Cop Rock (1990) User Reviews

Very bizarre

[app354 · 20 January 2003]

"Cop Rock" was a typical police drama, except for the fact that it was also a MUSICAL. Everybody sang: the cops, the criminals, even the judge and jury in the courtroom during trials. With its many lavish song-and-dance routines and catchy tunes, "Cop Rock" was almost like a Broadway musical adaptation of "Hill Street Blues".

"Cop Rock" was heavily promoted by ABC in the weeks before its premiere in the fall of 1990. Apparently, ABC thought that they had a huge hit on their hands, even though it was the first-ever cop show/musical on TV. Not surprisingly, the show was savaged by critics and ignored by audiences. Despite the large amounts of publicity and money invested in the series (which was one of the most-expensive TV shows ever made up to that point, at a cost of nearly $2 million an episode), it was canceled after only three months.

In my opinion, "Cop Rock" was a very unique show. Although the singing wasn't always that great, the songs were usually decent. Randy Newman wrote a number of good songs for this series (including the opening theme, "Under The Gun", which he also performed). The problem with "Cop Rock" was that it combined two genres that do not go well with each other. I can understand why "Cop Rock" was not able to catch on with TV audiences: not only was it a musical series with fictional characters and weekly storylines (something never seen before on American network television), but it was also a police show. Also, with the exception of the Broadway-style musical numbers, the show was average at best.

VH1 reran an all-day marathon "Cop Rock" a few years ago, but the series is not currently on cable (as far as I know). I think this original (but strange) series would be perfectly suited for a network like Court TV.

"Cop Rock" was a show that was far from perfect, but it was definitely very memorable.

Cop Rock - not subversive, not crap, but just a good idea gone WAY wrong

[jnsgrover · 2/10 · 2 September 2006]

I agree with many of the other comments here, and understand where they are coming from (I think).

BUT - Cop Rock was a TRAIN WRECK. So many good ideas thrown all over the place. There were fantastic moments, some great innovations, and, for my money, one beautiful song (Sandman's Coming)...but COME ONE -

The scene in the courtroom where people are throwing glowing money around and legal people are dancing on the bench, dock, etc? It's a moment that only Ed Wood could love.

If anyone wants to disagree with me - great - maybe I missed something - it's been a long time since I've seen it.

I must say, though, that Cop Rock was one of the biggest disasters in entertainment - well intentioned, well produced, but ultimately a disaster.

Lots of Thieves and Murderers, Robbery, Rape, Let's Be Careful Out There!!!!

[dataconflossmoor-1 · 1/10 · 30 May 2009]

This TV Show was rated one of the five worst shows ever made!! When I saw this evaluation of this Steven Bocho production, I was perplexed a little. Bocho has a reputation for cranking out prime time top quality television shows!. "Hill Street Blues" is one of the best shows ever made, now comes along "Cop Rock" by the same producer, it almost seems impossible to believe. I guess putting heinous crimes to notes and lyrics seemed like a novel idea, however, it BOMBED!!! Television has the right to bad programming, so long as it gets canceled right away!! This show was a mistake, and that's about all you can say about it!! Policemen and detectives do not need to take voice lessons to expedite their jobs effectively, therefore, putting music to police responsibilities seems rather purposeless!! I am glad I saw this show only a couple of times, I will not see it in reruns, and I hope ABC never comes up with a show like this one ever again!! THUMBS DOWN!!

So bad it almost sunk a network!

[khunkrumark · 1/10 · 16 October 2018]

This is what happens when TV executives (who have no ideas at all) listen to actors and theater types (who have stupid ideas!)

A reviewer actually said this: "Take it from someone who KNOWS what good is! "Cop Rock" was a VERY good show! It was just ahead of its time."

It has also been fondly recalled as being 'brave', 'innovative' and 'ahead of it's time', etc... but it was none of these things. It was, in fact, a bloody awful concept which anyone NOT working in TV would have seen from several precincts away!

