Real Stories of the Highway Patrol

This was my favorite of all the cop shows that were on in the early-mid 90s, and it's one of many shows that gets me nostalgic for my late childhood/early teen years For anybody that's not familiar, it usually had 4 stories per show, one was a dramatized re-enactment (usually for a more serious crime) and a safety tip at the end. Like a few of you guys have said, one thing I always liked about it over Cops are the aftermaths of every segment (go figure Cops lasted and this didn't!). The reenactments were my favorites, that's what got me interested.

I think it was best in the beginning. The 1993 episodes still looked pretty 80s, and they seem more overproduced and dramatic ("Unsolved Mysteries" was like that too). The reenactments were like movies with lots of narration (did anybody notice that decreased over time until it totally stopped?).

I'm the most familiar with the middle era around '95. That's when it had that hiphop theme song ("I'm Lookin Out for You") and the reenactments were a teeny bit more entertaining, as opposed to the slightly scarier and dark early ones. They also started doing little mini stories over the credits at the end (sometimes funny or unusual stuff) which I liked. The last couple seasons seemed to get lazy, the re-enactments were still kinda cool, but didn't have narration and seemed watered down.

I wish they'd come out with DVDs (seasons would be best, but even just a collection of re-enactments would be cool, esp if it focused on the early years). I have some on tape, but there's lots more I vaguely remember and probably some I never saw in the first place. it's a bummer they don't show it on TV anymore, I'd love to see it again.

What a good show! Want a bad "cop" type show? Read my pan of "Cop Rock". I'm about the only one who hated it. I compared it to "Evita". R.S.H.P was a winner. They need to bring it back. My favorite episode featured the inbred red necks who are partying with a live "Band" (who sounded like a cat stuck in a room full of rocking chairs). A few of the unibrow partiers power-brake a pickup truck on a wooden bridge on the property raising a cloud of white tire smoke. Mom calls the law. They show up and she explains what happened, and I quote, "They was spinnin' on the bridge, and set it afire!". Something about her accent and the way she said it just cracked me up! Wish someone had a copy of that one!

An excellent real-life show featuring the real exploits of police officers. While most of the show focussed on highway chases and pullovers, there were also such features as police officers making drug busts and foiling robberies. At the end, the host would always provide a safety tip (for driving or otherwise).

I think this program was far superior to COPS for a number of reasons: There was a host (Maury Hannigan)that gave a narrative to what we were about to see on the screen. Being based on the Highway Patrol,normally pursuits and accidents are shown,normally from in car dash cams.COPS give you less motor vehicle coverage. At the end of a segment,they give you a follow up....the amount of jail time given,the fate of an injured person (for better or worse)....COPS has never done this...and leaves you hanging without closure. COPS a lot of the time focuses on dull activities....calls that really aren't "entertaining" or "attention getting".Yes its a part of police duty,but the show is only 20 minutes long in 3 segments.You cannot fill the 20 minutes with fluff and expect a happy TV viewer. Give me RSOTHP any day.....however,I am sure we have seen the last of it. (TRIVIA:Both Southpark and Beavis & Butthead have done parodies of this show).

Man this was a great show, while not quite as exciting as COPS, it's pretty close, and they sure picked the perfect host for this show and seeing how long the bad guys might get if convicted was also a big plus, something that COPS should've done, I'll never forget the one when one guy who got arrested actually peed his pants.

It's a shame that this show isn't on television anymore but there's always COPS.