Sledge Hammer! is an American satirical police sitcom produced by New World Television that ran for two seasons on ABC from 1986 to 1988. The series was created by Alan Spencer and stars David Rasche as Inspector Sledge Hammer, a preposterous caricature of the standard "cop on the edge" character. Al Jean and Mike Reiss, best known for their work on The Simpsons, wrote for the show and worked as story editors.
Where to watch
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Amazon Prime Video
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Shout! Factory
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Shout! Factory TV
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Plex
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Plex Channel
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Amazon Prime Video Free
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Amazon Video
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Apple TV Store
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Google Play Movies
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Fandango At Home
see all options Availability data: JustWatch
- Seasons
- 2
- Episodes aired
- 41
- Latest aired
- S02E19
Timeline when each season aired
- Season 1 September 1986 – April 1987 22 episodes
- Season 2 September 1987 – February 1988 19 episodes
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S01E01 Under the Gun
September 23 find the promo
Show synopsis
Sledge Hammer is a no-nonsense cop whose best friend is his .44 Magnum, and who just loves to use excessive force to collar criminals. In the opener, the mayor's daughter is kidnapped, and Hammer vows to bring her back -- "dead or alive."
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S01E02 Hammer Gets Nailed
September 26 find the promo
Show synopsis
A reporter spends a day with Hammer and gets more than he bargained for, and Hammer gets fired. Guest Stars Ronnie Schell as Phil Gumm
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S01E03 Witless
October 3 find the promo
Show synopsis
After a mobster puts out a “one week only” million-dollar contract on Hammer, every killer in the city, and some financially strapped cops, tries to claim the prize. After an attempted hit takes place in Capt. Trunk' s office, Hammer is ordered to spend the week in a small "Hamish” village. Hammer proceeds to disrupt the lives of this pacifistic community. By the time the hired gunmen arrive, the formerly peaceful farmers, who Hammer corrupted into the ways of violence, assist him.
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S01E04 They Shoot Hammers, Don't They?
October 17 find the promo
Show synopsis
An escaped convict wrecks havoc in the city, promising even more destruction unless Hammer agrees to meet him in an old west style showdown. The convict is John Kogan, Hammer's childhood rival as well as former partner in the police department. Kogan is also the only man faster on the draw than Hammer… a fact that Sledge is well aware of.
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S01E05 Dori Day Afternoon
October 24 find the promo
Show synopsis
When Hammer and Dori make a trip to the bank they become involved in an armed robbery. The detectives are taken hostage and the robbers demand a plane to take them to Rio. Dori tries to convince Hammer to let her use her training in terrorist psychology and persuasion before he starts blowing everyone away.
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S01E06 To Sledge, with Love
October 31 find the promo
Show synopsis
Hammer is asked to straighten out some young hoods that have taken over their high school. He discovers that the gang is working for a local car theft ring. Hammer convinces the teens to put their violent nature to good use by training them to become cops.
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S01E07 All Shook Up
November 6 find the promo
Show synopsis
Hammer and Dori are assigned to locate a serial killer who is bumping off Elvis impersonators. In order to flush out the killer Hammer attends The Famous School For Elvis Impersonators where all the victims were once students. Complete with sequins and pompadour, Hammer enters an Elvis contest and sings The Battle Hymn of the Republic… setting himself up as bait.
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S01E08 Over My Dead Bodyguard
November 13 find the promo
Show synopsis
When the press reveals that Capt. Trunk is scheduled to testify against a mob boss, Hammer is assigned as his bodyguard. In an attempt on his life Trunk is wounded and taken to the hospital. Sledge decides to make a bogus report that the captain’s been killed, but an assassin learns Trunk is still alive and infiltrates the tightly secured hospital posing as a physician.
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S01E09 Magnum Farce
November 22 find the promo
Show synopsis
When a group of vigilante cops begin killing criminals who have gotten off due to legal technicalities, Hammer is assigned to infiltrate the group. To test his loyalty the rogues assign him the task of killing a female district attorney who is out to stop them. While this same D.A. tries to seduce Hammer in her home, Sledge learns that she is really the leader of the vigilantes and plans to kill him.