Nevertheless, the clowns at ABC threw tens of millions at this dud and they seriously all thought it was gonna be a hit. It wasn't and it was yanked pretty quickly and the network was a laughing stock for the next five years.

Even now 'Cop Rock' is a by-word for an ambitious and absolute stinker!

Having said all that, there were some good songs wasted on this. Randy Edelman did the music and should have pulled all the tunes, rewritten the lyrics and sold a million or so albums with them!

If Mystery Science Theater did TV shows, THIS is where they would start!

Cop Rock...Dunno...

[internationaldave · 1/10 · 22 December 2009]

I didn't read all the reviews, here, but the ones I did read seem to praise this flop. I like the cop-type reality programs, but this one sucked!!! W.T.F? It was like when I saw "Evita", "The most talked about movie of the year!" Now, in "Evita" they start out singing. I'm sitting there going..."this movie should be okay once they stop singing." They never stopped! 3 hours of this drivel! Why weren't we warned it had dialect that was sung? Same with Cop Rock. I just didn't get it. Maybe it would have been enjoyable had they maced some dude in the face, then clubbed him in the jewels and the suspect were to sing, "...by golly, that smarts..." or something. I seriously almost got sick watching this garbage. Anyone who thought it was a good show should have their head examined. Absolute junk! Thirty minutes of my life I'll never get back.

Overview of "Life and Times" for Cop Rock

[livingevernow · 9/10 · 19 March 2012]

We watched Cop Rock from the outset and once (quickly) grasped the interplay of drama with meaningful dialogue (But "said" in Song!), details of each show were by no means diminished by the musical aspect; rather an interlude proceeding directly into some confrontation. Although removed from TV after one season, it's departure left many wondering why? Had people (critics) become So entrenched in the status quo that there was no room for very well done innovation? It was sad to realize that the viewing public and critics were so very shallow and unable to see the deeper interplay of the two genres; each dovetailing quite well with the other. There will never be another TV show as "Cop Rock" likely because so many are unable to "let themselves go" and See the entire show/plot/songs/outcomes as what was really an attempt at a new genre for thoughtful enjoyment.

The most daring and innovative show ever to air on broadcast TV

[walter907 · 7/10 · 11 July 2006]

When I talk to friends about the dismal failure of most TV execs to break out of their cookie-cutter molds which produce nothing but hours of so-called "reality TV" or another reworked movie-of-the week, I can still point to this show as the boldest idea I've ever seen on TV.

I was stunned that someone had the guts to create a show this different. I watched the first show and was blown away - it was excellent! My only worry, even before the first episode aired, was that it would be nearly impossible for them to keep up the schedule of creating entirely new music week after week, even with the great talents of Randy Newman, (writing music has to be 20x harder than writing dialog). I don't remember if I saw every episode but I was greatly impressed with what I saw - something completely new and original on TV.

So, I knew the show was doomed from the start but I still continue to applaud the attempt - it turned out better than I was expecting and I will be looking for it on DVD to add to my very small collection of must-have TV shows.

[ The only other TV show which comes to mind that I'd call groundbreaking was the short-lived series, Firefly, (first in my must-have collection); a space Western, literally, but even Joss Whedon didn't dare try to have his characters SING every week! (He did however create a single musical episode of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" which was also outstanding). ]

Cop Crup

[Johnny_West · 1/10 · 23 June 2022]

This show was so horrible that people were shocked into watching at least one musical number so they could talk about how bad it was. It actually managed to be worse than that. There were eleven episodes, but where I lived it was canceled after six.

Spectacular Innovative Bomb

[pensman · 8/10 · 21 January 2022]

I remembered this show from its original play in the 90s. The episodes were jarring but interesting in a train wreck tradition. And yet the show rattled around in my brain for thirty years. The humor was dark in a twisted SNL like parody. I could never tell if the writers were writing a serious cop drama or were just pulling my legs. Finally I was able to get my hands on a Shout Factory DVD and watch the show in 2022. I admit I am still nonplussed but I did enjoy the revisit and decided the show was a howl. Episode four featuring an overweight lieutenant trying to lose weight was hysterical in a really weird way as was the meeting between the mayor and chief of police. The show just needs an audience willing to suspend all belief and just chuckle at what they are watching.

