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The Rookies
Genre	Crime drama
Created by	Rita Lakin
Starring	Georg Stanford Brown Sam Melville Michael Ontkean Kate Jackson Gerald S. O'Loughlin
Theme music composer	Elmer Bernstein
Composer(s)	Elmer Bernstein Robert Drasnin Jack Elliott Allyn Ferguson Paul Glass Shorty Rogers George Romanis Laurence Rosenthal Mark Snow
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
No. of seasons	4
No. of episodes	92
Production
Executive producer(s)	Leonard Goldberg Aaron Spelling
Producer(s)	Paul Junger Witt Hal Sitowitz
Editor(s)	James Baiotto Leon Carrere Richard Malek
Cinematography	Archie R. Dalzell Dennis Dalzell
Running time	60 mins.
Broadcast
Original channel	ABC
Original run	September 11, 1972 – March 30, 1976
Chronology
Related shows	S.W.A.T.

The Rookies is an American crime drama series that aired on ABC from 1972 until 1976. It followed the exploits of three rookie police officers in an unidentified city for the fictitious Southern California Police Department (SCPD).

History

The series began as a made-for-television movie that aired on March 7, 1972 which also served as the pilot for the series. The success of Joseph Wambaugh's book, The New Centurions, as well as NBC's ratings success with Adam-12, had sparked interest at the time in a more realistic depiction and storytelling of the typical uniformed police officer. Although various incidents during the late 1960s and early 1970s, particularly in California, had sparked controversy and negative feelings towards police officers in general, The Rookies tried to better humanize the character of a police officer and show the struggles new, younger men and women (who were often Vietnam-era military veterans and/or college graduates) faced in their lives as law enforcement persons sworn to serve and protect the public. This 'new breed' of cop was a main theme, especially in the early years of the series.

The TV movie featured five rookies newly arrived at a police academy in southern California: cadets Jared Whitman (Robert F. Lyons), Kevin Lassiter (Jeff Pomerantz), Mike Danko (Sam Melville), William "Willie" Gillis (Michael Ontkean), and Terry Webster (Georg Stanford Brown), all coming from different backgrounds including the military, college, and social work. The cadets' training sergeant was Eddie Ryker, played by Darren McGavin. (In the series, Sgt. Ryker had been recently promoted to lieutenant and was played by Gerald S. O'Loughlin.) The character of Jill Danko also appeared in the movie pilot, but was played by another actress, Jennifer Billingsley, and the part was recast for the series with Kate Jackson as Jill Danko, a registered nurse.

Synopsis

The Rookies TV series centered around three rookie officers, Danko, Webster, and Gillis, and their superior officer/mentor, Lt. Ryker. The show was produced by Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg. Each episode showcased highly dramatized versions of police cases and activities, often intertwined with the off-duty lives of the officers and their significant others. Mike Danko was the only rookie in the series who was married. Although filmed in and around Los Angeles, the actual setting of the show was kept deliberately vague, and, in a TV Guide article about the show, "SCPD" was said to stand for "Southern California Police Department."

After the second season, the character of Willie Gillis was replaced (Ontkean left the show over complaints in the story writing) with a new rookie, Chris Owens, played by Bruce Fairbairn. During the series' third season, a two part episode (entitled "S.W.A.T.") aired on February 17, 1975 and served as the pilot for the spin-off series S.W.A.T.

Cast

Syndication and DVD release

The series was last seen in reruns on TV Land in 2003, but only episodes from the first two seasons were shown.

On July 17, 2007, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released The Rookies - The Complete First Season, on Region 1 DVD in the United States.

Related Facts

• A similar storyline was used over 10 years later for the making of another TV show pilot, originally titled The Protectors, but later changed to T.J. Hooker starring William Shatner as a police patrol sergeant who mentored younger officers. Shatner also appeared in one episode of The Rookies as veteran police officer Luke Harris.
• Rick Husky, who wrote and produced other Aaron Spelling TV shows like T.J. Hooker, wrote several episodes of The Rookies.
• Georg Stanford Brown was married to actress Tyne Daly during his tenure on The Rookies. Daly appeared in some of the episodes of The Rookies, including one directed by her husband.
• In addition to playing Kate Jackson's husband on the show, Sam Melville also played the ex-husband of Kate Jackson on her show Scarecrow and Mrs. King.
• Willie and Terry's radio call sign for their patrol car was "Ludlo-9." Mike's was "Redlo-7."
• The series marks the beginning of Kate Jackson's career with Aaron Spelling shows. The season following the end of The Rookies, she went on to star in Charlie's Angels for its first three seasons (1976-1979).
• In season one, the wardrobe was furnished by The Gap.
• Robert Harland, formerly on ABC's Target: The Corruptors! appeared four times in 1973-1974 on The Rookies in the role of Sergeant Older. Harland also wrote two episodes of the series.

External links

• The Rookies at the Internet Movie Database
• The Rookies at TV.com
• The Rookies at epguides.com