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Cop Shows

TheOldMole Dec 08 2006 01:18 PM

What are the five best cop shows ever? my list: Dragnet, the daddy of them all, and with an inimitable style. Hill Street Blues, a TV innovator for plot, character and continuity Peter Gunn, for the music and the hipness Crime Story, for much the same reasons, and for being the only show where all its heroes were ugly. Homicide; Life on the Street, for powerful characters, but mostly for Andre Braugher. Honorable mention, even though it's overexposed: Law and Order, for its take on complex points of law.

Yancy Street Gang Dec 08 2006 01:22 PM

I have to admit, I never watched any of the shows that Mole listed. Unless I'm overlooking something, the only cop shows I ever watched regularly were NYPD Blue and Barney Miller, although I don't suppose that the latter really fits the category. I loved the weird way that they talked on Blue. The dialog had a similar flavor on Deadwood which indicates that it came more from David Milch than from Steven Bochco. And I loved watching Dennis Franz play Andy Sipowicz.

TheOldMole Dec 08 2006 01:30 PM

I would count Barney Miller, and it would be a strong contender for my list.

Edgy DC Dec 08 2006 01:31 PM

Car 54 Where Are You? Police Squad Sledge Hammer David Cassidy, Man Undercover Enos

soupcan Dec 08 2006 02:13 PM

Loved Adam 12 when I was a kid.

ScarletKnight41 Dec 08 2006 02:22 PM

I remember watching The Rookies when I was young.

KC Dec 08 2006 02:30 PM

One Adam twelve, one Adam twelve A two eleven in progress One Adam twelve, handle code three *kxcshsxss* Just wanted to say that.

Edgy DC Dec 08 2006 02:39 PM

Adam 12, Rookies, and S.W.A.T Great TV? Perhaps they were not But to boys born twixt 65 and 71 No other three shows were ever such fun Not CHiPs, not Baretta, nor e'en Peter Gunn Adam 12, Rookies, and S.W.A.T

Johnny Dickshot Dec 08 2006 02:43 PM

I was into NYPD Blue through the Jimmy Smits era, I guess, but the shit got so maudlin I could barely take it. Sipowicz being a sociopath was enough -- they had go kill his son, give his wife cancer, lapse his alcoholism, it just went on and on and on... Though for sadness, few shows match up to the original reality series, COPS. Vote also for Police Squad. I watch reruns of Law & Order and L&O: SVU. I think I came up with an all-star team of cops and lawyers from those shows once.

KC Dec 08 2006 02:44 PM

Ironside

Edgy DC Dec 08 2006 02:53 PM

soupcan Dec 08 2006 02:56 PM

="Johnny Dickshot"]Sipowicz being a sociopath was enough -- they had go kill his son, give his wife cancer, lapse his alcoholism, it just went on and on and on... Agreed, but dude - it was a TV show, they had to have shit happen. ="KC"]Ironside Don Galloway - the actor that played Sgt. Ed Brown on Ironside (guy on the left in Edgy's pic) - and his family were friends of my family as a kid. I still exchange holiday cards with his eldest daughter. Never was a big fan of the show though.

metirish Dec 08 2006 03:04 PM

Third Watch was good for a few seasons...

soupcan Dec 08 2006 03:05 PM

metirish wrote: Third Watch was good for a few seasons... Bleccchhhhh!

Yancy Street Gang Dec 08 2006 03:08 PM

I watched about four or five episodes of CSI and HATED it. I seem to be in a minority there, though.

KC Dec 08 2006 03:09 PM

Mock me behind my back is youse must, but I dug 21 Jump Street.

RealityChuck Dec 08 2006 03:18 PM

1. Homicide: Life on the Street. (Slight edge over Hill Street for maintaining quality from start to finish). 2. Hill Street Blues (brilliant, innovative pioneer, but went downhill after Michael Conrad died). 3. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (made the police procedural standard fare, and brought back actual mysteries to TV). 4. NYPD Blue -- Great up until Jimmy Smits left and the "Let's kill someone for dramatic effect" plotting got tiresome. But the early episodes were great slice of life, if deriviative of both Hill Street (obviously) and Homicide. 5. Barney Miller -- not only the funniest cop comedy, but probably the most realistic cop shows ever.

soupcan Dec 08 2006 03:22 PM

IMDB tells me that NYPD Blue & Homicide both aired for the first time in 1993 but I'm pretty sure NYPD was first.

Johnny Dickshot Dec 08 2006 04:09 PM

]Barney Miller -- not only the funniest cop comedy, but probably the most realistic cop shows ever. 132 and Bush I got him at gunpoint

metirish Dec 08 2006 04:14 PM

The Meche deal is actually 5 years and $55 million.

