Cop Rock

Cop Rock
Genre	Police procedural; Dark comedy; Musical; Crime drama;
Created by	Steven Bochco; William M. Finkelstein;
Theme music composer	Randy Newman
Opening theme	"Under the Gun" performed by Randy Newman
Composers	Greg Edmonson; Alan Elliott; Randy Newman; Mike Post;
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	11 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer	Steven Bochco
Producers	Charles Haid; Michael M. Robin; John Romano; Craig Zisk;
Running time	45–48 minutes
Production companies	20th Century Fox Television; Steven Bochco Productions;
Release
Original network	ABC
Original release	September 26 –; December 26, 1990

Cop Rock is an American police procedural musical television series that first aired on ABC in 1990. The show was co-created by Steven Bochco, who also served as executive producer. This mixture of musical performances with serious drama was a critical and commercial failure when it originally aired. TV Guide ranked it #8 on its List of the 50 Worst TV Shows of All Time list in 2002,[1] and dubbed it "the single most bizarre TV musical of all time".[2]

Synopsis

Cop Rock combined the police procedural with musical theatre and black comedy, the former a genre in which Bochco had already been successful with Hill Street Blues. The series centered on the LAPD and featured an ensemble cast that mixed musical numbers and choreography throughout storylines. For example, a courtroom scene in the pilot episode had the jury break into song, proclaiming their verdict on the defendant ("He's Guilty") Gospel-style; and Episode 2 had a lineup of Hispanic suspects proclaim in song "We're the local color with the coppertone skin / And you treat us like we're guilty of some terrible sin." The show also featured crossover appearances from other Bochco series; Episode 5 featured James B. Sikking reprising his Hill Street Blues role of Lt. Howard Hunter (Sikking was working on another Bochco series at the time, Doogie Howser, M.D.), while Episode 8 featured cameos by L.A. Law stars Jimmy Smits and Michele Greene.

The series' theme song, "Under the Gun", was written by Randy Newman, who also performed it in the series' title sequence music video-style in a recording studio, complete with a full backing band and the show's cast (appearing out of character) serving as an audience. Mike Post, who served as Cop Rock's music supervisor, was also part of Newman's band in that opening sequence; Post is the keyboardist in dark glasses sitting next to Newman.

Reception

The show was a critical and commercial failure and was canceled by ABC after 11 episodes.[3] Owing to the combination of its bizarre nature (a fusion of musical performances with serious police drama and dark humor) and its high-powered production talent, it became infamous as one of the biggest television failures of the 1990s.[4][5] The series' final episode, which aired on December 26, 1990, concluded with the cast breaking character and joining crew members in performing a closing song. (The final episode featured a then-unknown Sheryl Crow appearing as a back-up singer.)

Despite its overwhelmingly negative reception and short run, the series still has been rebroadcast in later years, with VH1 and A&E Network airing it on separate occasions later in the 1990s, and Trio airing it in the 2000s.

Cast

Main

Anne Bobby as Off. Vicki Quinn
Barbara Bosson as Mayor Louise Plank
Ronny Cox as Chief Roger Kendrick
Vondie Curtis-Hall as Cmdr. Warren Osborne
David Gianopoulos as Off. Andy Campo
Larry Joshua as Capt. John Hollander
Paul McCrane as Det. Bob McIntire
James McDaniel as Off. Franklin Rose
Ron McLarty as Ralph Ruskin
Mick Murray as Det. Joseph Gaines
Peter Onorati as Det. Vincent LaRusso

Recurring

Teri Austin as Trish Vaughn
Dennis Lipscomb as Sidney Weitz
William Thomas, Jr. as Det. William Donald Potts
Kathleen Wilhoite as Patricia Spence

