Police Woman (TV series)

Synopsis

Based on an original screenplay by Lincoln C. Hilburn, the show revolves around Sgt. "Pepper" Anderson (Angie Dickinson), an undercover police officer working for the Criminal Conspiracy Unit of the Los Angeles Police Department. Sergeant William "Bill" Crowley (Earl Holliman) was her immediate superior, and Pete Royster (Charles Dierkop) and Joe Styles (Ed Bernard) were the other half of the undercover team that investigated everything from murders to rape and drug crimes. In many episodes, Pepper went undercover (as a prostitute, nurse, teacher, flight attendant, prison inmate, dancer, waitress, etc.) in order to get close enough to the suspects to gain valuable information that would lead to their arrest.

Character's name

Although Dickinson's character was called Pepper, sources differ as to the legal given name of the character. Most sources give the character's legal name as Suzanne. Others give it as Leanne or Lee Ann. (The latter name is mentioned by Crowley in the second season episode "The Chasers" and by Pepper herself in the first season episodes "Fish" and "The Stalking of Joey Marr".) The Police Story episode entitled "The Gamble", which serves as a pilot for Police Woman, gives Dickinson's character's name as "Lisa Beaumont". On the Season 1 DVD release of Police Woman, Dickinson states that she and producers decided not to go with the name Lisa Beaumont when the series first went into production and came up with the name Pepper.

Episodes

This TV series had 91 episodes and each episode was 60 minutes.

Guest stars

Among the guest stars in the series' 91 episodes were: Edie Adams, Diane Baker, Rossano Brazzi, Rory Calhoun, Dane Clark, Bob Crane, Patricia Crowley, James Darren, Ruby Dee, Sandra Dee, Danny DeVito, Patty Duke, Geoff Edwards, Sam Elliott, Audrey Landers, Rhonda Fleming, Larry Hagman, Mark Harmon, Amy Irving, Bayn Johnson, Fernando Lamas, Barry Livingston, Ida Lupino, Carol Lynley, Ian McShane, Don Meredith, Donna Mills, Juliet Mills, Annette O'Toole, Michael Parks, Joanna Pettet, Kathleen Quinlan, Kim Richards, Cathy Rigby, Smokey Robinson, Ruth Roman, Ricky Segall, William Shatner, Fay Spain, Laraine Stephens, Philip Michael Thomas, Robert Vaughn, John Vernon, Patrick Wayne, Adam West, Barry Williams and Debra Winger.

"Flowers of Evil" controversy

"Flowers of Evil" was the eighth episode of season one, airing November 8, 1974. In it, Pepper investigates a trio of lesbians who run a retirement home while robbing and murdering the elderly residents. Gay and lesbian groups protested the episode, calling its portrayal of lesbianism stereotypical and negative. A group of lesbian activists zapped NBC's corporate offices a week after the episode aired, occupying the offices overnight. Following negotiations with activists NBC agreed in 1975 not to rebroadcast the episode. "Flowers of Evil" is available on the season 1 DVD box set.

Reception

Police Woman became the first successful hour-long drama series in American primetime television history to feature a woman in the starring role. This helped to make Dickinson a household name. Dickinson would win a Golden Globe award, and receive three Emmy nominations for the role.

Police Woman caused an avalanche of applications for employment from women to police departments around the United States. Sociologists who have in recent years examined the inspiration for long-term female law enforcement officials to adopt this vocation as their own have been surprised by how often "Police Woman" has been referenced.

In February 1976, President Gerald Ford re-scheduled a Tuesday press conference so as not to delay an episode of Police Woman, reportedly his favorite show.

DVD releases

On March 7, 2005, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released Season 1 of Police Woman on DVD in Region 1.

On October 14, 2011, Shout! Factory announced that they had acquired the rights to the series, and plan to release additional seasons on DVD. They subsequently released Season 2 on February 7, 2012.

Syndication

Several episodes from the first season are available to view for free in Minisode format on Crackle.