This week the focus is on the best of the television police shows.
By: Hank Kalet
This week’s Top Ten focuses on what I consider to be the best TV cop shows of all time.
Here goes:
1. "Barney Miller." Nothing better. A daily look at what goes in in a detective squad, offered with humor and the right amount of pathos.
2. "Homicide." An amazing drama that avoided glorifying the men and women in the Baltimore homicide division. The key to this show is that it never asked you to check your conscience at the door. You always had to confront your beliefs and ask yourself what you would do in their (cops and crooks) shoes.
3. "Columbo." Peter Faulk and that jacket. "Uh, just one more thing ma’am."
4. "NYPD Blue." The first season, featuring David Caruso, was a remarkable achievement, mining the same vein as "Homicide," exploring various shades of gray. The later seasons were not as effective, as the show became more of a soap opera and the officers started to become more heroic (when Sipowitz beat a suspect he was interviewing, you were told he deserved it this is the difference between "NYPD Blue" and "Homicide"; you always felt queasy when the Baltimore cops stepped over the line).
5. "The Naked City." And oldy but a goody. "There are many stories in the naked city."
6. "Starsky and Hutch." This is a fave from my younger days. I always wanted to be Starsky – I even wore one of those Starsky sweaters for a while and they drove the coolest car.
7. "Kojak." A bald detective with a lollipop. Need I say more.
8. "Quincy." A coroner who solves crimes far better than the current incarnations based on the same concept ("CSI" is too much about technology).
9. "Streets of San Francisco." Back when Michael Douglas was young and cool.
10. (tie) "Dragnet" and "Adam 12." Not flashy, which is what made them so worthwhile real cases and some unvarnished cop work.