''Police Squad!'' is an American
crime comedy television series that was broadcast on the
ABC network in 1982. It was created by
David Zucker,
Jim Abrahams, and
Jerry Zucker, starring
Leslie Nielsen
Leslie William Nielsen (February 11, 1926November 28, 2010) was a Canadian actor and comedian. With a career spanning 60 years, he appeared in more than 100 films and 150 television programs, portraying more than 220 characters.
He made his a ...
as
Frank Drebin. A
spoof of
police procedural
The police procedural, police show, or police crime drama is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasises the investigative procedure of police officers, police detectives, or law enforcement agency, law enforcement agencies ...
s and many other television shows and movies, the series features
Zucker, Abrahams, and Zucker's usual
sight gags,
wordplay, and
non sequiturs. It resembles the
Lee Marvin police show ''
M Squad'' (in particular the opening credits) and the late 1960s series ''
Felony Squad''. It was canceled after six episodes, and yielded ''
The Naked Gun'' film series from 1988 to 1994.
Overview
''Police Squad!'' was created by
David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker (ZAZ), who had previously worked on the films ''
The Kentucky Fried Movie'' (1977) and ''
Airplane!
''Airplane!'' (alternatively titled ''Flying High!'') is a 1980 American disaster film, disaster comedy film written and directed by Jim Abrahams and brothers David Zucker, David and Jerry Zucker in their List of directorial debuts, directoria ...
'' (1980). ZAZ wanted to make another spoof film similar to ''Airplane!'', using the television series ''
M Squad'' as a basis for the spoof. Lacking an overarching plot to the concept,
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...
president
Michael Eisner
Michael Dammann Eisner ( ; born March 7, 1942) is an American businessman and former chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Walt Disney Company from September 1984 to September 2005. Prior to Disney, Eisner was president of rival film ...
instead secured them a six-episode television series, despite ZAZ wanting to make it into a film.
The show aired as a mid-season replacement in March 1982, but was taken off the schedule after four episodes.
The remaining two episodes were dumped onto the summer schedule in place of the usual summer reruns. Against critical acclaim, the show was canceled by
ABC after just six episodes.
The show gained a strong
cult following
A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The latter is often called a cult classic. A film, boo ...
through repeat broadcasts on cable channels.
Alan North played Captain Ed Hocken, and
Peter Lupus co-starred as Officer Norberg. In the films, those roles were played by
George Kennedy and
O. J. Simpson respectively, with Norberg renamed Nordberg. The only actors who reprised their roles in the films are Leslie Nielsen,
Ed Williams as scientist Ted Olson, and
Ronald "Tiny Ron" Taylor as the very tall Al.
Joyce Brothers played herself in the fourth episode and in ''
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!''.
Robert Goulet, one of the "special guest stars" killed during the title sequence, plays the villain Quentin Hapsburg in ''
The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear''.
Episodes
Each episode's voiced title differs from that displayed on screen. In the following list, the voiced title is in parentheses.
Cast
*
Leslie Nielsen
Leslie William Nielsen (February 11, 1926November 28, 2010) was a Canadian actor and comedian. With a career spanning 60 years, he appeared in more than 100 films and 150 television programs, portraying more than 220 characters.
He made his a ...
as
Frank Drebin, detective lieutenant of Police Squad. Jerry Zucker explained that the name Drebin was picked blindly from the phone book. Zucker, Abrahams, and Zucker had met Nielsen when working on ''
Airplane!
''Airplane!'' (alternatively titled ''Flying High!'') is a 1980 American disaster film, disaster comedy film written and directed by Jim Abrahams and brothers David Zucker, David and Jerry Zucker in their List of directorial debuts, directoria ...
'' (1980) and decided that their kind of humor matched.
The team said that Nielsen would be perfect as Drebin, as the character lampooned the roles that Nielsen had played in television dramas such as ''
The Bold Ones: The Protectors'' and ''
S.W.A.T.''
*
Alan North as Ed Hocken, captain of Police Squad and Drebin's superior officer. in
''The Naked Gun'' film series, the role was recast to
George Kennedy.
*
Peter Lupus as Norberg, a dimwitted officer who serves under Drebin. In ''The Naked Gun'' films, the character was slightly renamed to "Nordberg" and recast to
O.J. Simpson.
*
Ed Williams as Ted Olson, a lab technician at Police Squad. Prior to being cast, Williams had been a science teacher for many years and had some previous acting experience. Zucker, Abrahams, and Zucker were amazed by his performance.
*
William Duell as Johnny the Snitch, a
shoeshiner
Shoeshiner or boot polisher is an occupation in which a person cleans and buffs shoes and then applies shoe polish, a waxy paste to give a shiny appearance and a protective coating. They are often known as shoeshine boys because the job was tr ...
who acts as an informant for Drebin on multiple cases. Johnny is the only recurring character from ''Police Squad!'' to not appear in any of ''The Naked Gun'' films.
