Bakersfield P.D.

Paul Gigante, a successful D.C. police detective, has to leave town with his son for the middle of nowhere, i.e. Bakersfield. He joins the Bakersfield P.D., a loose organization of weirdos & imbeciles. His partner, Wade Preston, is a TV cop show fanatic and tries to act like the TV cops; the desk sergeant actually runs the department because the captain can't make any decisions; and a macho cop is teamed with a mildly effeminate partner.

Like "Frank's Place", another great TV comedy that bombed in one season, "Bakersfield P.D." had no laugh track; you have to find the jokes yourself. This misfit comedy was at least as funny as "WKRP in Cincinnati"! Why do so many really funny comedies bomb?

It was a crime that this show had no support and fell away.

I still laugh about Wade and his personal "soundtrack" and a few other stories I remember from it.

But the episode which ends with the mugging victim having the prisoners in the line up beating themselves up, that had me crying on the floor.

A true shame we didn't get more.

I saw the whole series on Channel 4 - without a doubt one of the funniest TV shows I've ever seen. Why did it finish after 1 series? I just hope it will be repeated some time so I can tape it!

I remember this series...I wasn't very old at the time. But I suspect this kind of humor is something I will still like. Cause now and then I think about this series..and wonder how the heck it could get canceled? Really..it's a mystery beyond anyone. Can ANYONE tell me why? Please? I need to know! This series was a lot of fun...I've never seen a series quite like this ever again. It had its own strange quirky humor which still is unique to this day I think. I miss it over 10 years later (!!??!?!)

WHY DID YOU CANCEL THIS!? It's just not right.... I can only hope someone picks up this thread somewhere along the way again. I really wish I could some day talk to the guy who axed this series. What where you thinking?!

Bakersfield, P.D. really was one of the funniest, well-made comedies to ever hit the tube. Unfortunately, between lacking promotion, a then-struggling FOX network, stiff timeslot competition, and a script that was a bit too clever for the general public, the show dragged badly out the gate. It lasted for only one season, with the final episodes shown in June, 5 months after the cancellation was already decided.

While definitely a comedy, the show had no laugh track. It didn't play as a typical sitcom. It was a side-splitting comedy, placed in the environment of a "serious" cop show.

The characters were all quirky, yet strangely believable. From the wishy-washy captain on down, each character presented in Bakersfield, P.D. was unique and interesting. Even the guest characters exhibited a small-town charm that, while sometimes bordering on the ridiculous, always entertained.

Surprisingly, I found the show again on the TRIO network, which occasionally runs it. Check your local listings.