The Best Slapstick Crime Series That Only Lasted One Season According To Fans
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Back in 1980, the comedy filmmaking trio made up of Jim Abrahams and brothers David and Jerry Zucker produced a surprise break-out smash: “Airplane!,” which, among other things, introduced veteran actor Leslie Nielsen into the comedy universe that would become his home for the very successful remainder of his career. Shortly after the success of “Airplane!,” the trio got the chance to create a television series in a similar vein on ABC, with the deadpan delivery of absurd wordplay and cartoonish sight gags, all delivered at the rapid-fire clip that made “Airplane!” such a success. The result was “Police Squad!,” which also starred Nielsen, this time taking the role of Sergeant Frank Drebin, Detective Lieutenant Police Squad.
Unfortunately, the humor that worked so well on the big screen didn’t translate well to TV. “Police Squad!” ended up battling with other shows for audiences’ limited attention spans at home, and the show struggled to find an audience. When the series was canceled, ABC exec Tony Thomopoulos gave a reason that has since become infamous — “the viewer had to watch it in order to appreciate it,” as quoted by Vulture. That might sound silly, almost like a gag from “Police Squad!” itself, but actually, compared to many TV shows of the time that were designed to function as little more than pleasing background noise, there is some truth in it.
“Police Squad!” rewards close rather than divided attention with intricate, subtle gags. The show has no laugh track, which was highly unusual for a comedy series in the 1980s, and another example of its higher comedic ambitions -– a laugh track would have spoiled its deadpan replication of an earlier era of cop shows, like “Dragnet” and “M Squad.”
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Back in 1980, the comedy filmmaking trio made up of Jim Abrahams and brothers David and Jerry Zucker produced a surprise break-out smash: “Airplane!,” which, among other things, introduced veteran actor Leslie Nielsen into the comedy universe that would become his home for the very successful remainder of his career. Shortly after the success of “Airplane!,” the trio got the chance to create a television series in a similar vein on ABC, with the deadpan delivery of absurd wordplay and cartoonish sight gags, all delivered at the rapid-fire clip that made “Airplane!” such a success. The result was “Police Squad!,” which also starred Nielsen, this time taking the role of Sergeant Frank Drebin, Detective Lieutenant Police Squad.
Unfortunately, the humor that worked so well on the big screen didn’t translate well to TV. “Police Squad!” ended up battling with other shows for audiences’ limited attention spans at home, and the show struggled to find an audience. When the series was canceled, ABC exec Tony Thomopoulos gave a reason that has since become infamous — “the viewer had to watch it in order to appreciate it,” as quoted by Vulture. That might sound silly, almost like a gag from “Police Squad!” itself, but actually, compared to many TV shows of the time that were designed to function as little more than pleasing background noise, there is some truth in it.
“Police Squad!” rewards close rather than divided attention with intricate, subtle gags. The show has no laugh track, which was highly unusual for a comedy series in the 1980s, and another example of its higher comedic ambitions -– a laugh track would have spoiled its deadpan replication of an earlier era of cop shows, like “Dragnet” and “M Squad.”