Alan Spencer originally wrote the pilot script in 1976 as a parody of Dirty Harry (1971) and its sequels. Every network rejected it, and executives questioned Spencer's mental health because of the exaggerated violence. Networks began showing an interest in Spencer's script after the success of Sudden Impact (1983).
Originally, the opening credits sequence was to have Sledge Hammer firing his gun directly at the camera, shattering it. ABC's standards and practices department feared that Hammer firing straight at the camera would frighten some viewers and possibly leave the network liable if a viewer had a heart attack. A compromise was reached; Hammer would fire his gun slightly to the left of the camera, still shattering the screen. On the night of the series' debut, a person working for a Midwest ABC affiliate was startled by the opening sequence, panicked, and threw on the station logo thinking something had gone wrong with their tape machine.
David Rasche, described to be a very well-adjusted person, revealed in the Sledge Hammer! DVD that contrary to the relationship that Hammer and Captain Trunk had, he and Harrison Page became good friends and still, to this day, keep in touch.
Harrison Page said that when he auditioned for the role of Captain Trunk, he pictured him as an extremely exasperated man, and chose to play him constantly yelling at Hammer. He did that, which alerted other people in the building, and got the role.
Sledge Hammer parents are named Jack Hammer and Armen Hammer.
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