*
Ronald "Tiny Ron" Taylor as Al, an abnormally tall officer whose head is always placed out of frame.
Rex Hamilton is also credited in every episode as "
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...
", with the same clip in all opening credits as his only appearance.
Production
Opening sequence

The show's opening sequence is a satire on traditional crime-drama opening sequences, particularly those of ''
M Squad'' and various
Quinn Martin
Quinn Martin (born Irwin Martin Cohn; May 22, 1922 – September 5, 1987) was an American television producer. He had at least one television series running in prime time every year for 21 straight years (from 1959 to 1980). Martin is a memb ...
shows such as ''
The Fugitive'' and particularly ''
The New Breed'' (which also stars 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 matches the title caption.
The sequence introduces Nielsen and North during a shootout, and
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...
impersonator Rex Hamilton, who dramatically returns gunfire to
John Wilkes Booth
John Wilkes Booth (May 10, 1838April 26, 1865) was an American stage actor who Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, assassinated United States president Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. A member of the p ...
, as his only appearance.
Another recurring gag in the opening credits sequence is the "special guest star", a celebrity who is introduced but immediately murdered.
These special guest stars are
Lorne Greene
Lorne Hyman Greene (born Lyon Himan Green; February 12, 1915 – September 11, 1987) was a Canadian actor, singer, and radio personality. His notable television roles include Ben Cartwright on the Western ''Bonanza'' and Commander Adama in ...
,
Georg Stanford Brown,
Florence Henderson,
William Shatner
William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1966 debut as the captain of the starship USS Enterpri ...
,
Robert Goulet, and
William Conrad.
John Belushi
John Adam Belushi ( ; January 24, 1949 – March 5, 1982) was an American comedian, actor, singer and musician. He was one of seven ''Saturday Night Live'' cast members of the first season. He was arguably the most popular member of the ''Satur ...
was slated as "special guest star" for the fifth episode and a scene with Belushi tied to blocks of concrete under water was filmed. Following Belushi's unexpected death in March 1982, the scene was replaced with footage of Florence Henderson before the episode was broadcast the following July.
Belushi's accidental death shocked Zucker, Abrahams, and Zucker, as they had joked about it after he had nearly choked during the filming of the scene.
A list of possible celebrity death shots was included in the DVD release.
Writing
The show was intended to mock police dramas in the same way in which ''Airplane!'' mocks disaster movies.
Zucker, Abrahams, and Zucker wrote the pilot episode,
in which most straight lines were directly copied from an ''M Squad'' episode. The pilot episode is a near scene-for-scene remake of "More Deadly", the opening episode of the second season of ''M Squad''. Pat Proft, who had worked with Zucker, Abrahams, and Zucker on ''
The Kentucky Fried Movie'' (1977) and ''Airplane!'' (1980), wrote the third episode.
Robert Wuhl was invited to join the writing staff after he had auditioned for the lead role in ''Airplane!''. He co-wrote the show's second and sixth episodes with
Tino Insana.
Both episodes contain cultural references to old movies such as ''
On the Waterfront
''On the Waterfront'' is a 1954 American crime drama film, directed by Elia Kazan and written by Budd Schulberg. It stars Marlon Brando, and features Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb, Rod Steiger, Pat Henning and Eva Marie Saint in her film de ...
'' and ''
The French Connection''. In Wuhl's audio commentary for the DVD, he mentioned that it was a nice opportunity, but that he did not really feel a connection with the show, especially because of its short run.
Direction
The first episode of ''Police Squad!'' was directed by Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker. Two of the show's six episodes were directed by filmmaker
Joe Dante
Joseph James Dante Jr. (; born November 28, 1946) is an American film director. His films—notably ''Gremlins'' (1984) alongside its sequel, ''Gremlins 2: The New Batch'' (1990)—often mix the 1950s-style B movie genre with Counterculture of th ...
, who recalled in 2008,
I knew the Zuckers from second unit on '' Rock 'n' Roll High School'' and '' Kentucky Fried Movie'' and had turned down ''Airplane!'' – don’t ask! When they got ''Police Squad!'' going, they asked me to do the second one. It only lasted six episodes, two of which I directed.
ABC had no idea what to do with the show, which had no laugh track and resembled a rerun of a ’60s program. The network kept changing the time slot so no one could find it, and people casually switching it on thought it really was an old TV show! Like they did in their features, the boys used real TV episodes as their template, mostly a ’50s Lee Marvin series called ''M Squad''. It was lots of fun to do and was the first thing I ever directed on a studio lot. I prefer the TV show to the later ''Naked Gun'' movies.
Cancellation
ABC announced the cancellation of ''Police Squad!'' after four of its six episodes had aired in March 1982. The final two episodes were aired that summer. In an interview for the DVD release of the series, Nielsen said ABC entertainment president
Tony Thomopoulos asserted ''Police Squad!'' was canceled because viewers had to pay close attention to the show in order to get much of the humor: "the viewer had to watch it in order to appreciate it". Nielsen also thought the premise was more effective in the successful ''Naked Gun'' films because the much larger screen size in a cinema increases the efficacy of the visual gags. In its annual "Cheers and Jeers" issue, ''
TV Guide
TV Guide is an American digital media
In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...