RealityChuck Dec 08 2006 04:21 PM

="soupcan"]IMDB tells me that NYPD Blue & Homicide both aired for the first time in 1993 but I'm pretty sure NYPD was first. Nope -- Homicide premiered immediately after the Super Bowl on January 31, 1993 (I remember wanting the damn postgame show to end so I could see it. :) ) It ran through the end of March, then was off the air until January 1994 (for four episodes), and returned in the fall of 1994.. NYPD Blue premiered September 21, 1993, while Homicide was on its hiatus.

soupcan Dec 08 2006 04:25 PM

I sit corrected.

Yancy Street Gang Dec 08 2006 04:26 PM

="metirish"]The Meche deal is actually 5 years and $55 million. Now that's a cop show!

Willets Point Dec 08 2006 04:57 PM

Sounds like a good cop name actually. Gil Meche, PI.

iramets Dec 08 2006 05:19 PM

metirish wrote: The Meche deal is actually 5 years and $55 million. Hello, Bunco Squad? Somebody has pulled a con on the Kansas City organization. Better get an investigator down here pronto. Speaking of CSI and NYPD Blue, did you ever notice that David Caruso gets his entire act from copying Alan Ladd in SHANE?

TheOldMole Dec 08 2006 07:35 PM

One of the things I've always liked about Law and Order is the use of New York for real locations. I also love it when they come up to my neck of the woods. Like the one where the lesbian mother running away with her kid took the bus up to Bloomington, but fooled them by getting off at Rosendale. One of the things I always hated about NYPD Blue, which was otherwise a decent show, was the phony street shots that they came in once a year to film, after which they'd immediately jump to a sound stage.

Johnny Dickshot Dec 08 2006 07:43 PM

I was going to make the same remark about L&O though a lot of the characters today are complete out-of-towners like DA Texas Guy and Chicago Cop Guy.

Yancy Street Gang Dec 08 2006 07:48 PM

Probably the most beloved cop show ever was The Andy Griffith Show. Or is that a sheriff show instead? Another forgotten sheriff show was Carter Country. Anyone remember that one?

Johnny Dickshot Dec 08 2006 09:13 PM

I remember it sucked. IIRC, it starred the same heavyset actor who played a bumpkin prisoner in "On the Rocks" -- another lame comedy of the era.

metirish Dec 08 2006 09:14 PM

The Wire on HBO is a good show.

cooby Dec 08 2006 09:41 PM

I would say Barney Miller Law & Order SUV Law & Order Hawaii Five O (for its way cool opening and closing theme) Dragnet (for its hokiness and way cool opening and closing themes)

soupcan Dec 08 2006 11:51 PM

TheOldMole wrote: One of the things I've always liked about Law and Order is the use of New York for real locations. Ever notice the L&O / Oz (HBO series) link? Tons of actors have appeared in both shows. Off the top of my head I got Christopher Meloni, Katherine Erbe & B.D. Wong. There's a crapload more whose names I don't know but recognize their faces. I met a NYC casting agent once and he told me that there's no relation between the two shows other than they're both filmed in this area. He said that all of those actors are NYC-based so there are drawing from the same pool. I found that hard to believe, but apparently its true. The only other real link, if it even is a link is that the the creators of the two shows are supposedly long time colleagues.

metirish Dec 08 2006 11:58 PM

Law & Order has been to my place of work to film several times over the last few years,they were on the hospital Campus last month ....yes and I have noticed the L&O Oz thing......Oz was a great show.

MFS62 Dec 11 2006 09:25 AM

Some others not mentioned: Naked City - for its grit Miami Vice - for its attempt at style Hercule Poirot (the David Suchet series now on cable) The Closer (would be better if Kyra Sedgewick didn't overdo that fake Southern drawl) Highway Patrol (10-4) NCIS - I don't know why, but I get a kick out of that Goth lab techie. She is among the best written and acted characters I've seen on tv recently. Later

Johnny Dickshot Dec 11 2006 09:41 AM

Make your own Law & Order all-star team Of all 3 shows, all eras, choose: 2 "main" detectives --Tell us why you chose em and why they make a good partnership 1 "utility" detective --does his work mostly off-camera, you see him/her most often in the office getting clues by computer or phone 1 courtroom prosecutor -- You need a guilty verdict, who do you choose? 1 assistant prosecutor --Choose based on looks or, um... looks... 1 police department chief 1 District Attoney Ready? Go.

