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COPS (series): Difference between revisions
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''[[Real Song Theme Tune|Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do?]]''
''COPS'' is a reality show that is "filmed on location with the men and women of law enforcement", which means it's incredibly cheap to make. It is also the [[Long Runners|longest-running]] [[Reality Show]] on television (it premiered in 1989); the show has a proven formula that has remained popular for years, and it is part of the longest unchanged nightly schedule in American television ([[
The basic premise is as follows: camera crews follow police officers in various cities as they go about their jobs. While your average police officer's job is generally mundane, ''COPS'' makes it look rather... well, not glamorous, but certainly more action-packed than usual. There's generally a few chases, a few drug busts, a couple of prostitution busts, and more than a few instances of ([[Shirtless Scene|usually shirtless]]) trailer trash. Only ''[[Jerry Springer]]'' has more trailer trash per episode than ''COPS''.
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* [[Evil Is Cool]]: Subverted in-universe. Most of the criminals are not-very-bright losers.
* [[Fair Cop]]: Sometimes yes, sometimes no. There's a lot of criteria for who gets filmed, such as service record, camera presence, and yes, appearance. Most of the cops are at least average looking, with a few particularly handsome/beautiful specimens.
* [[Idiot Ball]]: Running from the police, especially for something petty. Once there was a clip that involved a man calling the cops because someone had stolen his marijuana.
* [[Long Runners]]: ''COPS'' has been running for over twenty years, making it the longest-running reality show in history. Also, the Fox Saturday night schedule that it is a part of was the longest-running unchanged nightly schedule on American television.
* [[Multi National Shows]]: Not shows per se, but episodes; the show has shot specials in Hong Kong, [[London Town|London]], and [[The New Russia|the former Soviet Union]].
* [[Once an Episode]]: Usually, segments will end in an arrest (even for ones where the segment was actually focusing on something small - usually, due to being overdue to a court hearing or a related crime on record, or because someone did something stupid like lie to a cop). If it doesn't end in an arrest, it's usually because someone was shot or injured and the suspect already fled the scene.
** Any time there is a domestic disturbance call, you can almost guarantee it will involve a man who is not wearing a shirt.
* [[Opening Narration]]: "''COPS'' is filmed on location with the men and women of law enforcement. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law."
* [[Pixellation]]: Used to protect the identities of people who don't sign waivers (In return, the people left unblurred get a small performer's fee. If the editors have to do a lot of blurring, the clip has to be really good), as well as for the usual censorship purposes.
* [[Reality Show]]
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* ''[[The Simpsons]]'' had a version following Springfield PD, changing the theme tune to "Bad cops, bad cops..."
* One episode of ''[[The X-Files]]'', "X-Cops", was [[Documentary Episode|filmed this way]] - the policemen the camera crew were following became involved in Mulder and Scully's latest case.
* ''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bocmVZXXY8w TROOPS]'': a camera crew follows a group of [[Star Wars|Imperial Stormtroopers]] as they keep the peace in an insignificant corner of the Dune Sea on Tatooine, dealing with Jawas, bounty hunters, or a couple whose boy has run off with that crazy hermit.
* ''[[Shrek]] 2'' had something like this when the fairy tale characters are watching the magic mirror TV showing Shrek, Donkey, and Puss In Boots being arrested by knights during a pursuit. "You are watching ''Knights''".
* ''[[Saints Row]] 2'' has the FUZZ missions, where you dress up like an officer and go [[Police Brutality|assault people with blunt objects]].
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