| Police Woman | |
|---|---|
DVD cover |
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| Format | Action/Crime/Drama |
| Created by | Robert E. Collins |
| Starring | Angie Dickinson Earl Holliman Ed Bernard Charles Dierkop |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 4 |
| No. of episodes | 92 (1 unaired) (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | David Gerber |
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 45–48 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | NBC |
| Original run | September 13, 1974 – March 29, 1978 |
Police Woman is an American television police drama starring Angie Dickinson that ran on NBC for four seasons, from September 13, 1974, to March 29, 1978.
Contents |
The show revolves around Sgt. "Pepper" Anderson (Angie Dickinson), an undercover police officer working for the Criminal Conspiracy Unit of the Los Angeles Police Department. Sergeant William "Bill" Crowley (Earl Holliman) was her immediate superior, and Pete Royster (Charles Dierkop) and Joe Styles (Ed Bernard) were the other half of the undercover team that investigated everything from murders to rape and drug crimes. In many episodes, Pepper went undercover (as a prostitute, nurse, teacher, flight attendant, prison inmate, dancer, waitress, etc.) in order to get close enough to the suspects to gain valuable information that would lead to their arrest.
Although Dickinson's character was called Pepper, sources differ as to the legal given name of the character. Most sources give the characters legal name as Suzanne. Others give it as Leanne or Lee Ann. The Police Story episode entitled "The Gamble, which serves as a pilot for Police Woman, gives Dickinson's character's name as "Lisa Beaumont". On the Season 1 DVD release of Police Woman, Dickinson states that she and producers decided not to go with the name Lisa Beaumont when the series first went into production and came up with the name Suzanne.
"Flowers of Evil" was the eighth episode of season one, airing November 8, 1974. In it, Pepper investigates a trio of lesbians who run a retirement home while robbing and murdering the elderly residents. Gay and lesbian groups protested the episode, calling its portrayal of lesbianism stereotypical and negative. A group of lesbian activists zapped NBC's corporate offices a week after the episode aired, occupying the offices overnight. Following negotiations with activists NBC agreed in 1975 not to rebroadcast the episode.[1] "Flowers of Evil" is available on the season 1 DVD box set.
Police Woman became the first "successful" hour-long drama series in American primetime television history to feature a woman in the starring role. This helped to make Dickinson a household name.
Police Woman was a spin-off of the Police Story (1973-1978) anthology series. Police Woman was so successful in its first season in particular, that during the first spring and summer rerun period, the show still hit number one in the Nielsens ratings. The success of Dickinson starring in an hour-long tv drama series gave the networks confidence that women can actually carry an hour-long series. This paved the way for more (abeit fanciful) 1970s shows starring women, such as Charlie's Angels, Wonder Woman, and The Bionic Woman, as well as the more serious Cagney & Lacey in the 1980s.
"Police Woman" caused an avalanche of applications for employment from women to police departments around the United States. Sociologists who have in recent years examined the inspiration for long-term female law enforcement officials to adopt this vocation as their own have been surprised by how often "Police Woman" has been referenced.
In February 1976, President Gerald Ford re-scheduled a Tuesday press conference so as not to delay an episode of Police Woman, reportedly his favorite show.[2]
On March 7, 2005, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released season 1 of Police Woman on DVD in Region 1 for the first time.[3]
On October 14, 2011, Shout! Factory announced that they had acquired the rights to the series and plan to release additional seasons on DVD.[4] They subsequently announced that season 2 will be released on February 7, 2012.[5]
| DVD Name | Ep # | Release Date |
|---|---|---|
| The Complete First Season | 22 | March 7, 2006 |
| The Complete Second Season | 24 | February 7, 2012 |
A film version is slated be released in 2013. It is rumored that Katherine Heigl has signed on for the title role. No word if Angie Dickinson will make a cameo appearance.
Several episodes from the first season are available to view for free in Minisode format on Crackle.