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Prod. code
1	"Pilot"	Gregory Hoblit	Steven Bochco & William M. Finkelstein	September 26, 1990 (1990-09-26)	2101
2	"Ill-Gotten Gaines"	Gregory Hoblit	Steven Bochco & William M. Finkelstein & John Romano	October 3, 1990 (1990-10-03)	2102
3	"Happy Mudder's Day"	Charles Haid	Steven Bochco & William M. Finkelstein & John Romano	October 10, 1990 (1990-10-10)	2103
4	"A Three-Corpse Meal"	Fred Gerber	S : Steven Bochco; T : Toni Graphia; S/T : William M. Finkelstein, John Romano	October 17, 1990 (1990-10-17)	2104
5	"The Cocaine Mutiny"	Arlene Sanford	T : John Romano; S/T : Steven Bochco, William M. Finkelstein	October 24, 1990 (1990-10-24)	2105
6	"Oil of Ol' Lay"	Michael Fresco	T : Toni Graphia; S/T : Steven Bochco, William M. Finkelstein, John Romano	October 31, 1990 (1990-10-31)	2106
7	"Cop-a-Feeliac"	Arlene Sanford	Steven Bochco, William M. Finkelstein, Michael A. Graham, John Romano	November 7, 1990 (1990-11-07)	2107
8	"Potts Don't Fail Me Now"	Brad Silberling	Steven Bochco, William M. Finkelstein, Michael Graham, John Romano	November 21, 1990 (1990-11-21)	2108
9	"Marital Blitz"	Gilbert M. Shilton	T : Toni Graphia; S/T : Steven Bochco, William M. Finkelstein, John Romano	December 5, 1990 (1990-12-05)	2109
10	"No Noose Is Good Noose"	Michael M. Robin	T : Toni Graphia; S/T : Steven Bochco, William M. Finkelstein, John Romano	December 12, 1990 (1990-12-12)	2110
11	"Bang the Potts Slowly"	Fred Gerber	S : Steven Bochco; T : Toni Graphia; S/T : William M. Finkelstein, John Romano	December 26, 1990 (1990-12-26)	2111

Home media

On May 17, 2016, Shout! Factory released the complete series on DVD in Region 1.[6]

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Recipient	Episode	Result
1991	Emmy Award	Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Drama Series	Robert Appere, Gary D. Rogers, Ron Estes, and Mark Server	"Oil Of Ol'Lay"	Nominated
		Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series	Gregory Hoblit	Pilot	Nominated
		Outstanding Achievement in Music and Lyrics	Ron Boustead and Greg Edmonson	"Oil Of Ol'Lay"	Nominated
		Outstanding Editing for a Series – Single Camera Production	Joe Ann Fogle	Pilot	Won
		Outstanding Achievement in Music and Lyrics	Randy Newman	Pilot	Won

International broadcasts

In the United Kingdom, Cop Rock was televised on BBC1 and premiered on Monday 30 September 1991. The show premiered on Australian television via the Ten Network on Thursday 23 January 1992 at 11:00 PM.

References

Cosgrove-Mather, Bootie (July 12, 2002). "The Worst TV Shows Ever". CBS News. Retrieved August 28, 2008.
"TV Musicals: The Highs and Lows". TV Guide. Retrieved April 13, 2013.
"ABC Cancels 'Cop Rock'". The New York Times. November 13, 1990. Retrieved August 28, 2008.
Weinraub, Bernard (November 11, 1991). "A Series Makes the Starting Gate". The New York Times. Retrieved August 28, 2008.
Tucker, Ken (June 4, 2004). "Flops 101: Lessons From The Biz". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 28, 2008.
Lambert, David (February 4, 2016). "Cop Rock – Shout! Factory Surprises Us with 'The Complete Series' on DVD!". TVShowsOnDVD.com. TV Guide Online. Archived from the original on March 29, 2016. Retrieved April 1, 2016.

External links

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[1] Cosgrove-Mather, Bootie (July 12, 2002). "The Worst TV Shows Ever". CBS News. Retrieved August 28, 2008.

[2] "TV Musicals: The Highs and Lows". TV Guide. Retrieved April 13, 2013.

[3] "ABC Cancels 'Cop Rock'". The New York Times. November 13, 1990. Retrieved August 28, 2008.

[4] Weinraub, Bernard (November 11, 1991). "A Series Makes the Starting Gate". The New York Times. Retrieved August 28, 2008.

[5] Tucker, Ken (June 4, 2004). "Flops 101: Lessons From The Biz". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 28, 2008.

[6] Lambert, David (February 4, 2016). "Cop Rock – Shout! Factory Surprises Us with 'The Complete Series' on DVD!". TVShowsOnDVD.com. TV Guide Online. Archived from the original on March 29, 2016. Retrieved April 1, 2016.