Poochinski

"Poochinski" has the distinction of lasting one episode. It seems that reception to it was so poor that it was immediately canceled back in 1990! I was intrigued....could it be THAT horrible?!

The plot for "Poochinski" is simply insane. An aging detective, Stanley Poochinski (Peter Boyle), adopts a bulldog and inexplicably takes him along on assignment. His partner is not happy about this...but he is more upset at what a lousy cop Poochinski is. Soon, during a stakeout, Poochinski is killed...and his soul ends up in the bulldog!!! Who the heck thought this was a good idea?! And, were they on something when they came up with it?!

During part of the show, they used a real bulldog. During the portions that he talked, they used a puppet which looked hellishly bad...sort of like a taxidermy dog! A really pathetic use of special effects, that's for sure. There really is no way they could have made that work. Add to that some one dimensional and annoying characters and you instantly understand why it lasted only one episode. But you also wonder...how did it ever make it to TV in the first place?! Awful from start to finish...I can't believe any of these folks (especially Boyle) ever worked again after this!

This was an NBC comedy pilot (a test episode for a new show) that aired in the summer of 1990 for unknown reasons,something having to do with a tax write off no doubt. It featured Peter Boyle as a hard boiled cop (Stanley Poochinski) who was killed in the line of duty and his soul goes into the body of a dog he had befriended. I believe a clip of this show was featured on a special titled "The worst shows that were never made" or something along those lines. Given that this was a talking dog sitcom where the title character's actual name just happened to be Poochinski, is that really a surprise to anyone? As the story goes, Peter Boyle (Poochinsky) is killed on duty and his soul goes into his dog. The dog then talks to young cop George Newburn (Father Of The Bride) and helps solve crimes. Of course his hard boiled boss is the cliché big hard boiled black "Your'e off the case!" captain played for the hundredth time by big black hard boiled actor Frank McRae. Nothing against McRae, he is a good actor, but I'll wager he has had to bury his soul to play these parts time and time again. This is one of those shows that cannot make up it's mind if it's a sitcom, a kids show or a cop show. The end result is a comedy for all the wrong reasons. The mechanical dog they spent (rumor has it) 6 figures on looks worse than the mechanical Abe Lincoln at Disneyland. A real dog and a $4 jar of peanut butter would have served them better.

In one of the few highlights comedian Brian Haley plays a small but memorable role as the uptight Sgt. Shriver (that's about as funny as the script gets) but it's not enough to save this ticket from defeat.

I stumbled upon the pilot of this show, which was the only production ever made. I cannot believe this show almost existed in the known world. All of the Canine and dog related jokes and quips are freaking hilarious. Also after some not so extensive review it doesn't seem that Peter Boyle gets hit that hard by the car. Here are some good quotes "I thought my back was hairy before, now look at it!" also "All the hands are good for now is digging up bones" and "It's life precious life, you've been given a second change" The acting in this pilot is also very superb, and the special effects of Poochinski are amazing (comparable to Harry Potter special effects.) I wonder if Peter Boyle is somewhere disguised as a bull dog, I can dream......... Just let me dream.