The Rookies

The Rookies
Cast of the television program The Rookies. Standing, from left: Michael Ontkean (Willie Gillis), Sam Melville (Mike Danko), Georg Stanford Brown (Terry Webster). Seated: Gerald S. O'Loughlin (Eddie Ryker).
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
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	4
No. of episodes	94 (List of episodes)
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
Camera setup	Single-camera
Running time	45–48 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	ABC
Audio format	Monaural
Original run	September 11, 1972 (1972-09-11) – March 30, 1976 (1976-03-30)
Chronology
Related shows	S.W.A.T.

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 (SCPD).

History

The series began as an ABC Movie of the Week airing 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 that 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 features 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 centers around three rookie officers, Danko, Webster, and Gillis, and their superior officer/mentor, Lieutenant 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

Actor	Role
Georg Stanford Brown	Officer Terry Webster
Sam Melville	Officer Mike Danko
Michael Ontkean	Officer Willie Gillis
Kate Jackson	Jill Danko
Gerald S. O'Loughlin	Lieutenant Ed Ryker
Bruce Fairbairn	Officer Chris Owens

Notable guest stars

• Tyne Daly
• Robert Harland
• Cheryl Ladd
• William Shatner
• Lurene Tuttle
• Tony Young

Episodes

Main article: List of The Rookies episodes

Syndication

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

DVD releases

On July 17, 2007, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released the complete first season on DVD in Region 1 for the very first time.

On May 3, 2012, it was announced that Shout! Factory had acquired the rights to the series and will be releasing season 2 on August 7, 2012.

DVD Name	Ep #	Release Date
The Complete First Season	24	July 17, 2007
The Complete Second Season	23	August 7, 2012

External links

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