High Incident - Die Cops von El Camino

I have it from an inside source the reason the series was canceled was because Eisner and Katzenberg were having a pissing contest. Katzenberg at the time was suing Eisner (Disney) for money he felt he was owed while working at Disney. The series was being reported as picked up in all the tabloids. On the weekend that the season line-up was to be announced, in NYC, Eisner dropped 'High Incident' from the list at the very last minute, without any warning, so nobody could do anything about it.

I was told that Spielberg had said that if he'd known that this could possibly have happened he would have been in New York that weekend. A couple of years later when 'Schindler's List' was to premiere on network TV Spielberg pulled it from ABC and gave it to a different network.

Spielberg got some measure of revenge. Katzenberg got his money. Eisner got to throw his power around. The people who really paid were the cast, the crew and the fans who loved the show.

This show was a show of realism, it captured something about the san fernando valley and at least what i perceived as realistic about the police there (having lived in that area). It showed the sharp contrast from life in the densely populated, gritty, harsh personality northeast (where i grew up), from the life in the suburban, wealthy, always sunny, windswept style, wide open, cheery yet serious, san fernando valley.

This is one of my favorite shows of all time and it always upsets me not only that the series ended, but that towards the end of the series it appeared the show veered from its manner and did stunts and the usual hollywood tricks to get ratings and save a show that seems headed to the chopping block.

One thing that bothered me about the series was that the character of marsh took the fall for the sexual harassment complaint (which i believe may have been part of the reason the show failed), when it seemed almost certain that he was the victim of an officer who knew she was about to get a justified bad review, seduced him and knew just when to kick him out of the house so that the regular police patrol would find him there - it may have made a nice episode for him to figure out that she set him up.

It seems a pity that such talented actors, especially David Keith in his element, Matt Craven and the rest, and writing and cinematography did not pan out into a long running fruitful series.

I have a background in TV production and technical aspects, and I do love a good cop show. I think several factors helped HI become one of the best ever.

First in my mind was the involvement of Steven Spielberg. Look at the man's early work and his great use of pacing for the stories, but often with a well-positioned 'BOO!!!' at some point in the show. HI often had more action before the opening credits than other shows had in their first half hour with many instances coming from the 'total shock' department.

Next, the Technical work was magnificent! From the precision driving to the firearms aspects to the lighting of suspenseful scenes, this series rocked! The series made use of special cutaway Crown Vic Police cars that enabled seamless camera transitions from in-car to exterior camera work, perhaps another Spielberg method...

Casting was magnificent! Louis Mustillo as Russell Topps was and remains one of my favorite characters ever! R Lee Ermey as the female officer's retired Marine father in ep 2 was a masterstroke! The sense of history, the San Fernando Valley quirkiness, the frequent onset of genuinely funny and sweet comments from even minor characters was just about perfect. ('Richard, you were the best of them all!') Officer Topps in particular was put in many situations that showed the humanity of the character.

With the second season Lindsay Frost was added to the cast, and I'd watch Ms. Frost read the phone book!

Much was made of the final episode, 'Shootout' written by Ann Donahue after the infamous North Hollywood bank robbery shootout. Better fare has never been shown on TV! It had everything, and was a fitting sendoff to a great series that ended many seasons too early.

H.I. should rank with 'Boomtown' and 'NYPD Blue' as the best ever. Ms. Donahue's reward for her work on HI was her EP gig for the various CSI series, and many of the cast went on to greatness. Wonderful work!

"High Incident" is one of the best police dramas i have seen and believe me I have seen a lot. The emphasis of this show was not the action, but the drama. This doesn't mean there isn't enough action. There is a lot of action to be enjoyed. But when you see the cops at work, you get involved with the characters and sometimes you will hate them, just as real life. The acting is excellent. I cannot understand that a show this great can be cancelled after two seasons, while a c****y show like "Walker, Texas Ranger" can go on and on and on. "High Incident" must come back.

I could not believe that this one ended the way it did. This show was one of the only redeeming things about television while it was on. The actors meshed well and it blended nicely the humor and seriousness it was portraying. I was in disbelief when I heard it wouldn't be back after the second season. This is a show that should NOT have been taken off TV because it was good, and when shows like the Nanny can be on for like 8 seasons or whatever this one deserved more than it got. One of the best TV shows ever.