Solid all around

[Sheol1812 · 7/10 · 4 December 2021]

Sometimes 30 years make a difference, other times they don't. As relevant today, as it was yesterday, and as it will always be. Solid musical numbers make for 15 minutes of meme fame (which is how I discovered this show) but don't be fooled by John Oliver . . . This is the opposite of terrible. Worth a watch.

so awful it hurt

[paddingtontampa · 1/10 · 27 June 2007]

What a gigantic piece of regurgitated whale excrement, and that's being polite! Although I have to blame the suits at MTM, who was the production company, for, along with the suits at the network, giving anybody, golden child or not, an 8 episode deal sight unseen. This is a testament to that never happening again! Consistently in the 5 worst shows of all time television rankings, it's the brunt of every bad joke about Steven ever told. As it should be... If I ever saw a judge break out into a song and dance number, I'd wonder who spiked the single malt scotch.. Know what the real kicker is, we actually sold it. Sydney Channel 5 bought all 8 episodes... It seems my boss at the time (Fred) felt so bad the next day he went back and killed the deal, much to the dismay of the head of MTM (and Mary's husband) but being that he actually managed to sell a Joey to an Aussie nothing was said about it... No other network through 88 worldwide bought it to my knowledge...

Busted for Being Criminally Ambitious

[Pizzaburn · 27 June 2002]

I remember Cop Rock fondly. It was an attempt to deliver the Broadway musical style to the popular police story genre. Now, I'm not one of those "Aren't we so cosmopolitan" self-congratulatory Broadway mavens, but I can appreciate a storyline interrupted by a soliloquy, even if it's musical - even if it's rock music! I distinctly remember an excellent opening scene of one episode, where the police are busting a crowd purchasing pot, loading the customers on a bus, as one detainee sings heartily about his civil rights being trampled. The cast was truly exceptional for a TV show, but the producers did not have proper respect for the amount of time and polishing necessary to deliver Broadway style entertainment. There was a lot of good stuff, but such material cannot be extruded at the rate needed for the voracious TV box. The general public could not forgive the uneven quality. I can't blame them, but there were payoffs for the patient. Live audiences collude with the performers, but TV viewers want to be entertained NOW, or they will click to the other 120 channels.

There was a clever end tacked on the final episode. It opens up with Ronny Cox and Curtis Vonde-Hall talking, and you quickly realize that they are not playing their characters. They are playing themselves discussing the impending cancellation. It's over when the fat lady sings, so the final pullaway has the entire cast onstage, with a Wagnerian Valkyrie, singing goodbye. Cool.

How did this idea ever get past being laughed out of the idea room?

[kmbama · 1/10 · 6 April 2018]

This is the Plan 9 from Outer Space of police shows. Concieved by "Styoopid minds!" Just absolutely awful but do yourself a favor and get loaded with some friends and try to watch this.

Ridiculous and poorly done on top of it

[mfmoore-1 · 1/10 · 10 September 2015]

Hard to believe some of the other reviews. "Innovative...fresh...ahead of its time..." Idiots like this green lighted this crapfest.

If you like musicals, be my guest, but even for a musical it was terrible. The songs were lame, the acting was hammy, and the pace was completely abrupt.

It worked neither as a cop show nor as a musical and got worse when you combined them. About like trying to merge Arena League Football and Dance Wars. "They play football, but instead touchdowns they score points with a dance off!"

You can't blame people for not letting themselves go when you haven't the faintest idea where you are trying to take them.

Flatfoot Floogie

[Stvdel2 · 1/10 · 25 July 2022]

One of the stupidest ideas for a show in the history of television, and that's saying a lot. I predicted this would be a flop before it aired. If anything, leftists of the day would have watched a musical entitled Cop Swing, featuring the music of The Cherry Poppin' Daddies, and starring Gary Coleman and Marie Osmond. That's entertainment.

