Police Squad!: The Complete Series – DVD Review

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Available at Amazon.com

Creators/Executive Producers:
David Zucker, Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams

Cast:
Leslie Nielsen ………. Sergeant Frank Drebin, Detective Lieutenant Police Squad
Alan North ………. Captain Ed Hocken
Rex Hamilton ………. Abraham Lincoln
William Duell ………. Johnny the Snitch
Ed Williams ………. Ted Olson, Scientist
Peter Lupus ………. Norberg

The Show:
Doubtless you’ve heard of Jim Abraham and the Zucker Brothers. Along with Mel Brooks, they’ve helped make spoof comedy movies very popular – and profitable. Unfortunately this has created a wave of more recent spoof comedies that aren’t very funny.

Regardless, after the success of their movies The Kentucky Fried Movie and Airplane!, the Zuckers and Abrahams created this show, a spoof of TV police dramas. Leslie Neilsen, a spry 56 at this point, was brought on to play Sergeant Frank Drebin, Detective Lieutenant Police Squad, a serious character who seems oblivious to the strange happenings around him.

Unfortunately, the show was cancelled after four episodes, with two more episodes being burned off in the summer. The reason, apparently was “because the viewer had to watch it in order to appreciate it.” Which doesn’t really make sense, but appropriate given the nature of the series.

As you might expect, gags and one liners are plentiful in the series, some will make you groan, some will make you scratch your head, and all will keep you entertained and looking for “easter eggs” within each episode. Of course, if you just want to know what some of the gags are, head to Wikipedia for more information on them. But trust me, it’s better if you just watch the episodes.

Episodes:
1 “A Substantial Gift (The Broken Promise)”
Celebrity Death: Lorne Greene
Drebin is assigned to investigate holdups in several credit unions.

2 “Ring of Fear (A Dangerous Assignment)”
Celebrity Death: George Stanford Brown
Frank goes undercover to break up a match-fixing ring.

3 “The Butler Did It (A Bird in the Hand)”
Celebrity Death: Robert Goulet (who oddly enough was the villain in Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear)
A wealthy family’s daughter is kidnapped and held for ransom, and well, I guess you can figure out who did it.

4 “Revenge and Remorse (The Guilty Alibi)”
Celebrity Death: William Shatner
The judge and prosecutor in a case against a bomber are killed in explosions, and the bomber appears to be the prime suspect.

5 “Rendezvous at Big Gulch (Terror in the Neighborhood)”
Celebrity Death: Florence Henderson
Drebin and Norberg work undercover as shop owners after a dance school teacher is beaten up for not paying protection money.

6 “Testimony of Evil (Dead Men Don’t Laugh)”
Celebrity Death: William Conrad
Drebin goes undercover to infiltrate and break up a drug ring.

The DVD:
Video:
(Presented in Fullscreen Format)
Surprisingly nice, considering the age of the series.

Audio:
(Dolby Digital: English 5.1 Surround, English 2.0)
If anyone can tell me why this needed surround sound, I’d appreciate it.

Special Features:
Leslie Neilsen Interview – Leslie talks about how he came to be the star of Police Squad! Which is about how you might’ve expected it to go down.

Behind The Freeze Frames – At the end of every episodes, there’s a “freeze frame” which parodies the use of a freeze frame over the end credits. Of course, this being Police Squad, the actors are in fact staying still, while things are still happening, like a chimpanzee running amok in the office. This takes a look at one of them, for which the producers were making an “extended” version for a possible movie which would combine the episodes together into one.

Gag Reel – Yep.

Casting Test – Alan North
Casting Test – Ed Williams – See how these two guys did in their initial screen tests.

Producer’s Photo Gallery of Scenery, Sets & Props – They’re not kidding.

List of Celebrity Death Shots – Exactly what it sounds like.

Production Memo Highlights – A few choice memos, ranging from “changes to appease Standards and Practices” to “Cancellation”. The ones pertaining to Standards and Practices are worth a look.

Audio Commentaries:
– “A Substantial Gift (The Broken Promise)” – (David Zucker, Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Robert K. Weiss)
– “The Butler Did it (A Bird in the Hand)” – (David Zucker, Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Robert K. Weiss)
– “Testimony of Evil (Dead Men Don’t Laugh)” – (Robert Wuhl)
Yep, Arliss gets a commentary. Apparently, he co-wrote the episode.

The DVD Lounge’s Ratings for Police Squad!: The Complete Series
CATEGORY
RATING
(OUT OF 10)
THE SHOW

9
THE VIDEO

6
THE AUDIO

5
THE EXTRAS

5
REPLAY VALUE

9
OVERALL
7.5
(NOT AN AVERAGE)

Kevin has been an Insider since 2003, writing on a variety of topics ranging from The Amazing Race to Mixed Martial Arts. His current hobbies include Fantasy Football, Sporcle, travelling, making liberal use of his DVR and wondering what the heck he's gonna do when his two daughters are old enough to date. You can follow Kevin on Twitter (@starvenger).