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S01E10 If I Had a Little Hammer
November 29 find the promo
Show synopsis
Hammer and Dori pose as a couple wanting to adopt a baby in order to discover who is kidnapping infants from a hospital maternity ward. They learn that the hospital’s head nurse and her brother are behind the abductions, which lead to an incongruous shootout in a baby supply warehouse.
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S01E11 To Live and Die on TV
December 13 find the promo
Show synopsis
After a winning game show contestant is murdered, Hammer investigates. He learns that the show’s host did the killing, obscuring the fact that he’d also embezzled the prize money. Hammer signs on as a contestant to make the host try to kill again.
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S01E12 Miss of the Spider Woman
December 20 find the promo
Show synopsis
Hammer is poisoned by a mysterious woman and learns that he has only twelve hours to live. Hammer learns that the only cure for the poison is held by a group of monks in the Andes who have taken a vow of silence. Severely weakened, Hammer must hunt down the perpetrators before it’s too late… made worse by the fact that it’s also daylight savings time.
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S01E13 The Old Man and the Sledge
January 3 find the promo
Show synopsis
Hammer gets to meet his idol, a retired police detective with a reputation for old school toughness, and gets him a job as a security guard at a local jewelry store. When the store is robbed, the old man is wounded and ends up at a retirement home. Hammer feels responsible for what happened and vows to get revenge on the thieves… not realizing he’s also giving the old man one last shot at glory.
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S01E14 State of Sledge
January 10 find the promo
Show synopsis
When Hammer arrests the leader of a Satanic cult, Internal Affairs insists that the cultist be allowed his one phone call. Soon after the cultist makes the call, the precinct headquarters is surrounded by hundreds of demented devil worshippers. With communications to the outside cut off, Hammer devises a risky plan to lift the state of siege.
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S01E15 Haven't Gun, Will Travel
January 17 find the promo
Show synopsis
A gang of silver thieves, working in cahoots with an unscrupulous police psychiatrist, destroys Hammer's psyche when they steal his beloved 44 Magnum… effectively crippling the crime fighter.
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S01E16 The Color of Hammer
January 24 find the promo
Show synopsis
When Hammer's favorite hanging judge dismisses charges against a local mobster, Hammer investigates. The judge is found murdered with the only clue leading to a shady pool hall. Sledge poses as a pool shark to uncover the racketeer who has been blackmailing city officials.
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S01E17 Brother, Can You Spare a Crime?
January 31 find the promo
Show synopsis
When a handsome jewel thief is arrested, he manages to convince Hammer that he’s his long-lost brother… enlisting Sledge’s aid in his rehabilitation.
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S01E18 Desperately Seeking Dori
February 7 find the promo
Show synopsis
While pursuing a counterfeiter, Doreau gets knocked on the head. The results are a personality disorder that makes her behave in the same anti-social, violent manner as her partner Hammer.
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S01E19 Sledgepoo
February 14 find the promo
Show synopsis
Hammer's search for a jewel thief leads to an upscale beauty salon, where henchmen rob the society matrons’ homes during their hair appointments. Hammer goes undercover as a hairdresser in order to stop the British thieves who are after the ladies' jewels.
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S01E20 Comrade Hammer
February 21 find the promo
Show synopsis
Hammer is assigned to protect a Russian scientist who is being pursued by the KGB, leading to a cross country train journey fraught with peril.
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S01E21 Jagged Sledge
April 21 find the promo
Show synopsis
Hammer goes on trial for the murder of the city's leading crime boss. Capt. Trunk and Dori are called upon to give damaging testimony against Hammer and everyone is convinced he’s guilty, including Hammer himself.
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S01E22 The Spa Who Loved Me
April 28 find the promo
Show synopsis
Bodybuilding terrorists led by a female aerobics instructor steal a nuclear warhead from the military and threaten to destroy the entire country. Hammer and Dori are assigned to the case and are captured by the group. When Hammer gets control of the situation he tries to disarm the device. Seconds later, the bomb explodes.