The Three Best Cop Car Opening Sequences In The History Of Television
I am amply qualified to make the call on this topic. I have been a TV addict since I was a preschooler in the late 50s, and I still consider television to be the finest educator in my life, so I believe that I can make a well-informed opinion about the medium.
The fact that my television roots extend into the pre-Kennedy era in the White House means that I can include the 50s TV shows in my range of expertise. However, my choice for 3rd place has its roots in late 60s TV and takes place on the mean streets of LA, ‘Adam 12’.
The first and only requirement of my contest is the generous use of police cars in the opening credits and ‘Adam 12’ fits the guidelines. The dispatch message is a call to action for the boys to roll, and the 1968 Plymouth Belvedere is the starring set of wheels in the introduction to season one of ‘Adam 12’.
Malloy pinned the Belvey down a straight stretch of LA pavement as he and Reed tackled everything and anything each week in the half hour crime show. It was a magic sequence that opened up endless possibilities for the boys every time they jumped into the car.
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For cop cars - and other cars, buses, trucks etc., one of my favorites is "The Naked City" series from 1958-1963. They've been showing it on one of the Boston area "retro" stations. It was filmed on the streets of New York City and is a treasure trove of classic vehicles. Every outdoor scene is a vehicle spotters dream.
um...MIAMI VICE!? Sure, it was a Lambo. Sure, it had a bunch of cops out of uniform. But it defined the 80's as far as cop shows go, sorry, but it just does. Second place: Cops. I still remember watching the Minneapolis episode circa 1989ish. As a five year old...:)
Hill Street Blues for it's gritty urban realism. As far as Adam 12 is concerned in the earlier episodes they drove Mopar products mainly Plymouth Satelites. Then in the later ones they drove of all things a AMC Matador with the police pkg most likely equipted with the 360 or 401. A friend from H.S in the late 70's picked one up after the end of it's run on some police force. It was painted an Earl Scheib Robin's egg blue. It was quite quick and could smoke the tires. One thing about cop shows of that era was that especially after after the Summer of Love they always had to have a plot line with drug-crazed hippies. Then post Manson family it was murderous drug-crazed hippies.
Hawaii Five-O (first generation): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zbgEl5lwvk It had cars, girls, planes, guns, and violence - all in 1 minute. Plus the best TV music score of the era.