Mr. Gun: An Interview with Sledge Hammer Creator Alan Spencer

Judge Lacey Worrell

October 25th, 2004

Alan Spencer is the creator of the immensely popular mid-1980s series Sledge Hammer!, about a trigger-happy cop who wouldn't know political correctness if it shot him in the head. Now that Sledge Hammer! is enjoying a happy afterlife on DVD, Spencer, who continues to work as a prolific writer and occasional television personality, talks with DVD Verdict about the series, his work, and, well, the virtues of watching deviled ham instead of bad TV.

Lacey Worrell: Is there a typical Sledge Hammer! fan?

Alan Spencer: I was asked this question during the show's initial run by Us magazine and replied that I thought it was violent Republicans who teased their pets with power tools, but the fan base is obviously a wee bit larger than that. Sledge Hammer! has fans that call themselves "Hammerheads." I suppose that's preferable to "Hammerites" or "Sledgies," which sounds too close to "wedgies."

I'm surprised that Hammerheads encompass all the various demographics in life, but different people like the show for different reasons based on who they are. Kids enjoy the slapstick humor. Adults enjoy the satire. There are those who get a vicarious thrill from the main character's aggression, as he fulfills a certain wish fulfillment. Some people think the main character is a buffoon, while others agree with his point of view. I've heard even the dead enjoy Sledge Hammer!.

What's most interesting to me is how Sledge appeals to both liberals and conservatives, because it's rare that the NRA and Michael Moore's contingency find any sort of common ground that doesn't involve casualties.

LW: Does Sledge Hammer!have a following in other countries, or does the humor have difficulty translating?

AS: No, Sledge Hammer! has amazing international appeal. It's revered in the UK as well as Japan, Italy, New Zealand, Ireland, Sweden, and especially Germany…since they have a certain fondness for blonde, blue-eyed fascists over there.

The series is popular in France, where the translated title is Mr. Gun. Sounds like a more dangerous version of "Mr. Coffee" to me. Visual humor always translates well: Characters like Inspector Clouseau or Maxwell Smart or Austin Powers reach far and wide in their appeal. Maybe there's something universal about a screw-up, as all countries have them…even the ones without elections.

Some provinces, like Japan for example, viewed Sledge Hammer! as an indictment of America's gung-ho tendencies, which I find funny. Perhaps that's part of the timeliness of the show's successful return on DVD.

LW: Why do you think Sledge Hammer! has endured through the years?

AS: Because it made people laugh and didn't last long enough to wear out its welcome. People cling tightly to the concept of something struck down in its prime, which is why stars who died young such as Buddy Holly or James Dean ascend into a certain pantheon of unfulfilled promise, devoid of the reality of inevitable disappointment. What if James Dean had lived? When he was in his fifties and sixties would he have been guest starring on The Love Boat or Hollywood Squares? That's not as lofty as viewing Giant and wondering "What if?"

LW: A review on Amazon.com mentions that you listened to what the fans of the show wanted when you put the DVD together. What kinds of things were they looking for?

AS: Little things like picture and audio. The fans really wanted an original documentary and they got one, as well as all the extras that were included. Anchor Bay is a very good company to work with, as they listen to creators such as myself. They want our involvement and endorsement. Anchor Bay has been rewarded by Sledge Hammer! proving to be a huge sleeper success for them, and the DVDs are showing remarkable legs as word of mouth has now kicked in. The uninitiated are coming aboard.

LW: What is the future of the show? Any possibilities of a TV reunion in the event it doesn't go to the big screen?

AS: I've been approached about doing a film version off and on for years, most strongly during the nineties when studios were looking for spoof franchises. Sledge is a satire with something to say. The times are cyclical, so it might be time to revisit the character who is still relevant due to America's return to its Wild West roots as far as our global standing. The strong sales of the DVD has spurred feature film talks that I'm immersed in now.

A new Fox animated series features a right wing trigger-happy CIA agent who blows away his toaster in the pilot, which is a gag we did on Sledge, so it's clear that the influence of the show still reverberates after all these years. I hear that all the time from my peers. People say Sledge Hammer! has an enduring quality, but the truth is violence never seems to go out of style. I don't think we're in any danger of reading a New York Times headline proclaiming "The Meek Have Inherited The Earth!"

LW: I'm almost afraid to ask this, but what shows on TV do you like now, or which ones have you liked since Sledge Hammer! went off the air?

AS: I loathe network television but like cable, especially public access. I was also a big fan of a wonderful series called Profit that I thought was the best thing broadcast since The Prisoner. Fox basically cancelled it during the opening credits and should have stuck with it. Otherwise, I prefer to stare at the TV while it's turned off and throw various sandwich spreads at it. Whatever sticks…I watch. Deviled ham makes for very good viewing.

LW: Much has been made lately about the "death of the sitcom." What could be changed to reverse this trend?

AS: Put something funny on the air. Stop imitating over and over again this hopelessly tired, insipid, deadly dull, redundant formula of a family sitting around in their living room. Network executives, especially those who deal in comedy, tend to have no sense of humor whatsoever…and they're innately cowardly. Part of this fear is understandable, as their jobs are on the line with every decision they make. Still, without risk taking…you have the sort of atrophy of the form we're witnessing. By not taking chances or exploring uncharted waters, they wind up killing the whole business in general. Next year, I expect CBS to change its name to "CSI." Every show will be called that. The CSI Morning Show and then The CSI Nightly News. The broadcast day can end with CSI Letterman.

LW: How are the networks different now than they were in the mid-'80s?

AS: There are more of them. Their ratings have eroded, making the rankings from first to second to third to fourth the difference of a mere point or two. They've also narrowed their targets even more. CBS always skewed older. NBC is more urban. Fox is invariably younger and heavily male. The WB is after females and teens, and UPN is trying to get household pets to look at them.

Because of those close calls in the ratings department, there isn't truly a last-place network that has nothing left to lose by "swinging wild" like ABC did with shows like Moonlighting, Twin Peaks, and Sledge Hammer!. That was the plan for survival back then. ABC was making noise. Sadly, there's zero risk taking today. Fox made their name by offering offbeat, edgy shows and they've become amazingly conservative…with an overemphasis on family-based sitcoms. That includes even the "dysfunctional families" you see there, which feature a slew of zany characters with a straight lead invariably stuck in the middle, deadpanning.

Of course, the prevailing conservative streak in our country also doesn't help. If the Seinfeld episode called "The Contest," cleverly dealing with masturbation, aired today, I would expect protests from conservative groups and possible FCC fines. That's no joke.

LW: I know how you feel about laugh tracks, but can you think of any shows in the past that actually benefited from them?

AS: Yes, I think 60 Minutes was greatly helped.

LW: Sledge Hammer! famously skewered Mr. Belvedere, creating a rivalry between the two shows. Did you ever make peace with the Mr. Belvedere people?

AS: As Yoda said, "It's important not to cling to hate." So I've moved on from Mr. Belvedere. It's According to Jim that I loathe now. Every episode of that show seems to have passed through a colon before it airs.

LW: You were very young when Sledge Hammer! premiered. Any advice for aspiring television writers/creators out there looking to make their mark?

AS: Pray the medium gets better. Obviously, cable is the last bastion for innovation, as network TV long ago declared creative bankruptcy…especially the half-hour form.

DVD Verdict thanks Alan Spencer for taking the time out from his busy schedule for this interview. You can also check out the Sledge Hammer! website at www.sledgehammeronline.com.