Police Squad – CliqueClack Flashback

Here’s the one word to describe Police Squad: stupid. Not in the way that The Hills is stupid, or Kath & Kim, or The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric is stupid. ABC’s Police Squad, which came and went all too quickly in 1982, was funny stupid. To put it another way…if you were a 13-year-old dweeb who crapped his pants watching Airplane!, Police Squad was so-funny-you-pee-your-pants stupid.

There were a few reasons for this. Created by Jim Abrahams and the Zucker brothers (Jim and David), Squad had all of the insane elements that made Airplane! the success it was two years before (minus the nudity, that is). It was also an excellent parody of the numerous hard-boiled detective series (most produced by Quinn Martin Productions) that were slowly disappearing as TV went through one of its many transformations. But, the biggest reason for its great stupidity was the show’s star — Leslie Nielsen.

Known mostly for his totally serious roles in movies like Forbidden Planet and television shows like The Bold Ones, Nielsen shot to comedic stardom with his deadpan role in Airplane!. He took that persona to Police Squad as Detective Frank Drebin. Unlike the Clouseau-esqe stance he took in the Squad movie franchise, Nielsen played Drebin as a straight cop that happened to think every insane thing going on around him was normal. From a detective so tall their head couldn’t be seen, to the buffet table and carving station that were somehow squeezed into the prencinct, to a shootout between him and a perp that took place only inches apart — this was all normal for Frank.

Because he took it all in stride it made what was happening around him, and others, even funnier to us. And, boy howdy, there was a lot happening around them! It’s a shame that there was no such thing as a DVR back then so viewers could slow things down to take in everything going on. If you never saw an episode before, you’d be utterly surprised at what they could fit into 30 minutes (or less) of show. If Squad were to air today most viewers’ heads would probably explode.

Despite each installment being as over the top as possible there were certain trademarks that appeared in each episode. Towards the end of the title sequence a deep-voiced announcer would say ‘Special guest star…’ followed by the guest star’s name. In what amounted as a cameo, the star they mentioned would die by somebody shooting or stabbing them. I clearly remember the scene that starred William Shatner. Unlike his previous guest star counterparts, Bill survived a volley of bullets only to die by drinking some poison wine.

Another hallmark of the series was its end credits. Instead of the show ending in a freeze frame, all of the actors would freeze in place. Meanwhile, activity such as a monkey running over everyone would be occuring. Other things that took place in each episode were: a visit to the crime lab, where Ted Olson would be very close to putting a young child into a near death situation; Drebin offering someone a cigarette or coffee with the response being ‘Yes, I know.'; Frank’s poor driving skills; and a visit with shoeshine boy Johnny, who knew everything about everyone.

Sadly, Police Squad’s run on ABC ended after a mere six episodes. However, not only is it fondly remembered, and available on DVD, but it spawned so many other shows that it’s now seen as an important piece of television history. I mean, without Squad we would have never had shows like Sledge Hammer, The Simpsons, Family Guy or Scrubs, which took many elements form the Abrahams-Zucker series. And, since The Simpsons will probably remain on the air until the apes rule the Earth, the memory of Police Squad will remain intact.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLXyC1cuN3M

Clacked by Richard Keller
on Apr 15, 2009 @ 11:00 EST5EDT