Police Squad!

The Files That Inspired
The "Naked Gun" Movies

Police Squad was a glorious six episodes of concentrated humour; site gags, puns, and dire deadpan humour ("Cigarette?" - "Yes, it is"). It was taken off the air because, in the words of Tony Thomopoulos (then head honcho at ABC), "Police Squad! was cancelled because the viewer had to watch it in order to appreciate it."

He was dead right, of course, and that was the early days of video, before they had the sense to say "So many jokes you'll need to record it and watch it again!". It has stood the test of time much better than many of the Detective sries it lampooned, aided by a sterling cast, and fine scripts.

The guest star sequence - they all died while the titles were showing - included one of John Belushi, apparently drowned with concrete boots in the harbour. This was replaced due to his actual death, then lost before it could be restored at a later date.

The show starred:

Leslie Nielsen as Det. Frank Drebin (6 episodes)
Alan North as Capt. Ed Hocken (6 episodes)
Rex Hamilton as Abraham Lincoln (6 episodes)
Ed Williams as Ted Olson, Scientist (6 episodes)
William Duell as Johnny the Snitch (6 episodes)
Peter Lupus as Norberg (4 episodes)

Episodes, with (alternate title), [original air date]:

A Substantial Gift (The Broken Promise)[4 March 1982]
Guest: Lorne Greene (stabbed and thrown from a moving car)

Ring of Fear (A Dangerous Assignment)[11 March 1982]
Georg Stanford Brown (crushed by falling safe)

The Butler Did It (A Bird in the Hand)[18 March 1982]
Guest: Robert Goulet (executed by firing squad)

Revenge and Remorse (The Guilty Alibi)[25 March 1982]
Guest: William Shatner (dodges bullets but drinks poisoned wine)

Rendezvous at Big Gulch (Terror in the Neighborhood)[1 July 1982]
Guest: Florence Henderson (shot down while singing in the kitchen)

Testimony of Evil (Dead Men Don't Laugh) [8 July 1982]
Guest: William Conrad (stabbed and thrown from a moving car)