Forgotten Gems of the 70's: The Rookies

Hola kiddies, park it down in your seats and let me blow your minds about the crimewave of Southern California.  With bikers, snowbirds looking for a quick fix and the general rampant misdeeds it is up to the Southern California Police Department to put these mothers in their place. With the Vietnam War making headlines still and morale a tad low, this series follows the lives of what was deemed the typical "blues" police officer, rolling in the patrol car and pounding the pavement,  These folks could be Vietnam vets to college kids fresh from the Academy.  This is The Rookies.

Bullitt went this way, fellas!

Lt. Ryker: Get those damn spoilers off the street and behind bars where they belong!  







Our series tells the tales of three rookie cops working the streets in I guess a fictional town in Santa Carla,California (even though I recognize the streets of L.A. and shouldn't it have a mess of damn vampires???) trying to make a difference.   Our three youthful lads hail from different backgrounds and neighborhoods.  Take Officer Mike Danko (Sam Melville of A Smell of Honey, a Swallow of Brine, The Thomas Crown Affair, Death Valley Days, Gunsmoke, Dallas, Scarcrow and Mrs. King and The Assassin) a former Marine, married and planning a life together with his nurse wife Jill (Kate Jackson of Dark Shadows, Limbo, Killer Bees, Death Scream, Charlie's Angels, Scarecrow and Mrs. King and Loverboy), college graduate Willie Gillis (Michael Ontkean of The Peace Killers, Slap Shot, The Blood of Others, Twin Peaks, Nico the Unicorn, North Shore and The Descendants) and social worker turned cop Terry Webster (Georg Stanford Brown of Bullitt, Colossus: The Forbin Project, Roots, Stir Crazy, North and South, Cuban Blood and Nip/Tuck).

Serving under their superior, Lt. Ryker (Gerald S. O' Loughlin of Men at Law, The Organization, The Blue and the Gray, Automan, Our House and Crime of the Century) these men are on the mean streets with only their wits, courage and sidearms to protect them.  Ryker does his level best to keep an eye on the boys, give them as much advice and wisdom to mold them into good cops.

Don't laugh, it's paid for.

Make no mistake, folks.  This is not your bulletproof supercops of McCloud, S.W.A.T. and Starsky & Hutch.   The concept here was to watch the young, inexperience cops make mistakes, cut corners and in general try to learn from what happened.  It was even made with continuity that those previous mistakes could come back to bite them in the keister.

 

Now a few comments about the show overall.  I found that the crux was cramming Kate Jackson's character in almost every episode.  If one of the guys got hurt, she just happened to be the nurse on duty.  The fellas come off a bit more like social workers and the college graduate seems to have to yank the myopic scope how life should be far too often.  Constantly establishing that he lacks the "hep cat" standing.  He is hardly "down with the street", if you will.   Face it, this guy is whiter than vanilla.

Yes, the dialogue, outlook and overall vibe is dated but honestly I found this more entertaining than the current cop shows of the gritty and dark vibe of the Law & Orders.

Next subject: Bribery and you!