SERIES INTRODUCTION: COP ROCK
Unlike many of the television shows that I plan to revisit for the sake of this blog, I never witnessed an episode of “Cop Rock” during its initial run. This is due, in large part, to my age at the time (six years old), but probably an equal amount to the fact that no one really watched it during its initial run. It sputtered through eleven episodes before being unceremoniously dumped by ABC (and I’m honestly quite surprised that it even made it that far.)
So why did I take a keen interest to watching it for the first time? Easy. History is rife with examples of television shows that were axed before their prime, ones that were never given ample time to resonate with viewers, or to wrap up key narratives. We all know the typical examples of this--”Firefly” and “Freaks and Geeks” to name just two of the more obvious ones--but with all the series’ that have come and gone, it’s only a matter of common sense that some gems still remain forgotten. I figured “Cop Rock” might end up being one of them, a show so bold and ahead of its time that it merely slipped through the cracks.
Oh, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that the entire premise also played a crucial role in gaining my interest: As the title alludes, this is a cop show, but with added song and dance numbers. Let that sink in your head for a moment, because it gets even more astonishing: It’s completely serious. This isn’t a spoof of cop shows with ridiculous song and dance numbers used for comedic effect--it actually tries to be a gritty look at police procedurals, with serious musical interludes attempting to drive home that point.
My interest only grew after watching a clip on YouTube entitled “He’s Guilty”, in which we learn the verdict of a drug dealer via a pop-up song and dance: the jurors suddenly become gospel singers, while the court reporter lifts up his desk to reveal a keyboard. It’s all so absurdly idiotic at first, until it sets in that the song is actually really pretty good, its bizarre presentation only heightening the appeal. With this, I was convinced; all it took was playing the same song to my wife for her to get excited, too.
Of further interest: It was actually co-created by the one and only Stephen Bochco, he of “Hill Street Blues” fame. Just given its poor reception amongst critics (TV Guide picked this as #8 in a list of worst television shows of all time), I’m actually surprised that he was allowed to continue working in the industry in the face of having his name on such a bona fide bomb, but it’s a good thing he was: He would go on to create the wildly-successful “NYPD Blue” just three years later, showing that, when he actually listened to his better judgment, he was capable of creating runaway hits.
Since this is the first show we’ll be taking a look at, here are some details about how it will work: Starting today, we will be unleashing individual episode reviews every Tuesday, until we’ve taken a look at all eleven episodes. If my calculation is correct, the final episode will actually be posted on May 17th, which also happens to be the same day the official DVD release hits store shelves (note that I am not affiliated with that project in any way, shape, or form, instead opting to watch the series on YouTube)! Following the last episode, there will be a brief recap of what I thought of the series as a whole, and then that will be that. Then I’ll take a break of unspecified length before moving on to the next television show.
So why don't you stick around, because we're going to be kicking things off with “Cop Rock” and its first episode, conveniently titled “Pilot” here within the next couple of hours!
In the meantime, here's the video that sucked me in to this whole project...
"HE'S GUILTY"
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