THE COP WHO TURNED SAN FRANCISCO INTO A NUCLEAR WASTELAND

Detective Sledge Hammer made me laugh my head off … and I’m still laughing some 30 years later

Bob Walsh’s article on the $17,000 Pfeifer- Zeliska revolver reminded me of the ‘Sledge Hammer’ TV series. A spoof of Dirty Harry, it was the most hilarious TV cop show ever. Every time I’m reminded of the show, I start laughing.

I’ve ordered ‘Sledge Hammer: The Complete Series’ on DVD from Amazon. They are temporarily out, but will send me the boxed series when they get it back in stock.

The TV series lasted only two seasons with 41 episodes from 1986 t0 1988, but it was a real hoot. David Rasche played Hammer, a one-man crusade against crime, firing warning shots at jaywalkers, dragging suspects around parking lots by his rear bumper until they confess, demolishing a multi-story building by using a bazooka to shoot at a sniper on the roof top, and talking to his beloved .44 Magnum. Hammer would shoot first and ask questions six months later.

Sledge Hammer would have salivated for a Pfeifer-Zeliska revolver.

The show was cancelled after just one season. During the final episode of season one, Hammer was disarming a nuclear weapon. When his partner and his captain questioned his capability in disarming the weapon, he said “Trust me.” And then - KABOOM - he instantly turned San Francisco into a nuclear wasteland of glowing rubble. When fans demanded more of Hammer, the producers started the first episode of season two by showing Hammer detonating the nuclear weapon and cleverly followed that up with the heading "Five years before."

Some cops hated and denounced the show for demeaning law enforcement, but most cops loved Sledge Hammer.

Alan Spencer, the creator of Sledge Hammer, was presented with an honorary NRA membership for the show.

You can watch some of the episodes by Googling up ‘detective sledge hammer’. If you’re a cop, you’re bound to laugh your head off.

Fans of Rush Limbaugh are called Dittoheads. Fans of Sledge Hammer are called Hammerheads. I’m not a Dittohead, but for sure, call me a Hammerhead!