This episode of "Police Story" should seem pretty familiar for folks who remember the 1970s. This is because the story is an early version of the TV show "Police Woman". Her character's name changed but Angie Dickenson essentially plays the same lady she played in this later series. And, some of the supporting characters are the same folks who were on the TV series. The biggest difference here is that the part played by Burt Convey in this show was played by Earl Holliman in the television series. Regardless, both are about a pretty lady who goes to work in the field because she was bored by desk work. I cannot really compare the quality of this episode to "Police Woman" as I only saw a few episodes of this Dickenson series. But even then, the parallels are obvious and its obvious that "The Gamble" is a pilot for "Police Woman".
While I did not hate the episode like one of the other reviewers did, this one was a very weak episode. Much of it was the writing...which was very substandard. Some of the dopier scenes included a guy who got his arms run over by a steamroller to teach him a lesson!! In fact, unlike most installments of "Police Story" this one seems more salacious and silly than realistic. Still enjoyable...but it's not a particularly good episode.
While I did not hate the episode like one of the other reviewers did, this one was a very weak episode. Much of it was the writing...which was very substandard. Some of the dopier scenes included a guy who got his arms run over by a steamroller to teach him a lesson!! In fact, unlike most installments of "Police Story" this one seems more salacious and silly than realistic. Still enjoyable...but it's not a particularly good episode.