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The Rookies

1972

Seasons & Episodes

  • 4
  • 3
  • 2
  • 1
  • 0

EP1 Lamb to the Slaughter Sep 09, 1975

When burglar Brad Gifford is arrested, his cop-hating, now orphaned son, Jody, is taken to Lambert Hall where he is befriended by Ryker, a former orphan himself. Jody is just beginning to trust and like Ryker when his father, aided by Augie Baker and P.G. Larkan, escapes custody and comes for him. Ryker is taken hostage. The group is traced down by Mike and Terry. In the resulting shootout, Augie is killed, P.G. arrested, and Brad Gifford is mortally wounded. Jody is taken back to the home where he is given foster parents, and a new life.

EP2 Reading Writing and Angel Dust Sep 16, 1975

After the tragic death of a bright high school student, the rookies put in a team effort to get the pushers off the school campus. They get some help from a pusher who is pretending to scorch for the source.

EP3 One-Way Street to Nowhere Sep 23, 1975

Mike is critically injured when he tries to capture the leader of a militant group and Terry is taken hostage.

EP4 Someone Who Cares Sep 30, 1975

An unidentified nine-year-old girl is accidentally hit by a car after two hedonistic ""swinging single"" men spike her lunch with narcotics. Before she dies, she begs Terry for help. Terry, reluctant to let her die a Jane Doe, investigates.

EP5 Ladies Day (a.k.a.) Ladies Kill, Too Oct 07, 1975

Jill is working in a womens prison, fighting an outbreak of diphtheria. In order to protest for better food and working conditions, inmates take Jill Danko and Dr. Malcolm hostage.

EP6 Reign of Terror Oct 14, 1975

Young crooks Pat Stevens and Glen Barton rob ticket agent Brewster and shoot rookie Chris. The scene is witnessed by mailman Charlie Brooks, who is adamant about not getting involved. Eventually his wife, Nadine, and daughter, Stacy, encourage him to cooperate with the rookies, and finally, the criminals are apprehended.

EP7 Death Lady Oct 21, 1975

A female officer is blamed for her partner's death during a jewelry store robbery. With her new partner, Mike, she sets out to solve the crime and prove her worth to the police department.

EP8 Measure of Mercy Oct 28, 1975

The rookies must investigate a robbery at Memorial Hospital. The blood bank was robbed and its contents sold to the black market, leaving an infant at the hospital on the critical list.

EP9 A Time to Mourn Nov 04, 1975

Chris' sister makes a surprise visit on her brother. He is suspended after conducting an unauthorized bust of the man who molested her.

EP10 The Torch Man Nov 11, 1975

An ex-convict, out on parole, desperately wants to go straight, but is sought after by his ex-cellmates to use his safe-cracking abilities in a robbery.

EP11 Invitation to a Rumble Nov 18, 1975

Terry is run down by a car driven by the leader of a street gang in his old neighborhood. When one of the members of the gang is overheard calling for an ambulance, he is forced to kill Terry or he will be killed by the gang for betrayal.

EP12 Reluctant Hero Nov 25, 1975

A rookie accidentally overpowers a professional assassin and is named ""hero"". The assassin vows to kill the rookie and escapes with Jill as a hostage, offering to exchange her for the rookie.

EP13 Dead Heat Dec 02, 1975

Chris and Terry have their patrol car stolen by teenage vandals while investigating a major robbery in a department store and three heavily armed killers trap them there.

EP14 The Voice of Thunder Dec 09, 1975

After a series of Sunday bombings of porno bookshops and massage parlors sweep the city, Chris and Terry recognize the same girl, at the scene of each incident. The dangerously schizophrenic top fashion model believes she is being instructed by a supreme being.

EP15 The Code Five Affair Dec 16, 1975

The rookies stake out an abandoned factory where a heroin deal is about to take place, and are able to seize the drugs and arrest all but one man. This man must get the heroin back from the police.

EP16 Shadow of a Man Dec 23, 1975

Forest, a tough career cop, takes $10,000 from the scene of a robbery after his partner is killed by the robbers. Lt. Ryker puts an undercover investigator on the case to retrieve the money.

EP17 Eye for an Eye Dec 30, 1975

A man who was forced to spend eighteen years in prison for a crime he did not commit is determined to get the men who framed him.

EP18 Sudden Death (a.k.a.) Return from the Past Jan 06, 1976

Mike, a former helicopter pilot in Vietnam, becomes the prey of a deranged ex-POW who blames the policeman for his capture by the Vietcong.

EP19 From Out of the Darkness Jan 20, 1976

Terry vows to find the murderer of Dan Kennedy, a retired cop turned security guard. Dan was the father of a blind girl, Terry's former girlfriend.

EP20 The Mugging Jan 27, 1976

After a woman is fatally assaulted by three junkies, her son, a doctor in the same hospital where Jill works, announces his intention to get revenge against the three, who were released from jail on a technicality.

EP21 Blue Movie, Blue Death Feb 24, 1976

The rookies are given undercover assignments in order to smash a syndicate-owned porno film company responsible for the deaths of some of its actors.

EP22 Deliver Me From Innocence Mar 02, 1976

A frightened sixteen-year-old boy is forced to take the blame for the crimes of a junkie he has become mixed up with. The two had committed a burglary and escaped after killing a cop. The boy is Terry's current girlfriend's brother.

EP23 Journey to Oblivion Mar 30, 1976

A gambler kills his creditor and is witnessed by Jill Danko whom he and his accomplice must now do away with. Another episode dedicated to nurse Jill Danko. In this episode Jill bears a big resemblance to her later character Sabrina Duncan.
6.8| 0h30m| en
Synopsis

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

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Trailers & Clips

Also starring Bruce Fairbairn

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Reviews

Wordiezett So much average
ShangLuda Admirable film.
TrueHello Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.
Nayan Gough A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.
nelson-cruz 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
nashbridges333 Excellent show! The 70's was not only the best time for television but especially for the police shows. I hope it comes out on dvd as S.W.A.T did. You have to remember that this is an older show & we loved it back then. To watch it now would bring back memories of childhood & how much we waited to see it every week. To me, that is what the Rookies is all about.
fivefids I agree with the reviewer who said "It doesn't hold up." Very true - it is dated. I loved this series when it was on so when I saw that TVLand was airing it again I had to watch a couple of episodes. It's an enjoyable look back but that's about it. The stories don't hold up and this notion that 3 young officers and one young nurse can crack and solve all the crimes in their metropolis is pure folly. It shows us where we were as a society in the early 70s and makes me happy that we have moved beyond that! It is still better than any of the garbage that network TV has offered in the 80s and beyond. Check out the December 1974 issue of MAD magazine for a great spoof on this series! I reread that issue of MAD again after watching TVLand and it hits the nail right on the head regarding several aspects of this show!
Larry-98 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.