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Cop Rock was a 1990 police drama presented as a musical. Steven Bochco made it in an attempt to replicate the success he had with Hill Street Blues, the acclaimed gritty police drama. He largely reused its premise but in musical form. This experiment definitely didn't work, possibly due to the dissonance of cheery, happy songs appearing spontaneously in an otherwise relatively serious police drama. In the show, the ensemble cast mixed musical numbers and choreography throughout storylines, for example, bursting into songs during court trials. It's just as bizarre as it sounds, and became infamous for its strange premise and stranger execution.
It has the honor of being rated #8 on the TV Guide List of the 50 Worst TV Shows of All Time. You could, of course, watch it for the Camp factor without taking it seriously, and you might enjoy it.
Tropes used by the series:[]
- Camp
- Crowd Song: Used often.
- Intercontinuity Crossover: With characters from Hill Street Blues appearing often.
- Gospel Revival Number: He's Guilty!
- Intercourse with You: The 'Bumpty Bumpty' song.
- Loads and Loads of Characters
- Musical World Hypotheses: Definitely the 'Alternate Universe' hypothesis fits here. Any attempts to make this fit into Adaptation Hypothesis go right out the window when people actually play musical instruments during 'He's Guilty' and 'Be Careful Out There'.
- Narm: The plight of the homeless, sung here, for one particular example. It's a cop drama turned musical, what can you expect?
- So Bad It's Good: Oh God, yes.
- Villain Song: Here. 'Baby Merchant' definitely qualifies.
- Wunza Plot
- X Meets Y: The Police Procedural meets The Musical.