September 23, 1986 (1986-09-23) – February 12, 1988 (1988-02-12)
Sledge Hammer! is an American satirical police sitcom produced by New World Television that ran for two seasons on ABC from September 23, 1986, to February 12, 1988. The series was created by Alan Spencer and stars David Rasche as Inspector Sledge Hammer,[1] a caricature of the standard "cop on the edge" character.
Setting
The series takes place in San Francisco, California, with parts of Los Angeles used as a stand-in for filming. However, no mention of San Francisco was made past the pilot episode and none of the city's landmarks are seen throughout the series, though the city name can be read on the police department building sign. The San Francisco newspaper used at the beginning of the pilot episode was censored during the show's initial broadcast, as the city wanted nothing to do with the series. Subsequent episodes showed newspapers that had no city name.[2]
Inspector Sledge Hammer (David Rasche) is a stubborn, sexist, and reactionary (all of this by his own admission), but also a serious and respectful detective from the San Francisco Police Department. Hammer's most prized possession is his Smith & Wesson Model 29.44 Magnum[3] with a customized grip, featuring an engraving of a sledgehammer. Hammer sleeps and showers with his gun, (it has its own satin pillow) and even talks to it, referring to it as his "amigo." He believes in shooting first and asking questions never. Unlike other comic crime fighters, Hammer is a blunderbuss that is effective and even capable of humanity on rare occasions.[4]
Detective Dori Doreau
Hammer's partner is Detective Dori Doreau (Anne-Marie Martin), who is sensitive, intelligent, and sophisticated. It becomes apparent with time that she has some romantic feelings for Sledge.[5]
Captain Trunk
Captain Trunk (Harrison Page) supervises Hammer and Doreau.[6] He is regularly driven into fits of rage by Hammer's inconsiderate and brash attitude.
Recurring
Officer Fletcher Majoy (Leslie Morris) – desk sergeant at the precinct.
Officer Daley (Patti Tippo) – another officer at the precinct who is sometimes a gal pal to Doreau.[citation needed]
Coroner Norman Blates (Kurt Paul) – the precinct's medical examiner, he specializes in the sudden deceased at crime scenes. According to executive producer Alan Spencer, the character is an homage to Norman Bates, the character from Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho.[7]
Newscaster Lisa Ellerblub (Diane Sainte-Marie) – a local news anchorwoman (a play on Linda Ellerbee), she is usually on the receiving end of Hammer's chauvinistic insults.[citation needed]
Guest appearances
Some notable figures who made guest appearances on Sledge Hammer!:
Actor Jackie Cooper directed a few episodes including "Witless",[8] "All Shook Up"[9] and the first-season finale, "The Spa Who Loved Me".[10]
Production history
Inspired by Clint Eastwood's no-nonsense approach to law enforcement in the Dirty Harry films, teenager Alan Spencer dreamed up the idea of a police officer whose approach was even more over-the-top, to the point of absurdity. At the age of 16, Spencer wrote a screenplay based on this idea. The script and the main character were both named Sledge Hammer.[11]
Despite his youth, Spencer had already written for Rodney Dangerfield and such television as The Facts of Life and One Day at a Time. He sold his script upon the release of the fourth Dirty Harry movie Sudden Impact and the popularity of NBC's Dirty Harry-inspired action series Hunter; the latter property created demand for a satirical police television show. When HBO approached Leonard B. Stern, former producer of Get Smart, about developing such a show, Stern recommended Spencer's "Sledge Hammer!" idea.[12] Stern knew of Spencer trying to help Don Adams by personally writing a few gags for the comedian on the set of "The Nude Bomb"[13] and was returning the favor.[14]
Spencer quickly reworked his script for a half-hour television format. HBO executives wanted to produce the pilot[15] and suggested casting ideas that Spencer found unacceptable, such as known comedians Rodney Dangerfield or Joe Piscopo in the lead role as opposed to a lesser known actor who would become the character.[16] Last-place ABC was willing to take a chance on the unorthodox script. ABC insisted that the violence be toned down for network television and that a laugh track be included (although some versions – including the DVD release of the show – do not have this track or had it removed; Spencer found it offensive that the audience be told when to laugh and was furious over the decision), but agreed to cast Spencer's first choice for the lead character, the classically trained actor David Rasche. Sledge Hammer! entered ABC's fall lineup in 1986.[17]
The pilot of Sledge Hammer! was completed just as Peter Gabriel's song "Sledgehammer" became a huge hit. ABC took advantage of this coincidence by using the song in television, radio, and film advertisements for the show.[18] Spencer said Gabriel had been willing to license his song to the series and even rewrite the lyrics, but New World Television wouldn't meet the artist's terms. Nevertheless, Spencer was happy with what would be Danny Elfman's first TV theme.[19]
Intro and theme music
Image from introduction
The introduction to the show features long, near sensual closeup shots of Hammer's .44 Magnum as it rests on a luxurious satinpillow. The show's ominous theme music, composed by Danny Elfman, plays in the background. Hammer then picks up his gun, spins it expertly like a cinematic Old Westgunslinger, and utters his catch phrase ("Trust me, I know what I'm doing") just before firing into the screen, making a hole in it. According to the DVD release extras, the original version had Hammer firing directly at the viewer, but ABC executives feared this could be too shocking, possibly even causing heart attacks (and leaving the network liable). Thus, Hammer fires into the screen at a slight angle.[20]
According to the DVD release, Hammer's original catch phrase was "I'm crazy, but I know what I'm doing." ABC executives objected to a lead character being "crazy", so they insisted on a change.
