SLEDGE HAMMER!: A CLOCKWORK HAMMER {SECOND SEASON PREMIERE} (TV)
Summary
One in this comedic series about the exploits of police inspector Sledge Hammer, a good-natured but hopelessly dim-witted macho man who sleeps with his .357 Magnum and swears by his cocky catch phrase, "Trust me, I know what I'm doing." In this episode, a veteran cop is mysteriously incapacitated on the stand in the trial of notorious thug Johnny "Red Shoes" Haggis. Sledge suspects the cop of having taken a bribe in exchange for keeping his mouth shut, but Captain Trunk is adamant that the man is a good cop. Later that night, the cop shows up at Sledge's apartment and explains that as soon as he started to testify he heard a pain-inducing high-pitched sound in his ear that made it impossible for him to say anything bad about Haggis. Sledge is wary, but meanwhile across town a maniacal scientist named Mr. Smartikoff is explaining the latest model of his mind-control equipped television set to an interested investor. When Sledge decides that he is going to go to the court to tell the judge what the witness cop told him, he is suddenly ambushed by Haggis's men and taken to a secret lair, where he is forced to watch a special television set for hours on end. When he is released, he goes to tell Doreau about what he endured. She is skeptical. "You don't really believe TV is trying to brainwash people into automatons, do you?" she asks. Sledge suddenly looks serious. "Have you seen 'Matlock?'" he asks. When Sledge proves resistant to the effects of the brainwashing, Mr. Smartikoff sends him into a parallel world that parodies "Max Headroom." Includes commercials and promos.
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: September 17, 1987 Thursday 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:28:58
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:18655
- GENRE: Comedy
- SUBJECT HEADING: Comedy; Police - Comedy
- SERIES RUN: ABC - TV series, 1986-1988
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Commercials - Alka Seltzer antacid
- TV - Commercials - Dexatrim diet pills
- TV - Commercials - Extra chewing gum
- TV - Commercials - Real anti-perspirant
- TV - Commercials - Reno, Nevada
- TV - Commercials - Sticklets gum
- TV - Promos - "Double Switch"
- TV - Promos - "Growing Pains"
- TV - Promos - "McGyver"
CREDITS
- Wm. P. D'Angelo … Executive Producer
- Alan Spencer … Executive Producer, Created by, Writer
- Ron Friedman … Supervising Producer
- Bob Birnbaum … Co-Producer
- Jim Ragan … Co-Producer
- Robert Ewing … Associate Producer
- Reza Badiyi … Director
- Chris Ruppenthal … Writer
- Lance Rubin … Music by
- Danny Elfman … Theme Music by
- David Rasche … Cast, Sledge Hammer
- Harrison Page … Cast, Captain Trunk
- Anne Marie Martin … Cast, Dori Doreau
- Nicholas Guest … Cast, Landon Smartikoff
- Sal Viscuso … Cast, Marc Rinsler
- Dan Lauria … Cast, Officer Chris Raker
- Ken Letner … Cast, Myles Theiss
- Eugene Robert Glazer … Cast, Johnny 'Red Shoes' Haggis
- Leslie Morris … Cast, Officer Majoy
- Dorothy Dells … Cast, The Judge
- John Zenda … Cast, Abductor with Moustache
- Beverly Leech … Cast, TV Reporter Amy Porter
- Gary Owens … Cast, Narrator (Voice)