They're called police procedurals, but the procedural part is often questionable, if not highly implausible. But, hey, if you don't get a car chase or a shootout into every episode, the audience may be switching to "American Idol" or "Survivor," right?
My stepson the cop tells me these TV shows are all ridiculous and sometimes downright insulting. He and his fellow officers laugh at them … or groan about them.
But then, TV never gets it right.
I've been a journalist for some 35 years now and I have the same complaints about shows that depict the newspaper business. I also spent some 15 years doing local television, and I still marvel at how dramas about the backstage machinations of that business can't get it right, either. It's TV doing TV about TV!
Unlike my stepson, however, I can remove myself from it and still enjoy many of these shows. There have been some good shows about newspapers and TV.
It is just entertainment, after all.
Having said that, however, the shows really are better when they make an effort to get it right — or at least close to right. Probably the best TV series about newspapers was "Lou Grant," which was spun off from one of the best series about a TV newsroom, "The Mary Tyler Moore Show." Yeah, I know, both from the '70s. They're old. Just like me.
And for my money, the '70s also gave us the best police procedural, "Police Story," which has finally arrived on home video after way too long a wait (Shout! 1973-74, six discs, $39.97).
"Police Story" is an anthology series about LAPD officers — from cops walking a beat to plain-clothes detectives to those who have gone under deep cover. And it was developed by a 14-year veteran of the Los Angeles force, Joseph Wambaugh.
The stories were based on real-life incidents, and the writing and direction, under Wambaugh's guidance, were intended to evoke a greater sense of reality than had previously been the norm for television.
The result was a series with no regular characters (although some did return for subsequent episodes here and there) and it attracted a lot of high-profile players. The feature-length pilot stars Vic Morrow with able support from Ed Asner as his boss, Diane Baker as a victim who becomes Morrow's love interest, Chuck Connors as the central villain and other recognizable faces.
Guests in this first season include Tony Lo Bianco and Don Meredith (whose partnered cops appeared more frequently than any others), Darren McGavin, Kurt Russell, Fred Williamson, Jerry Lee Lewis, Hugh O'Brien, Tina Louise, Dorothy Provine, Don Murray, Edmond O'Brien, Stuart Whitman, Frankie Avalon, Sal Mineo, Tim Matheson, John Forsythe — and Angie Dickinson in an episode that would serve as the pilot for "Police Woman."
Subjects focus on everything from organizing stings to sitting through boring stakeouts to going undercover to break up illegal gambling operations to how an officer is investigated when he discharges his firearm, as well as the cops themselves, the difficulties of balancing a family with the gritty realities of police work, and the anxieties, stress and cynicism that come with the job.
The writing is first-rate, and it's surprisingly adult given that it was produced in the mid-1970s. An episode with James Farentino as an undercover narcotics cop trying to take down an arrogant high-rolling pimp (Fred Williamson) has him developing feelings for a hooker (Elizabeth Ashley) he must manipulate to get to Williamson. It doesn't end well. As with most episodes, the characters are very well developed with dialogue that is gritty without being vulgar and violence that is startling without being graphic.
Modern TV can say and show things that were verboten in the '70s, but that doesn't make them more rooted in the human condition. Graphic doesn't equal realistic.
Sure, the clothing and hair and slang may seem antiquated to young viewers. Heck, it seems antiquated to me and I lived through it. But think of this show as a period piece and you can't help but get pulled in.
"Police Story" ran for five seasons from 1973-77, won an Emmy for best dramatic series and even garnered two Edgar Awards, more commonly associated with literary works since they come from the Mystery Writers of America.
Not that my stepson will find it any more believable than, say, "Law & Order." Cops are a tough audience.
EMAIL: hicks@desnews.com