The DVD release uses an updated heavy metal version of the theme music by Baboon Rising on the main menus.
Ratings and second season
Despite critical acclaim[21] and garnering high ratings in a special time slot just for the debut,[22]Sledge Hammer! struggled in the ratings partly due to being repeatedly bounced around ABC's fall schedule.[23]
During the same season Sledge Hammer! made its debut, ABC scheduled a high-profile comeback vehicle for a then 75-year-old Lucille Ball entitled Life with Lucy that was not well-received by critics or audiences. After only eight episodes aired, Ball's show was canceled and Sledge Hammer! was given her timeslot.[24]
Sledge Hammer! attracted weekly viewership of nineteen million viewers who followed the show religiously through its many time slot shifts. The fact that the series appealed to key target demographics also kept it on the schedule.[25]
Because ABC intended to cancel the series, the last episode of the first season ends with Hammer accidentally destroying the city when he attempts to disarm a stolen nuclear warhead. This episode received much better than expected ratings, in large part because the network had moved the show to a better time slot. ABC changed its mind and renewed the show for a second season.[26]
The second-season premiere perfunctorily explained that it and following episodes were set "five years before" the explosion, though Doreau is Sledge's partner in the second season, despite being introduced to him in the pilot, and despite the presence of references to contemporary events, rather than those of five years earlier.[27]
The second season suffered from another extremely undesirable time slot (this time against The Cosby Show), a reduced budget, and lowered filming standard (down to 16 mm film from the previous season's 35 mm).[citation needed] The cutbacks contributed to the show not being renewed for a third season.[28]
Home media
Anchor Bay Entertainment released the entire series on DVD in Region 1. The first season of Sledge Hammer! was released on DVD on July 27, 2004. The laugh track, which the network had insisted on including on the pilot and first 12 episodes, is removed on the DVD version. For this Spencer in part sourced copies of the episodes from collectors in the UK who had recorded the episodes where they aired without the laugh track and hired an experienced sound designer. These collectors are thanked on these DVDs. The DVD features a documentary on the series featuring interviews by Spencer, David Rasche, Anne-Marie Martin and Harrison Page. The DVD also includes an unaired version of the pilot that runs several minutes longer and has a different ending and theme music. An earthquake hit while Spencer was recording commentary for one of the DVDs; the tape kept rolling during the event and was included on the DVD, leaving viewers wondering whether the earthquake was real. The first season enjoyed strong sales.[29] The second season was released on DVD on April 12, 2005; the commentary on the final episode ended with Spencer, again, being caught in another earthquake, this time with sound effects and a convenient cliffhanger.[citation needed]
On September 6, 2011, it was announced that Image Entertainment had acquired the rights to the series. It was subsequently announced that they will release Sledge Hammer!- The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1 on December 13, 2011. The set will not feature the documentary, commentaries, the uncut pilot (the broadcast version is used) and other bonus features from the Anchor Bay release.[30]
Sledge Hammer! was nominated for a 1987 People's Choice Award in the category of "Favorite New TV Comedy."[33]
Comics
New World's then-subsidiary Marvel Comics released a short-lived comic book based upon the series as a promotion for the second season. In the second issue, Sledge is up against a Spider-Man imposter and on the cover issue a disclaimer hints that Sledge Hammer is actually a mutant when the X-Men series and its mutant spin-offs were on the height of their popularity.[citation needed]
The series only lasted two issues but was only intended for publicity purposes.[34]
See also
Police Squad!, a similar American TV series from the 1980s that spawned the Naked Gun film series
Angie Tribeca, a similar American TV series that satirizes American procedurals
