Let's be realistic.

Fresh and Exciting

A different way of telling a story

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

I remember back in the 70s the show SWAT and its cast were introduced in an episode of The Rookies. There was one of the eager young idealistic cops in a hostage negotiation situation when along came Steve Forrest and his team and just blew hell out of the place and the criminal. That episode in the end showed just how much we need a SWAT team when they don't negotiate.Echoing John Wayne was Steve Forrest as the SWAT team leader 'Hondo' Harrelson and part of his team was future series stars Robert Urich of Vegas, etc, and Mark Shera who joined Barnaby Jones. If you liked a lot of loud explosions SWAT or Special Weapons And Tactics was your show.My guess is that it only lasted for two seasons because how many different ways can you blow something or shoot the crap out of a place to make it interesting. And you never got into any of the personal lives of the team really.I think the Canadian series Flashpoint better handles the whole concept of SWAT.

When I was a kid, I loved "S.W.A.T." and was sad when the show was canceled after only two seasons. Recently, I discovered season one of the show on Netflix and was thrilled to see the show once again. At first, I really liked the episodes but after seeing many of them I detected some silly clichés. Whenever one of the characters introduces a friend to his co-workers with the S.W.A.T. team, you could guarantee that the person would either go psycho (like Cameron Mitchell did) or they'll be kidnapped (like the basketball player and girlfriend of T.J.). This same pattern happened again and again. And, the show occasionally degenerated to such silly plots as people who are going to kidnap the beauty contestants or blow up a movie studio!! Huh?!?! What were they thinking?! I think the problem was that the S.W.A.T. team in real life is really a special occasion task force--there for some pretty insane situations. BUT, these insane situations are generally predictable and too dull for TV--such as bank robberies. So, to add spice, the show made the crimes ridiculous and outrageous--the things most S.W.A.T. teams would never dream of seeing. Aaron Spelling couldn't have the team taking out bank robbers or ending a common domestic dispute in 5 of every 6 episodes--realistic, yes, but not very exciting. So, they went the opposite direction--making the shows insanely impossible--week after week. What you are left with is NOT a show like "Dragnet" (which showed ALL the many facets of police work--the exciting and the mundane) but one that wasn't that far removed from "Charlie's Angels"--kind of mindless and entertaining. Overall, I'd say the show wasn't bad but clearly it wasn't all that good. And, what did I know--I was only 10 when the show debuted!

"When you need help, you call the police. But when the police needs help, they call S.W.A.T." I vividly remember this tag used to advertise this then-new TV crime drama, which debut in 1974 when I was 13.Having watched a number of detective and conventional police crime dramas on television, S.W.A.T. was indeed a different type a crime-drama TV series about the quasi-military arm of the Los Angeles police department, assigned to respond to extreme/emergency situations. The show became an instant hit, with its theme song even becoming one as well on many radio stations during the mid-seventies.A strong cast lead by Steve Forrest, who plays the stern, level-headed Lt. Dan "Hondo" Harrelson--and featuring Rod Perry as "Deacon" Kay, his loyal right-hand man, Marc Shera as Officer Dominic Luca, the free-spirited Italian, James Coleman as Officer T.J. MaCabe, the expert marksman, and Robert Urich, as the no-nonsense young Officer Jim Street--provides solid and intriguing drama that would hold the TV viewers' attention in almost every episode.However, I recently viewed the series again in re-runs on TVLand, and as a middle-aged man now instead of a young teenager, I've become a bit more critical. When watching the series now, it seems quite unrealistic how in certain episodes a S.W.A.T. team member had personal connections to an individual who was involved in a particular case that the S.W.A.T. team responded to.In one episode, T.J. reunites with his former high-school basketball teammate and introduces him to the other members of the S.W.A.T. team. Later that evening, T.J.'s buddy, who's now a pro basketball player, plays a basketball game at the local arena and thugs kidnap his team. They hold the players hostage in the locker room, and you can guess--by the strangest coincidence--what particular law enforcement unit comes to the rescue.In another episode, a college professor of a university is also held hostage by extremists with the S.W.A.T. team responding to the emergency. Interestingly enough, the professor just happens to be Street's instructor of a course that he's is currently taking in night school at the university.Yet in spite of these "Hollywoodish" moments, the show still holds up fairly well after 35 years. It can still captivate TV audiences with its action-packed, dramatic moments and provides sufficient entertainment to merit viewing.

S.W.A.T was a spin-off off the other great police drama of the 1970s - "The Rookies" SWAT told the stories of an elite police unit called Special Weapons and Tactics Unit or S.W.A.T for short.They handled situations to dangerous for the regular police.The show was very violent for the time and the SWAT officers were more violent than the criminals they were going against.What was cool about this show was the title music which hit the TOP 10 in 1975 and the team scrambling into their truck, speeding to a scene, and then rushing into action. They did it without the body armor and helmets we see such officers wear today.When I kid, my friends and I would play SWAT and today I wish I could watch the repeats.Without the theme music and action it would be a run of the mill police show.