Cop Rock Was a Legendary Disaster But it is Guilty of Introducing at Least One Great, Enduring Tune
Cop Rock was such a spectacular disaster that it became lazy shorthand for misbegotten television boondoggles. The ill-fated one-season wonder attained walking punchline status almost immediately due to its epic failure and uniquely unpalatable combination of cop show grit and musical sassafras.
When people talk about the worst and worst-received television shows of all time, Cop Rock angrily demands to be included alongside such all-timers as My Mother the Car, The Brady Bunch Variety Hour, Emeril, The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer, Homeboyz in Outer Space and Jerry Lewis and Chevy Chase’s ill-fated talk shows.
Steven Bochco was able to fail on a historic level with Cop Rock because he had been so successful as a television auteur, with credits like Hill Street Blues, L. A Law, and Doogie Howser M.D.
Bochco was a hit-maker, so ABC took a very big chance and greenlit a cop show unlike any before: a genre-bending mutation with tunes from the eminently dependable and insanely prolific Randy Newman.
To say that the show was not a success would be a wild understatement. Cop Rock wasn’t just a failure for a very successful writer/creator; it made him a laughingstock.
Cop Rock may be synonymous with failure, but during its brief lifetime, it earned five Emmy nominations and two Emmy wins.
Randy Newman won an Emmy for writing the music for the Cop Rock pilot. This includes the legendary flop’s sole lasting contribution to pop culture, an insanely infectious earworm about a criminal facing his just rewards entitled “He’s Guilty.”
“He’s Guilty” is one of those songs that never leaves my head. It’s always in the back of my mind, waiting to be trotted out in an appropriate context.
I’m not alone. When I read that Donald J. Trump has been found GUILTY of thirty-four felonies, “He’s Guilty” sprang to mind.
Though Cop Rock doesn’t have any kind of a cult, even of the contrarian or so-bad-it’s-good variety, it nevertheless made an indelible impact in one respect.
I was and was not surprised to discover, via social media, that other people remembered at least two and a half minutes of one of the most notorious televisual failures of all time.
A whole lot of folks were posting Youtube links to “He’s Guilty” in celebration of Trump finally facing legal consequences for his lifelong crime spree.
Then again, “He’s Guilty” is a Randy Newman composition. The man was writing catchy tunes in the womb. He comes from a whole family of composers. He even wins awards for Cop Rock.
I fuzzily remember “He’s Guilty” prominently appearing in commercials for Cop Rock for a very good reason. It was the only element of the show that worked.
It’s not unlike how the Muppets were a failure on Saturday Night Live during its first season until the puppets started interacting with the cast and guests. On a similar note, everything about Cop Rock other than “He’s Guilty” is a disaster.
But for a brief moment, the idea of a cop show that was also a splashy musical extravaganza seemed palatable. Watching “He’s Guilty,” you find yourself thinking, “You know, this could work!” Watching any other part of the show makes you think instead, “Why did anyone think this would work?”
Cop Rock died an early, excruciatingly public and predictable death, but “He’s Guilty” lives on as an earworm and the perfect song to commemorate Trump’s conviction.
Nathan needs teeth that work, and his dental plan doesn't cover them, so he started a GoFundMe at https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-nathans-journey-to-dental-implants. Give if you can!
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