ADAM 12

Adam 12 was the story of two Los Angeles Police Department officers and the daily struggles they faced on the job. In the pilot episode 7-year-veteran officer Pete Malloy (Martin Milner) is about ready to retire after the death of his partner when he is convienced to help with rookie Officer Jim Reed (Kent McCord). The show is considered by some to be a spin-off of Dragnet. It was produced by Jack Webb’s Mark VII Limited Productions.
Just like Dragnet, the show used real cases from the LAPD case files. Webb’s shows were known to show realistic police situations and proceedures right down to the proper way to handcuff a suspect. In fact, episodes of Dragnet and Adam 12 have been used for training purposes in police acadamies. Whether its the handcuffing method or the proper proceedure for field interviews it was correct down to the smallest detail.
The show was known for its storylines based around the officers and the people they come into contact with. It didn’t rely on fancy car chases like most police dramas of the day.
It ran from September 21, 1968 to August 30, 1975 and remains one of the best police dramas ever. By the way…”One Adam 12″ as they would say on the police radio was code. “one” referred to the officers division number, ADAM meant it was a two man patrol and 12 was their patrol area.
The famous line of “One Adam 12, One Adam 12, see a man about a……” will alwys bring to mind the men of the LAPD with badge numbers 744 and 2430.