Editing Sledge Hammer! (section)

==Production history==

Inspired by [[Clint Eastwood]]'s no-nonsense approach to law enforcement in the ''[[Dirty Harry]]'' films, teenager Alan Spencer dreamed up the idea of a police officer whose approach was even more over-the-top, to the point of absurdity. At the age of 16, Spencer wrote a screenplay based on this idea. The script and the main character were both named ''Sledge Hammer''.<ref name="auto4">{{cite web|url=https://www.metv.com/lists/13-high-caliber-facts-about-sledge-hammer|title=13 high caliber facts about 'Sledge Hammer!'|work=[[MeTV]]|date=Aug 31, 2016|access-date=January 16, 2023|archive-date=January 16, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116021654/https://www.metv.com/lists/13-high-caliber-facts-about-sledge-hammer|url-status=live}}</ref>

Despite his youth, Spencer had already written for [[Rodney Dangerfield]] and such television as ''[[The Facts of Life (TV series)|The Facts of Life]]'' and ''[[One Day at a Time (1975 TV series)|One Day at a Time]]''. He sold his script upon the release of the fourth ''Dirty Harry'' movie ''[[Sudden Impact]]'' and the popularity of NBC's ''Dirty Harry''-inspired action series ''[[Hunter (1984 American TV series)|Hunter]]''; the latter property created demand for a satirical police television show. When [[HBO]] approached [[Leonard B. Stern]], former producer of ''[[Get Smart]]'', about developing such a show, Stern recommended Spencer's "Sledge Hammer!" idea.<ref name="mental floss">{{cite web|url=https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/86343/11-bulletproof-facts-about-sledge-hammer|title=11 Bulletproof Facts About Sledge Hammer!|work=[[Mental Floss]]|date=Feb 11, 2018|access-date=January 16, 2023|archive-date=January 16, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116023101/https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/86343/11-bulletproof-facts-about-sledge-hammer|url-status=live}}</ref>  Stern knew of Spencer trying to help [[Don Adams]] by personally writing a few gags for the comedian on the set of ''[[The Nude Bomb]]''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cinemaretro.com/index.php?/archives/11746-TRAILERS-FROM-HELL-PRESENTS-ALAN-SPENCER-ON-THE-NUDE-BOMB-1980.html|title="TRAILERS FROM HELL" PRESENTS ALAN SPENCER ON "THE NUDE BOMB" (1980)|work=[[Cinema Retro]]|date=August 10, 2022|access-date=January 16, 2023|archive-date=January 16, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116024931/https://www.cinemaretro.com/index.php?/archives/11746-TRAILERS-FROM-HELL-PRESENTS-ALAN-SPENCER-ON-THE-NUDE-BOMB-1980.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and was returning the favor.<ref name="cracked"/>

Spencer quickly reworked his script for a half-hour television format. HBO executives wanted to produce the pilot<ref name="cracked"/> and suggested casting ideas that Spencer found unacceptable, such as known comedians [[Rodney Dangerfield]] or [[Joe Piscopo]] in the lead role as opposed to a lesser known actor who would become the character.<ref name="cracked"/> Last-place [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] was willing to take a chance on the unorthodox script. ABC insisted that the violence be toned down for [[network television]] and that a [[laugh track]] be included (although some versions – including the DVD release of the show – do not have this track or had it removed; Spencer found it offensive that the audience be told when to laugh and was furious over the decision), but agreed to cast Spencer's first choice for the lead character, the classically trained actor [[David Rasche]]. ''Sledge Hammer!'' entered ABC's fall lineup in 1986.<ref>Shales, Tom. (September 14, 1986) "Fall TV: The Perils and the Programs". ''[[The Washington Post]]''. p. G1.</ref>

The pilot of ''Sledge Hammer!'' was completed just as [[Peter Gabriel]]'s song [[Sledgehammer (Peter Gabriel song)|"Sledgehammer"]] became a huge hit. ABC took advantage of this coincidence by using the song in television, radio, and film advertisements for the show.<ref name="auto4"/>  Spencer said Gabriel had been willing to license his song to the series and even rewrite the lyrics, but [[New World Television]] wouldn't meet the artist's terms.  Nevertheless, Spencer was happy with what would be Danny Elfman's first TV theme.<ref name="mental floss" />

