DVD
Review | Sledge Hammer! (Season 1)
Written by: Kage
Alan
1986 was a terrific year! Not only had we not
turned into the society George Orwell envisioned in his book, “1984,”
but The Power Station, Thompson Twins, Tears For Fears and Bryan Adams
were still burning up the airwaves. Yes, life just didn’t get much
better than this, except when it came time for television. Even
though it only lasted two seasons, “Sledge Hammer!” left a definite
mark on me and I’ve had to settle for poor quality VHS tapes released
in the slowest possible recording speed. No more. Now we have DVD
and a complete season!
How often do we trust someone who says “Trust me”?
And what if we knew a police officer who said “Trust me. I know what
I’m doing.”? This isn’t just any police officer either. He’s Detective
Sledge Hammer (David Rasche) and the more violent the solution to a
criminal act, the better…but in a fun way. For instance, in the
memorable first episode, Sledge takes the fight to a sniper by using a
rocket launcher to demolish the building the criminal is on top of.
From there on out, if there’s another film or TV show to make fun of or
a way for Sledge to take out the bad guys in the most explosive or
violent TV-friendly way, he’ll do it.
Fortunately, Det. Hammer isn’t alone. There’s his
trusty partner, the lovely Dori Doreau (Anne-Marie Martin). She’s
pretty no-nonsense and can definitely take care of herself, but she can
also keep Sledge in line…sort of, which is no easy task. Their captain,
Trunk (Harrison Page), is bound to have an aneurism the way he yells at
every idiosyncratic thing that Sledge does. And there are many! It’s a
few of the mellow moments when Sledge opens up to Doreau that
demonstrate that he can be a human being, a side that’s nice to see and
acts as a balance. Oh, yes. I forgot Sledge’s gun, a .44 Magnum. He
sleeps with it, talks to it and treats it like it’s his life partner.
While some were eager to dismiss “Sledge Hammer!”
as just another stupid comedy, it’s much more than that. It pokes fun
at law enforcement, but in a very healthy and releasing way. Dirty
Harry killed a lot of people while Sledge wanted to, but didn’t. It’s
his eagerness that often creates the comedic situations we find him in
and he’s actually a fairly simple guy when all is said and done. He
wants justice…and to fight Doreau one day. Sledge is also completely
misogynistic, which is done in good humor and quite effectively. Will
women be offended? Sledge can act like such a stereotype that I doubt
it. In the end, he’ll look more foolish than they will.
Anchor Bay has released “Sledge Hammer! (Season 1)”
in its original Full Screen ratio. Video quality is actually quite good
for show within this genre and stands up nicely to current shows. As
for audio, it’s nice and clear, especially since AB removed that damn
laugh track. It may have helped on “M*A*S*H*,” but not here. Extras
include 4 audio commentaries with Alan Spencer, “Sledge Hammer – Go
Ahead, Make Me Laugh!” (32 min), the uncut Pilot Episode (30 min), a
6-minute Electronic Press Kit, 5 TV Spots, the Bumper while the show
goes to commercial (6 seconds), “Alan Spencer’s Message To Critics” (2
min), a “Still & Memorabilia Gallery,” scripts for the DVDROM portion
and a “Thank You” from Spencer. This sucker is loaded!
While I was damn pleased to see this show get a DVD
release, I was really impressed to see the documentary featuring new
interviews with the cast and, of course, the uncut pilot, which is
definitely worth watching. As for the commentaries, there is some good
information shared, but there tends to be a lot of overlap. The
exception is the final commentary when an earthquake interrupts the
recording session. Only in the world of “Sledge Hammer!” could this
happen while the title character is attempting to disarm a nuclear bomb
and screws it up. Wonderful stuff, this. Let’s just hope it sells well
enough for them to release Season 2. As for the future of Sledge, there
could be a motion picture in the works. Trust Alan Spencer, he knows
what he’s doing…
Film Rating:
B+
DVD Special Features: A-
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