Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Police Squad!: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman April 10, 2020

When one considers the words "The Complete Series" in conjunction with "television," it's not unreasonable to think of at least a dozen or so episodes and, usually, several or more seasons. That's not the case with Police Squad!. The complete series -- all six episodes -- aired on ABC in 1982. Audiences will quickly recall that the series lived on via the big screen years later with the hilarious The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!, followed by two sequels. Six episodes, three movies. That's got to be some sort of big screen spinoff record, but no matter the numbers: the show is a riot, as were the movies to follow it. Talk about taken out of commission before its time.

Each episode delivers bite-sized fun. Clocking in at about 25 minutes each, the episodes follow a relatively simple formula of crime-investigation-resolution and a hilarious live-action freeze frame to end. The episodes follow the exact same cadence from the movies, just condensed down, so anyone who loves those will immediately fall in love with this short-lived show. The humor is often dry and derived from literal translations or conversations that context suggests should go one way but humor dictates go another. Each episode is home to several recurring gags, including the shoe shine guy segment and the science lessons, but it’s usually the story-driven laughs that really work the best. For instance, there’s a sort of “Who’s on First?” Abbott and Costello vibe to Frank’s “investigation” into a bank shooting when he interviews the sole survivor, who was actually the gunman (or gun woman), which is followed by a nonsensical, non-sequitur murder weapon analysis.

The following episodes comprise the complete series:

• A Substantial Gift (The Broken Promise): A bank employee named Sally Decker (Kathryn Leigh Scott) randomly shoots a customer and her co-worker. She grabs some cash and sets the scene to make it look like she’s not the guilty party. Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen), Detective Lieutenant of Police Squad, withdrawals wackiness along the way to putting it all together, piling up bodies and causing mayhem like only he can.
• Ring of Fear (A Dangerous Assignment): Drebin is assigned a supposed suicide case following a high profile boxing match in which the victim just won the biggest fight of his career. Captain Ed Hocken (Alan North) orders Drebin to go undercover as a boxing trainer who promises to turn a failing fighter's career around. He’ll have to punch below the belt to solve this one and clean up the local boxing scene.
• The Butler Did It (A Bird in the Hand): Teenage socialite Terri Burton (Lilibet Stern) has been kidnapped. Frank is on the case and his investigation leads him to Terri’s boyfriend and hopeful fiancé, Kingsley Addison (Ken Michelman), who would be marrying well above his class. Turns out the love of money might trump the love of...love after all.
• Revenge and Remorse (The Guilty Alibi): A string of bombings are wreaking havoc around the city, killing a prominent judge and the district attorney. Drebin is assigned the case and suspects suspicion surrounds the suspect. Could the investigation blow up in his face?
• Rendezvous at Big Gulch (Terror in the Neighborhood): To combat mob intimidation, Drebin and Norberg (Peter Lupus) set up a phony locksmithing business in hopes off flushing out and confronting the vermin who are terrorizing the neighborhood. But will this plan be the key to success?
• Testimony of Evil (Dead Men Don't Laugh): Frank finds no free time for funny business when he’s forced to take on a gig at a comedy club in order to investigate the death of a deceased comedian.

Police Squad!: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Police Squad!: The Complete Series rolls onto Blu-ray with an impressive 1080p transfer. The show maintains its original 4x3 broadcast aspect ratio, presenting with vertical "black bars" on either side of the 1.78:1 display. With episode one, the picture is littered with frequent, but not often intrusive, speckles, splotches, vertical lines, and the occasional bouts of flickering, but these issues clear up in episode two. Not entirely, but substantially to the point that they're largely absent in later episodes. Grain remains but has a noisy look to it, again in those first couple of episodes but transitioning to a beautiful, filmic appearance in later episodes. The "Johnny" shoeshine scene in episode four is about the best the show looks, followed by episode five, which approaches filmic perfection. At its best, details are razor sharp, clarity is excellent, and scene depth is tangible. Colors are favorable with no loss to fade and no overly pumped contrast. Tonal neutrality is the order of the day. Flesh tones are dialed in but black levels sometimes struggle to find the depth one would expect of a presentation that is otherwise very good in the aggregate.

Police Squad!: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Police Squad!: The Complete Series blares onto Blu-ray with an agreeable, all-around solid DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The opening title music presents with substantial engagement. It is loud, well detailed, wide, and somewhat immersive. Presentation balance, or prioritization, is a highlight, especially when several elements -- music, dialogue, action, atmosphere -- compete in the same shot. Some effects are a bit crunchy and unkempt, like when Frank runs over a trash can with his car early in episode one. Gunfire struggles early -- listen to the climactic shootout to end the first episode which sounds more like pop guns firing off rather than .38 slugs -- but are acceptable in context. Fortunately, there's a bit more oomph in the shootout toward the end of the third episode on the disc, ditto some mafia machine gun fire in episode five. Episode two's open features some boisterous surround activity at the boxing match, with crowd din enveloping the listener to very good effect, representing the most substantial and sustained atmosphere across the six episodes. A few positive discrete effects are in play too, such as when a plane takes off (off-screen) in episode four. Dialogue is clear and center positioned.

Police Squad!: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Police Squad!: The Complete Series does include a fair number of extras, including select episode commentaries which are found under the "Episodes" tab, not the "Special Features" tab. No DVD or digital copies are included. This release does not ship with a slipcover.

• Audio Commentaries: For "A Substantial Gift:" David Zucker, Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Robert K. Weiss. For "The Butler Did It:" David Zucker, Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Robert K. Weiss. For "Testimony of Evil:" Robert Wuhl.
• Gag Reel (480i, 4:57): Humorous moments from the shoot.
• Leslie Nielsen Interview (480i, 8:41): Nielsen chats about the production, including its cancellation, and his work on it.
• Behind the Freeze Frames (480i, 4:31): Discussing the "freeze frame" episode endings over footage of a particularly dangerous gag.
• Casting Test - Ed Williams (480i, 2:50): The actor who plays scientist Ted Olson rehearses for the part.
• Casting Test - Alan North (480i, 6:03): The man who would play Captain Ed Hocken rehearses for the role.
• Producers' Photo Gallery (480i, 0:58): A number of stills automatically advance far too quickly, and at too small a size, across digital cork board.
• List of Celebrity Death Shots (1080p): Two typed pages outlining 17 death scenes.
• Production Memo Highlights (1080p): A list of alterations made to appease the censors.

Police Squad!: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Police Squad! found more success on the big screen than it did on the small. But the material works well in both formats, whether in 90-some minute features or more compact 25 minute TV shows. Deadpan humor drives it to success, and Nielsen proves himself a master of the style and the perfect fit to lead the franchise. The show was cancelled far too early, but six episodes are better than none and Parmaount has done a great job bringing them to Blu-ray. Good video to start eventually transitions to great, the 5.1 audio is steady, and a healthy dollop of extra material is included. Police Squad!: The Complete Series comes very highly recommended.