COPS (series)/YMMV

• Crowning Moment of Funny: Any time the cops have to get out the Tasers for suspects that just don't get the point of being arrested, like this man in his underwear in a Carl's Jr., or the guy in the Cincinnati apartment that just kept goading the police into giving him the shock after twenty minutes of useless negotiation to keep him away from somebody else.
• Ear Worm: "Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do when they come for you?"
• Ensemble Darkhorse: Each department has their own fan favorite officer or deputy who is popular with fans and the production staff, who are spotlighted/namechecked, even if they only appear for a couple of seconds. Case in point, Deputy Win Sargent of Pierce County, Washington. Or Officer Duane Eamon, of North Las Vegas.
• Fridge Horror: The Big Boss's coat is buttoned with police badges.
• Lighter and Fluffier: Early episodes had cases often end without resolution, and sometimes would focus on more serious incidents, such as investigating a murder scene, or examining a discovered skeleton to determine who it was and how they died. As the show went on, less serious crimes such as domestic assault or resisting arrest took the spotlight.
• Memetic Mutation: "You can't break those cuffs!"
  • Comedians and commentators often note how often male suspects being taken into custody will be lacking a shirt.
• Most Wonderful Sound: The awesome Blues Riff of the Langley Productions Vanity Plate after '93.
• Nightmare Fuel: ...the original. Many a child was creeped out...damn synth...
• Police Brutality: Jello Biafra once joked that one of the main subversive purposes of the show is to numb people of to the instances of police brutality via glorifying the police as good guys and the criminals that they catch as bad guys.
  • Several high profile officers featured on the show have had police brutality run-ins thrown at them when they weren't being filmed. In one instance, a North Las Vegas officer was ultimately fired from his job due to a police brutality complaint and was rendered an Unperson, not named when unused footage of him ended up appearing in the spin-off show "Street Patrol".
  • Another deputy in Pierce County, WA was charged with police brutality for roughing a homeless man thought to be a burgler in an episode of the show; while he was ultimately cleared of the brutality complaint, he is currently being sued by the homeless guy for said excessive force.
  • There are episodes where every single clip they show features a Tazer being used.
• Unfortunate Implications: The show has been accused of this for its focus on poor people and minorities. Also, some police departments (such as Chicago, Detroit, Honolulu and Orlando) have refused to allow the show to film them because they lost too many Police Brutality cases due to footage being used as evidence because they claim that it trivializes police work.
  • Statistically speaking, there is a higher rate of crime among minorities and poor people than there is for the average person. It's more of an unfortunate implication if they don't include people from those backgrounds as its showing less realism and accuracy
• What an Idiot!: The way a lot of suspects get caught.