Brilliant and touching

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

It's good to know that Sledge Hammer! is out on DVD now; I happened across a cheap VHS of HAMMERED:The Best of Sledge" and found it as hilarious as when first aired in the mid-1980s. Ultra-right-wing types will not like it no doubt but for those who can appreciate the irony, and satire(wonder what Eastwood thought of it?) this is a true gem of a series.For some odd reason, I did not see the show each week, strange, as this sort of off-center parody appeals to me a great deal. In the above collection, it's difficult to pick a favorite of those four episodes, although the take-off on Fatal Attraction is spot-on. The one ripping the God-Father is also ecellent, but I can see why Sledge wouldn't have a chance of getting on the air today, as Politically-incorrect as it was, which is too bad all around. Anybody who enjoys Petter Sellars's Inspector Clouseau films will get a blast(pun intended) out of Sledge Hammer! Go buy the DVD set today! I would be remiss by not mentioning beautiful Ann-Marie Martin as Hammer's partner, and sane sidekick/foil to his sexist attitudes(although yet another parody in themselves which many seem to have missed originally).

If you locked the writers of "Dirty Harry" in a room full of typewriters and crystal meth, their results would look more or less like "Sledge Hammer!", a side-splitting spoof of the cop genre. "Sledge Hammer!" debuted in 1986, garnering critical attention but poor ratings (most likely due its bad time slot and that damn laugh track). In one of those "can't make this up" twists, the writers decided to face the inevitable cancellation by having the main character blow himself up in the season finale... only the show itself actually got renewed. Oops. All 41 episodes (now available on DVD) follow Sledge Hammer (played to perfection by comically handsome David Rasche), a sneering, sexist police detective who takes the term "trigger happy" to a whole new, surreal level. Carrying his beloved, ivory handled Magnum .44 the way Paris Hilton carries her chihuahua, Hammer does everything with good old "Gun", from flipping pancakes to sleeping with it. A man who loves violence more than life itself, Hammer finds excuses to shoot, karate chop, or sucker punch someone, anyone who comes within his field of vision. Hammer's two foils are his long suffering boss Chief Trunk (Harrison Page) and Dori Dorough (Anne Marie Martin, better known as the ex-Mrs. Michael Crichton), Hammer's cool, capable, lovely partner who acts as Agent 99 to Hammer's Maxwell Smart. Yet, due to gumption and dumb luck, Hammer cracks every case he's given... while cracking, shattering, and blowing up everything else around him. It may be cheesy and tame by today's standards, but "Sledge Hammer!" remains uproarious entertainment, mostly due to its innocent approach to its story about a cop who's really a menace to society. Rasche emphasizes this approach by playing Hammer in the most straightforward way possible. While it's a shame the series didn't last that long, we can at least pop in our DVDs of "Sledge Hammer!" and remember it as it was: a loopy trip of a show that showed how absurd and hilarious violence could be.

Another in the 'don't take us seriously' sweepstakes.Funny cop story dealing with a trigger happy cop who doesn't feel the punishment was fit until all violence possible was used. Or more if possible.The show was well written too. Great lines all over the place. Every show got re-quoted at my house back then.But I sometimes wonder if your NRA types didn't realize it was a comedy. Or hated the fact they were the target of the jokes.Good work to Mr. Rasche for his brilliant portrayal. And Harry Page and Anne-Marie Martin did great support too.AND...it's on video in Japan.

Hi Everyone!I loved Sledge Hammer! It was a MASTERPIECE and it was the most hilarious show that ever aired! The show did even better in Germany and Europe and it is still popular today.This show NEVER should never have been canceled, but it had fierce competition from Dallas, Miami Vice and Cosby. I feel that the show should have run at least another 8 seasons because it was original, clean, and just down right hysterical!The chemistry between David Rasche (Sledge Hammer) and Harrison Page (Capt. Trunk) and Anne-Marie Martin (Dori Doreau) was simply ELECTRIFYING! They were practically reading each others minds!Alan Spencer did an Excellent job on producing and writing this show and it was very up beat and slapstick and kinda "Airplane" humorous at times!The best part of all is when Sledge has to solve everything with his gun! He is constantly getting into trouble with Capt. Trunk and many others!! Sledge has his own brand of "Charles Bronson" and "Clint Eastwood" vigilante solution to every problem which is; "shoot first and ask questions later."If you haven't had a chance to purchase Season 1 & 2 of this GREAT police spoof sitcom, DO SO TODAY!!! but I must WARN YOU that once you get it you will be laughing so hard that you won't wanna watch anything else!Sledge Hammer is planning a Convention in Frankfurt, Germany Nov. 19-22, 2005. Please try to attend it so that a USA Convention and possible Reunion movie can take place.I Loved Sledge Hammer and I made a tribute site in the shows honor after obtaining permission from the shows producer, Alan Spencer. I am doing my best to write positive reviews to keep the shows memory alive and well where it should be since it was such a superb show!! So give Sledge Hammer a try I am sure you won't be disappointed!"Trust Me I Know What I'm Doing"Sincerely,Matt Mattero Ministries, Webmaster