Rover_Wow
06-07-2005, 12:23 AM
Way back from late April, Aaron Barnhart said:
Whatcha gonna do?
“Cops,” the only crime show on TV where you can see a suspect with his hands up and his pants down, makes television history tonight.
The granddaddy of reality TV shows will become one of a few of prime-time entertainment programs (“Gunsmoke” and “The Ed Sullivan Show” among them) to air 600 original episodes. It will be one of four new half-hours that air back-to-back starting at 8 p.m. ET on Fox.
“I’m still amazed by it,” said the show’s creator, John Langley, in a recent phone interview from his Santa Monica, Calif., production lair. “We’ve ridden with cops who watched ‘Cops’ when they were kids. And at least half a dozen of them over the years have told me, ‘That’s why I got into law enforcement.’ ”
Seventeen years ago Langley a onetime professor who did doctoral work on the philosophy of aesthetics, dreamed up this new aesthetic for TV: no narrator, no explanatory graphics, not even much of a storyline. Just cops in cars, making the rounds.
Every network passed on the idea. Fox, which in 1988 was barely a network, took a flier. Sure enough, “Cops” became an immediate hit with viewers and critics, then buckled its seat belt and settled in for a very long ride.
It has spawned a hit reggae single (“Bad Boys,” by Inner Circle), a Comedy Central parody (“Reno 911!”) and a line of “Too Hot for TV” videos, where viewers can see topless women tussling with officers at Mardi Gras as well as the occasional man leading officers in a clothing-optional pursuit.
And with each passing year, the show finds new fans. “Cops” wins its time slot among younger viewers on Fox; meanwhile, your mom watches the repeats on Court TV and FX. It is used by law enforcement as training video. “If you watch,” Langley said, “they’re always concerned about establishing order quickly.” (“Cops” tip: Always ask to see the hands of the person you’re questioning.)
Langley, 61, rarely accompanies his crews anymore. Small wonder: They have one of the most grueling shooting schedules in the business. They begin their season at one end of the country and work their way to the other, staying in residential hotels for weeks at a time. The ride-alongs usually take place at night — the weird hours — and the crews try to gather one episode’s worth of footage every seven days.
At this pace, “Cops” is able to produce 36 new half-hour episodes a season, compared with 22 for most prime-time series. That means fewer repeats on Fox and more reruns to sell to cable and syndication.
The show is cheap to make and, since Saturdays are a low priority for the networks, there’s almost no chance a competitor will spend the money to compete with it.
One year from now, “Cops” will tie Matt Dillon and company with its 636th episode. Oh sure, on “Gunsmoke” they had to write scripts and actors had to memorize their lines. But really, after the first 300 or so “Gunsmokes,” how hard was that?
Reaching 600 shows is an obvious point of pride to Langley, who’s so smart that he deferred to a colleague when Michael Moore came calling for an interview for his film, “Bowling for Columbine.” It was not a friendly chat, as Moore upbraided “Cops” for showing minorities in a poor light.
Among police, respect for “Cops” appears to be as high as for the show that follows it, “America’s Most Wanted.” Langley screens episodes for the officers in the communities where they shoot.
“Very rarely,” he said, someone will ask him to edit out a face, usually that of an undercover cop, before the show is broadcast.
It’s easy to see why “Cops” endures. But how does a former academic keep from going brain-dead cranking out the same low-priced, high-mileage show year after year?
“There’s an immediacy to ‘Cops’ that sustains my interest,” Langley said. “It’s not preordained. We share the point of view of the officer and discover the story as it unfolds. I pretty much think I’ve seen it all, and then I’m always surprised.”
Forget The Real World, Cops was the original modern reality TV. Comments!
Whatcha gonna do?
“Cops,” the only crime show on TV where you can see a suspect with his hands up and his pants down, makes television history tonight.
The granddaddy of reality TV shows will become one of a few of prime-time entertainment programs (“Gunsmoke” and “The Ed Sullivan Show” among them) to air 600 original episodes. It will be one of four new half-hours that air back-to-back starting at 8 p.m. ET on Fox.
“I’m still amazed by it,” said the show’s creator, John Langley, in a recent phone interview from his Santa Monica, Calif., production lair. “We’ve ridden with cops who watched ‘Cops’ when they were kids. And at least half a dozen of them over the years have told me, ‘That’s why I got into law enforcement.’ ”
Seventeen years ago Langley a onetime professor who did doctoral work on the philosophy of aesthetics, dreamed up this new aesthetic for TV: no narrator, no explanatory graphics, not even much of a storyline. Just cops in cars, making the rounds.
Every network passed on the idea. Fox, which in 1988 was barely a network, took a flier. Sure enough, “Cops” became an immediate hit with viewers and critics, then buckled its seat belt and settled in for a very long ride.
It has spawned a hit reggae single (“Bad Boys,” by Inner Circle), a Comedy Central parody (“Reno 911!”) and a line of “Too Hot for TV” videos, where viewers can see topless women tussling with officers at Mardi Gras as well as the occasional man leading officers in a clothing-optional pursuit.
And with each passing year, the show finds new fans. “Cops” wins its time slot among younger viewers on Fox; meanwhile, your mom watches the repeats on Court TV and FX. It is used by law enforcement as training video. “If you watch,” Langley said, “they’re always concerned about establishing order quickly.” (“Cops” tip: Always ask to see the hands of the person you’re questioning.)
Langley, 61, rarely accompanies his crews anymore. Small wonder: They have one of the most grueling shooting schedules in the business. They begin their season at one end of the country and work their way to the other, staying in residential hotels for weeks at a time. The ride-alongs usually take place at night — the weird hours — and the crews try to gather one episode’s worth of footage every seven days.
At this pace, “Cops” is able to produce 36 new half-hour episodes a season, compared with 22 for most prime-time series. That means fewer repeats on Fox and more reruns to sell to cable and syndication.
The show is cheap to make and, since Saturdays are a low priority for the networks, there’s almost no chance a competitor will spend the money to compete with it.
One year from now, “Cops” will tie Matt Dillon and company with its 636th episode. Oh sure, on “Gunsmoke” they had to write scripts and actors had to memorize their lines. But really, after the first 300 or so “Gunsmokes,” how hard was that?
Reaching 600 shows is an obvious point of pride to Langley, who’s so smart that he deferred to a colleague when Michael Moore came calling for an interview for his film, “Bowling for Columbine.” It was not a friendly chat, as Moore upbraided “Cops” for showing minorities in a poor light.
Among police, respect for “Cops” appears to be as high as for the show that follows it, “America’s Most Wanted.” Langley screens episodes for the officers in the communities where they shoot.
“Very rarely,” he said, someone will ask him to edit out a face, usually that of an undercover cop, before the show is broadcast.
It’s easy to see why “Cops” endures. But how does a former academic keep from going brain-dead cranking out the same low-priced, high-mileage show year after year?
“There’s an immediacy to ‘Cops’ that sustains my interest,” Langley said. “It’s not preordained. We share the point of view of the officer and discover the story as it unfolds. I pretty much think I’ve seen it all, and then I’m always surprised.”
Forget The Real World, Cops was the original modern reality TV. Comments!