Police Story - Immer im Einsatz

Ex-LA police officer Joseph Wambaugh was definitely one hot selling author in the early 1970's (and he still is today !). Many of Wambaugh's sharply written, incisive and confronting novels about the lives of Los Angeles police officers were made into first rate telemovies or major theatrical releases ( "The Onion Field", "The Choir Boys", "The New Centurions", "The Blue Knight" etc ).

"Police Story" was also created by Wambaugh and is arguably one of the finest police drama series ever made for television. It really was the first TV series to develop intense stories about previously untouched issues confronting police officers such as job related stress, marriage break ups, alcoholism, retirement, partner conflicts etc. So many other police drama series in later years such as "Hill St Blues", "Cagney & Lacey", & "NYPD Blue" owe their roots to the ground breaking plots and solid scripts that were the backbone of "Police Story".

Many dynamic actors appeared in this wonderful TV series over its 5 year run including Darren McGavin, Tony Lo Bianco, John Forsythe, Ralph Meeker, Mike Conners & Ricardo Montalban. For those of us who so fondly remember the series, we just have one question.....just when is it coming out on DVD ?? A multi DVD box set covering all five seasons would be warmly welcomed by many TV fans who crave to re-visit this unique and captivating TV series.

Police Story was a bold and innovative concept for television police drama. It was perhaps the first police drama to portray cops as real humans with human frailties. There was not a smooth script with the sense that everything was under control. There was always an edge that something might go wrong and be irreparable by the end of the show. Its strengths were the revolving collection of actors from week to week. It often took well known type casted actors such as Martin Milnor as Pete Malloy,Adam 12 Hugh O'Brien as Wyatte Earp, and others and played them against type as the so clean appearing cops they were used to playing. That casting against type could make even a lack luster episode interesting.

This is one of the great lost treasures in television history. This was one of the few shows of that era that dealt with day to day lives of the average policeman and didn't portray them as super heroes. Much of this had to do with the fact that the man who was responsible for much of the stories was acclaimed novelist Joseph Wambaugh (himself a former Los Angeles police officer). Unfortunately, after this show debuted, it was overshadowed by the likes of "Starsky and Hutch", "The Rookies" and "S.W.A.T". These shows, and others, gave you a very inaccurate portrayal of police life, whereas this one showed police officers as ordinary human beings with the same faults and failings as ordinary people. Too bad this show is not shown in reruns anymore, but luckily we now have shows like "NYPD Blue", "Boomtown" and, of course, the "Law and Order" franchise to carry on the legacy of this lost classic.

Real cops depicted as real people and a great mix of humor, drama and reality. The show attracted the cream of Hollywood for their episodes and several stars depicted several different characters. You just wanted to hang out with detectives Bert and Tony (Don Meredith and Tony LoBianco), applaud the grit of David Birney in "Captain Hook" and the true love displayed by Kim Darby in the same episode. You laugh at Monster Manor as cops enjoy pre-AIDS America and salute Claude Akins as a veteran cop with a practical touch. You feel "Wolf's" pain and follow the new deputy chief through his promotion process. I teach cops and police cadets and I would pay a lot for this great series, especially a DVD boxed set with some commentaries. After all, if they can do a boxed set of "Sledge Hammer" and "Reno 911" they ought to be able to do this landmark show. Super cool theme music, too.

I remember this series well. I tried to make sure that I watched it every week. Of course, my social life came first. What I liked most about this show, in contrast to its daughter Police Woman and so many others, it did not have a recurring main cast that you knew would always return the next week, thus there was really no cause for alarm when the main cast came in jeopardy. Most of the regulars were background players such as Profaci on Law and Order is now.

Instead, Police Story was an ensemble series more akin to later shows such as St. Elsewhere and Hill Street Blues that deliberately sometimes knocked off likeable leads and there were so many recurring leads that one did not get sick of them every week. The show was unpredictable, not Mission Impossible or other gimmick shows such as McGyver where you always knew the good guys would win.

The most similar current shows are Deep Space Nine and Law and Order, which are not afraid to knock off a major character for the sake of the story.

There were so many Police Stories, and I have forgotten most of them; if they ever were rerun, I did not see them again. Two of the most memorable ones were, one where the hero was undercover and went to Tijuana to track down a drug shipment but the buy went wrong.

The other memorable one starred Claude Akins, a well-known character player, as a detective, who with his partner, was tracking down violent felons and bail jumpers.

Of all the thousands of movies and TV shows I've seen since the late 1940s, it takes a real powerful one to stick in my mind as those episodes did. The whole series was full of powerful episodes of equal impact. I just don't have room here for all them.