Sledge Hammer!: Season 01  (1986)

Theatrical Release Information:
Sledge Hammer!: Season 01

David Rasche stars as the LAPD's toughest, nastiest, and stupidest detective as Sledge Hammer! bursts into its first season. The opener finds ultra-macho Inspector Sledge Hammer reluctantly teamed with a "mere dame," Officer Dori Doreau (Anne-Marie Martin). By episode's end, the sagacious Dori has masterminded the rescue of the mayor's daughter -- though of course it is Sledge who takes all the credit (this pilot episode has been released separately on VHS as "Under the Gun"). In subsequent (mis)adventures, Sledge and Dori are pestered by an inquiring reporter; a spoof of the Harrison Ford movie Witness finds Sledge forced to hide in "Manynote" community (it makes sense, honest it does); a former partner of Hammer's breaks out of jail to challenge our hero to a duel; the two thirtysomething cops pose as high schoolers to crack a car-theft ring; and the city is plague by a serial killer who preys on Elvis imitators. The season finale, conceived in the misapprehension that Sledge Hammer! wasn't going to be renewed for a second year, is a literal "blast," as the sublimely confident Sledge makes one teeny-tiny false move while disarming a nuclear device! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide