Sledge Hammer! is an American satirical police sitcom produced by New World Television that ran for two seasons on ABC from 1986 to 1988. 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. Al Jean and Mike Reiss, best known for their work on The Simpsons, wrote for the show and worked as story editors.
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Now, *this* was a hoot. A complete send-up of every tough-guy cop show you ever saw. Sledge Hammer, with his pearl-handled .44 Magnum, was an absolute menace to society, let alone criminals. It was broad, it was silly, it was often brilliant. The jokes came fast, and the absurdity just kept piling up. It knew exactly what it was doing, and it did it with gusto. A proper farce, that one.
from “11 Broadcast Wonders That Still Hold Up Today, See?” →
"Trust me, I know what I'm doing." Sledge Hammer was the ultimate send-up of every tough-guy cop show, but with a shotgun-wielding maniac as the hero. It was dumb, it was brilliant, and it absolutely reveled in its own absurdity, constantly breaking the fourth wall. The practical explosions and over-the-top violence were part of the joke. That ending where he blows up the city? Pure, unadulterated legend, a shocking finale.
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