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PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Police Squad! - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (1982)
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Police Squad! - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (1982)
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If you create a user account, you can add your own review of this DVD
Released 18-Mar-2020
This review is sponsored by
Details At A Glance
| General |
Extras |
| Category |
Comedy |
Audio Commentary-x3
Interviews-Cast-Leslie Nielsen
Featurette-Behind the Freeze Frames
Outtakes-Gag Reel
Unseen Footage-Casting Tests
Gallery
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| Rating |
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Year Of Production
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1982
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| Running Time |
150:45
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RSDL
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Flipper
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Dual Layered
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Cast & Crew |
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Start Up
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Menu |
| Region Coding |
2,4
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Directed By |
Joe Dante
Jim Abrahams
David Zucker
Reza Badiyi
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Studio
Distributor |
ViaVision
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Starring |
Leslie Nielsen
Alan North
Peter Lupus
Ed Williams
William Duell
Tiny Ron
Rex Hamilton
Tessa Richarde
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| Case |
Standard Blu-ray |
| RPI |
$24.95
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Music |
Ira Newborn
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NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.
Plot Synopsis
Before The Naked Gun, there was the short-lived television show Police Squad! in 1982, which introduces the character of Detective Lt. Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen) as well as the distinctive style of humour. Created by David Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker, who were fresh off the success of 1980's Flying High!, this half-hour-long show hilariously spoofs police procedurals - more specifically, it's a parody of the forgotten 1950s TV show M Squad. In keeping with the other productions masterminded by the ZAZ trio, Police Squad! is jam-packed with so many gags that there's virtually always something on-screen to make you laugh. Unfortunately, only six (terrific) episodes were produced before Police Squad! was axed due to poor ratings. As Nielsen himself posits, the show did not succeed because it was ahead of its time - viewers need to actually pay attention to detect the humour, especially since the creators refused to include a laugh track.
In San Francisco, Frank Drebin is assigned to investigate violent crimes with the help of his boss, Captain Ed Hocken (Alan North), and lab technician Ted Olson (Ed Williams). The cases vary from homicides to kidnappings, while one episode also sees Frank going undercover to infiltrate a criminal gang that bribes boxers. Each episode features a special celebrity guest star, such as William Shatner and Florence Henderson, though they immediately get killed during the opening credits. Police Squad! is played relatively straight in terms of narrative, as there is some mystery and plot progression, while Frank follows leads and does actual police work...no matter how ridiculous some of the situations become. Indeed, although Police Squad! is not exactly immaculate from a writing perspective, it's more cohesive than most contemporary spoofs, which allows it to stand out.
Anybody familiar with Flying High!, Top Secret! or The Naked Gun should know what to expect from each episode of Police Squad!, as it adheres to the same template: countless sight gags and non-sequiturs which vary from the understated to the absurd. When Frank and Ed travel to Little Italy, for instance, famous Italian landmarks suddenly appear in the background, including the Colosseum and the Leaning Tower of Pisa. In another scene, a shootout appears to occur across a great distance, but a wide shot soon reveals that the two gunmen are barely a metre apart. There are hilarious running gags throughout the series, too, such as the precinct's elevator stopping in ludicrous locations on each floor, or Frank hitting a number of objects that are equal to the episode number. Also, each episode ends with a faux freeze-frame, which spoofs that time-honoured TV tradition. Frank (and the rest of the city) even frequently consults an alleyway shoeshiner named Johnny the Snitch (William Duell), who has information on everything. The gags throughout Police Squad! are sometimes cheap and easy, but they still hit hard for the most part, and other scenes and jokes are seriously clever. Years later, I still laugh out loud several times per episode.
Police Squad! does not feature a laugh track and never winks at the audience, while the actors play the material earnestly. Due to this, the show's creators carefully selected directors without a comedic or sitcom background. Thus, episodes were helmed by directors from TV shows like Mission: Impossible, Charlie's Angels, Starsky and Hutch, and The Rockford Files, which makes Police Squad! feel more cinematic. Even the legendary Joe Dante (Piranha, The Howling, Gremlins) directed two episodes. It's all topped off with a pleasing jazz score by Ira Newborn, who went on to compose for the Naked Gun trilogy as well as several other classic flicks. Furthermore, the late Nielsen is note-perfect as Frank Drebin. He's an honest-to-goodness comedic gift, delivering every word with complete sincerity, and never seeming to be in on the joke. Williams, meanwhile, is the only actor aside from Nielsen who was carried over into the Naked Gun films, and he's a great find as Olson, the lab technician. Williams was actually a science teacher before Police Squad!, and this is his first real acting role.
Perhaps Police Squad!'s cancellation was fortuitous in the long run, especially since that the show eventually led to the Naked Gun film trilogy, and did not continue for long enough to run out of steam or grow stale. All six episodes are bottled lightning, and they remain both hilarious and entertaining in 2020. (However, I still wish there was at least a second season, given the creators' plans for celebrity cameos as well as including Gandhi wielding a machine gun in the opening credits.) Arguably, the debut episode is the best and most consistent of the season, which is likely because it's the only episode that was written and directed by the ZAZ trio. Not every gag lands in every episode, but the show is perpetually enjoyable thanks to the winning cast, and there are far more hits than misses. Police Squad! is an underrated gem.
The disc contains all six episodes, which can be viewed individually or via a "Play All" function. The episodes are as follows:
- "A Substantial Gift (The Broken Promise)" (25:06)
- "Ring of Fear (A Dangerous Assignment)" (25:09)
- "The Butler Did It (A Bird in the Hand)" (25:07)
- "Revenge and Remorse (The Guilty Alibi)" (25:07)
- "Rendezvous at Big Gulch (Terror in the Neighborhood)" (25:08)
- "Testimony of Evil (Dead Men Don't Laugh)" (25:08)
Don't wish to see plot synopses in the future? Change your configuration.
Transfer Quality
Video
Police Squad! was remastered in high definition by Paramount back in 2006, before it was finally issued on DVD for the first time. Even though these HD masters have existed for the last fourteen years, they have not appeared on Blu-ray until now. Debuting on Blu-ray for the first time in the world (American and U.K. releases are forthcoming), Police Squad! is presented here by Via Vision in AVC-encoded, 1080p high definition, framed at the show's original 1.33:1 aspect ratio. The six episodes, as well as the extras, are placed on a single dual-layered BD-50, which results in an average video bitrate of 26 Mbps, which is fine but not remarkable. Still, the show scrubs up extremely well in high definition, which is a real treat because I never thought such a Blu-ray release would ever materialise. Like most television shows produced in the '80s and '90s, Police Squad! was shot on 35mm film, and the high definition remaster was transferred from the original film elements (presumably the original camera negative) for a native HD picture. Indeed, this is not a slapdash upscale of a standard definition video source. As a result, the show looks as good as any motion picture from the period, and is a staggering improvement over Via Vision's barely-watchable Blu-ray release of Top Secret!.
First things first, the negatives...though that's probably too harsh of a term. There is noticeable print damage throughout all six episodes, with the severity varying from scene to scene. There's minor telecine wobble, as well as other print damage that I really wish was tidied up during the remastering process. Just see, for instance, a shot at 20:35 in the fifth episode - the bottom left corner is noticeably faded. Some mild flickering is also evident, especially during optical shots. These film artefacts are not awful per se, but some shots here and there are rough, which is not really surprising given that extensive digital clean-up would have been costly. In addition to this, although film grain is apparent, it does look like Paramount applied some slight digital noise reduction to the transfer, as some shots are a bit on the smooth side, though the transfer never looks smeary, at least. One must remember that these masters were created for DVD and television syndication, rather than a premium Blu-ray disc, so the Blu-ray is revealing some shortcomings that the remastering team never thought would be evident. It's also worth pointing out that there is a slight drop in quality during the optical shots, though the opticals do not stand out as much as I thought they would.
But other than that, the news is extremely encouraging about Police Squad!'s Blu-ray debut. Especially given that the remaster took place in 2006, I was pleasantly surprised by the mostly excellent quality of the transfer. Colours are a huge improvement compared to the old Paramount DVD, as the show looks nicely saturated, with strong primaries and accurate flesh tones. Black levels are not quite perfect, but they are strong nevertheless, with above-average contrast and image depth. It does appear that the show was transferred from the original camera negative, as there's robust fine detail in virtually every shot, while the show is extremely sharp to boot. The high definition transfer also ensures you can more easily discern some of the sight gags in the background, such as the door to Olson's lab simply saying "The Lab." A fair bit of organic film grain still remains, and, even though the video bitrate is not exactly overwhelming, the grain is consistently fine and well-resolved, rather than distracting or chunky. Of course, the grain appears thicker in certain shots, especially the opticals, but the encoding remains solid. I was unable to detect any macroblocking in any of the six episodes, nor did I notice any aliasing, banding, or other video artefacts. Especially during close-ups, Police Squad! looks excellent, appearing better than some motion pictures of a similar vintage.
I never thought I'd get to see Police Squad! in HD on Blu-ray, especially after all this time. Therefore, Via Vision's release is a pleasant surprise, and it's pleasing to report that the video quality is so good. It's not perfect, but clarity is consistently pleasing, fine detail is excellent and the show looks incredibly sharp. Fans of the show can feel secure in buying this Blu-ray, as it's a terrific upgrade.
No subtitles are available.
