Police Story

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.

A fine example of both the strengths and the pitfalls of the anthology series, Police Story was among the highest-rated series of its time. At its worst, the series was as formulaic as most of commercial TV. At its best, it blew a breath of fresh air through mid-70's TV.

Created as a vehicle for writer-turned-producer (and former L.A. cop) Joseph Wambaugh, the best episodes grittily portrayed the life of the street cop--good and bad. Each episode opened and closed with crackling radio calls (Female dispatcher: "John Frank William, 8-9-9). Guest stars ranged from Don Meredith (at the height of his Monday Night Football popularity) to David Birney (as amputee cop "Captain Hook") to a surprising turn by ultra-liberal Ed Asner (as an grinning old cop threatening to blow away one last perp before retiring in "Three Days to Thirty"). The series spawned the silly spin-off "Police Woman"; but it also dealt with cops who thought of their badge as a license to bully ("The Wyatt Earp Syndrome"--so titled because the Standards and Practices department refused to allow Wambaugh to call this episode by its original title--"The John Wayne Syndrome") and undercover cops who were difficult to distinguish from the criminals they pursued ("The Player" with James Farentino).

Wambaugh reportedly tired of the regular infighting such a weekly series required, and semi-retired to a "consultant" status mid-way through the series run; the early episodes are clearly the best. But all are worth watching if only as the precursor which made later shows like St. Elsewhere, L.A. Law, and Homicide possible.

This was one of the great police dramas in television history. This was one of the few cop shows of that era that dealt with the day to day activities of the average policeman and they weren't portrayal as your run-of-the-mill "good" cop nor that they weren't portrayed as average "superheroes". These were the men and women who risk their lives in order to wear the badge and to protect the citizens of the city. "Police Story" was that show and during its five-year run it was one of the highest rated series on television. "Police Story" portrayed a sheer dose of realism of the average cop and it went as far as going beyond the psychological concepts of the police officer whether on the job and the relationships that they faced on the street and at home. "Police Story" dealt with good cops and the cops that were corrupt and hostile behind the badge.

"Police Story" was an anthology television crime drama that was brainchild of former author and former Los Angeles Police Officer Joesph Wambaugh and represented a major step forward in the realistic depiction of police work and it featured some of the best acting ever depicted for network television. Creator Joesph Wambaugh along with producers Mel Swope and David Gerber(who serves as executive producer) brought along intense and sometimes riveting stories about previously untouched issues confronting police officers with issues such as job related stress,marriage,break-up,alcoholism,retirement,partner conflicts and even push the envelope for what was the boundaries for what was shown on network television like suicide and drug abuse. So many police dramas in later years like "Hill Street Blues","Cagney and Lacey","NYPD Blue","Law and Order",and even "The Shield" owe their roots to the ground breaking plots ans solid scripts that were the backbone of "Police Story". This series dealt with cops as real people with real problems that was added on with a mix of humor and reality in some of the episodes.

"Police Story" originally aired on NBC-TV for 95 episodes airing from its premiere episode on September 25,1973 until the series finale on May 28,1978 for five astounding seasons. Out of the 95 episodes that were produced,the series consisted of 84 hour long episodes,3 episodes that were 90 minutes in length,and 8 two hour episodes totaling 95 episodes in all in color. The setting for this series was in Los Angeles with most of the characters working under or one of the branches of the Los Angeles Police Department. The anthology format allowed the show to try out characters and settings for series development,and during its broadcast run,"Police Story" generated three spin-offs. An episode from Season 1,"The Gamble"(March 26,1974),starring Angie Dickinson,became the pilot for the successful "Police Woman" television series(also produced by David Gerber),that run on NBC for four seasons from 1974 to 1978. An episode from Season 2,"The Return of Joe Forrester"(which was a 90-minute episode that aired on May 6,1975),was developed into a weekly series starring Lloyd Bridges that aired from 1975 to 1977. Finally,an episode from Season 5,"A Chance To Live"(which was a two hour episode that aired on May 28,1978),was spun off into the short-lived series "Man Undercover" starring David Cassidy.

"Police Story" brought along some of the finest writers for this series ranging from Rick Husky to Donald Bellsario, Ivan Goff, Ben Roberts,Don Ingalls, Sy Salkowitz, Mark Rodgers, E. Jack Neuman, Robert L. Collins,to Ed Waters,Jerrold L. Ludwig, Stanley Kallis, Kenneth Pettus, Allan Balter, William Woodfield, Jonathan Christie, and Michael Mann.

