Bayside Shakedown
| Odoru Daisōsasen (Bayside Shakedown) | |
|---|---|
Title Screen
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| Genre | Police Drama |
| Developed by | Ryōichi Kimizuka |
| Starring | Yuji Oda |
| Opening theme | Akihiko Matsumoto, "Rhythm And Police" |
| Ending theme | Yuji Oda with Maxi Priest, "Love Somebody" |
| Country of origin | Japan |
| Original language(s) | Japanese |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 11 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Chihiro Kameyama |
| Running time | 1 hour |
| Distributor | Fuji Television |
| Release | |
| Audio format | Stereo |
| First shown in | 7 January–March 18, 1997 |
| Chronology | |
| Followed by | Bayside Shakedown: The Movie |
Bayside Shakedown (踊る大捜査線 Odoru Daisōsasen?) is a Japanese police drama/comedy series originally broadcast by the Fuji Television group in 1997. The series was so popular that three TV movies, a stage play and six theatrical-release movies were made following the end of the TV series. The first theatrical release was in 1998, the second in 2003, the third and fourth (spin-off movies featuring single characters from the franchise) in 2005, the fifth in 2010, the sixth and last released in 2012.
In 1998 and 1999, an English-subtitled version of the series was broadcast in the United States on the International Channel as "The Spirited Criminal Investigative Network".
The first movie, Bayside Shakedown The Movie, was a major box office hit in Japan, earning 10.1 billion yen (84 million U.S. dollars), and was the third highest grossing live-action film in Japanese box office history. DVD and video sales were also very high. Bayside Shakedown 2 is the highest grossing non-animated Japanese movie on domestic screens and earned over $165 million at the box office.
Bayside Shakedown takes place in the fictional Wangan Precinct of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. Unlike most police dramas which tend to focus on action and car chases, Bayside Shakedown is largely concerned with the bureaucratic issues of the police department that are very present in many other sectors of Japanese society. The series depicted police work as office politics under a slightly different environment, complete with bureaucratic red tape, lethargic civil servants, bosses more interested in playing golf and saving face than solving crimes, interference from politicians, and conflict between police headquarters and the local officers.
The officers depicted in Bayside Shakedown are only permitted to carry firearms during major emergencies. Fuji TV used the fictional "All officers are to be armed" (拳銃携帯命令 Kenjū Keitai Meirei) order, which the portrayed bureaucracy is often reluctant to hand down. (In reality, it is compulsory for a uniformed officer to be armed, and plainclothes officers are required to be armed if they expect to be exposed to any danger.)
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