"In an attempt to crack down on crime, the Police Department has created an elite new team, a team that speaks the language of the streets. Young, hip, in touch with the Now Generation... Funky Squad."
Funky Squad was a hit show set in The '70s. What? You mean you missed it? Completely? Well, here's the deal...
In reality, it was an Australian comedy series created in 1995 by the team who would later be known as Working Dog Productions, as a parody of shows like The Mod Squad where the police hire a group of (in this case, four) hip undercover cops. Who, in this case, are all wearing bad wigs and hopelessly 1970s fashions.
Compare Danger 5, another Australian parody of '60's spy shows, as well as Garth Marenghis Darkplace, a British show with a similar premise about '80s supernatural dramas.
The characters were:
- Joey Alvarez (Santo Cilauro) as "Stix", the cool one of the bunch.
- Blair Steele (Tim Ferguson) as "Grant", the leader.
- Verity Svenson-Hart (Jane Kennedy) as "Cassie", a typical 70's feminist
- and Harvey Zdalka, Jr (Tom Gleisner) as "Poncho", who was mute as he'd "taken a bullet to the tongue" (the joke was that the "actor" spoke little English)
The show contained examples of:
- Affectionate Parody: Of 'hip' 70s cop shows.
- Amusement Park of Doom: In "The Carnival is Over", someone sents Funky Squad a series of taunting messages and then sabotages the brakes on their Mustang. They go running back to the Chief, and some fiddling with the new computer reveals that Elliot Green, sent down by Funky Squad three years ago for sabotaging a fun park, has just been released. Stix and Grant head to the park in question, to find it’s deserted. Later after receiving another mocking phone call, they check out the abandoned, silent, dark fun park in the middle of the night, only for it to suddenly come to life, leading to a final showdown in the Hall of Mirrors.
- Angels Pose: Done in the title sequence.
- Bad "Bad Acting": Most notably with the 'spontaneous' laughter in the "Everybody Laughs" Ending.
- The Boxing Episode: Being an Affectionate Parody of 70s cop shows, the opening credits show scenes from unseen episodes. One of these shows Stix and Ponch boxing: implying that Funky Squad had a boxing episode (as many 70s cop shows did).
- Calling Card: Gentleman Thief the Cat leaves a literal paw print calling card at the scenes of his crimes.
- Catchphrase:
- "You wouldn't say much either if you'd caught a bullet in the tongue!" is said Once an Episode.
- Da Chief's final words as he handed the Squad their assignment each week are: "Oh, and Funky Squad?... Be careful."
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: In "The Wrong Side of the Tracks", property developer Miles Striklen deliberately stirs up a gang war so he can buy up property in the disputed territory for a fraction of its value.
- Couldn't Find a Pen: In "The Carnival is Over", Cassie comes out of the shower and finds the threatening message "HERE I AM" scrawled on her bathroom mirror in lipstick.
- Criminal Mind Games: In "The Carnival is Over", an unknown criminal leaves a series of mocking messages and cryptic clues for Funky Squad, including a clown doll with a knife through its head.
- Cut-and-Paste Note:
- In "Little Girl Lost", the ransom note for the Senator's daughter is made from letters cut from a newspaper. Ponch detects a strange odour on the paper which the lab later identifies as brewer's malt.
- In "The Carnival is Over", a threatening cut-and-paste letter arrives for the Squad at police HQ: sent from the postcode of the most likely suspect. However, when they haul him for questioning, they receive another mechanical clown phone call, meaning he can't be the culprit.
- Da Chief: "And featuring Baldwin Scott as 'The Chief'."
- Deliberate Values Dissonance: Spoofed most noticeably in the show's faux product endorsements, e.g. this Public Service Message by Joey Alvarez on drink-driving
, whilst Blair Steele plugs a hair spray "now with added hydro fluro carbons". - External Combustion: In "A Degree in Death", the on-campus protest at Central University ends spectacularly when the Dean's car - and probably a fair slice of the opening episode's thousand-dollar budget - is blown sky high. Later, the bomber tries to blow up Stix, but Ponch stops him starting the car and removes the bomb from underneath.
- False Flag Operation: In "The Wrong Side of the Tracks", corrupt property developer Miles Striklen stages an attack on one gang leader and makes it look like the work of a rival gang to deliberately stir up a gang war so he can buy up property in the disputed territory for a fraction of its value.
- Fingertip Drug Analysis: In "A Shot in the Dark", Cassie identifies some powder found in Ramirez’ office as cocaine by sticking her finger in the bag and then licking it.
- Food Slap: In "A Shot in the Dark", Driscoll throws a drink in Ponch's eyes to blind him.
- Gentleman Thief: The Cat, who leaves a paw print Calling Card at every crime scene.
- Hall of Mirrors: In "The Carnival is Over", the "Here I Am" message in Cassie’s flat was written on the mirror, which leads the squaddies to a suitable season finale in the Hall of Mirrors in the Amusement Park of Doom.
- A Handful for an Eye: In "A Shot in the Dark", Driscoll throws a drink in Ponch's eyes to blind him.
- Jive Turkey: Funky Squad themselves fall into this, but at other times, they act as translators for the square cops who don't speak the lingo of the street.Random witness type dude: Mystery man was a honky hombre two clicks off the six in mighty flash threads.
(The police are baffled)
Grant: Take a letter, Maria - Suspect was male, Caucasian, six foot two and well dressed. - Obfuscating Disability: In "Diamonds Are A Cat's Best Friend", the supposedly wheelchair-bound fencing coach is exposed as Gentleman Thief the Cat because of tar stains on the soles of his shoes.
- Oh, Cisco!/"Everybody Laughs" Ending: Happens every episode.
- Overly Stereotypical Disguise: One of the square cops attempts to pass himself off a hippy by dressing as a cop's stereotype of a hippy. Not helped by the fact that he arrives driving a police car where he has crudely painted over the word 'Police' on the door so it reads 'Peace'
- Poe's Law: Invoked. Among all the Parody Commercials are some real ads from the 70's, which are so absurd they look like parodies to modern audiences.
- Pop the Tires: In "Little Girl Lost", Ponch stops the villain from escaping by shooting out the tyres on his erratically moving vehicle.
- "Psycho" Shower Murder Parody: In "The Carnival is Over", Cassie heads home...and re-enacts the Psycho shower scene. Fortunately, it ends with a phone call rather than a knifing. But there’s a mechanical laughing clown on the other end of the line and a message scrawled on the mirror.
- Put Down Your Gun and Step Away
- Shaming the Mob: In "The Wrong Side of the Tracks", a rumble is going down between the Skulls and the Bandits. The Skulls think the Bandits started it, and the Bandits think the Skulls started it. Funky Squad know corrupt property developer Stricklen started it, but try telling that to an unruly mob. Stix intervenes and reveals himself as a former gang leader and singlehandedly talks the two sides into a truce.Stix: I quit when I realised I was fighting for nothing. Tearing the streets apart - my own turf, my own home...
- Sickbed Slaying: In "The Wrong Side of the Tracks", having already put gang leader Johnny in hospital with a beating, Stricklen’s goon sneaks into the hospital that night and finishes the job.
- The Speechless: Poncho. The idea being that an actor with poor English skills was accidentally hired, so the creators had to think up the ridiculous plot device of Poncho being mute because he had been shot in the tongue.
- Tongue Trauma: the reason why Poncho didn't speak was that that he'd "taken a bullet to the tongue".
- Totally Radical
- Vehicular Sabotage: In "The Carnival is Over", Funky Squad's mysterious tormentor cuts the brakes on their Mustang; nearly sending them over a cliff.
