In 1980, the team of Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker learned they had a knack for screwball comedy with the release of "Airplane." (This isn’t meant ot discount their earlier work on "The Kentucky Fried Movie, but this one was far more popular.) Going boldly where few directors had gone before, A, Z and Z cast their film with a veritable smorgasbord of serious actors (Lloyd Bridges, Peter Graves, Robert Stack and Leslie Neilsen) and had them deliver ridiculous dialogue in ridiculous situation… all with a straight face. The film was a send-up of the disaster series "Airport", and became a huge success spawning a sequel and other similarly styled films. Based on their success, the team tried their hand at network TV and created a series called "Police Squad" intending it to be a spoof of cop shows. As its star they chose Leslie Neilsen, who proved to be quite the comedian forever more left his 'serious actor' persona behind and re-imagined his career into playing straight arrow idiots.

Neilsen starred as Lt. Frank Drebiin, a straight as an arrow idiot who was feared by all criminals… except perhaps those he was trying to catch.

From the opening credits it was obvious what the creators were trying to do, modeling them after the old Quinn Martin productions. The show was introduced as "Police Squad"… In Color, and would show the stars in various scenes of action oriented antics. Even Abraham Lincoln got into the act by firing back at his would be assassin. And if you didn't get the gag in those first few seconds, you were sure to 'get it' by the time each episodes guest star was killed in the opening credits. (And some of these guest stars were pretty impressive… Lorne Green, William Shatner and William Conrad amongst them.) Then to top it off, the announcer would introduce the title of the episode… which never quite matched the one onscreen. Yes, when I watched "Police Squad" as a young adult, I recognized the absurdity of the humor.

Unfortunately, the humor was lost on the public as the series only produced 6 episodes and only 4 of those were originally aired. After that the show was cancelled and thought to be dead. But A, Z and Z still felt they were on to something and produced the series as a feature film ("The Naked Gun"), which found the audience the series missed. It became so successful that two additional films were produced.

Here's where I need to throw in a side note. When the writers were trying to come up with a storyline for a possible fourth film I think they missed out on a gem. Initially the film was shelved because of the murder of O.J. Simpson's wife and her 'friend.' O.J. had been one of the stars of the film series, playing one of Drebin's partners Nordberg so the studios felt that there was no room for O.J. in any more films. However, I had the thought that if they had made a fourth film, they could have had Nordberg accused of murdering his wife, and Drebin would have to come to his rescue and prove his innocence. Tell me that wouldn’t have filled theatre seats!!

Anyhow, the original "Police Squad" was filled with all the goofy gags and groaner jokes that made the "Airplane" series so darn funny. I wish the series had taken off, but I am thankful that the movies were made. Paramount is finally releasing the entire 6 episode run on DVD this month and even went so far as to add in a ton of extra features.

Of course there are commentaries on two of the episodes (“A Substantial Gift / The Broken Promise)” and “The Butler Did It / A Bird in the Hand”) by A, Z , and Z, who are joined by producer Robert K. Weiss. The track is quite funny and they pick on each other quite a bit. There is also a third commentary (“Testimony of Evil / Dead Men Don’t Laugh)” by actor/writer Robert Wuhl. There is some great information mixed in with the laughs, and all are worth listening to. There is also a Gag Reel (which seems almost redundant considering the style of the series but is funny nonetheless), a lengthy new interview with Neilsen, and some casting footage for Alan North (Captain Ed Hocken) and Ed Wilson (Crime Lab Expert Ted Olson).

You'll also find a look at footage that wasn't used in the series for some of their closing 'freeze frames'. These scenes make fun of the closing freeze frame shots of most TV cop shows of the period. Only in this series, only the main characters freeze while the world goes on around them. Additionally, there is a list of 'Celebrity Deaths' that were never used since the show was cancelled, a photo gallery, and a look at several of the 'production memos' that circulated around the set telling the producers what they could and couldn’t do. Some of them are quite funny and show the idiocy of studio 'suits.'

"Police Squad" was one of the wholly underappreciated series that deserved at least a full season. It wasn't always brilliant, but it was always funny.

Episodes:
A Substantial Gift (The Broken Promise)
Ring of Fear (A Dangerous Assigment)
The Butler Did It (A Bird in the Hand)
Revenge and Remorse (The Guilty Alibi)
Rendezvous at Big Gulch (Terror in the Neighborhood)
Testimony of Evil (Dead Men Don’t Laugh)

Starring: Leslie Neilsen, Alan North, Peter Lupus
Extras: Commentary by the Creators on select episodes, Brand-new interview with Leslie Nielsen, "Behind the Freeze Frames" Featurette, Gag reel, Casting Test – Alan North and Ed Williams, Producers' Photo Gallery of Scenery, Sets & Props, List Of Celebrity Death Shots, Production Memo Highlights
Specifications: Full Screen, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Sound
Studio: Paramount
Release Date: 11/7/2006
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website

We'll give Police Squad: The Complete Series a B+.