The Beat

The short-lived series featured the day and night lives of two beat cops dealing with crimes, absurdities, and heart grief. It had a unique visual approach, switching from film to video when the cops stepped out to do their duty. Unfortunately, pressure from the PTA and lukewarm ratings combined to put a stop to The Beat after only six of 13 ordered and produced episodes were aired. The second episode featured a guest appearance by Richard Belzer's character, Detective John Munch, who had previously starred in Tom Fontana's signature series, Homicide:Life on the Street, and continued his career at Law & Order:Special Victims Unit. Episode titles were taken from song titles by Sting, Bob Dylan, and T. Rex, among others. As you may have noted, I have only very incomplete information for the seven unaired episodes (#7 - #13) with the exception of their...