Before its time

[lois-padawer · 10/10 · 4 March 2021]

Amazingly talented cast. Terrific show. People were not ready for this format for a police series.

great series

[bottleofmilk · 10/10 · 13 November 2016]

What a series I never before or since have seen a series remotely like this one. It was innovative informative intelligently written and very emotionally engaging. It is an indictment of the American public and it's ability to different between great TV and dross that they would shun this series and cause it to be taken off air after so few episodes. I have been looking for years for DVD's of the series to no avail. I hope that companies such as Netflix would have the courage and hindsight to show this series in it's entirety in possibly a more enlightened times. I think it may prove to be more successful if given another chance.

Great Show, Highly Under Appreciated

[dragonsheart-1 · 8 January 2003]

I liked this show and never did understand why people thought it was stupid for people to be breaking into songs, you never hear that used against other musicals! The songs were good, fit in with the story and expressed a lot of feeling/ideas that couldn't have been told as well by dialogue! The cast was great, both acting and singing, especially since most of the songs were song during the shot instead of dubbing them in later. The final show was great, be nice if more shows let the actors say good-bye when a series was ended. Other people have commented on this show being a head of it's time, and it was. cause there were several subject that "Cop Rock" did that most shows at that time wouldn't have touched! If you get a chance you watch "Cop Rock", do so but with an open mind. If people had given this show it probably would have run a couple season at least, just depending on how long they could keep the songs and stories tied together.

Strange but I LOVED it

[preppy-3 · 10/10 · 31 March 2006]

Odd show mixed a cop drama with musical numbers! For instance, at a trial the entire jury begins to get up and sing and dance; during a lineup all the guys dance and sing; a police officer sings about how much he loves his wife; the head of the police sings to all the officers to quit their b**chin...etc etc. I remember one powerful song where a black woman has a giant cross burned on her front lawn by (I think) racist jerks. She just stood there looking at it in anger and burst out singing. Sounds silly but it was powerful and worked!

I saw all 11 episodes and loved each one. I think this was just ahead of its time--too bizarre for 1990 audiences. The last show DID end it with the entire cast coming out, singing, saying it isn't over "till the fat lady sings" whereupon a heavy black woman descends from the ceiling belting out a song! It didn't always work--some people couldn't sing and not all the songs were good but a lot of fun overall. It's out on DVD and looks great :)

The funniest show EVER!!!

[InfidelDog · 10/10 · 22 December 2013]

It was so bad it was good in high camp fashion. It was a comedy that didn't mean to be a comedy because it was so ridiculous. I am still shocked that it actually got green lighted and made it on the air and I still get a chuckle when I think of some of the scenes from that show. My favorite memories: 1) The stenographer that pulls back a sheet revealing a piano and the jury singing a chorus of "he's guilty!" 2) The stalker singing about the actress he is stalking and his obsession of stalking ( I am giggling as I write this one) Come On! Who can actually make stuff like that up! It was so awful and embarrassing but it was like slowing down to see a car wreck on the freeway. My Dad got me to watch it when he told me he was channel surfing one night and saw a cop stand a prisoner up against a wall and shoot him. He thought this was going to be a gritty cop drama, and then they all broke into a song? This couldn't be real but it was. Thank You for the memories Cop Rock!

cop rock: extremely underrated

[BuckinghamAlice · 21 July 2005]

this show was actually better than the promos would have made it seem. it was by all means innovative, unlike anything else in the time or since. why this show failed is beyond me. the music was catchy and the characters represented the same caricatures we love to watch in law and order and shows of the like. perhaps the selling point (or point of no return, depending upon how you look at it) was the combination of the two. if this show had been produced as a run of the mill cop show it probably would have been popular, and maybe still airing today. but this was a time when the American viewing audience was not willing to take a chance on something new. while the songs used provided a great insight into the minds of the characters, they were the obvious downfall of a promising drama. please join me in my continued mourning of a show that was never allowed to reach it's potential.

