eMTeePeeCestMe In watching most anthology series; no matter how broad in the subjects covered, you eventually get a feel for the sentiments of the series' producers. They're happy or hard. They like classically structured drama or flashy twists of irony. They're hopeful or cynical... especially when it comes to stories about the police and criminals. What's oddest about "Police Story" for me is that I expected a more clear cut pro law enforcement party line from Joseph Wambaugh, in the mode of Jack Webb and "Dragnet." Instead, episodes feature bad men who are good at the law and good men who are useless, as well as by the book heroes and delusional would be saviors. Few episodes give much in terms of comforting closure about the problems faced by a 1970s America in metropolitan decline.It might be as simple as, Jack Webb was an unapologetic fanboy when it came to the law and those "on the job," while Wambaugh was a retired LAPD officer with a deeper grasp of the complexity of the real work. It's hard to imagine such a morally ambiguous look at police as people being aired on US television today. This week our star is a good person who's going to fail, next week our hero will hit a suspect or his own wife. No back story to soften the impact, no follow up to reassure us of kismet, just a close up at an ugly period in our shared past.

GUENOT PHILIPPE I have seen many series about detectives and cops of all kinds all over the decades. Cops as the leads, I mean. And of course this TV show will remain as one of the best ever, even forty years after its releasing. In this TV show, cops are shown from every angle possible: high rate cops, commissioners, beat cops, detectives, lieutenants, homicide, drug enforcers, vice squad cops, Internal Affairs cops; male cops, female cops, cops with problems of all kinds, cops with kids, lone cops, widower cops...But, unfortunately, in this show, I have not seen corrupted, rogue, rotten cops schemes, which is although a very interesting point of view about police force and which we have seen many times in long length features for the big screen, and not only... But not in this series. So far I remember. But maybe I missed one, after all that's possible.

johnmcng Behind "Dragnet" and "Adam 12," this is THE definitive police show. "Police Story" paved the way for "Hill Street Blues," "NYPD Blue," and "Southland." With a great cast that includes, but is not limited to Vic Morrow, Chuck Connors, Don Meredith, Don Murray, Scot Bready, Harold Duff, Claude Akins, Loyd Bridges and Paul Burke in several re-occurring roles, this shows police work at it's most dangerous, boring, sad and funny. You don't know from episode to episode who is going to be appearing. One week it's SWAT action. The next, Robbery team detectives, Vice cops, Accident Investigation Division and, of course, Patrol Division. The cops are real people with their flaws, prejudices and guts. I was a rookie cop when Season 2 started. This was mandatory viewing for young cops back in the early 1970's. I've been a retired cop for over two years now. In that time, I had not missed being a cop one time, until I watched the first episode of Season 1, "Slow Boy." Vic Morrow made his first appearance as Sgt. Joe La Frieda and it's a gem. I can't recommend this enough. My youngest daughter made a bunch of points with sending this to me. I had no idea that it had been released to DVD. I'll be snapping up the remaining seasons as they become available.

marko A fine example of both the strengths and the pitfalls of the anthology series, Police Story was among the highest-rated series of its time. At its worst, the series was as formulaic as most of commercial TV. At its best, it blew a breath of fresh air through mid-70's TV.Created as a vehicle for writer-turned-producer (and former L.A. cop) Joseph Wambaugh, the best episodes grittily portrayed the life of the street cop--good and bad. Each episode opened and closed with crackling radio calls (Female dispatcher: "John Frank William, 8-9-9). Guest stars ranged from Don Meredith (at the height of his Monday Night Football popularity) to David Birney (as amputee cop "Captain Hook") to a surprising turn by ultra-liberal Ed Asner (as an grinning old cop threatening to blow away one last perp before retiring in "Three Days to Thirty"). The series spawned the silly spin-off "Police Woman"; but it also dealt with cops who thought of their badge as a license to bully ("The Wyatt Earp Syndrome"--so titled because the Standards and Practices department refused to allow Wambaugh to call this episode by its original title--"The John Wayne Syndrome") and undercover cops who were difficult to distinguish from the criminals they pursued ("The Player" with James Farentino).Wambaugh reportedly tired of the regular infighting such a weekly series required, and semi-retired to a "consultant" status mid-way through the series run; the early episodes are clearly the best. But all are worth watching if only as the precursor which made later shows like St. Elsewhere, L.A. Law, and Homicide possible.