Future Cop (TV Series) Pilot (1976) User Reviews

I Remember This One Too...Fondly

[tonali_iii · 5/10 · 13 July 2006]

I remember this one fondly. I was 14 at the time and had thoughts of being a cop. This was also the time that "The Six Million Dollar Man" was on ABC as well. (SMDM was one of my favorites.)The premise was that an android cop could be more affective on the street if he could learn to be compassionate. This is where Ernest Borgnine's character came in. Using slang of the time (Head Honcho), he slowly taught Haven the human aspects of being a cop. Unfortunately, this series aired while I was at my Boy Scout meeting and I was unable to see many episodes.

The best scene for me was when Haven had been shot several times while trying to save his partner. Like the Energizer Bunny running down, he slowly goes down as the bad guy empties his weapon into Haven's chest. Borgnine, amazed beyond belief, rushes to his partner's side in an attempt to comfort him only to discover his secret. The scenes that follow further cement the relationship between Borgnine and Haven.

For the 70's SciFi buff, this series is a memorable one.

It didn't stand the test of time but a rare TV gem of its time

[t_atzmueller · 8/10 · 7 April 2010]

I watched this on video when I was five or six years old, at a time when cheap Sci-Fi flicks would still seem impressive to the young mind. My version was dubbed German (here the film is known as "Mein Freund, der Roboter AKA My Friend, the Robot" and that there actually was a series, I only found out on IMDb).

As a kid between the ages of five to ten, growing up in the early 80's, it would have been impossible not to like honest street cop Ernest Bognine and the android (a word I learned through this film - not just a robot, AN ANDROID!) Michael 'Haven' Shannon. The surrogate father-son storyline, the question whether the machine was just a machine or something more, the straight definition of good and bad, all those aspects sit easy with a young mind. Not to mention a younger John Amos - and whoever doesn't like John Amos hasn't got a heart! But special credit need to be given to John Shannon would could easily have botched up the character by making it appear tin-man-like. Instead, he manages to keep the balance between (by our standards) simple machine-man and charismatic, likable cop. I would almost like to think that Arnold Schwartzenegger might have take some inspiration from Havens movements in portraying his own unique cyborg in Terminator.

Time would pass and robots would either be packed into bleeding flesh (Terminator) or would have to virtually bath in blood (Robocop) as things became more sophisticated and violent. But for it's time this was 'healthy', family compatible television, cheesy but not too cheesy. Primitive by todays standards but neither without heart nor soul. A shame it wasn't produced a few years later, where it could well have surfed on the wave of Knight Rider or Bionic Man.

Is it something for the generation that has recently watched Avatar in cinema? Definitely not. Unlike a handful of other series of that time, this TV film hasn't passed the test of time. However, if you're from that time and age, I give it two thumbs up.

It should also be noted that this review isn't very objective.

Fun 70's made-for-TV sci-fi outing

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 28 March 2016]

Jolly, but careworn veteran police officer Cleaver (an excellent and engaging performance by the always dependable Ernest Borgnine) gets paired with eager and earnest, yet awkward new partner Haven (a solid and likable portrayal by Michael Shannon), who's actually an experimental android programmed by a police lab to fight crime.

Director Jud Taylor keeps the enjoyable and engrossing story moving along at a brisk pace, stages the action scenes with aplomb, and offers a nice blend of humor and drama. The smart script by Anthony Wilson and Allen C. Epstein handles the fantastic premise in an admirably low-key and reasonably realistic manner by depicting Haven as someone with a photographic memory and heightened senses, but fortunately isn't super strong or fast ala "The Six Million Dollar Man." Borgnine and Shannon display an utterly winning and even touching chemistry in the lead roles, with sturdy support from John Amos as Cleaver's whiny old partner Bill Bundy and John Larch as skeptical commissioner Foreman. Terry K. Meade's lively cinematography provides a neat crisp look. Only Billy Goldenberg's hopelessly dated spacey synthesizer score leaves something to be desired. An extremely entertaining affair.

I remember this one well...less then precious memory

[zensixties · 13 July 2000]

There is probably a reason I'm the only one who remembers this film. I was 12 when they aired it on TV and it preceded Robocop by 11 years. This was one terrible film. The only interesting scene was when the robot cop is being tested: they have an old lady rob a store, and she tosses the gun to a street kid. The robot correctly arrests the old lady.

The main reason this movie sucks so much is the following bit of dialogue: Ernest Borgnine says, "This is like something out of 1984", the scientist says, "1984 is only 8 years away and our technology is vital...." Yes, you heard that right! The scientist was trying to live up to the ideal of "1984". Considering also there were no robots in the great novel of the worse possible future society, it's more than obvious the writer of this script did not have a CLUE as to what the book was about.