From the people who brought you The Columbo Podcast, this is a brand new show looking at Sledge Hammer!, the 80s police sitcom.

Sledgecast: The Sledge Hammer! Podcast launches today with this introductory chat and next week we’ll be back to look at Under the Gun, the show’s Pilot episode.

The post Welcome to Sledgecast! first appeared on Sledge Hammer! Podcast.

The first episode of Sledge Hammer was titled Under the Gun and was the pilot and opening episode of the show’s first season. Sledge returns from suspension and teams with a new partner to investigate the kidnap of the mayor’s daughter. In this podcast Gerry and Iain look at Sledge Hammer’s debut and his first case.

In the pilot we are introduced to David Rasche as our eponymous ‘hero’ Sledge Hammer, Harrison Page as his superior officer, Captain Trunk, and Anne-Marie Martin as Dori Doreau, a terrorist psychologist. Hammer and Doreau are assigned to investigate the kidnapping of Francine Flambo (Judie Aronson), daughter of Mayor Jack Flambo (John Vernon). Hammer’s irregular approach leads to a dramatic conclusion.

There are supporting roles in this episode for John Lawlor as Police Chief Reisner, Don Stark in the first of his two appearances as Kurt Kruggle and Joanne Baron as the mayor’s wife, Mrs Flambo, who Hammer at one stage accuses of having been involved in her own daughter’s abduction. Interestingly, Baron founded and now co-owns an acting studio with D.W. Brown who played Williard Luxley in this episode.

Martha Coolidge directed the pilot, her only directorial involvement with the show. Creator Alan Spencer wrote the episode, the first of his five writing credits on the show.

If you have thoughts on any aspect of Under the Gun, please share them below, or find us on Twitter at @sledgecast.

Sledgecast is widely available – on iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud, Pocket Casts or pretty much wherever you choose to receive and manage your podcasts. If you enjoy the show it would be greatly appreciated if you consider leaving ratings and reviews on these sites – particularly iTunes – as that can make a big difference to growing the podcast’s audience.

Under the Gun was released in 1986. It is 30 minutes long and originally aired on the ABC network. This episode is available on the Sledge Hammer DVD box set from Laser Paradise (German/English language) in Region 2 and from Image Entertainment in Region 1 (USA).

The post Under the Gun | Episode 1 first appeared on Sledge Hammer! Podcast.

The second episode of Sledge Hammer was titled Hammer Gets Nailed and was the second episode of the show’s first season. Sledge and Dori are selected to participate in a TV ride-along with City Hall looking for any excuse to cut funding for the department. In this podcast Gerry and Iain look at the developing relationship between Hammer and Doreau.

Alongside the regular cast, Ronnie Schell is prominent as reporter Phil Gumm, an Action News correspondent keen to show that the stereotypes of a trigger happy, incompetent police force are grounded in truth. He asks and is assigned to ride along with Hammer and Doreau, together with his cameraman (Erik Cord). Things take a turn for the worse when the group are forced to hijack a car driven by a student driver (Lisa Robins) and take part in a high speed chase.

Also supporting the story are performances from Coleen Maloney and Duane Whitaker as rowing newlyweds, Robert Hallak as an armed robber unlucky enough to be caught in the act by Sledge and the film crew, Jennifer Barlow as a cringeworthy singogram that Hammer wants to send Gumm when he is injured in a car crash and Leslie Morris in the first of his 31 appearances as Officer Majoy.

Charles (Chuck) Braverman directed the episode, his first of six appearances behind the Sledge Hammer camera, working with a story by future Simpsons stalwarts Mike Reiss and Al Jean, the first of their five collaborations for the show.

If you have thoughts on any aspect of Hammer Gets Nailed, please share them below, or find us on Twitter at @sledgecast.

Sledgecast is widely available – on iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud, Pocket Casts or pretty much wherever you choose to receive and manage your podcasts. If you enjoy the show it would be greatly appreciated if you consider leaving ratings and reviews on these sites – particularly iTunes – as that can make a big difference to growing the podcast’s audience.

Hammer Gets Nailed was released in 1986. It is 30 minutes long and originally aired on the ABC network. This episode is available on the Sledge Hammer DVD box set from Laser Paradise (German/English language) in Region 2 and from Image Entertainment in Region 1 (USA).

The post Hammer Gets Nailed | Episode 2 first appeared on Sledge Hammer! Podcast.