Not to mention the best directors in Hollywood ranging from Virgil W. Vogel,Barry Crane, Richard Benedict,Gary Nelson,Barry Shear,David Friedkin, Leo Penn, E.W. Swickhamer, Joesph Pevney to other directors like Paul Wendkos, Oscar Rudolph, Jack Smight, Richard Donner, Ivan Dixon, Ralph Senesky, Alf Kjellin,Seymour Robbie,Don McDougall,to Corey Allen, Charles S. Dubin, Christian Nyby, and Lee H. Katzin along with future Hollywood director John Badham contribute to some of the astounding episodes.

This anthology series attracted the cream of Hollywood for their episodes and featured several stars depicting several different characters. The dynamic actors that appeared here ranged from Darren McGavin,Vic Morrow,Claude Akins,Tony LaBianco,Ralph Meeker,Ricardo Montalban,Mike Connors,along with Joe Santos,Glenn Corbett,Chuck Connors,Diane Baker,Michael Ansara,Norman Fell,Pernell Roberts,Tina Louise,Robert Stack,Robert Vaughn,Christopher George,Kim Darby,to Alex Rocco,Jan Michael-Vincent,William Shatner,Edward Asner,Robert Conrad,Gary Collins,Ina Balin to Sal Mineo,and even appearances from soul legends Issac Hayes and William "Smokey" Robinson in several episodes along with newcomers like James Woods,Harvey Keitel,Clifton Davis,Sylvester Stallone,and regulars like Don Meredith(at the height of his Monday Night Football Career),Scott Brady and John Forsythe. Even dramatic appearances from Frankie Avalon,Alex Rocco,Fred Williamson,Brock Peters,Eddie Egan,Bernie Casey,Eddie Albert,Robert Culp,James Gregory,Joe Santos,Howard Duff,Bo Svenson and James Farentino along with Earl Holliman.

The best episodes from Season 1: "Slow Boy","Requiem for an Informer", "The Ho Chi Minh Trail","Chain of Command","Countdown"(parts 1 and 2), "Cop In The Middle","The Wyatt Earp Syndrome","Chief","The Gamble".

The best episodes from Season 2: "Requiem for C.Z Smith","Robbery:48 Hours","Captain Hook"," A World Full Of Hurt","Explosion","Year of the Dragon"(parts 1 and 2),"Sniper","The Execution","Man In The Shadows","War Games","The Witness","The Return of Joe Forrester".

The best episodes from Season 3: "Odyssey of Death"(parts 1 and 2),"Breaking Point","Fifty Cents,First Half Hour-One Dollar and Seventy Five Cents All Day","The Other Side of the Fence","Vice: 24 Hours","Open City",and "The Test of Brotherhood".

The best episodes from Season 4: "Three Days To Thirty","The Other Side of the Badge","Nightmare on a Sunday Morning","Monster Manor","Spitfire","One of Our Cops Is Crazy","The Jar"(parts 1 and 2),and "Two Frogs On A Mongoose","Hard Rock Brown",and "The Malflores".

The best episodes from it's final season:"Pressure Point","Stigma", "Day of Terror,Night of Fear","The Broken Badge","No Margin for Error", "A Chance To Live","A Cry For Justice","Confessions of a Lady Cop",along with the explosive "River of Promises" and one of the most riveting episodes of the final season "Gladiator School"

Hollywood didn't get it (they seldom do) and I guess the general public didn't either or these great shows would still be on re-runs or even DVD. My experiences from the 60's & 70's as a street cop were never so dramatic or intense as those shown on "POLICE STORY" but the stress and emotion they portrayed hit a level of realism that has never been repeated. Jack Webb's "DRAGNET" and "ADAM-12" presented cops as never-bend-the-rules moralists while "Dirty Harry" could still get work in "NYPD BLUE". Both were entertaining but I suspect that many viewers came to believe that the cops always catch the bad guys and/or that most cops think that it is OK to beat confessions from suspects or otherwise violate the Constitution they swore to defend. Most of the other cop shows were (and are) just silly. I'm sorry that every police cadet does not have the opportunity to see the "POLICE STORY" series......in particular: "STIGMA", which was probably the best show of them all. It is also probably Mike Connors best performance ever, and Martin Milner is excellent as well. Some of the "POLICE STORY" series made it to commercial VHS but only in PAL (British) format. Too bad.

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.