Los patrulleros

One of the most successful police dramas to ever come out of the 1970's "The Rookies" was one of the many police dramas that came from the production factory of producers Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg that premiered on March 7, 1972 as the 90-minute pilot episode for "The ABC Movie Of The Week" which became a colossal hit. Then ABC greenlighted it as a weekly series that premiered the following fall of that year. From the first three seasons of the series(1972-1974) it aired on Monday nights where it faced competition from CBS' Gunsmoke and NBC's Laugh-In among other shows that were on prime time Monday nights. The fourth and final season saw the series moved from Monday nights to Tuesday nights where it went opposite the strong competition with NBC's Police Story, and two CBS powerhouse comedies "One Day At A Time", and "M*A*S*H" during the 1975-1976 season.

The Rookies came on the success of Joesph Wambaugh's book "The New Centurions", as well as the huge ratings success on television with Jack Webb's "Adam-12" sparked interest in depth about the realistic depiction and storytelling of the typical police officer and the situations these brave men and women faced everyday on the streets to uphold the law and to serve and protect the public gain virtual interest. The Rookies was the story of young police officers(Georg Stanford-Brown, Micheal Ontkean, and Sam Melville) straight out of the academy taking on their first assignment in the fictional community of Santa Clara under the moral authority and guidance of the Lieutenant(Gerald S. O'Laughlin) who took these young rookies under his wing and taught them to be good cops.

Out of the 94 episodes that this series produced this was indeed one of the most intense and action packed police dramas of the era...so successful that it spawn a spin-off S.W.A.T that was successful too. "The Rookies" launched the careers of Micheal Ontkean, Georg Stanford-Brown and Kate Jackson. Notable guest stars ranging from Claude Akins, Ned Beatty, Joesph Campanella, Tyne Daly, Susan Dey, Sissy Spacek, Martin Sheen, Don Gordon, Louis Gossett Jr., Roddy McDowell, Cameron Mitchell, John Saxon, Jim Nabors, John Ritter, Della Reese, David Soul, Steve Forrest, Mark Slade, Nick Nolte, Stefanie Powers, William Shatner, Don Stroud, Cleavon Little, Amy Irving, Earl Holliman and many more were among the guest stars of the series that lasted four seasons and 94 color episodes ending it's run on March 30, 1976.

The Rookies were not your average supercops or over the top showoffs neither. These young men made mistakes out there and they were inexperienced with some of the training they received fresh out of the academy. Those mistakes became the basis of several great storylines as well as several great episodes that stood out. But it was under the wing of the Lieutenant that taught these Rookies right from wrong and any other situations that many occur on the streets and how to handle them became one of the great cop shows of the 1970's.

In the 70's, a hip action television series had equally hip and exciting theme music. The Rookies theme is no exception. The music prepared us for the hard edged drama that was to come. The music had a definite urban edge. The audience was prepared for the hard street scenes and the gritty action that these police dramas promised.

When viewing vintage series', the music sets the mood and reflects the era that the series is part of. In my opinion, 70's television theme music that perfectly reflected the times and expressed the programs that they were representing.

"The Streets of San Francisco" , Chico and The Man, The Rookies, The Courtship of Eddie's Father and Maude are exceptional theme songs.

One of the more successful TV police dramas which seemed to be exploding all over the place during the Seventies as westerns declined and because they were getting expensive to make was The Rookies. The show was about three eager young police officers straight from the Academy on their first assignment. The three, Georg Stanford, Brown, Michael Ontkean, and Sam Melville served as cops in the mythical community of Santa Clara in California.

I liked the show because it showed three idealistic young cops and a time when idealism was at a premium. The Rookies debuted while Richard Nixon was running for re-election and we got treated nationally to all the stories about Watergate and the aftermath during the run of this show.

In that vein it was also nice to see a moral authority like Lieutenant Eddie Ryker who took The Rookies under his wing and taught them to be good cops. As a police officer Ryker was one of the best ever shown on television and it gave Gerald S. O'Loughlin his career role. He was and remains one of my favorite television police officers.

The women and the gay men certainly had a lot of nice beefcake to look at with the three Rookies. Michael Ontkean left the series midway to pursue a movie career and he's best remembered for Making Love to Harry Hamlin and Kate Jackson in Making Love and for that never to be forgotten strip tease on ice in Slap Shot. He was replace by Bruce Fairbairn for the rest of the show's run.

Speaking of Kate Jackson, she was the only regular female in the series and she played Sam Melville's wife. She was also a nurse in the emergency ward at the Santa Clara Hospital. Kate's got incredible skill or luck if you prefer in picking television series. The Rookies was her second series, she was in Dark Shadows, after The Rookies came Charlie's Angels and The Scarecrow and Mrs. King. That's one pretty substantial record and most would envy her for just one successful TV series. Kate as a nurse allowed her to get into the action in a few shows, she was not just home waiting dinner for Sam Melville. They were like a lot of young marrieds then and now, struggling to maintain a two income household and both with stressful occupations.

The Rookies were not supercops, they were young and inexperienced and made mistakes out there. Those mistakes became the basis of many a story line. But under Gerald S. O'Loughlin's wise tutelage they weren't Rookies when the series ended its run.

Hey anyone interested seasons 3 and 4 are now on YouTube under Executive Decision.

I'm so glad to say that this summer on August 7, 2012 Shout Factory is releasing The Rookies Season 2 on DVD. It's been a good number of years since Season 1 but the waiting is finally going to be over! Season 2 has some great episodes that I still remember. Such episodes are "Cauldron" which puts both officers Terry and Willie in the hands of a madman who leaves them both stranded in the desert without any hope of being rescued. There's also "Time Lock" about a bank robber who holds Terry Webster and 3 female bankers hostage inside the bank. There are other episodes that I can't think of right now but I know are some great ones. So, let's enjoy the second season and hope that the remaining seasons 3 and 4 can also be released!

nelson cruz