Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry Inspired This Cult Classic '80s Sitcom

It's well known that Clint Eastwood was one of the inspirations behind Taylor Sheridan's "Yellowstone." Eastwood is one of the most recognizable Western actors, starring in many of the best Westerns not set in the "Yellowstone" universe. In the 1980s, one of the actor's grittiest characters — Dirty Harry — served as a blueprint for an over-the-top spoof about a loose-cannon lawman.

In 1986, creator Alan Spencer brought us "Sledge Hammer!" This satirical sitcom followed Sledge Hammer (David Rasche), a hilariously unhinged San Francisco detective who has an obsessive relationship with his "amigo" — an oversized .44 Magnum. He talked to it, showered with it, slept with it — it even had its own pillow. Hammer abided by a simple rule: shoot first, ask questions never.

According to an interview with Cracked, the idea came to him during a time he wasn't old enough to see "Dirty Harry." "I wrote the script for 'Sledge Hammer!' as a teenager," he told the outlet. "This was probably 1972, so I was like, 11 or 12 and 'Dirty Harry' was rated R, so I bought a ticket for 'Fiddler on the Roof,' rated G, and snuck into 'Dirty Harry.'"

As he fell in love with the Harry Callahan character, Spencer had an epiphany. "The movie also has a sense of humor to it and, if you've got a sick sense of humor, it's pretty darkly funny as well, so I found myself laughing at stuff that no one else in the theater was laughing at," he explained to the outlet. "That's when I was struck by this lightning bolt — that this kind of character was perfect for satire."

Although "Sledge Hammer!" premiered to strong ratings, the network never had plans to go beyond a single season, so Spencer decided to go out with the ultimate bang. In the Season 1 finale, Hammer accidentally detonates a stolen nuclear warhead, completely obliterating San Francisco.

That explosive finale managed to pull in unexpectedly stellar numbers, swaying ABC to reverse their decision. But the writers faced a slight story problem: Their entire setting had been nuked. To bypass this, Season 2 was playfully established as taking place five years prior to the events of Season 1.

"Sledge Hammer" — a sitcom many might agree was canceled too soon — lasted for 41 episodes and concluded with its series finale in 1988. During an interview with Movies in Focus, Spencer was asked how he felt about "ruining" the gritty source material for an entire generation.

"I don't feel I've ruined anything except my own reputation," he told the outlet. "I'm a big fan of the 'Dirty Harry' films, specifically the first three films, and my show was actually considered very affectionate towards the inspiration. I have a lot of respect for Clint Eastwood and was a devotee of his long before the man's oeuvre became 'respectable' and recognized by Oscars. From everything I've heard, he liked 'Sledge Hammer!' and recognized that it was a homage."