A show they could never make now......

Rob_Taylor

So we should be thankful they did it when they had the chance. Today's politically-correct nonsense would have people up in arms about a show that glorified violence and had a "shoot first, ask questions later" mentality.

To be fair, though, Sledgehammer was not that bad. There was no gore and little sleaze on display. David Rasche (hugely underrated actor) gave the role just the right amount of manic-ness that it needed to be funny, but not so much that it became ridiculous. Not that Sledge's antics themselves weren't ridiculous, but you know what I mean...

Much like the later "Brisco County Jr" I avoided this show when it first appeared, convinced by the name alone that it was little more than another cop show. Also like Brisco, I'm glad that I revisited it and found the joy that is Sledgehammer! Doreau (Sledge's side-kick) didn't really get to be much more than the straight-err..man to his lunacy, but there was a great deal of humour to be had from the interaction between the pair, especially the male-female differences of perspective.

All in all, the show was good and deserved the run that it got (2 seasons) and probably more besides. At least, it got the chance to show what it was capable of, unlike a lot of more recent shows that get canned before the first season is done.

Well worth a watch.

score /10

Rob_Taylor 15 September 2005

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw1173138/