Video Ratings Summary
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| Film-To-Video Artefacts |  |
| Film Artefacts | |
| Overall | |
Audio
All six episodes of Police Squad!are accompanied by a lossless DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio track, which is again sourced from the 2006 remaster that was the basis for the DVD release. Indeed, the show was originally mixed in 2.0, and released on VHS and Betamax with mono sound, but Paramount remastered and remixed the audio in 5.1 for the DVD. Each episode also has an alternative LPCM 2.0 stereo track, which is presumably based off the original mix, but could also be a simple downmix of the 5.1. I concentrated on the primary DTS-HD MA 5.1 track for this review, and I have no complaints - the audio is consistently clear, with clean dialogue and music. I couldn't detect any source or encoding-related issues - no hissing, popping, sync issues or drop-outs. Furthermore, thanks to the 5.1 mixing, the soundscape feels full as opposed to overly front-centred, with the surround channels being used to deliver ambience and music. Don't expect much in the way of separation or panning effects, but the show never really calls for it. In addition, there are no low-frequency effects to speak of, but sound effects such as gunshots still carry sufficient impact. Ira Newborn's music comes through clearly, though the sound mix is not as pristine as a new release title. All in all, Police Squad! sounds terrific on Blu-ray, and is only limited by the recording equipment of the era.
Audio Ratings Summary
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Extras
Most of the extra material from the DVD set is carried over here. The disc only lacks production memo highlights and the celebrity death gallery. Alas, their exclusion makes the set feel incomplete. It's also slightly disappointing that Paramount was unable to find the footage of John Belushi's cameo; he was one of the celebrity guest stars who got killed during the opening credits, but the actor died before the episode aired.
Audio Commentary for "A Substantial Gift"
The first episode of the series receives a commentary track featuring Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker, and producer Bob Weiss. They have some worthwhile tidbits to impart, breaking down some of the jokes, though they also simply watch and laugh at some of the material. One interesting fact is that the show was sold to the network on the basis of the opening credits, as opposed to a full pilot. The four men discuss battling with the network, such as the push to include a laugh track that they vehemently resisted, and pushback from executives who were against including people on fire during the opening credits.
Audio Commentary for "The Butler Did It"
The Zucker brother, Abrahams and Weiss return for another audio commentary track. They reiterate some similar things, continue to laugh at some of the on-screen action, and go over more aspects of the show. They also discuss John Belushi's cameo appearance, as well as choosing directors for the show - they didn't want to hire sitcom directors who'd play things too broadly.
Audio Commentary for "Testimony of Evil"
The third commentary on the disc features comedian Robert Wuhl, one of the show's writers and story editors. He points out some of the obvious running gags and there are some considerable pauses, and he also makes several meaningless comments. However, he also discusses how he got involved in Police Squad!, and has other fun anecdotes to impart. Perhaps an interview with Wuhl would have been more valuable. Unfortunately, the sound quality for the track is hit-and-miss, and the volume of the episode is often too loud compared to Wuhl's voice.
Leslie Nielsen Interview (SD; 8:40)
This archival piece with the late Nielsen is in pretty rough shape, but the actor has some worthwhile insight about his experiences on the TV show. He discusses being approached to star, why the show was cancelled, and the birth of the Naked Gun movies. There's some funny stuff here, and it's always nice to see more of Nielsen.
Behind the Freeze Frames (SD; 4:31)
Here we have an un-used freeze frame moment when sees the entire room burning down as firemen come rushing in, while Nielsen and North remain standing still. There's commentary, too, as the commentators discuss the thought process behind using the freeze frames to end each episode. They also encourage you to buy additional copies of the DVD. Not hugely insightful, but amusing enough.
Gag Reel (SD; 4:56)
This is also in pretty poor shape, but I'm amazed that this footage was found and assembled. Here we have nearly five minutes of consistently funny bloopers, as actors muck up their lines and go off-script. I laughed out loud a few times watching these.
Casting Test - Ed Williams (SD; 2:50)
Ed Williams' screen-test is included here, which looks to have been sourced from a rough VHS source. You can certainly see why Williams was cast as Olson.
Casting Test - Alan North (SD; 6:02)
Next, we have Alan North's screen-test. He's actually testing for the Frank Drebin role here.
Producers' Photo Gallery (SD; 00:59)
And finally, an animated slideshow of photos, set to the show's main title theme.
R4 vs R1
NOTE: To view
non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually
also NTSC compatible.
The specs for the American and U.K. releases have not yet been confirmed at the time of this review.
Summary
Police Squad! is a classic TV gem which was cut down way too soon. If you're a fan of the Naked Gun! movies, or any comedies from the ZAZ trio, you really ought to check this one out.
Thankfully, this is a top-notch Blu-ray release from the folks at Via Vision. The remastered HD video presentation is excellent, while there are no issues with the lossless audio options. Throw in a satisfying collection of supplemental material, and this disc comes highly recommended.
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| Extras | |
| Plot | |
| Overall | |
© Callum Knox (I studied biology)
Thursday, April 09, 2020
| Review Equipment |
| DVD | Sony UBP-X700 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Player, using HDMI output |
| Display | LG OLED65E6T.
This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 2160p.
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| Audio Decoder | Built in to amplifier/receiver.
This audio decoder/receiver has not been calibrated.
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| Amplification | Samsung Series 7 HT-J7750W |
| Speakers | Samsung Tall Boy speakers, 7.1 set-up |
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