Format
The series began with the special World's Scariest Police Chases, which was broadcast on February 2, 1997. It was narrated by actor Peter Coyote, and featured commentary by Captain C. W. Jensen of the Portland Police Bureau.
After the first special, the show was broadcast weekly, hosted by John Bunnell, a retired police officer and former Sheriff of Multnomah County, Oregon. Bunnell's commentary was often characterized by over-dramatic descriptions of the struggle between good and evil, the police and criminals, victims and abusers, etc. Although Bunnell hosted and commentated on most of the show, most police video segments were dubbed with the actual law enforcement officials acting in the situation presented. Tire screeching noises, horn beeps and sirens are often overdubbed into these segments.
It has been widely noticed that the same voice is used in almost every helicopter footage scene, regardless of the location the footage is from. This uncredited voice is said to be that of Lawrence Welk III who usually goes by "Larry Welk," and is a reporter and helicopter traffic pilot for KCAL-TV and KCBS-TV in Los Angeles. He is also the grandson of famed musician Lawrence Welk. In one episode, his voice is even used as that of an announcer at a motorcross rally.
Originally, a typical episode included sections entitled: "PIT maneuver," "Car Thieves," "Rainy Chase," "Big Rig Road Block," "Jumping Off Bridge," and "Drunk Drivers." This was soon dropped, and replaced with a string of clips, each commentated on by Bunnell. After a few videos, a small clip of Bunnell would be shown, often describing the police mentality behind the videos about to appear.
Occasionally, episodes were dedicated to police officers killed in the line of duty.
A video game based on the series was released for the PlayStation in 2001, entitled World's Scariest Police Chases, also featuring Bunnell. The game received mixed reviews, ranging from a 3.5/10 from Gamespot.com, to a 9/10 from Official PlayStation Magazine (UK).
In the Family Guy episode Quagmire's Baby there is a sequence of Fred Flintstone fleeing from the police in the family car, in an episode of World's Wildest Police Videos. Flintstone crashes, and attempts to flee on foot, but is delayed by the Hanna-Barbera skiddadle running effect. A similar sequence was used in the episode Something, Something, Something, Dark Side when TIE Fighters and a Star Destroyer were chasing the Millennium Falcon. These sequences were narrated by Sheriff John Bunnell himself.
Read more about this topic: World's Wildest Police Videos