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| Police Story | |
|---|---|
_dvd.jpeg) Official DVD cover | |
| Genre | Police procedural Anthology |
| Created by | Joseph Wambaugh |
| Opening theme | Jerry Goldsmith |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 6 |
| No. of episodes | 98(list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | David Gerber |
| Running time | 60 min. |
| Production companies | David Gerber Productions Screen Gems (1973–1974) Columbia Pictures Television (1974–1978, 1979, 1980, 1987) |
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
| Release | September 25, 1973 (1973-09-25) – May 3, 1987 (1987-05-03) |
| Related | |
| Police Woman Joe Forrester David Cassidy: Man Undercover | |
Police Story is an Americananthologycrime drama television series that aired weekly onNBC from September 25, 1973, through April 5, 1977, followed by a season of irregularly scheduledtelevision film specials from September 27, 1977, to May 28, 1978, with three further television films screened in 1979, 1980, and 1987. The show was created by author and former police officerJoseph Wambaugh and was described byThe Complete Directory of Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows as "one of the more realistic police series to be seen on television". It was produced byDavid Gerber and Mel Swope.
Although it was an anthology, all episodes had certain things in common; for instance, the main character in each episode was always a police officer. The setting was alwaysLos Angeles, and the characters always worked for some branch of theLos Angeles Police Department. Notwithstanding the anthology format, some characters were recurring. During the first three seasons,Scott Brady appeared in 16 episodes as "Vinnie", a retired cop, who had opened a bar catering to police officers, and who acted as a sort ofGreek chorus during the run of the series, commenting on the characters and plots. Others who appeared more than once wereTony Lo Bianco andDon Meredith, each making five appearances asRobbery-Homicide Division partners Tony Calabrese and Bert Jameson, four of these appearances being in the same episodes;Vic Morrow played surveillance specialist Joe LaFrieda in the pilot, "Slow Boy", and in the first-season, two-part episode, "Countdown". Vice officer turned homicide detective Charlie Czonka was played byJames Farentino in two episodes, andJohn Bennett Perry played Officer Chick Torpey five times during the first two seasons, including the pilot film.Chuck Connors andJackie Cooper 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 technicians 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 make a adequate living.
The anthology format also allowed the show to try out characters and settings for series development, and during its broadcast run,Police Story generated threespin-offs. A first-season episode, "The Gamble", starringAngie Dickinson, became the pilot for the successfulPolice Woman, which ran from 1974 to 1978. "The Return of Joe Forrester", a second-season episode starringLloyd Bridges, was developed into the weekly seriesJoe Forrester, which lasted a full season. Finally, "A Chance to Live", a special episode from the fifth season starringDavid Cassidy, was spun off into the seriesMan Undercover. That series did not do as well, and lasted only 10 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 scheduledtelevision films.
Police Story was a precursor to later shows such as NBC'sHill Street Blues (1981–1987), NBC's and CBS'sIn the Heat of the Night (1988–95),Law & Order (1990–2010), ABC'sNYPD Blue (1993–2005), NBC'sHomicide: Life on the Street (1993–1999) and FX'sThe Shield (2002–2008).
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:
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | |||
| 1 | 22 | September 25, 1973 | March 26, 1974 | |
| 2 | 22 | September 10, 1974 | May 6, 1975 | |
| 3 | 22 | September 9, 1975 | March 12, 1976 | |
| 4 | 22 | September 21, 1976 | April 5, 1977 | |
| 5 | 8 | September 27, 1977 | May 23, 1979 | |
| Specials | 3 | May 23, 1979 | May 3, 1987 | |
Two episodes received anEdgar Award from theMystery 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 L. Collins (second season). In 1976, the show won thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series; it was also among the shows nominated for that award in 1974, 1975, and 1977.
Shout! Factory (under license fromSony Pictures Home Entertainment) has released the first three seasons ofPolice Story on DVD in Region 1.
| DVD name | Ep # | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| Season one | 22 | September 6, 2011[1] |
| Season two | 22 | August 15, 2017[2] |
| Season three | 22 | August 21, 2018 |
| Police Story | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Police procedural |
| Opening theme | Dennis McCarthy |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 5(list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Clyde Phillips |
| Cinematography | Neil Roach |
| Editor | Russell Denove |
| Production company | Columbia Pictures Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | ABC |
| Release | October 29 (1988-10-29) – December 3, 1988 (1988-12-03) |
From October 29 to December 3, 1988, ABC aired fivePolice Story TV films using scripts from the original run to fill in for theABC Mystery Movie, then delayed by the writers' strike. The stars of the films includedKen Olin,Robert Conrad,Lindsay Wagner, andJack Warden.[3]
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | |||
| 1 | 5 | October 29, 1988 | December 3, 1988 | |
