Sledge Hammer! is a satirical American television series broadcast on ABC in the United States. The series was created by Alan Spencer and stars David Rasche as Inspector Sledge Hammer, a preposterous caricature of the standard "cop on the edge" character. It was first broadcast on September 23, 1986 and ran until February 12, 1988, after just two seasons. The series has received generally favorable reviews from critics.
Many of the episode titles are parodies of film and TV show titles.
Series overview
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | |||
| 1 | 22 | September 23, 1986 (1986-09-23) | April 28, 1987 (1987-04-28) | |
| 2 | 19 | September 17, 1987 (1987-09-17) | February 12, 1988 (1988-02-12) | |
Episodes
Season 1 (1986–87)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Under the Gun" | Martha Coolidge | Alan Spencer | September 23, 1986 (1986-09-23) | |
| Violence-prone Sledge Hammer is assigned to head up the investigation when the mayor's daughter is abducted, but he predictably objects to a requirement that he work with female detective Dori Doreau. | ||||||
| 2 | 2 | "Hammer Gets Nailed" | Chuck Braverman | Mike Reiss & Al Jean | September 26, 1986 (1986-09-26) | |
| A local TV newscaster creates bitter public feeling toward the police department when he reports and editorializes adversely on what he sees during a day-long ride with Sledge and Dori. | ||||||
| 3 | 3 | "Witless" | Jackie Cooper | Alan Spencer | October 3, 1986 (1986-10-03) | |
| When an organized crime boss puts a price on his head, Sledge is able to take refuge with a peace-loving "Maninote" farmer and his daughter. | ||||||
| 4 | 4 | "They Shoot Hammers, Don't They?" | David Wechter | S : Diana Ayers, Susan Sebastian S/T : Mert Rich, Brian Pollack, Alan Spencer | October 17, 1986 (1986-10-17) | |
| Prison escapee John Kogan commandeers a bus and launches a one-man wave of crime and violence, pledging to stop only if Sledge agrees to meet him in a one-on-one gunfight. A spoof of movie They Shoot Horses, Don't They | ||||||
| 5 | 5 | "Dori Day Afternoon" | James Sheldon | Mert Rich & Brian Pollack | October 24, 1986 (1986-10-24) | |
| Sledge and Dori find themselves in a hostage situation as a result of a foiled bank robbery; Sledge finds that the bank robber leader is an evil twin version of himself! A spoof of movie Dog Day Afternoon | ||||||
| 6 | 6 | "To Sledge, with Love" | David Wechter | Jim Fisher & Jim Staahl | October 31, 1986 (1986-10-31) | |
| Sledge is assigned to bring order to a notoriously dangerous local high school that is dominated by four young toughs who supply stolen cars to a crime boss. | ||||||
| 7 | 7 | "All Shook Up" | Jackie Cooper | Alan Spencer | November 6, 1986 (1986-11-06) | |
| Sledge goes undercover to learn why Elvis impersonators are being systematically murdered with a gold microphone. | ||||||
| 8 | 8 | "Over My Dead Bodyguard" | Charles S. Dubin | Mike Reiss & Al Jean | November 13, 1986 (1986-11-13) | |
| The commissioner personally assigns Sledge to guard Captain Trunk in order to ensure the Captain's safety until he is able to provide critical testimony before a grand jury. | ||||||
| 9 | 9 | "Magnum Farce" | Chuck Braverman | Jim Fisher & Jim Staahl | November 22, 1986 (1986-11-22) | |
| Sledge becomes even more violent than usual as part of an attempt to infiltrate a group of vigilante police officers who are executing recently acquitted criminal defendants. | ||||||
| 10 | 10 | "If I Had a Little Hammer" | Kim Manners | Deborah Raznick & Daniel Benton | November 29, 1986 (1986-11-29) | |
| Sledge and Dori pose as a well-to-do childless couple in an attempt to catch a pair of thieves who steal babies and sell them to prospective parents with ready cash. | ||||||
| 11 | 11 | "To Live and Die on TV" | Daniel Attias | Mert Rich & Brian Pollack | December 13, 1986 (1986-12-13) | |
| Sledge becomes a contestant on "The Million Dollar Question" in an attempt to prove that the show's host (played by guest star Peter Marshall) was responsible for the murder of a successful contestant, Mel Jordan. | ||||||
