La patrouille de l'espace

"Rocket Squad" is not entirely based on "Dragnet," but rather an obscure early television show entitled "Racket Squad," which had appeared in 1950. Of course, by 1954, without VCRs or reruns, the show was probably forgotten, and "Dragnet" was on TV and still on radio (another fact lost on audiences today is that shows that made the transition from radio to TV were produced in tandem for years!). On the surface, then, it's easy to see that the cartoon mimics "Dragnet" more so than "Racket Squad," but it's a parody of almost any straight-laced cop show of the day. Look closely and you'll see some familiar names on the computer's keyboard. Dr. David S. Silverman, Media Historian

Joe Monday (Daffy Duck) and his partner Shmoe Tuesday (Porky Pig) are space cops in the future. They are assigned to investigate a series of bank robberies. They use all kinds of strange advance tech. The case turns back on them.

This is a futuristic take on Dragnet. Daffy is more reserved than usual. They are doing old hardboiled cops. The look is Jetsons which is a few years away. I love all the visuals. I love most of this except the ending. It is too abrupt and not well set up. This is almost begging to be something longer. I wouldn't mind cutting out the ending and extend this into a full half hour.

Chuck Jones's 'Rocket Squad' is a gag-filled spoof of 'Dragnet' and the more obscure police drama 'Racket Squad'. Of all the genre spoofs starring Porky and Daffy that Jones directed, 'Rocket Squad' is probably the least well known. This may be due to its more limited look and its almost spot-gag style which doesn't allow the cartoon to build up the same head of steam as, say, 'Robin Hood Daffy' or 'Duck Dodgers in the 24th ½ Century'. Speaking of which, long time cartoon fans will recognise several reused backgrounds and idea from 'Duck Dodgers…', which adds to the air of cheapness that pervades 'Rocket Squad'. Despite not being as sumptuous or energetic as it predecessors, 'Rocket Squad' is still an excellent cartoon for many reasons. For one, it has a cracking script by Tedd Pierce filled with tons of great one liners ("My names Monday, my partner's name is Tuesday. He always follows me") and an unusual opportunity for the lead characters to play the material entirely straight. Aping their 'Dragnet' counterparts, Porky and Daffy maintain hilarious deadpan expressions throughout and Daffy's ongoing narration is accordingly monotone and emotionless. While it will never be as highly respected or well-loved as Jones's other genre spoofs, 'Rocket Squad' is still well worth seeing just for the fact that it is a very funny cartoon which takes something of a different approach which pays off in spades.

This takeoff on both Dragnet and Sci-Fi space stories is just incredibly fun to watch. Daffy Duck is "Monday" and his partner Porky is "Tuesday." ("He always follows me," explains Daffy.) They are space cops. We then get the old "Dragnet" Joe Friday narration of a case from the long-standing successful cop TV program. The more you know those old Dragnet shows, the more you'll laugh at this parody, even down to Porky's hat which was an exact replica of the one Ben Alexander wore on the show as Jack Webb's sidekick. As someone pointed out, the title is a reference to an older show called "Racket Squad" but this cartoon is strictly a takeoff on Dragnet.

The attraction of this cartoon is not the story but the drawings, the artists depictions of the future. They are both spectacular and full of humor. Check out all the signs on all the wild space stations, making fun of drive-in restaurants to space farms to police stations....you name it. (i.e. Notice the names of the most-wanted criminals on the typewriter keys.) There is a lot to see in this cartoon. These writers had some imagination!

It is highly recommend and can be seen on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume Three.

In the future, the world has spread over the universe and everyone travels in spaceships in a technology filled world. However one thing hasn't changed - crime still exists and we still need law enforcement officers to stop it; that's where Sgt Joe Monday and his partner Detective Shmoe Tuesday come in. When a bank is robbed, the two are dispatched to solve the crime.

When writing a cartoon it is often a spoof that is used as the basis - be it Robin Hood, films of the period, genres etc; however this must rank as one of the most unlikely combination of spoofs I have seen in ages! This cartoon takes Dragnet and sets it in the future of Duck Dodgers (even using some of the animation and backgrounds from that cartoon). Despite this weird combination, it works pretty well - mainly the deadpan delivery of the Dragnet spoof though. The juxtaposition of the two genres is very smart and each makes the other seem even more fanciful. Some good running gags help cover the material that isn't quite as smart.

Daffy and Porky are not really the characters I love in this cartoon but they are great in their roles. Having seen this I wondered if there were other shorts where they played the Dragnet characters because here they are very funny with it. Supporting cops and criminals are basic American Irish stereotypes of the day and do what they are there to do. The ending is amusing and is unintentionally a pretty accurate prediction of the PC state of the law these days!

Overall this cartoon has elements that aren't funny and don't really work; and if you were being cynical then it is probably a bit lazy just to steal backgrounds from the Duck Dodgers cartoon but the spoofing of Dragnet in a futuristic situation creates quite a few gags. Very enjoyable but now I want to see Daffy & Porky in a Dragnet spoof set in the 50's without the sci-fi twist.