Police Buff

The Streets Of San Francisco was a realistic enough police action series and always painted most of its characters in 3-D. This goes for Police Buff in which the late, great Bill Bixby makes his second appearance in the show as the mentally unhinged Eric Doyle, a loner who works at a department store, decorating mannequins and being verbally abused by his boss. He wants to become somebody, so at nights, he dresses up as a uniformed police officer and begins stalking criminals who are guilty as sin for their crimes, but have been released on legal technicalities.

There is an amazing scene that's both chilling and touching where Doyle talks to a dummy. He pours out all his angst and rage in a moment that's worthy of Shakespeare.

It wouldn't be long before Bixby got the gig as Dr. David Bruce Banner.

The Episode came out three years after the. Dirty Harry - Calahan sequel about a "mop-up" force of young motobike cops going after criminals that had jumped their justified penalty on technicalities or lack of evidence. Here it is not an insider, but somebody who desperately wants to be one - but didn't make it thru police school but now reads police traffic and takes action into his own hands. Bill Bixby is again the antagonist and plays it brilliantly - but obviously Stone and Heller are not ready to hand over their core work to him and are to bring him down. See for yourself, if and how they succeed.