The talented David Rasche ("Burn After Reading", "Men in Black 3", etc.) stars as the title character, a violence-addicted maverick police detective who actually talks to his gun as if it were a person. Here, he's removed from suspension to work the case of the mayors' abducted daughter (Judie Aronson, "Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter").
Written by series creator Alan Spencer, this pilot episode is a lot of fun, although it delivers such good laughs sometimes that one could easily miss the next gag from laughing too hard. Overall, the series is a riotous parody of Dirty Harry-type characters (with John Vernon, the mayor in the original "Dirty Harry", playing the mayor here).
The gorgeous Anne-Marie Martin ("The Boogens") is a good match for Rasche, and it's especially amusing to watch as his bad habits start to rub off on her own detective character. Harrison Page ("Lionheart") is a hoot as a typical Yelling Boss, and the assortment of great guest stars includes other familiar faces like Don Stark ('That 70s Show').
One of my favorite lines, spoken by Vernon, and referring to Sledge Hammer: "He makes Rambo look like Pee-wee Herman."
Rasche makes it all worth it: not only does he actually make his character likeable, but it's clear that he was having a whale of a time with this role.
Eight out of 10.
