The Sledge Hammer! Contest

As any Get Smart fan realizes, Sledge Hammer! is a comedy in the same vein as Get Smart. In addition, creator Alan Spencer is a huge fan of Get Smart and he credits the show with helping him develop his comedic sense. As you'll see below, Leonard Stern also was pivotal in getting Sledge Hammer on the air, adding to its Smart connection. Spencer also was instrumental in getting Get Smart Again on the air, for which all Smartians should be grateful.

1. How did Leonard Stern help in getting Sledge on the air?

    I wrote "Sledge Hammer" as a screenplay when I was just a teenager. I'd seen the first "Dirty Harry" movie and thought it was the greatest thing I'd ever seen. Actually, it was rated R and I was underage... so I had to buy a ticket for "Fiddler On The Roof," which was also playing at the same multiplex and was rated G, and then snuck into the Clint Eastwood flick instead.

    Later that day my mother asked me how I liked "Fiddler" and I told her: "It really kicked ass!"

    The subsequent "Dirty Harry" sequels proceeded to increase the mayhem
quotient... and while I reveled in the vigilante aspect, I also saw the humor in all
the rampant destruction that the main character was wreaking. It all occurred in
the wake of his pursuit of justice.

    This got me thinking: What if you took a bumbling hero like Inspector Clouseau or Maxwell Smart and had his destruction the result of not innate klutziness... but unrepentant aggression.

    There were also a bounty of other "rebel cop" movies to cull from, spawned from the massive success of "Dirty Harry," which made me see the analogy that these flicks were essentially later day westerns. The cops were all wild cowboys and instead of a horse... their sidekicks were their firearms.

    Hence, if a cowboy could talk to his horse... then a cop might talk to his gun. To lampoon something you must find the truth in its central core and exaggerate it just a little bit, especially if the source material is over the top.

    I completed the screenplay and everyone who read it, and I do mean everyone, thought I was insane. This opinion was further augmented by the fact that no one had a point of reference for my satire, as "Dirty Harry" wasn't an American staple at that time.

    Only one man understood what I was going for. Leonard Stern read my script, whom I'd never met but revered due to his legendary "Get Smart!" lineage, when my agent submitted it as a writing sample for a series he was producing at the time ("Partners In Crime"). While Leonard didn't feel the material was right for his then current show, he nevertheless recognized that I'd attended the Control school of writing. He saw his own influence on me and thought I'd done a splendid job lampooning the violent cop genre.

    Thankfully, Leonard never forgot the script nor me...   

Many years later, Clint Eastwood reprised his "Harry" character in the big hit "Sudden Impact" and the catch phrase "Make My Day" became tantamount to "Would You Believe?" in American pop culture.      Soon after, everyone was endeavoring to spoof "Dirty Harry" on the big screen and small.     An HBO executive contacted Leonard about doing a "Get Smart!" meets "Dirty Harry" send-up. Instead of developing the show himself, Leonard Stern recommended my script. It was the most important stepping stone to my career, as I'd been making a living writing innocuous fare like "The Facts of Life," and the fact that I'd never met him made this all the more extraordinary.      Leonard Stern is a remarkable man. A genius as well as a gentleman... and I'm eternally indebted to him. It's one of the chief reasons I regularly do yard work for him.

Alan Spencer Photo copyright Alan Spencer, not NBC

2. Wasn't it originally designed for HBO, rather than an over-the-air network?

    It was. As HBO, even back then in the eighties, had no restrictions as far as content. The HBO version, the script of which you can read on the "Sledge Hammer: Season One" DVD was definitely R rated. Gratuitous violence and rough language ruled the day.

    In this era of "The Sopranos," the script wouldn't have raised many eyebrows...but back then in the eighties, it was viewed as extreme even by HBO standards.

    Ironically, the HBO execs didn't understand the "Get Smart!" formula with its inherent need for verisimilitude. This was underscored by their Fox revival of Smart that featured Andy Dick as the son of Maxwell Smart. A sock puppet could have been better casting.

    Casting concepts for "Sledge" from the HBO suites were the likes of Joe Piscopo or even Rodney Dangerfield. If I'd gone along with that, this interview wouldn't be taking place. Instead, I would be issuing an apology.

    Thankfully, HBO relinquished the script to ABC... and everything worked out all right.

3. Did you have any trouble with the censors or network executives during its run?

    Sure, but I wound up getting away with a lot more than other shows. I used diplomacy and never turned up the heat in our conflicts. Everything is negotiable. I felt that as long as my series featured a trigger happy sadist who was in love with his gun, I was never in any danger of being the next "Mr. Belvedere."

