I liked Cop Rock. There. I said it.
When it first came on I watched and was fascinated. Great music. Great dialogue. Harsh plot lines. Somewhere along the line, though, I lost touch because I blinked and it was gone. All that was left was one of the best “Fuck You’s” to the establishment from an outgoing show since (well, before, actually) the Sports Night line “Anybody who can’t make money off of Sports Night should get out of the money-making business.”
I still remember the line, “No one has Equal Justice/Here at ABC.” Which is, of course, meaningless unless you remember the short-lived legal drama that replaced Cop Rock‘s time slot.
So imagine my surprise when I found out that a friend of mine, Dr. Amber Watts, PhD., was not only using a clip from the show in her TV course at Wisconsin, but that it was one of the most popular moments in her class.
“First semester, it got applause. Second semester, it not only got applause, but about 30 kids–none of whom were actually registered for the class–got up and walked out afterwards. They had come just to see 3 minutes of Cop Rock.”
Here’s the clip in question:
I’m telling you there’s a Broadway adaptation in here somewhere.
I never saw the show, but OMG THAT IS FREAKING AWESOME. I totally would have watched it if I’d known about it.
I second your plea for a Broadway adaptation. After all, these days they don’t seem to be producing any plays that didn’t have source material in TV, movies, or books anyway.
Beyond wonderful.
I never gave Cop Rock a shot when it was on the air, but I remember seeing that clip – it was actually turned into a commercial that ran in front of the theatrical release of Terminator 2 (or, at least, it was at the theater I saw it at in Monticello, NY). It’s worth noting that, since this was a side trip from Stagedoor Manor, I was surrounded by my fellow theater geeks – a perfect audience for Cop Rock, you’d assume. But when the clip ended, and the title card came up (“Cop Rock – this fall on ABC!”), we all pretty much turned to each other and said “What the HELL was that?”
I’d be curious to go back now and give the show a shot – it seems as though they had some creative songwriters, and they managed to adapt the best parts of musical theater style to the hour-long drama format, but it may have been too cool for the room in the early 90′s – especially at a network like ABC, where shows like “Full House” and “Family Matters” ruled the roost (and, as you correctly pointed out, they couldn’t make money off of “Sports Night”). I wonder if, in today’s multichannel environment, it might have at least seen a full season, if not full-blown success.
(And no, please don’t remind me about “Viva Laughlin”. The less said about that show the better.)
I agree with the too cool for school comment, although even today I think it would be difficult, mostly because musicals are ALWAYS a hard sell (at least since the end of the “golden age” in the fifties, early sixties).
I can see HBO or AMC making a go of something musical, however.
Ironically, ABC has the closest thing to a musical on right now, depending upon how you look at it. Pushing Daisies has the closest thing to musical numbers you’ll find on tv right now.
Also, it is awesome.