"Police Squad!"

I love this show. Who owns it? Viacom? Is there any possibility of a DVD release? I'd love to see a Police Squad!/Naked Gun box set.

 

Not to hijack the thread - but what the @#$% is wrong with Leslie Nielsen? The movies that he's done recently (Wrongfully Accused, Spy Hard, and that awful space/star wars/whatever spoof) - are severely NOT funny, IMO

The man seems to be doing the same Frank Drebin routine, and while it was great the first time, and still OK the third time, it just looks pathetic the fifth time around.

No matter where you are in the States, you are closer to Leslie than I am... pass a word - maybe it is time to rethink his act or call it quits

 

He's Canadian, IIRC. But you're right about his schtick having gone sour. I have a theory, though. In "Airplane!" and "Police Squad!", he played it straight and didn't do "zany" things, or really even react to the ever-increasing insanity around him. He just played it straight, ya know? Like everything was normal. Of course, with the advent of the "Naked Gun" movies, he started to ham it up a bit more, and went more with the physical comedy angle. And, sure, Naked Gun was good, but the two sequels weren't fantastic, and none of those movies approached the brilliance of Airplane!, much less Police Squad!, which is the best comedy TV has ever run, IMO. My favorite TV show ever.

AFAIK, Viacom owns it. There were two VHS tapes that contained the complete series...I think they could combine these two into one DVD pretty easily. They could charge $100 and I'd still get it....

 

Doggone it, I thought this was going to be a thread announcing Police Squad DVDs were scheduled! Personally, I'd like to see a set with just the TV shows separate from the movies. Lots of extras and commentaries as well, of course.

 

He seemed funnier in the State Lottery commercials for radio and TV he's done for Ohio and West Virginia in the past couple of years than in those movies you mentioned!

"What's your vector Victor? "
"Huh?"

 

Come to think of it, the Abrahams/Zucker crew seems to be stuck in a rut as well... Abrahams' Mafia! movie (a Godfather spoof with the late Lloyd Bridges) did not look good at all to me, certainly not funny; instead, I could not help feeling sorry for that poor old man having to stoop to all those silly tricks, and remember how great he was in Airplane and Hot Shots.

I did not think much of Zucker's Rat Race either (well, the bet involving a hooker was funny) , and I certainly expected much more from that cast (John Cleese and Rowan Atkinson, in particular). The film ultimately goes nowhere, and the final scene with some forgettable pop band was really lame, IMO.

 

I thought "BASEketball" was pretty good. Maybe Parker and Stone have more creative input in the dialogue than they're credited for, though.

 

Funny Police Squad is brought up today...I was watching the tape last night. Soooo damn funny. The midget gag gets me every time! I always think he's hitting an intercom!

 

I always felt I was in on the "ground floor" of the Police Squad "thing", because: a) it was an UNBELIEVABLY funny tv show; b) nobody but me and two of my funny friends (seemingly) watched it ; and c) my other actually crazy buddy is a relative of Zucker.

Since then, however, I've just decided that Leslie Nielson, or anyone associated with the latter movies discussed in this post, don't get it at all.

The holy grail here is Airplane!, and any departure from that was just plain wrong. I think it's pretty much summed up by that classic Simpson's episode where highly placed studio reps give unrelenting "notes" until the whole production simply, and appropriately, and metaphorically, explodes.

The sooner the business people let the actually creative people continue to "create", the better off the industry will be.

The key element to that concept is the fact that both of those worlds, wonderful and exciting as both thing the other is, need to operate in mutual exclusivity.

I think that might be the most true and profound thing I've ever written. Sad, but true (not really).

 

Exactly. Nielson is NOT a comedian. The concept of Airplane was to get "serious" actors, and have them deliver bizarre/funny lines in a completely serious, low-key, deadpan manner. The humor derived from the disjunction between what was said and how it was said. This formula was successfully continued with Police Squad. But in subsequent films Nielson decided he should consciously try to be funny, and he started acting in a broader, more over-the-top style. Having actors trying to be funny ruins an Airplane-style film... the whole point is NOT to act funny. Nielson is not the only one guilty of this, and that's why none of the post-Airplane Zucker-Abrams films are nearly as funny.

 

Very true.

I think the other part of the problem is that unselfconsciously bad genre films of the type that Airplane! spoofed are no longer made. In some ways, movies like Airplane! itself helped bring about this state of affairs, demolishing the old "B" movies so thoroughly that an entire generation of Gen-X/Gen-Y audiences (and filmmakers) now have a sort of built-in instinct for smartassedry. Bad genre movies are still made, of course, but they're now so *self-consciously* cheesy and campy that an Airplane!-style sendup is almost redundant.

 

Thread title should read:

Police Squad

In Color

 

Got that right, John...


ED

 

You're definitely right. Absolutely, definitely right.

Casting is important, too - Val Kilmer (Top Secret!) doesn't work either, even if the principals never ham it up. Did you ever see Leslie Nielsen in "The Poseidon Adventure"? That's part of the reason why Airplane! works, too - Nielsen acting serious in a SERIOUS movie is over-the-top. Way, way over the top. And he acted the exact same way in Airplane! and Police Squad!, and never again. Probably not his fault, though - talk about typecasting...

 

Yes, very impressive.

And look - it's in color!

 

Cigarette? Yes it is.

Definitely buying it.

JEFF!

 

Reading IMDB awhile back, they were still not able to find the footage of John Belushi.
The story went that at the beginning of every episode, they had a celebrity die at the beginning. John Belushi had taped one where he drowns. They pulled it because hbe died the week before they were going to show it.
Several years later, ZAZ tried to find the footage, but it was lost.

 

I don't buy very many DVDs but this is one I will get. When is Murder Can Hurt You coming out on DVD?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081201/

 

This is a must buy.

 

Only six episodes were made, right? I watched them all on VHS. They are funnier than the movies. I love the "frozen frame" during the end credits!

 

This is a must buy. Too bad it was canceled because as the executives put it "you had to pay attention to it to enjoy it".

 

I can't wait. I can't wait. I can't wait. Best. Series. Ever.

 

Agreed: must-buy, best-series-ever, funniest 2 1/2 hours of television, etc.

 

That's what killed vaudeville.

What great news. I DID pay attention when the show ran and never howled so loud at any other TV show. This makes my day!

 

Finally! Deal me in...
IMHO, the series "wiped the floor" with the movies, to coin a SH.tv phrase