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| Available at Amazon.com |
It has been twenty years everyone and by now you should have seen at least one episode of COPS, even if by accident. If you haven’t, I’ll break it down for you all. The basic premise is that a camera crew joins up with the police forces in different cities all around the United States. The officers talk directly to the camera as they drive around and discuss how the job is for them and about some of the calls they go on. Soon a dispatch comes over the radio, the lights come on, and the whole crew is en route. No matter if it is a domestic dispute, robbery, murder, or the majority which are drug deals; you get to witness it all first hand.
What you get with this DVD is a forty-five minute feature showcasing some of the best moments in this show’s history all thrown together into different categories so you have an idea of what is coming. Or so you think. I can honestly say that I’ve seen at least a hundred different episodes of the series and there are still a lot of things that surprise me from time to time. Sometimes people will pull a gun or a knife making things really hairy for the officers answering the call. A lot of the time there is plenty of humor as drunk, junkies, and pure white trash never think they’ve done anything wrong.
I’m not a big fan of most reality shows unless they incorporate some kind of contest like in Big Brother and Survivor. All other reality shows that simply watch celebrities or random people in their everyday lives are useless and horrible wastes of the time people have in their existence. COPS differs from those series because it not only gives plenty of humor, danger, and insight into the lives of the law, but it is not staged whatsoever. Every single thing you see is real and is dangerous. These men and women are putting their lives on the line and at any second, their damage to their health, harm to their physical being, their loss of sanity, and even their own demise could be captured on film.
There are a lot of life lessons to be learned from this series. First of all it never pays to do drugs and try to lie about it because you’re going to get called out on your lies. Don’t run from the cops because they are going to catch you even if you are “smart” enough to hide between a mattress and box spring. Hiding crack in your mouth is either going to get you caught in a vicious headlock or ending the night in the emergency room. And you will notice this on many occasions folks, but the cameraman usually does run faster then the officers in pursuit. Count on it.
The film is shown in 1.33:1 Full Screen format and come on, you’ve all seen COPS before. You know exactly what it looks like.
The film is heard in Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Sound and ditto.
Original Pilot Episode – The first ever episode for COPS is shown in its entirety and boy was it ever different. This forty-four minute episode is far different from what you’ll see on a daily basis in the reruns today. There was a lot of background music and it was almost as if the invisible fourth television wall was there. They paid no attention to the camera and just acted as if it wasn’t there. At the end of the shift, the crew even would go home with the officers. Just awkward. There is optional commentary from executive producer John Langley and others like former officers and the former President of Fox. Langley did not like how the show originally played out and you’ll learn that quickly from all he has to say here.
Las Vegas Heat Episode – This is another strange episode that just seems to out of place for what the series has presented to fans over the past twenty years. If you’ve ever seen the series First 48, then you get the idea of what this episode was like. There was a homicide and the cops were going all out to solve it. Langley and others join in again on optional commentary.
Parodies And Tributes – Here is a fifteen minute collection of all the tributes other television series paid to COPS by either referencing them or spoofing them. X-Files, Futurama, and My Name Is Earl are just a few of those shown here and they are awesome. There’s also a cool segment showing COPS in Star Wars mode.
Famous Fan Favorites – If you’re looking for full blown nudity without the blurry box, then this is the special feature for you. Stars like Richard Donner, Chris O’Donnell, Marlee Matlin, and many more talk about their favorite COPS moments of all time complete with footage. This feature lasts close to twelve minutes.
Sizzling Scenes From The First 10 Seasons – Simply what it says here and that’s some more of the greatest scenes from the first ten years of COPS and they are just incredibly cool.
Sizzling Scenes From The Second 10 Seasons – Can’t leave the set incomplete so the next ten years get their best moments shown and once again it is nothing but the best of the best here.
The Story Of COPS – John Langley is on center stage here in this twenty-two minute featurette talking about the history of COPS from the original planning stages all the way up to what it is today. This is a fantastic in depth look at how the idea came about, some of the dangers everyone has faced, and even how the “Bad Boys” theme song was chosen for the series opening.
COPS on COPS – Here in this thirty-one minute feature, more (and totally different) scenes are shown from different episodes but now the cops you see in the scenes are giving their thoughts on everything going on. COPS gives fans a bird’s eye view of the action and goings on in a police officer’s daily life. This is even more information here as the officers actually sit down and talk more about what they are doing or how they’ve felt when particular situations arose.
Lights! Camera! Action! Toughest Takedowns – What do you expect in this thirty-five minute feature just by looking at the name? You got it right my friends. Some of the hardest and roughest takedowns in COPS history and you won’t be able to look away. I guarantee you that you’ll sit up and “ooooooooo God!” every time you see someone thrown to the ground. And for those that like watching COPS or World’s Wildest Police Chases, you can learn how to use the stop sticks first hand.
There is no end in sight to the amount of episodes of COPS I watch each week. I’ve seen so many of the episodes so many times that you’d think by now I’d be tired of them even though I can recite a lot of the excuses from the suspects. Not true. You can’t get enough of COPS and it’s the God’s honest truth. If you’ve ever seen the show before then you know what I’m talking about. If you’ve never seen the show before, then where the hell have you been? The main feature is great but that isn’t the real reason to buy this DVD. The special features are phenomenal and add so much more to this set. You’re going to get some of the best moments from the early days when feathered hair and big shades were a way of life for the police force. Together there is at least close to five hours of extra stuff to check out once the main feature is complete. You’ll get the best moments from today when the force is lined with buzzcuts and those same big sunglasses. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it; you need this set. So whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do when they come for you? Sorry.
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20th Century Fox presents COPS 20th Anniversary Edition. Created by: John Langley. Running time: 131 minutes on 2 discs. Rating: R. Released on DVD: February 19, 2008. Available at Amazon.com
About Danny Cox
