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Whatcha gonna do when they come for you?
Throughout the decades,Copswas also a key component of American law enforcements manicured self-image.
Joe Friday, the uber-cop hero ofDragnet.
But this presentation was loaded with its own, unremarked-upon assumptions.
The series rarely showed police as troubled by anything but lack of funding or public support.
Corruption, cynicism, or incompetence were rarely acknowledged and never examined at length.
An opening disclaimer stated, COPSis filmed on location as it happens.
All suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
But you didnt really get that impression from watching the show.
FromReno 911, toThe Simpsons Cops in Springfield, toMad TVs deadpan claymation sendup Clops, toMr.
