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Ah, the comedies of the 1980s. The Cosby Show, Family Ties, Night Court. There are shows like those, and then there's "Sledge Hammer!"
It's just a _bit_ different. Imagine a show able to consistently spoof movies, or whole tv show/film genres, and consistently nail it dead in 30 minutes. That's the writing quality the show had, but the execution made it work. The three leads had consistent timing and brutally funny delivery. David Rasche was a standout, often getting the most manic material, though Page and Martin made it a triple threat. On one of the shows, Martin's character assumed Hammer's personality, playing it quite well.
Sledge is the ultimate sendup of the loose cannon police detective. Dirty Harry is a great inspiration, but other aspects enter in as well. Some of the shows send up the film noir detective genre. While some compare it to "Get Smart" or "Police Squad," what amazed me about it was it reminding me of British comedies like "Blackadder" or some of Monty Python's skits. It is great that this consistently good parody show got on American TV. Especially as there was almost always another, more subtle layer of humor under the more over-the-top gags. The main thread of humor was sending up (by exaggeration) the ultra-violent tone the action genre had taken on at the time. Yet underneath the people involved managed to work in genuine warmth, subtle moments of humor, and genuine emotion across the board.
The show ran two seasons, agaist stiff competition. If only there was a better timeslot (and budget) though the show did quite well with what they had.
I saw the initial ABC run, then reruns a few years later on a station in Philadelphia. It held up very well, especially when classic genres/films were "given tribute." Some of the 80s references date it, but it wasn't bad. In fact, it rocked. Plus I remember seeing the first run as a kid, and the bazooka scene in the first show hooked me. Hilarious. In short, although it struggled it built a pretty strong following among fans, and that's the definition of a cult classic. Websites have sprung up in recent years allowing fans to chat about this truly unique show. When they put this one together, they really did know what they were doing.
score /10
David_Powell3006-1 29 March 2003
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw0229116/ |
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4-3-2021 00:53:07