'' magazine called the explanation for the cancellation "the most stupid reason a network ever gave for ending a series".
Home media
In 1985,
Paramount Home Video first released all six episodes of the show on
VHS,
Betamax
Betamax (also known as Beta, and stylized as the Greek letter Beta, β in its logo) is a discontinued consumer analog Videotape, video cassette recording format developed by Sony. It was one of the main competitors in the videotape format war ag ...
, and
LaserDisc
LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. It was developed by Philips, Pioneer Corporation, Pioneer, and the movie studio MCA Inc., MCA. The format was initially marketed in the United State ...
formats as two separate volumes: ''Police Squad!: Help Wanted!'' and ''More! Police Squad!'', each with three episodes in their production order. Paramount and CBS DVD first released the series on
DVD in 2006 in a
keep case on one disc. The episodes are in airing order from ABC. The DVD extras include production notes from network executives, a "freeze-frame" that was filmed but never used, bloopers, casting tests, and an interview with Nielsen. Zucker, Abrahams, and Zucker, producer
Robert K. Weiss, and writer
Robert Wuhl recorded audio commentary for the first, third, and sixth episodes. Critics universally praised how the show was still funny after more than 20 years.
The series was released in
Blu-ray
Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...
format in the US on April 14, 2020.
Legacy
''Naked Gun'' film series
After the cancellation of ''Police Squad!'', ZAZ returned to films, creating the comedies ''
Top Secret!'' and ''
Ruthless People''. At this point, they were able to identify a narrative to apply to the ''Police Squad!'' formula for a theatrical film by adding a romantic plotline, and the film ''
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!'' was readily greenlit by Paramount.
It performed well at the box office, grossing around $78,756,177.
The film led to the ''
Naked Gun'' trilogy with two sequels, ''
The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear'' (1991) and ''
Naked Gun : The Final Insult'' (1994), were released. ''The Naked Gun : The Smell of Fear'' was considered the most successful of the three, grossing around $86,930,411,
and ''Naked Gun : The Final Insult'' grossed $51,132,598.
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...
rated the first movie out of four stars and gave three stars to each of the two following films.
Spin-offs
A series of British advertisements for
Red Rock Cider were made in the same style, with the opening titles changed to other names such as "Fraud Squad" or "Fried Squid", and featuring Leslie Nielsen. The advertisements were shown in British cinemas as well as on television. They were directed by
John Lloyd, with such apparent success that Zucker, Abrahams, and Zucker approached him to direct ''Naked Gun : The Final Insult'', but he turned them down. During the
WWE's SummerSlam 1994 pay-per-view event, the ''Police Squad!'' characters look for
The Undertaker
Mark William Calaway (born March 24, 1965), better known by his ring name the Undertaker, is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Calaway ...
, who had previously vanished.
Reception
Critical response
On
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, ''Police Squad!'' has an aggregate score of 90% based on 28 positive and three negative critic reviews. The website’s consensus reads: "Wacky, inventive, and endlessly quotable, ''Police Squad!'' is a hysterically funny leap forward for TV comedy that was tragically ahead of its time."
Upon the home video release in 1985, ''
Washington Post
''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' critic
Tom Shales commented "People can rent them and laugh, and then cry that ABC was so cruel." In 2009, the DVD set was nominated for a
Satellite Award for Best DVD Release of a TV Show, though it lost to the DVD set of the
eighth season of
Fox's ''
The Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...
''. In 2013, ''
TV Guide
TV Guide is an American digital media
In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...
'' ranked it #7 on its list of 60 shows that were "Cancelled Too Soon".
Matt Groening
Matthew Abram Groening ( ; born February 15, 1954) is an American cartoonist, writer, producer, and animator. He is best known as the creator of the television series ''The Simpsons'' (1989–present), ''Futurama'' (1999–2003, 2008–2013, 2 ...
, creator of ''
The Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...
'', has said, "If ''Police Squad!'' had been made twenty years later, it would have been a smash. It was before its time. In 1982 your average viewer was unable to cope with its pace, its quick-fire jokes. But these days they'd have no problems keeping up, I think we've proved that."
Awards and nominations
See also
* ''
Sledge Hammer!'', a sustained satire of ''
Dirty Harry'' and other action heroes
*''
A Touch of Cloth'', a 2012 UK crime spoof miniseries
*''
Angie Tribeca'', a 2016 TV crime spoof series
References
External links
*
The TV MegaSite's Police Squad Site*
*
{{Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker
1980s American parody television series
1980s American police comedy television series
1980s American satirical television series
1980s American single-camera sitcoms
1982 American television series debuts
1982 American television series endings
American English-language television shows
The Naked Gun
Parodies of television shows
Television series by CBS Studios
Television shows adapted into films
American Broadcasting Company sitcoms