Cops

Great reflection of real life of what cops deal with. That is why they cancelled it, because it shows reality. And cops deal with a lot of B-S. You can almost click on any episode and you will see criminals resist arrest etc putting their own life and others in danger.

Political correctness is taking over this country. Too bad.

Personal Note: This one is a staple in our house. My wife and I have watched since SHOW #1, and will catch the first run shows on FOX on Saturday night, as well as the ones running on CourtTV and FX.

No hidden agenda. No arranged marriages. No tribes that form alliances. No forced drama between room mates. No fake mega-rich farm boy to pass off as a billionaire. No crap. That's Cops.

I watched on and off since the show began, and recently discovered reruns on BOTH (!) Court-TV, and the FX network in the U.S.

At times it's funny watching some pathetic moron try and get out of being arrested when we have him doing the crime on video. Some times it's sad, seeing folks, who will never be much more than what they are, get into trouble. I hate seeing shows where small children see their stupid parents get hauled away.

Cops has been on TV almost all my life. In fact, it's on right now, on TV in the background, as a police officer busts a guy driving with drugs in his car. For years watching dozens of the shows in syndication, episodes much like these, I was struck by how every episode, in essence, is the same. An officer may stop someone on the road, come up to their house, chase after them, and they always get their man or woman. Race isn't even as much an issue as it is the essential point of the show, almost to the point of redundancy- the cops, according to this show, don't lose. But the irony is, someone like myself who becomes occasionally disgusted by the antagonistic (to a point) and superiority-driven nature that underlies those who serve and protect, is constantly re-watchable. But a fact that I didn't know for quite a while was put to me about the show, an important point- the people who appear on the show getting arrested *agree* to allow their faces and likenesses put on TV. Somehow the relish is almost at times interchangeable.

If anything, Cops over a decade and a half is almost like a kind of quasi-anthropology turned to ratings. It's not too surprising that if you happen to walk into a police station at a given moment they may be playing this their TV's. And despite the disclaimer at the start of the show, "those arrested are innocent until proved guilty in a court of law", if one were to incorporate the media-is-the-message idea, these people are practically all guilty in their own way by being subjected to not only the rule of the law (90% of the time in just cause) and by their own flaws under the gun (no pun intended). The fact is, Cops was and remains one of the pioneers of reality television, capturing a kind of base level of how life really is when under the lens of a professional hand-held cameraman. There is no contest or money at stake for the participants, it's capturing the suspects/arrestees at their most ashamed (or dazed, crazed, what have you) moments, and the law as the unfettered, collected, and "professional" beings on the planet.

The premise of the show, and a good deal of the time its execution, is brilliant in its own way, as a real documentary-style show that is entertaining in its own willful manipulation of the reality. More often than not, even as I feel the some episodes have me cringing in my seat, it is a genuinely interesting piece of the crude side of humanity we either can't look away from or would rather not see at all. And the show becomes very subjective- how you may or may not think the law really helps you or others will effect how you see its worth in the TV landscape.

The recent wave of reality shows on television, or in more precise terms "wave of crap", still can not compare to the only true series of the genre, Cops. Survivor started off well, but it began showng signs of utter ridiculousness until its obscene state now. Everything else is just a plain hack of it. By the way, I'm confused by the point being brought up by the naysayers of this show. What the heck were you expecting, actors with scripts?

Cops is an enduring piece of modern television, sticking with the exact same formula right from the start of its debut season. We ride shotgun with the men and women of the law enforcement community as they respond to calls for help, chase down suspects and detect dodgy dealings.

The highlight of any episode is the high-speed car chase that inevitably ends with the offender crashing or abandoning their vehicle as they realise running is pointless. Before we know it, the police car with the camera is just one of ten cars on the same job and the suspects are always found.

Then comes the moment when four guys will capture and slam the mindless offender violently to the ground and keep the situation safe, while other officers gather evidence from the scene.

The cops of the show's title go into each job not knowing what to expect and the show illustrates the courage and difficulty the officers face each day of their job.

No matter what episode it is, or if it's a repeat episode, you'll never be disappointed by the excitement and dedication of the individuals doing their job.