The Sad State of Comedy
Police Squad! may have been cancelled after six episodes, but it remains one of the cleverest comedies ever made. This video explores why.
In a world of modern live-action comedies that settle for cheap punchlines and overused tropes, Police Squad! stands as a masterclass in clever humour. This 1982 gem, from the creators of Airplane! and The Naked Gun, transformed comedy into an intricate art form where every word, scene, and prop mattered.
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What is Police Squad?
Police Squad! was an American television crime comedy series broadcast on the ABC network in 1982. It was created by David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker, and starred Leslie Nielsen as Frank Drebin. A spoof of police procedurals, the series featured Zucker, Abrahams, and Zucker's usual sight gags, wordplay and non sequiturs. While a parody of many television shows and movies, it bore a particular resemblance to the Lee Marvin cop show M Squad (in particular the opening credits) and the late 1960s series Felony Squad. Although the show was canceled after six episodes, it later successfully spawned The Naked Gun film series from 1988 to 1994. In 2013, TV Guide ranked it #7 on its list of 60 shows that were "Cancelled Too Soon".
Police Squad! was created by Zucker, Abrahams, and Zucker, who had previously worked together on The Kentucky Fried Movie and Airplane!. Despite critical acclaim, the show was canceled by ABC after just six episodes. The show gained a strong cult following through repeat broadcasts, which led to The Naked Gun film series. Many of the show's gags were recycled for all three films.
Alan North played the role of Captain Ed Hocken on the show; in the films, the role was played by George Kennedy. Peter Lupus co-starred as Officer Norberg, but in the films, O. J. Simpson appeared as the similarly named Officer Nordberg. Apart from Nielsen, the only actors to reprise their role in the films were Ed Williams, who played scientist Ted Olson, and Ronald "Tiny Ron" Taylor as Al, a very tall officer who is seen only from the neck down. Robert Goulet, who appeared as one of the "special guest stars" who were invariably killed off at the beginning of episodes, appeared as the villain Quentin Hapsburg in the second Naked Gun film. Joyce Brothers played herself in the first Naked Gun film. She also played herself in the fourth episode of the show.
Each episode featured end credits over a 1970s-style freeze frame of the final scene, except that the frame was not frozen – the actors simply stood motionless in position while other activities (pouring coffee, a convict escaping, a chimpanzee throwing paper, etc.) continued around them.
The show's opening sequence was a satire on traditional crime-drama opening sequences, particularly those of M Squad and various Quinn Martin shows such as The Fugitive and particularly The New Breed (which also starred Nielsen). Hank Simms, who had worked as an announcer for some of Martin's programs, announced the title of each episode, though the spoken title never matched the title caption. The sequence introduces Nielsen and North as their characters during a shootout, as well as Abraham Lincoln impersonator Rex Hamilton, who dramatically returns gunfire to John Wilkes Booth. Hamilton never appeared in the show itself.
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