"The Rookies" (1972) TV series 1972-1976

Creator:

Rita Lakin

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Release Date:

11 September 1972 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

The exploits of three rookie police officers in a large unnamed Southern California city are followed in this weekly series...

Plot Keywords:

Police | Nurse | Married To A Police Officer

Cast

Sam Melville	...	Off. Mike Danko (92 episodes, 1972-1976)
Kate Jackson	...	Jill Danko (92 episodes, 1972-1976)

Runtime:

60 min (92 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Spelling-Goldberg Productions

Movie Connections:

Spin off "S.W.A.T." (1975)

High quality production, good acting, but preachy.

The Rookies was one of my favorite "cop shows" from what I think was one of the best periods of time for television. Production quality was very high for a weekly series, each episode had the quality of an hour long feature film - only with commercial breaks. Of course, the clothes, vehicles, music, and a lot of the language is dated today, but I don't have a problem with that since I was in my early 20's during that time. The drama centers around three rookie police officers in a large metropolitan police force, who daily struggle with the social issues of the day -- drugs, crime, racism, homosexuality, prostitution, you-name-it. I agree with what one other commentor said about "reverse racism" in the manner that the Michael Ontkean character, Officer Willie Gillis, is used as an example of the social cluelessness of white, middle-class males. In fact, it was my observation of how the Gillis character was portrayed that woke me up to Hollywood's liberal agenda, and caused me to start thinking a lot more critically when shown something on the silver screen or TV labeled as "entertainment" but really meant as liberal political propaganda.

The politics aside, this series gives one a look at very high quality TV production, and some great acting. The Kate Jackson character (Jill Danko) shows us a real woman -- caring, loving, concerned -- but without yet having grown the liberal, male-bashing chip on her shoulder that would later become sine qua non in future female characters. The men, however, seem to have been considerably "softened up" -- the Officer Gillis character in particular. This series probably draws the line between TV's golden era and the mandatory liberal indoctrination of the present day. This is where the Marxist social brainwashing started, but it is still enjoyable to watch.