Once upon a time, people thought Los Angeles police officers were the greatest in the world. Mostly because they spent seven seasons watching officers Pete Malloy (Martin Milner) and Jim Reed (Kent McCord) serving and protecting SoCal in their black and white patrol car. When footage of the LAPD officers beating on Rodney King hit the airwaves, TV viewers across America felt betrayed because this wasn’t the way the cops acted on Adam-12. This show wanted us to believe that cops were people that strove to do the right thing no matter how intense the situation.
It would be easy to mock Adam-12 with its depiction of clean-cut justice. This isn’t quite The Wire, but the series has a little more grit than CHiPs. The relationship between Adam-12‘s two patrolmen isn’t an equal partnership. Malloy is the veteran who is still training Reed during this sophomore season. At the end of the show, we’re promised that “The incidents you have seen are true. The names were changed to protect the innocent.” This is a dramatically recreated Cops minus the reggae theme, mosaic covered culprits and meth. It would be interesting to know how many different cops experienced these incidents. They pack an extremely busy day of policework into the 30 minute shows.
”Log 15: Exactly 100 Yards” demonstrates the outreach the police must do in the community that doesn’t involve their nightstick. The guys take part in the LAPD Olympics. Malloy thinks he’s got better things to do with his day, but discovers how he can have a positive impact in a kid’s life through the event. “Log 153: Find Me a Needle” isn’t about shooting smack. The guys have to stake out lover’s lane in pursuit of a stalker. “Log 52: Good Cop – Handle with Care” has a pair of reporters pushing Reed and Malloy’s buttons in order to get a police brutality scoop. However their bad journalism give them the wrong headlines. CHiPs also used this storyline.
“Log 24: A Rare Occasion” proves that even on their day off during a backyard grilling, they’re still cops. Dinner gets delayed when they have to deal with a doped up David Cassidy. This was pre-Partridge Family when he could tackle the trouble teen roles. If Danny Bonaduce had been cast in the role, it’d be ironic foreshadowing. “Log 124: Airport” has a drunk guy snag a small plane for a joyride. Nowadays this guy would find himself in FBI custody. But back in the ‘70s, this was just a local bust. “Log 104: The Bomb” exposes a little of Malloy’s past. They get called to a defense contractor’s factory to investigate a theft. The factory’s security guard is an ex-cop who hates Malloy. Later the guard uncovers a package that could explode. When the bomb squad arrives, you’ll laugh at how they treat evidence. They stick things in their coat pockets without protecting them for fingerprints or DNA testing.
“Log 14: SWAT” introduces us to the heavy weapons force before the ’70s. A guy on top of a building has gone nuts. He’s randomly killing the neighbors with a rifle. Malloy and Reed have to get victims to the ambulance while under gunfire. When the other officers arrive, they gear up in their SWAT garb, load their weapons and take out a sniper. The episode gets intense with folks getting hit all over the street. “Log 23: Pig is a Three-Letter Word” deals with racial attitudes when the white cops bust a group of black men. The suspects want the neighborhood to rise up against their white captors. Will the community do the right thing? In a strange piece of stunt casting Herbert Anderson (the dad from Dennis the Menace) is terrorized by a half-pint bandit like he’s Mr. Wilson.
For a long time I thought that the same actor that played Capt. Adam Greer on The Mod Squad was Sgt. MacDonald on Adam-12. They’re both burly cops with similar haircuts. But it turns out Greer was played by Tige Andrews. William Boyett was Sgt. MacDonald. Interestingly enough, the two guys appeared on nearly every ’70s cop show, but not the same ones. It’s nice to finally solve this cold case.
Adam-12 is a smarter series than my childhood memories. It doesn’t get too corny or soap opera-esque in its depiction of police work in 1970. It didn’t give us the hack storyline of buddy duo with the young turk and the grizzled old veteran. Nobody was three days away from retiring. Instead we get the young cop and the experienced, but still youthful cop. This isn’t about a generation gap, but merely the price of experience. Adam-12 takes us back to a time when the LAPD were above suspicion when they entertained us on TV.
The Episodes
“Log 15: Exactly 100 Yards,” “Log 153: Find Me a Needle,” “Log 52: Good Cop – Handle with Care,” “Log 23: Pig Is a Three-Letter Word,” “Log 83: A Different Thing,” “Log 103: A Sound Like Thunder,” “Log 63: Baby,” “Log 93: Once a Junkie,” “Log 123: Courtroom,” “Log 143: Cave,” “Log 142: As High as You Are,” “Log 43: Hostage,” “Log 34: Astro Division,” “Log 14: SWAT,” “Log 64: Bottom of the Bottle,” “Log 54: Impersonation,” “Log 24: A Rare Occasion,” “Log 124: Airport,” “Log 94: Vengeance,” “Log 104: The Bomb,” “Log 74: Light Duty,” “Log 114: The Hero,” “Log 134: Child Stealer,” “Log 144: Bank Robbery,” “Log 44: Attempted Bribery,” “Log 173: Shoplift.”
The video is 1.33:1 full frame. The transfers are fine with the occasional schmutz on the screen.
The sound is Dolby Digital Mono. The commentary tracks on “Find Me a Needle,” “Cave,” “A Rare Occasion,” and “Child Stealer” feature two real members of the Los Angeles police force. Sgt Frank Mika and Officer Rob Nobile discuss how being a cop has changed in 40 years. Mika got his start around that time so he understands what Officer Reed was experiencing as a force newbie.
Ride Along Fact Check are captions that explain the police work being done on the screen. This might help people figuring out the law in the 1970s while watching Life on Mars.
Tour of Reed & Malloy’s Training Center is a pictorial of where the LAPD teaches how to shoot through windows.
Historic Police Photo Gallery is a tour of the Los Angeles Police Historical Society museum. They have plenty of exhibits illustrating how being a cop has changed in Tinseltown.
Adam-12 is iconic in its depiction of cops as doing their best to be good guys. You’ll never see Malloy and Reed being perp walked for being dirty cops. Forty years later we’ve seen too many ugly LAPD moments to blindly trust them. Watching Adam-12 restores the hope that police can be trusted if they try hard enough. Shout! Factory has done a fine job picking up this series after Universal only released the first season. This is perfect box set to snatch for a dose of law and order ‘70s style.
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Shout! Factory presents Adam-12: Season Two. Starring Martin Milner, Kent McCord and William Boyett. Boxset Contents: 26 episodes on 4 DVDs. Released on DVD: September 30, 2008. Available at Amazon.
