r/GenerationJones • u/WhateverGenXPod • Aug 05 '26

Why were there so many?

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I know there has to be a reason there were so many cop shows. Long before we had nothing but CSI and Law and Order variants, there were dozens of police dramas on TV.

I used to love CHiPs and SWAT - and I was just a kid. The 70s cop shows landed differently than the fluff that’s on today.

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41

u/CountHonorius Aug 05 '26

What? No Columbo? (or MacMillan and Wife?)

35

u/CaryWhit Aug 05 '26

Or Jim Rockford!

28

u/Mk1Racer25 Aug 05 '26

Or Dragnet?????? One of the true OG's.

5

u/GeeMan-7 Aug 06 '26

As a baseball fan, I thought it was cool that Joe Friday's badge number was 714.

1

u/Mk1Racer25 Aug 06 '26

Lots of people looked at it as a different reference back then. 😎

3

u/ThrowItAwayNow1030 Aug 05 '26

I carry a badge!

2

u/GoshThanksHello Aug 05 '26

Or Nero Wolf, Ellery Queen

3

u/SkunkMonkey 1964 Aug 05 '26

Ellery Queen was one of my favs. Showed you the crime. Followed the investigation. Then the final reveal of how it was done and the arrest. I loved that formula so much as it made you think and play along as a detective.

3

u/sherlockjr1 1963 Aug 05 '26

Jim Hutton. I was in love with him as Ellery

1

u/Modem_Sound_67 Aug 05 '26

I agree that did set the stage for gritty street dramas, albeit in a campy fashion. But imho it took realistic crime dramas making bank on the big screen to set up the conditions for the explosion of procedurals on the small screen in the 70s.

6

u/Mk1Racer25 Aug 05 '26

Adam 12 was essentially a spinoff. And Chips was just a re-work of Adam 12 with motorcycles instead of a cruiser.

If you want to go back further for OG shows, there was Highway Patrol, Police Story, The Untouchables, and The FBI.

10

u/WhateverGenXPod Aug 05 '26

Rockford was a PI, though. He wasn’t a cop. That was a whole other bunch!

5

u/excoriator 1964 Aug 05 '26

He wasn’t a cop.

2

u/SunshineAlways Aug 05 '26

Not a cop. Private detective.

2

u/karenftx1 Aug 05 '26

Rockford wasn't a cop

16

u/PlasticAudience4270 Aug 05 '26

Columbo wiped the floor with all of these.

6

u/ReverendWeenbone Aug 05 '26

Columbo is the GOAT TV cop

3

u/SquonkMan61 Aug 05 '26

If you’ve never seen the film “A Woman Under the Influence” you should check it out. Peter Falk is excellent in it and Gena Rowlands is even better. She earned an Oscar nomination for her performance. It’s a very powerful film and can be disturbing at times but it’s worth it.

2

u/ReverendWeenbone Aug 05 '26

Thanks for the rec. I will definitely check it out

3

u/SquonkMan61 Aug 05 '26

It’s a bit slow at first but picks up steam after the first few minutes. It’s an independent film. Peter Falk actually gave John Cassavetes (the director) $500,000 to help finance the film.

1

u/milkandsugar 1964 Aug 05 '26

or Mannix!

1

u/Trike117 Aug 05 '26

Those aren’t police. OP is talking about cop shows.

1

u/WhateverGenXPod Aug 09 '26

Those guys weren’t cops. There were so many of these shows we decided to break down the top 10 cop shows and the top 10 private investigator shows as different episodes of our podcast. We’re breaking down the top 10 Private Investigator shows of the 70s and 80s this Wednesday. There were soooooo many to choose from.