Police Story: The Watch Commander

I have no idea why, but a few years after the TV series "Police Story" ended, several made for TV movies with the title "Police Story" were made. While this might have been a great idea since the original show was the best cop show of the 1970s, it wasn't. Why? Because instead of new content, these TV movies were actually just remakes of several episodes! Oddly, a couple of the remakes were based on the very worst episodes, though some, like "Police Story: The Watch Commander", were based on great episodes. In this case, it's a remake of "Trigger Point"...possibly the best of all these TV episodes.

Joe Wilson (Jack Warden) is a 40 year veteran of the police force and is a watch commander. However, his job is very difficult because of many problems. One is a paranoid cop who might be losing his mind, another is a cop whose wife is cheating on him...and there's a lot more! How can he cope with all these problems and pressures?

The original episode, "Trigger Point", starred David Janssen and it was a classic. This one is extremely similar with pretty much the same stories. Jack Warden is very good and it's well worth seeing. The ending was changed in a few ways...not for the better. As a result, overall, I still prefer the original.