| 12 | 12 | "Miss of the Spider Woman" | Chuck Braverman | Mike Reiss & Al Jean | December 20, 1986 (1986-12-20) | |
| An exotic woman attempts to exact revenge on her ex-lover by poisoning him, but the near-sighted assassin gives the poison to Sledge instead. | ||||||
| 13 | 13 | "The Old Man and the Sledge" | Chuck Braverman | Mert Rich & Brian Pollack | January 3, 1987 (1987-01-03) | |
| Sledge tries to provide help and guidance to Gil Yates, a retired trigger-happy police officer whom he idolized as a boy. | ||||||
| 14 | 14 | "State of Sledge" | Dan Attias | Al Jean & Mike Reiss | January 10, 1987 (1987-01-10) | |
| After Sledge arrests the leader of a satanic cult, the undermanned precinct soon finds itself under siege by a mob of the cult leader's bloodthirsty followers. | ||||||
| 15 | 15 | "Haven't Gun, Will Travel" | David Wechter | Gerald Gardner | January 17, 1987 (1987-01-17) | |
| Sledge experiences a complete loss of confidence when his beloved .44 Magnum is stolen by a conniving gang of thieves. | ||||||
| 16 | 16 | "The Color of Hammer" | Bruce Bilson | Mert Rich & Brian Pollack | January 24, 1987 (1987-01-24) | |
| When a hard-line judge is blackmailed and later murdered, Sledge and Dori's best available clue is that he was an inveterate pool player. | ||||||
| 17 | 17 | "Brother, Can You Spare a Crime?" | Chuck Braverman | Gerald Gardner | January 31, 1987 (1987-01-31) | |
| A man shows up claiming to be Hammer's brother. Everyone's taken with him including Doreau who goes out with him. But while on their date she catches him in a lie proving that he isn't Hammer's brother. | ||||||
| 18 | 18 | "Desperately Seeking Dori" | Bob Sweeney | Mike Reiss & Al Jean | February 7, 1987 (1987-02-07) | |
| Bad news for the city's scum suckers: a blow to the head results in Dori Doreau adopting the ultra-violent personality and mannerisms of her partner, Sledge Hammer. | ||||||
| 19 | 19 | "Sledgepoo" | Thomas Schlamme | Alan Mandel | February 14, 1987 (1987-02-14) | |
| The Earl of Curl beauty parlor is a front for a cat burglar ring targeting wealthy women. Sledge infiltrates the ring by going undercover as a second-story man. | ||||||
| 20 | 20 | "Comrade Hammer" | Bruce Bilson | Dave Ketchum & Tony DiMarco | February 21, 1987 (1987-02-21) | |
| Sledge and Dori must safely escort a defecting Soviet scientist on a passenger train filled with Communist agents determined to take him back. | ||||||
| 21 | 21 | "Jagged Sledge" | Reza Badiyi | S : Doug Molitor S/T : Chris Ruppenthal | April 21, 1987 (1987-04-21) | |
| Sledge is on trial for the cold-blooded murder of racketeer Hugo Victor (a clear word play with the author of 'Les Misérables' Victor Hugo). Serving as his own attorney, Sledge sets out to prove his innocence in the face of overwhelming evidence of his guilt. | ||||||
| 22 | 22 | "The Spa Who Loved Me" | Jackie Cooper | Tino Insana & Robert Wuhl | April 28, 1987 (1987-04-28) | |
| A bevy of bikini-clad "terrorettes" steal a nuclear warhead and threaten to blow up the city unless their billion dollar demand is met. Sledge and Dori trace the suspects to a health spa operated by aerobics video magnate Jill Taylor. | ||||||
Season 2 (1987–88)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 | 1 | "A Clockwork Hammer" | Reza Badiyi | S : Alan Spencer T : Chris Ruppenthal | September 17, 1987 (1987-09-17) | |
| Sledge is abducted by a former television executive whose brainwashing operation reprograms its victim's minds through unrelenting and unmerciful exposure to television programming. A spoof of A Clockwork Orange | ||||||
| 24 | 2 | "Big Nazi on Campus" | Chuck Braverman | S : Alan Spencer T : Mert Rich, Brian Pollack | September 24, 1987 (1987-09-24) | |
| Sledge and Dori investigate the murder of a history student who was studying Hitler's Third Reich. Suspects include her burly quarterback boyfriend and her kindly old history professor. Guest star Ray Walston as Professor/Nazi | ||||||
| 25 | 3 | "Play It Again, Sledge" | Bill Bixby | S : Alan Spencer T : David Ketchum, Tony DiMarco | October 1, 1987 (1987-10-01) | |