    Did you know that many kennels actually used videos of "Belvedere" to put animals to sleep? All they did was turn it on and the pets would keel over.  That's how bad that series was.

4. How important was the casting of David Rasche to the show's success?

    As important as Peter Sellers to "The Pink Panther" films and Don Adams to "Get Smart!" For all ostensive purposes, David Rasche was Sledge Hammer and made him not only believable as a human being... but also likeable. David is a singular talent. He remains the only person who can play the role and I've maintained that opinion when the proverbial feature film discussions come up... and they come up regularly. With the release of the "Sledge" DVD, those talks have resurfaced.

    Some of the talks involve movie executives, while others involve me talking to myself.

5. You paid homage to Get Smart in the show, didn't you?

    In the pilot of "Sledge Hammer!" there are two motel doors whose numbers are 86 and 99. Those weren't allusions to sexual positions, but tributes to Control's best two agents.

    In a later episode, I did an unidentified voice over of Maxwell as a tip of the hat.

    Nevertheless, "Sledge" remained its own show. "Get Smart!" supplied a successful template that you could utilize when talking to a network, as the specter of "Police Squad!" always hung in the air. That show, while chock full of great gags, was utterly devoid of character... and that was always the hallmark of "Get Smart!" You loved and cared about Max, 99 and the Chief.

Furthermore, the jeopardy in "Smart" remained credible... and that was an approach and style that I stringently applies to "Sledge Hammer!" Sledge was fighting the same criminal quotient as all the other serious vigilante cops. It was the lengths he'd go to that engendered all the comedy.

6. Didn't you also use some of the Get Smart writers to create scripts for Sledge?

    Yep, proudly. Gerald Gardner wrote what many people feel is our best episode: "Haven't Gun, Will Travel." It really illuminated the psychology of Sledge, showing that as a result of his gun being stolen... his manhood was usurped. He couldn't function. It was like he was castrated.

    As I've lived with a few women, I know first hand what castration can feel like.

7. Do you think there were similarities between Sledge and Dori's relationship and the one between Max and 99?

    Only as a straight man. Max was an accessible person. The seeds of true love between Max and 99 were always a subtext.

    Sledge loved violence and his gun. Of the latter, it was a monogamous relationship.

8. At the end of the first season, it was assumed that Sledge would be cancelled. What kept it on the air?

    A better timeslot that it briefly held as well as increased ratings. Our demos were always desirous... plus the network loved the show and knew they had something great. The critical acclaim was extreme, as the press became more and more voracious in their approval of "Sledge Hammer!" in an effort to keep it alive. It worked.

Of course, it also helped that I had incriminating photos of a few of the ABC executives indulging in cross dressing.

9. Sledge has maintained a large following since its cancellation. Why do you think it's still popular?

    Because it's unrequited. People hold tighter to a series that didn't run long enough for them to grow tired of.

    Also, the foreign legion's become tougher to join... where a "Sledge Hammer!" fan club is relatively easy.

10. Why do you think Sledge has developed such an international following?

    Because of the universality of physical comedy. That travels well. People also love comic crimefighters whether they're named Clouseau or Smart or Powers.  They're essentially live action cartoons.

    Also, certain foreign territories saw "Sledge" as a satirical statement about the world. In fact, Sledge is more relevant in this post 9 /11 age of heightened alerts.

    Incidentally, that's why Sledge is currently running for President of the United States. He plans to vote for himself six times in Florida.

11. Do you think Maxwell Smart and Sledge Hammer would have gotten along?

    Maxwell's more altruistic with a heart of gold. Sledge has a heart of lead.

    Still, Max would probably commend Sledge channeling his violent tendencies towards "niceness" as opposed to "evil."

12. How much work went into getting Sledge out on DVD? Is there any lesson that Get Smart fans can use to get that show out on DVD?

    It's all about supply and demand. "Sledge Hammer!" wasn't readily available and the fans never forgot it.

Video pirates had a field day, especially since there was no demand for "Mr.
Belvedere."

As long as money can be made, the proverbial "powers that be" will figure out a way to reap those rewards... as well as deny that it's ever turned a profit.

    An online petition is a great way to start because there's strength in numbers...and I don't just mean the dollar kind.

13. Is there any chance of seeing new adventures for Sledge?

    It's been discussed off and on ever since the show ended, but I've only given it serious consideration of recent. The show's become relevant again, but I'd only do it if the film could remain true to what the show was about: It's important to love something in life... even if it's excessive VIOLENCE!

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