metsmarathon Dec 11 2006 10:45 AM

you're forgetting, of course, the fourth show - trial by jury. and sorta the fifth - conviction. my primary detective would have to be bobby goran. i'd either go with teh natural pairing of he and eames. they have terrific chemistry. other pairings i'd like to see just for the sheer hell of it would be goran and briscoe, because they're both amusing as all hell - but i cannot see them working - or goran and stabler - because they're both certifiable, and by the time they got to the crime scene on their first case, goran would have successfully identified why exactly stabler is such an icky, angst-ridden kid toucher. then stabler would go nuts, and kill him, so the show would be over. so i don;t think it would work out in the end, but it would sure be fun, no? for my utility detective, its munch by a landslide. and i reserve the right to bring in BD Wong to psychoanalyze anybody i wish. mccoy is the easy choice for prosecutor. branch the easy choice for DA. i'd go with van buren for the department chief, but that's a tough one. for assistant prosecutor, can i go outside the box and bring in cabot? it'd be a nice power struggle with her and mccoy, no? if not, then i guess carmichael (angie harmon)

Johnny Dickshot Dec 11 2006 11:46 AM

My detective team is Olivia and Briscoe: He brings the humor, she brings the tight sweaters. Utility detective is Munch: Cynical, paranoid, funny and takes a sick pleasure in arresting people. Kragen is the department head: Not above busting a few skulls -- his own guy's or the folks over at central -- to get something done. McCoy gets the guilty verdict, with an assist from... the stylish skinny black guy, whatever his name is. Serena was awfully hot but too dumb. I didn't like the huskey-voiced chick. I suppose the short-haired assistant who I think died is OK in this role too. I want a liberal in the DA chair, assuring plenty of repeat offenders in the streets, so I'm going with the Dianne Weist character.

Nymr83 Dec 11 2006 12:06 PM

]McCoy gets the guilty verdict, with an assist from... the stylish skinny black guy, whatever his name is. Serena was awfully hot but too dumb. I didn't like the huskey-voiced chick. I suppose the short-haired assistant who I think died is OK in this role too. If you're thinking of the same one I am, and i never remember all their names, she didn't actualy die, she was shot at and pronounced dead but it turned out she had actually been placed in witness protection.

Johnny Dickshot Dec 11 2006 12:14 PM

But of course. She was cute but not ridicuously hot -- which I felt was more believeable. Don't think McCoy isn't banging every one of them, by the way. When he gets all liquored up, anything can happen.

Vic Sage Dec 11 2006 12:44 PM

i'm working on a cop show megalist.

Yancy Street Gang Dec 11 2006 01:09 PM

Don't forget Cop Rock and Brooklyn South.

seawolf17 Dec 11 2006 01:09 PM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Dec 11 2006 09:55 PM

L&O All-Star Team: Detectives: Stabler & Benson, SVU. They both get waaaaaaay too personally involved in their cases, which makes for great unintentional comedy. And as much as I like Briscoe, I can't get past the SVU crew. Utility Guy: Fin Tutola, SVU. If you don't include Ice-T, he'll bust a cap in your ass. I'm not willing to take that risk. Dept Head: Cragen, L&O/SVU. I know this is SVU heavy, but I don't like Eric Bogosian, and Deakins was too Ken Jennings for my tastes. Besides, Cragen gets bonus points for appearing multiple shows. DA: Ron Carver, CI. I really think they need to write his long-lost cousin, Police Chief [url=http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0721759/]Abe Carver[/url], into the plot. ADA: Casey Novak, SVU. It's really just a hotness thing. And you forgot the medical team of: Medical Examiner: Dr. Warner, SVU. She's so good and so efficient and so much smarter than the detectives. Psychologist: BD Wong, SVU.

TheOldMole Dec 11 2006 01:48 PM

No one for Policewoman?

Yancy Street Gang Dec 11 2006 02:39 PM

Was Mannix a cop, or a private eye? That's a whole nother genre, that would open us up to Columbo and Barnaby Jones among others.

Yancy Street Gang Dec 11 2006 02:40 PM

And Monk! How could I forget Monk?

cooby Dec 11 2006 10:26 PM

ADA: Casey Novak, SVU. It's really just a hotness thing Are you serious?

soupcan Dec 12 2006 09:05 AM

Streets of San Francisco

RealityChuck Dec 12 2006 09:56 AM

="Yancy Street Gang"]Was Mannix a cop, or a private eye? That's a whole nother genre, that would open us up to Columbo and Barnaby Jones among others. Mannix was a private eye -- first for an agency (though no one remembers that season) and later on his own. Columbo was technically a cop, though the show was a detective series (concentrating on solving an intriguing mystery) vs. a cop show (concentrating on police). Other pure cop shows that I don't recall seeing mentioned: The Rookies, T.J. Hooker, N.Y.P.D. (from the 60's, not N.Y.P.D. Blue), Adam-12, Chase, The Shield, and S.W.A.T.

Edgy DC Dec 12 2006 10:10 AM

Dude, you missed my versifying.

Yancy Street Gang Dec 12 2006 11:18 AM

I assume that Nanny and the Professor doesn't qualify?