Police Story (TV series)

Police Story

DVD cover
Created by Joseph Wambaugh
Opening theme Jerry Goldsmith
Country of origin United States
No. of seasons 5
No. of episodes 95 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) David Gerber
Running time 60 min.
Production company(s) David Gerber Productions
Screen Gems Television (1973-1974)
Columbia Pictures Television (1974-1978)
Distributor Sony Pictures Television
Broadcast
Original channel NBC
Original run September 25, 1973 – May 28, 1978

Police Story is an anthology television crime drama that aired on NBC from 1973 through 1978. The show was the brainchild of author and former policeman Joseph Wambaugh and was described by The complete Directory of Primt Time Network and Cable TV Shows as "one of the more realistic police series to be seen on television." It was produced by David Gerber and Mel Swope.

Although it was an anthology, there were certain things that all episodes had in common; for instance, the main character in each episode was, obviously, always a police officer. The setting was always Los Angeles and the characters always worked for some branch of the LAPD. Notwithstanding the anthology format, there were recurring characters. Scott Brady appeared in more than a dozen episodes as "Vinnie," a former cop who, upon retirement, had opened a bar catering to police officers, and who acted as a sort of Greek chorus during the run of the series, commenting on the characters and plots. Tony Lo Bianco and Don Meredith made several appearances as Robbery-Homicide Division partners Tony Calabrese and Bert Jameson. Other recurring characters included surveillance specialist Joe LaFrieda, played by Vic Morrow, and vice officer turned homicide detective Charlie Czonka, played by James Farentino. Chuck Connors also starred in various episodes, as different characters on both sides of the law.

The anthology format allowed the series to depict a wider variety of police activities and experiences than was usual in police dramas. In addition to detectives investigating major crimes, or patrol officers patrolling high crime beats, the show depicted newly-hired cadets trying to make it through the academy, woman officers trying to fit into a male-dominated profession, traffic officers investigating accidents, officers dealing with marital difficulties or alcohol dependence, fingerprint techs trying to develop suspects from a single print, high ranking administrators dealing with the stresses of command in a major metropolitan police force, officers adjusting to permanent physical disabilities caused by on-duty injuries, and officers trying to juggle two different jobs to make enough money to support their families.

The anthology format also allowed the show to try out characters and settings for series development, and, during its broadcast run, Police Story generated three spin-offs. A first-season episode, "The Gamble," starring Angie Dickinson, became the pilot for the successful Police Woman, which ran from 1974-1978. "The Return of Joe Forrester," a second-season episode starring Lloyd Bridges, was developed into the weekly series Joe Forrester, which lasted a full season. Finally, "A Chance to Live," a special episode from the fifth season starring David Cassidy, was spun off into the series Man Undercover. That series didn't do as well, and lasted only ten episodes.

In later seasons, perhaps because of the expense of maintaining the anthology format on a weekly basis, Police Story became a series of irregularly scheduled TV movies.

Police Story was a precursor to later shows such as NBC's Hill Street Blues (1981-1987), Law & Order (1990-2010), ABC's NYPD Blue and NBC's Homicide: Life on the Street (both latters started in 1993).

Guest stars

Numerous actors, musicians, sports figures, radio personalities and former real-life cops who were familiar to audiences in the 1960s and 1970s made appearances on the series, including Danny Bonaduce, Ed Asner, Eve McVeagh, Rodolfo Hoyos, Jr., David Janssen, Claude Akins, Robert Stack, Ahna Capri, Mike Connors, Alex Cord, Sean Garrison, Stuart Whitman, Lenore Kasdorf, David Cassidy, John Saxon, Kurt Russell, Cameron Mitchell, Martin Milner, Noah Beery, Jr., Vince Edwards, Robert Forster, William Shatner, Dean Stockwell, Jan-Michael Vincent, Larry Hagman, George Maharis, Wayne Maunder, Howard Duff, Chad Everett, Casey Kasem, Steve Lawrence, Gabe Kaplan, Robert Goulet, Sylvester Stallone, Joseph Campanella, Michael Cole (2 episodes), Clifton Davis, Joe Garagiola, Stephen McNally, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bert Convy, Pernell Roberts and Eddie Egan.

Episodes

Season Episodes Originally aired DVD release date
Region 1
Season premiere Season finale
1 22 September 25, 1973 March 26, 1974 September 6, 2011
2 22 September 10, 1974 May 6, 1975 N/A
3 22 September 9, 1975 March 12, 1976 N/A
4 22 September 21, 1976 April 5, 1977 N/A
5 7 September 27, 1977 May 28, 1978 N/A

Awards and nominations

Two episodes received an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best Episode in a Television Series: "Requiem for an Informer," written by Sy Salkowitz (from the first season), and "Requiem for C.Z. Smith," by Robert E. Collins (second season). In 1976, the show won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series.

DVD release

On September 6, 2011, Shout! Factory (under license from Sony Pictures) released season 1 of Police Story on DVD in Region 1.[1]

Revival

In 1988, ABC aired four Police Story TV films using scripts from the original run to fill in for the ABC Mystery Movie, then delayed by the writers' strike. The stars of the films included Ken Olin, Robert Conrad, and Jack Warden.[2]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Police-Story-Season-1-Press-Release/15605
  2. ↑ The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present. Ballantine Books. 2003 pg. 945 ISBN 0-345-45542-8

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Police Story (TV series).