Before it's time.. great music

[jprhedd · 9/10 · 17 July 1999]

Very unusual and under appreciated. Some excellent music written especially for the show and one of the funniest finales ever filmed. Show never achieved the audience it should have. Wish it were being shown today.

Better than Glee

[sralyn-71000 · 10/10 · 29 October 2021]

Perhaps had it come out now, in the age of Glee, it would've been a hit. I enjoyed it then, and I wish they'd do a reboot.

Like Hull High, it had more talented actors, catchier songs, you name it. You can see influences of Grease, Miami Vice, Rocky Horror, Law & Order...

Shining moment was "You Lied", when the mother who sold her baby for drug money gets booked. And that finale, "We Shall Rise Again", can't be beat. Did any of them rise again in other projects? Who knows.

20th Anniversary of Cop Rock! ... Demand it on DVD NOW!

[CopRock · 24 February 2010]

More info at: http://CopRock.info

Cop Rock is an Emmy Award winning American television series that aired on ABC from September 26, 1990 through December 26, 1990. The show, a police drama presented as a musical, was created by Steven Bochco, who also served as executive producer.

Inspired by Dennis Potter's 1986 BBC drama serial The Singing Detective, Cop Rock combined musical theater with police drama, the latter a genre in which Bochco had already been very successful with Hill Street Blues. The series featured an ensemble cast that mixed musical numbers and choreography throughout story lines. For example, one scene in a courtroom had the jury break into song, proclaiming "He's Guilty" in Gospel style. Another episode had a lineup of Hispanic suspects proclaim in song "We're the local color with the coppertone skin / And you treat us like we're guilty of some terrible sin." Its theme, "Under the Gun", was sung by Randy Newman, who opened each episode performing it in a music video-style credit sequence. The show also featured crossover appearances from other Bochco series. In one episode, James B. Sikking reprises the role of Lt. Howard Hunter from Hill Street Blues, while another episode featured cameos by LA Law stars Jimmy Smits and Michele Greene. Sheryl Crow appears as a back-up singer in the final episode.

The show on ABC ended after 11 episodes. The high-powered production talent became infamous as one of the biggest television risks of the 1990s. The final episode concludes with the cast breaking character and joining crew-members in performing a closing song.

Despite its short run, the series still has been rebroadcast three times, in the 1990s on VH1, on A&E Network, and in the 2000s on Trio.

Mike Post was the music supervisor on Cop Rock. Post appeared in the Cop Rock opening sequence as the musician in the dark glasses sitting next to Randy Newman and playing the keyboard.

Starring: Teri Austin, Anne Bobby, Barbara Bosson, Ronny Cox, Vondie Curtis-Hall, David Gianopoulos, Larry Joshua, Dennis Lipscomb, Paul McCrane, James McDaniel, Ron McLarty, Mick Murray, Peter Onorati, William Thomas, Jr., Kathleen Wilhoite

PLEASE JOIN THE FAN PAGE AT: http://CopRock.info

http://facebook.com/pages/Cop-Rock/308237078978

COP ROCK 20th Anniversary!

Sign-up for DVD notice!: http://bit.ly/CopRockDVD

SIGN the petition!: http://petitiononline.com/CopRock

A quality effort to try something different in TV.

[Bonnie-11 · 18 May 1999]

This program was a well-written and sensitively acted police drama. If you have a chance to see any or all of the four episodes that actually aired you will no doubt be as puzzled as viewers were in 1990 as to why this excellent show brought out such spiteful and cruel reactions in television critics. Steven Bochco had assembled some of the most talented people working in television at the time. He was simply offering viewers something "different"--a thing they'd been saying they wanted since television started. Musical theater has historically been a legitimate and compelling way to tell a story. Steven Bochco did this with flair. "Cop Rock" was a last, lonely, courageous attempt to break away from the formula of cookie cutter television programming.