The Silver Screen Oasis

" Highway Patrol " starring Broderick Crawford would be my pick for a really lousy TV Cop Show. 10 - 4

"Highway Patrol" starring Broderick Crawford would be my pick for a really lousy TV Cop Show. 10 - 4

Does that mean that you won't be joining in communal fidelity with anyone else to watch Broderick Crawford's finest moment on film tonight as TCM trots out All the King's Men at 8pm EDT?? (Bet I can guess your answer to this loaded question)

Of what I can remember of the numerous repeats of Highway Patrol, it was sort of like Dragnet if Joe Friday had been a quasi-belligerent binger in a rumpled raincoat with a face like a boiled ham. Love Broderick Crawford, meself. Especially when he shows up in Westerns, looking very out of place to me.

Hey, did you ever see that great Saturday Night Live show that Broderick Crawford hosted? It was truly hilarious since Crawford was obviously the worse for wear during the broadcast, especially during the parody of Highway Patrol. Also like a little Ronald Reagan movie called Night Unto Night (1949) in which Crawford plays a philosophy-spouting abstract painter! He was one of the best tough guys ever, but even better as a tough guy artist!

My pick for a Dumb Cop Show: CHIPS. The guys uniforms must've been made of khaki spandex--their outfits were too tight to chase bad guys. Oh yeah, and the storylines and acting were strictly from hunger.

Best Cop Show: Barney Miller. I've even known cops who loved it because it was closer to the reality they knew than the serious programs. Runner up: Police Story, because of the underlying despair in most of the episodes of that anthology series.

Barney Miller and Police Story are at the top of my list. Off the top of my head James Gregory _ Luger " in BM was often in police story too. Imagine an Irishman played a cop.

I have tried to watch (when I can) "The Shield" on FX channel.
quite an edgy show!

I have tried to watch (when I can) "The Shield" on FX channel.
quite an edgy show!

Shonna, I've liked Michael Chiklis of The Shield in some of his earlier work. Would The Shield be considered excessively violent, or is my impression of it too simplistic?

"Law and "Order" (1990- ) has always been my favorite. Anyone remember "Cop Rock"?

moirafinnie wrote:
Shonna, I've liked Michael Chiklis of The Shield in some of his earlier work. Would The Shield be considered excessively violent, or is my impression of it too simplistic?

It's pretty violent. That said, it's a decent show, but I like seeing the line between good and evil blurred, the way it is in real life.

As a Baltimoron though, I gotta vote for "Homicide" and "The Wire" as my favorites.

Hi Moira and Jon!
I agree with Jon and I also used to love the show Jon mentioned, "Homicide, Life on The Streets". GREAT show!

Shonna wrote:Hi Moira and Jon!
I agree with Jon and I also used to love the show Jon mentioned, "Homicide, Life on The Streets". GREAT show!

I hate to disagree, but I found " Homicide, Life on the Streets ", very boring. But, if everyone saw eye to eye on everything life would be very dull.

Best cop shows:

Police Story
Homicide
Barney Miller
Kojack (the two seasons)

My favorite: Homicide: Life on the Street
Runner-up: Hill Street Blues

Least favorite: Cops. I really, really HATE that show.

I mean, I really hate it.

I like Columbo even though it's more of a mystery show than a cop show.

One of my objections to cop shows generally (and Law & Order particularly) is that they are so simplistic and easy to figure out. The format of Columbo was much more interesting: you knew from the start whodunit, and the pleasure was in watching Columbo figure it out. It's the reason I like to read mysteries and police procedurals - to see the thought processes involved in solving the crime.

Aside from that, I'd say my favorite cop show was "Cagney and Lacey." It had a very nice NYC tang to it.

In addition, my experience of NYC police stations for various reasons (a victim of robbery and burglary, and as a donor of winter coats) has led me to believe that the station house depicted on Barney Miller wasn't all that fanciful. There are a lot more "characters" brought into neighborhood precincts than there are criminals.