| When Sledge gets suspended, he decides to try being a private investigator. A spoof of Play It Again Sam | ||||||
| 26 | 4 | "Wild About Hammer" | Gary Walkow | Alan Spencer | October 8, 1987 (1987-10-08) | |
| A female cop with a sadomasochistic fetish falls for and kidnaps Sledge. | ||||||
| 27 | 5 | "Death of a Few Salesmen" | Bill Bixby | S : Brooke Kofford, Bret Kofford T : Mark Curtiss, Rod Ash | October 15, 1987 (1987-10-15) | |
| Sledge poses as an Australian car magnate, Crocodile Bruce, to catch whoever has been killing used car dealers. A spoof of Death of a Salesman | ||||||
| 28 | 6 | "Vertical" | Reza Badiyi | David Ketchum & Tony DiMarco | October 29, 1987 (1987-10-29) | |
| While suffering from vertigo, Sledge must protect the girlfriend of a mobster. A spoof of Vertigo | ||||||
| 29 | 7 | "Dressed to Call" | Jackie Cooper | Mert Rich & Brian Pollack | November 5, 1987 (1987-11-05) | |
| Sledge must discover who is making threatening calls to a radio psychologist. | ||||||
| 30 | 8 | "Hammer Hits the Rock" | Bill Bixby | Mark Curtiss & Rod Ash | November 12, 1987 (1987-11-12) | |
| Sledge poses as an assassin to discover a mobster's secret hideout. | ||||||
| 31 | 9 | "Last of the Red Hot Vampires" | Bill Bixby | Alan Spencer | November 19, 1987 (1987-11-19) | |
| An old-time actor who played vampires in the movies dies, but a vampire is then seen at two murders where the victims are drained of blood. | ||||||
| 32 | 10 | "Hammeroid" | Gary Walkow | Ron Friedman | November 26, 1987 (1987-11-26) | |
| After breaking nearly all his bones, Sledge encases himself in a robotic suit to stop a robot. A spoof of RoboCop | ||||||
| 33 | 11 | "Sledge in Toyland" | Gary Walkow | Brian Pollack & Mert Rich | December 3, 1987 (1987-12-03) | |
| Sledge is sent to investigate when a toy manufacturer is attacked by one of his own toys. A spoof of Babes in Toyland | ||||||
| 34 | 12 | "Icebreaker" | Bill Bixby | S : Chris Ruppenthal T : Mark Curtiss, Rod Ash | December 10, 1987 (1987-12-10) | |
| Sledge finds himself competing with a British cop who later turns out to be an international terrorist known as "The Pelican". | ||||||
| 35 | 13 | "They Call Me Mr. Trunk" | Seymour Robbie | Mark Curtiss & Rod Ash | December 17, 1987 (1987-12-17) | |
| Trunk must solve the puzzle of why the army has surrounded the entire precinct before the entire staff dies. A spoof of They Call Me Mr. Tibbs | ||||||
| 36 | 14 | "Model Dearest" | Dick Martin | David Ketchum & Tony DiMarco | January 7, 1988 (1988-01-07) | |
| Dori poses as a model to get the dirt on a white slavery ring. | ||||||
| 37 | 15 | "Sledge, Rattle & Roll" | Bill Bixby | Mert Rich & Brian Pollack | January 15, 1988 (1988-01-15) | |
| Hammer investigates the mysterious deaths of a heavy metal group and their manager. | ||||||
| 38 | 16 | "Suppose They Gave a War & Sledge Came?" | Dick Martin | Chris Ruppenthal | January 22, 1988 (1988-01-22) | |
| To investigate the death of a prominent businessman, Sledge joins a weekend paintball tournament organization. | ||||||
| 39 | 17 | "The Secret of My Excess" | Dick Martin | Alicia Marie Schudt | January 29, 1988 (1988-01-29) | |
| The governor assigns Sledge to find his missing daughter, but Sledge also has to keep the assignment a secret. | ||||||
| 40 | 18 | "It Happened What Night?" | Bill Bixby | Mark Curtiss & Rod Ash | February 5, 1988 (1988-02-05) | |
| The precinct thinks that Sledge and Dori have slept together when all that appears on a surveillance tape is them drunk and in bed. | ||||||
| 41 | 19 | "Here's to You, Mrs. Hammer" | Bill Bixby | Mert Rich & Brian Pollack | February 12, 1988 (1988-02-12) | |
| Sledge's ex-wife Susan Hilton (named in homage to Agent 99 from Get Smart) marries his best high school friend and forces Sledge to think about his lifestyle. A spoof of The Graduate song "Mrs. Robinson". His ex-wife is played by David Rasche's real-life wife, Heather Lupton. | ||||||
References
- O'Connor, John. (Sept. 23, 1986) "2 New Series, 'Matlock' and 'Sledge Hammer'". The New York Times. Page C18