===Intro and theme music===
[[File:SledgeScreenshot.jpg|thumb|right|240px|Image from introduction]]
The introduction to the show features long, near sensual [[closeup]] shots of Hammer's .44 Magnum as it rests on a luxurious [[satin]] [[pillow]]. The show's ominous [[theme music]], composed by [[Danny Elfman]], plays in the background. Hammer then picks up his gun, spins it expertly like a cinematic [[Old West]] [[gunslinger]], and utters his catch phrase ("Trust me, I know what I'm doing") just before firing into the screen, making a hole in it. According to the DVD release extras, the original version had Hammer firing {{em|directly}} at the viewer, but ABC executives feared this could be too shocking, possibly even causing [[myocardial infarction|heart attacks]] (and leaving the network liable). Thus, Hammer fires into the screen at a slight angle.<ref name="mental floss"/>

According to the DVD release, Hammer's original catchphrase was "I'm crazy, but I know what I'm doing." ABC executives objected to a lead character being "crazy", so they insisted on a change.<ref name="mental floss"/> Spencer remarked that "it wound up working just as well and is probably funnier, because then he’s not self-aware".<ref name="avclub"/>

The DVD release uses an updated [[Heavy metal music|heavy metal]] version of the theme music by Baboon Rising on the main menus.

===Ratings and second season===
Despite critical acclaim<ref name="auto4"/> and garnering high ratings in a special time slot just for the debut,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/09/23/arts/2-new-series-matlock-and-sledge-hammer.htmll|title=2 NEW SERIES, 'MATLOCK' AND 'SLEDGE HAMMER'|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=September 23, 1986}}</ref> ''Sledge Hammer!'' struggled in the ratings partly due to being repeatedly bounced around ABC's fall schedule.<ref name="auto"/>

During the same season ''Sledge Hammer!'' made its debut, ABC scheduled a high-profile comeback vehicle for a then 75-year-old [[Lucille Ball]] entitled ''[[Life with Lucy]]'' that was not well received by critics or audiences. After only eight episodes aired, Ball's show was canceled and ''Sledge Hammer!'' was given her timeslot.<ref name="auto4"/>

''Sledge Hammer!'' attracted weekly viewership of nineteen million viewers who followed the show religiously through its many time slot shifts. The fact that the series appealed to key target demographics also kept it on the schedule.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.moviesinfocus.com/interview-sledge-hammer-creator-alan-spencer/|title=Interview: SLEDGE HAMMER! Creator Alan Spencer|work=Movies in Focus|date=March 10, 2012|access-date=January 16, 2023|archive-date=January 16, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116042310/https://www.moviesinfocus.com/interview-sledge-hammer-creator-alan-spencer/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Because ABC intended to cancel the series, the last episode of the first season ends with Hammer accidentally destroying the city when he attempts to disarm a stolen [[nuclear warhead]]. This episode received much better than expected ratings, in large part because the network had moved the show to a better time slot. ABC changed its mind and renewed the show for a second season.<ref name="cracked"/>

The second-season premiere perfunctorily explained that it and following episodes were set "five years before" the explosion, though Doreau is Sledge's partner in the second season, despite being introduced to him in the pilot, and despite the presence of references to contemporary events, rather than those of five years earlier.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.paleycenter.org/collection/item/?q=dan&p=116&item=T:18655|title=SLEDGE HAMMER!: A CLOCKWORK HAMMER {SECOND SEASON PREMIERE} (TV)|work=[[Paley Center for Media]]|date=September 17, 1987}}</ref>

The second season suffered from another extremely undesirable time slot (this time against ''[[The Cosby Show]]''), a reduced budget, and lowered filming standard (they went from [[35mm movie film|35 mm]] in season 1 to [[16mm film]] in season 2).{{citation needed|date=January 2024}} The cutbacks contributed to the show not being renewed for a third season.<ref name="avclub" />