Now Viewing: the_naked_gun_(series)Tag type: Copyright An American parody franchise created by the comedy team of David Zucker, Jerry Zucker, and Jim Abrahams. It follows the adventures of Lt. Frank Drebin, a man who acts like a hard-boiled detective in spite of starring in a wacky parody series. It began as a short-lived TV series that ran from March 4, 1982 to July 8, 1982 called Police Squad! It reunited the creators with Leslie Nielsen who previously had a prominent supporting role in Airplane! and followed a similar approach to comedy as that film. The script was filled with a vast amount of puns, wordplay, innuendo, and intentionally absurd dialogue, but the actors, who were cast due to their background in dramatic acting, played their roles completely straight. In the case of the original series, the actors played their roles so straight that the series could be easily mistaken for a serious police drama, helped by the lack of a laugh track common to comedy series of the era. The series was cancelled shortly because, according to ABC entertainment president Tony Thomopoulos, the audience wouldn't get the jokes without paying close attention. However, the creators weren't too upset because they felt that they used most of their best ideas in the filmed episodes and Nielsen later said that he felt the series worked better as movies. The franchise lay dormant until later in the decade when the same team decided to revisit it as movies and changed the title to The Naked Gun, which became the title for the overall franchise. The first film was released on December 2, 1988, and added Priscilla Presley as Jane Spencer to the main cast. The films feature a similar style of humor as the series but also include a lot more overt visual jokes like slapstick and toilet humor, making the films more obviously comedic than the original series. The addition of a love interest for Drebin gave the films having more of a narrative suitable for a film. The films were big box office hits and solidified Leslie Nielsen's transition from dramatic actor to a mainstay of parody films. Other Wiki Information Last updated: 08/14/24 5:01 PM by jojosstand This entry is not locked and you can edit it as you see fit. |
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