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).

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The third episode of Sledge Hammer was titled Witless and was the third episode of the show’s first season. A mafia godfather puts a price on Sledge’s head and Hammer is forced to go into hiding. In this podcast Gerry and Iain look at an early change of pace for the show.

Captain Trunk and Dori Doreau take a back seat in this episode as the threats against Sledge’s life force him to leave the city and his colleagues. After Al Ruscio‘s Don Phillip Souza puts a $1m contract out on him, Hammer survives a series of attempts on his life – including one by Lenny (John Milford), a fellow police officer assigned to transport him to a secret location where he can lie low.

After surviving Lenny’s attack, Sledge is found unconscious at the side of the road by Jacob (Lewis Arquette) and Isadora (Ann Ryerson), members of a religious community that lives in a traditional manner. Hammer is tended to on their farm, but inadvertently discloses his location on a tapped phone call, leading to a final confrontation with Basil Hoffman‘s accountant-cum-hitman Sam Steinway.

Jackie Cooper directed the episode, his first of four Sledge Hammer episodes, with a script penned by series creator Alan Spencer, the second of his five writing credits for the show.

If you have thoughts on any aspect of Witless, 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.

Witless 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 Witless | Episode 3 first appeared on Sledge Hammer! Podcast.

The fourth episode of Sledge Hammer was titled They Shoot Hammers, Don’t They? and was the fourth episode of the show’s first season. Sledge’s former partner escapes from prison and begins a violent rampage, demanding a showdown with Hammer. In this podcast Gerry and Iain look at some character development for Sledge.

Much of the drama returns to the police precinct in this episode as Captain Trunk tries to prevent Sledge from indulging a former rival’s demands for a showdown. Dori Doreau tries to keep Hammer calm, but the inspector is determined to face the challenge. John Kogan (Jack Thibeau), Sledge’s childhood friend/tormentor and later partner in the police force, escapes from prison and has revenge on his mind.

Dennis Fimple makes an appearance as a skittish informant, while there are cameos for Charlie Brill as a suspect in a flashback scene, Simmy Bow as Sledge’s mentor Dead Eye Dan and from Jonathan Brandis and Shawn Donahue as young Sledge and young Kogan respectively.

David Wechter directed the episode, his first of three Sledge Hammer episodes. The teleplay was written by Mert Rich, Brian Pollack and Alan Spencer from a story partly their own and partly by Diana (or Jennie) Ayers and Susan Sebastian.

If you have thoughts on any aspect of They Shoot Hammers, Don’t They?, 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.

They Shoot Hammers, Don’t They? 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 They Shoot Hammers, Don’t They? | Episode 4 first appeared on Sledge Hammer! Podcast.

The fifth episode of Sledge Hammer was titled Dori Day Afternoon and was the fifth episode of the show’s first season. Dori and Sledge are held hostage during an armed bank robbery. In this podcast Gerry and Iain look at how the show worked in a largely single-scene setup.

There’s not much for Captain Trunk to do in this episode as he’s left outside when Dori and Sledge are taken hostage, along with other bank staff and customers, by Frank Doubleday and Britt Leach‘s Cliff and Lou. Doubleday and David Rasche take on most of the work in this one, as Hammer looks to extricate the hostages from a sticky situation.

It’s a small cast for this one, with Michael Ensign (as Crandell) and child star Coleby Lombardo the only other actors to have much to do.

James Sheldon concluded a 35-year directing career with this episode – his only work on the show – with a story by Mert Rich and Brian Pollack, who were also involved in the previous episode, They Shoot Hammers, Don’t They?.

If you have thoughts on any aspect of Dori Day Afternoon, 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.

Dori Day Afternoon 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).

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The sixth episode of Sledge Hammer was titled To Sledge, With Love and was the sixth episode of the show’s first season. Sledge is assigned to a local high school when staff struggle to control a group of rowdy teenagers. In this podcast Gerry and Iain look at more character development for Hammer.

It’s another Trunk-lite episode this week as Hammer and Doreau are assigned to corral a group of unruly schoolkids when the teaching staff run out of ideas. One particular member of staff, Mr Meeks (Paul Keith) is reduced to writing punishment lines on his blackboard as the kids, including 8-Track (Stuart Fratkin), Whitey (Paul T. Murray), Squad (Michael Cramer) and Blade (Brian Tarantina) make his life a misery.

The leader of the group is a troubled youngster named Turk (Shawn Klugman) who is in over his head with local crook Ralph Roscoe (Norman Alden). Hammer sees something of himself in these kids and sets about trying to help them see they can have their fun, but within the bounds of the law, simply by seeking careers in policing.

David Wechter helmed the second of his three Sledge Hammer! episodes, following up the popular They Shoot Hammers, Don’t They?, making him two-for-two in episode titles with commas in them. Jim Fisher and Jim Staahl combined on the first of their two Sledge collaborations.

If you have thoughts on any aspect of To Sledge, With Love, 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.

To Sledge, With Love 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 To Sledge, With Love | Episode 6 first appeared on Sledge Hammer! Podcast.

The seventh episode of Sledge Hammer was titled All Shook Up and was the seventh episode of the show’s first season. Sledge acts as bait when a serial killer starts murdering Elvis impersonators. In this podcast Gerry and Iain look at some stylish undercover work from Hammer.

After his assignment in the local high school in the previous episode, Sledge is forced to go undercover to solve a string of murders targeting successful Elvis impersonators when coroner Norman Blates (Kurt Paul) determines the victims have been bludgeoned to death with a gold-plated microphone. After taking tutelage from Tom McFadden‘s Mr P at the local Elvis School, he takes to the stage. (There is a real-life acting coach called Thom McFadden. It would be great if it were the same person, but sadly there is nothing to confirm the connection.)

Raymond Ma plays Yamamoto, initially observed as the Elvis School’s janitor, but later revealed to be the killer. His motive is to take revenge on inferior Elvis impersonators, who triumph in spite of his own more efficient impersonations. Director Jackie Cooper makes an uncredited appearance in the audience of Sledge’s Elvis gig.

Cooper directed the second of his four Hammer episodes, working from a script by series creator Alan Spencer.

If you have thoughts on any aspect of All Shook Up, 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.

All Shook Up 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 All Shook Up | Episode 7 first appeared on Sledge Hammer! Podcast.