I am not the most politically correct guy out there and sometimes the overly politically correct types irritate me. However, I sure felt VERY uncomfortable and mad as I watched this pilot for "Police Story". Although it was very realistic, well written and superbly acted, one ridiculously unnecessary scene irritated the life out of me. On of the detectives (Harry Guardino) inexplicably goes off on a long racist rant that is extremely offensive and crude--and must have caused a few eyebrows to raise at the time. It seemed as if the show was loudly saying 'we don't want black viewers'! See the show--you'll easily understand what I mean. Now I know the Joseph Waumbaugh series was touted as being realistic--ultra-realistic. Perhaps this WAS realistic for cops in the 70s--but it's still ugly and unnecessary.
Now if you exclude this rant, the rest of the pilot is great. While it's not an action-packed show, it did show the wear and tear on cops and their psychological makeup. I recently bought season one of this series--and I hope it gets better.
By the way, I did have a laugh as I watched Ed Asner's character. He was a far, far cry from the real-life liberal activist and I wonder how he felt playing such a reactionary. Ed....if you read this, let me know!