In England, this programme seems to have been the cornerstone of Channel 5's pre sports thread on a Sunday evening since the dawn of time (or at least since Channel 5 were forced to import non-pornographic material in order to avoid another hysterical Daily Mail campaign). In essence, this show is 60 minutes of frantic car chases, inept corner shop robberies and gushing, hagiographical praising of the American police force's abilities to apprehend all these scoundrels and cads. Yet as much as I am in awe (well maybe not so much awe as incredulous disbelief) of all this right winged, jingoistic hokum, the programme's main source of unintentional hilarity stems from its front man, Sheriff John Bunnell - a lithe, silver haired, permatan gnome of a man armed week in week out with bleached teeth, a perpetual sneer and a drooling script of hackneyed clichés. Within about 50 seconds of the programme starting, the viewer is greeted with grainy, poor quality police footage (usually dated from the early 1990s) of a station wagon crashing into a tree sound tracked by squealing sirens, police troopers barking orders and Bunnell's commentary gushing out gems such as: This fleeing cowboy thought that he could outrun his federal pursuers - - - but he hadn't counted on the might of the law.
In Britain, there are a number of more sedate versions of this show... yet none can match the vacant silliness and patriotic bunkum of this enjoyably rubbish American import.
