Reviewing Movies

Let’s be careful out there.

Large ensemble casts such as this show had make demands on an audience that often result in a shorter lifespan than this one’s seven years. Kudos to the network for sticking by it, such loyalties are rare these days. It’s still hard to believe that Mick Belker--the Animal--had a mother. Pairing him with a simian was a stroke of pure genius. All these officers had lives that were intertwined with their service on the force. It preserved a folksiness that belied the real police work and dangers the officers faced. This show was never formulaic, if you expect a neat wrap up at the end of each episode you will be sorely disappointed. What isn’t missing is real humanity and an often cutting sense of humour. These officers aren’t afraid to laugh at themselves. There are the requisite chase scenes and more than enough gun play but they do not define what this series was about.

Whatever its innovations the show is a reflection of its era. The officer’s leather jackets would be too warm for most US Cities today and bullet-proof vests are still a point of discussion. Their hairstyles and casual clothing definitely date the show. Their patrol cars and crossbucks are from another era.  The presinct phones are touch tone but the show predates desktop computers and cell phones. Pay phones are on every street corner and reports are typed on clunky old mechanical typewriters. Reports are filed in cabinets.  What hasn’t changed are the courts and justice system that favours those who can afford to buy ‘justice’. Rare is the public defender who will go to bat for the little guy. With courts over-crowded most cases are plea-bargained. The young law student for whom Joyce Davenport goes the extra mile is a refreshing change. The types of crime may have changed but human nature hasn’t and in the end it is the show’s humanity that makes it worth watching. The kitten in the forager hat that mews at the end of each show is priceless.