User Reviews

I don't remember if there has already been, in this TV show, an episode talking of a police officer fighting for life after a major accident. Another fight very different of the one we usually see in the jungle street. Yes, it is definitely a very different episode, not action with gunfights. But a story about friendship and hope, about perseverance and success. It could have been for anything else but a police story series topic. To make short, if you have shown me this episode without telling me which series it was taken from, I would have never guessed it was a POLICE STORY episode. Worth watching. It is great that, in this show, we can enjoy so many parts of the police work, all parts, even the most unforeseeable ones.

My favorite police show of all time is "Police Story". Part of it is because it seems a lot more realistic than cop shows of the day like "The Rookies" or "Starsky and Hutch". Part of it that is often shows aspects of police work and a police officer's life that you just don't normally see on other shows. So, while many shows focus on murders and perhaps robberies, "Police Story" focuses on pretty much anything! I've seen episodes about so-called 'desk jockeys', marital difficulties many cops face and internal affairs...among other subjects. So, each time you see it, you never know exactly what you're going to see next!

One of the more unusual episodes of the show is "Firebird", as what happens to Detective DJ Perkins (Tony Lo Bianco) is most unusual! One day he's doing a training exercise and the helicopter he's in crashes....and he's severely burned. At first, doctors aren't sure if he'll survive or if he'll ever see again. Fortunately, while his burns are horrible, neither of these ends up being an issue and the rest of the episode is how he copes with the burns, his rehabilitation and his dogged determination to return to work...when most normal folks would just accept early retirement. But there's more...he not only wants to remain a cop but work with the Swat team!!

Tony Lo Bianco, like so many actors in this show, is a heck of a good actor. And, in "Firebird" he really gets to show off his acting chops, as he shows so many different emotions and makes it all seem so real. Like several other actors (such as Don Meredith), he appeared in multiple episodes in different roles. Six previous times, Lo Bianco played Detective Sergeant Calabrese and his is his sole time playing Perkins...and his final time on the show. It's shame he didn't do more, as the show had two more seasons.