect.

These are the first three episodes of Police Squad, the program that laid out the ground works for the Naked Gun series and a lot of other parodies out there (stuff like chalk outline jokes and name puns). I personally consider Police Squad to be better than the Naked Gun series, and all other parodies made by the Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker team. Too bad there were only six episodes made, as this is just pure gold in my humble opinion.

This is an extremely hilarious tape. It is just as funny, if not more, than the NAked Gun movies. Watch it a few times and you'll realize all the jokes you've missed.

What, only 6 stinkin' episodes is all this show has? Shows you what Hollywood thinks is and isn't funny. The cast is great and the Jokes...Sight Gags that really make you feel good about Vision! A Must Have- What No DVDs?

Perhaps, in some wonderful alternate time-band, "Police Squad!" lasted beyond six episodes to survive for, say, two seasons. Or three. Surely, true fans of the series are asking but one question at this point: "My name is not Shirley, but can you tell me how to get to this wonderful time-band?" I'm afraid I can't, but if anyone knows the secret, please share it with me--care of Shirley, of course.

As it stands, six installments are all we have, and they are the funniest TV episodes ever produced, with a dream comedy cast headed by Leslie Nielsen, Alan North, and Peter Lupus. North and Lupus were to continue onto the big screen for the "Naked Gun" series, but studio bigwigs insisted they be replaced by actors with greater name recognition. What a shame!

This, and the second "Police Squad!" video, present the episodes in uncut form. The less said about heavily-edited cable airings of this masterpiece, the better.

Well, there is no other way to describe the three episodes on this tape other than hilarious. If you have a place in your heart for the type of humor found in the Naked Gun movies or Airplane or Hot Shots or Top Secret then you should order this video and its companion video right now. The two videos will give you the only six episodes made of this amazing television show.(3 episodes per tape) Leslie Nielsen is in top form in all of the episodes. Ed and Norberg are played by different actors in these tv episodes than they were in the movies so that might seem a little weird at first. But after the first episode you'll find yourself enjoying these actors as much as O.J. and George Kennedy in the movies. Since each episode is only thirty minutes the gags are flying pretty much non-stop the whole time. Each episode also had a celebrity guest who would be brutally killed off within the first couple of minutes. Now how is that for entertainment! The tv show may have even been a little funnier than the movies if that is possible!

I must confess off the bat that I bought this on eBay as a DVD without realising it isn't yet available in this format - the DVDs were burned and didn't last long :( Why this series hasn't been released on DVD is beyond me when you see some of the junk that did make it to DVD!

I won't review the individual episodes as others have already done this, only to add that the show is a hilarious send up of 1960/70s US cop shows, full of big old cars, plaid jackets with wide lapels, small guns, devious women, smartass cops, and a stereotypical scientist working behind the scenes to solve some crazy crimes. There are loads of long-running jokes which appear in each episode (Frank's driving, verbal trickery, frozen tableaux to end each episode etc). One of my favourites is when Frank and the lab guy enter the lab - the lab boy opens a door and walks in while Frank simply walks through a large opening beside the door. There is some fantastic inverted humour in the style of Monty Python, and earlier still, the Goon Show. My favourite is the following dialogue, when Frank turns up at the scene of an abduction;

Frank. Was there a ransom note?
Ed. Yeah, they tied it to this window and threw it into the rock garden. I've sent it over to the lab. They're demanding a million dollars.
Frank. Why are the lab demanding a million dollars?

All in all, this show is an absolute GEM. It is much better than the movies which are still funny, but too glitzy in my opinion - I much preferred the earthiness of Police Squad! The fact that they only made 6 episodes helps keep the quality very high. The actors all play their parts to perfection, especially Leslie Nielsen, and the writing is sblime.

This is probably the only DVD I own that I watch over and over again and still laugh out loud. I even invite my friends over to watch it - most haven't heard of it and almost invariably love it to death.

Don't hesistate - just buy this ASAP!!!!!!!

"Police Squad" was made by the famous Zucker/Abrahams/Zucker trio that made "Airplane!" and "Kentucky Fried Movie." They later made "Police Squad" into the "Naked Gun" films. Unfortunately, only about 6 episodes ran. See, you have to pay attention to the screen in order to enjoy this, and TV is more of a passive medium. Many of the sight gags are lost on an audience that isn't paying much attention to what is going on.

Fortunately, "Police Squad" has become more popular due to the success of the Naked Gun trilogy and occasional airings on Comedy Central.

The laughs start from the opening credits. I'm not going to give anything away, but I can assure you that the opening (and closing) credits are hilarious.

This review applies to both "Police Squad!" tapes.

Not that many people know about this show anymore, and that's a pity. It is one of the most hilarious parodies ever made. From the opening credits (where each week's guest star is killed) to the closing credits (which sends up the then common trend of "freezing" the last image) it's a non-stop hoot. As others have said,the "Naked Gun" movies came from this series, but this is better than the movies. They don't have to fill 90+ minutes, so it's more tightly focused.

When ABC ran the series, they never gave it a chance and canceled it after six episodes. I remember a reviewer describing them as "The network of the Philistines" for that. That's apt. This show parodies the TV cop shows that were in vogue then. You don't have to have seen those shows to appreciate this one, but you do have to pay attention. A lot of the wit is in the dialogue, and it's like English humor, the punch line is not telegraphed and the characters often do not even react to it, they take it as totally normal.

If you lived through that era, this uproarious show will be even better. During the late '70s - early '80s, producer Quinn Martin dominated the cop show airwaves. "The Rookies", "Barnaby Jones", Cannon", etc. were everywhere. This series, while great in its own right, parodies the style of those shows in particular. The sytle, the way each segment is introduced as an "Act", the narration--in fact, they even got the narrator from the Quinn Martin shows for this series!

I can not praise this show highly enough. Because not that many people know this show now, it may never show up on DVD. The most likely time it would have was when the Naked Guns came out on DVD. but it didn't happen. So if you have a shot at getting them on VHS, grab 'em NOW and treasure them.