Adam-12 - Season One (1968)

Dragnet creator-star Jack Webb's imprimatur is all over this first full season (1968) of Adam-12, a consistently entertaining look at the on-the-job lives of a couple of Los Angeles patrol officers. No surprise there: Webb co-created and produced Adam-12 as well (he also directed the first episode) and his sensibility--square, old-fashioned, low on frills-- imbues the 26 episodes included in this set.

Martin Milner stars as Pete Malloy, a veteran cop whose new partner (following the death of the previous one) is Jim Reed (Kent McCord), a rookie who's more than a little wet behind the ears. The show follows them as they make the rounds in their police black & white, dealing with all manner of circumstances, from the mundane (traffic violations, petty domestic disputes, noise complaints) to the monstrous (murder, drugs, child abuse, suicide). Each about 25 minutes long, the episodes chronicle the quotidian vicissitudes of these men in uniform, as opposed to the detectives, forensic experts, lawyers, and such who populate today's cop shows. Whatever the storyline, the tone is fairly tame, with none of the graphic violence common to later cop shows. And while the '65 Watts riots had already taken place, Rodney King, the Rampart scandal, and numerous other ugly events were far in the future. Thus Adam-12 evinces little or none of the now-vast divide (most of it racially based) that exists between the LAPD and much of the community; on this show, the cops are the good guys, without much nuance (which helps explain its popularity with real police officers). That's certainly not all bad; Adam-12's realism (for its time) and lack of pretension are refreshing, and the show is looser and not nearly as humorless as Dragnet. The packaging is as basic as the show itself--there are no extras whatsoever, with two double-sided discs containing all 26 episodes. --Sam Graham

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Good clean entertainment

Adam-12 was one of my family's favorites when I was a kid, and it's as good today. Oh, maybe it's not as "real" as some of the junk being put out today. But then again, I don't look to Hollywood for a picture of reality.

TV is nice for some occasional entertainment, and Adam-12 is a good one to plug in from time to time. August 25, 2008

Adam-12, A-1 TV Series, No problems with DVD's

A great Television Series that you can't find on TV anymore. Just recieved and watched Season 1 and the quality of the DVD's was great. I had no problem whatsoever with any of the episodes and the picture, color, and sound was excellent. No problems as reported by other customers as I watched them on my Toshiba HD Upconvert DVD Player. I'am looking forward to Season 2 being released on September 30,2008 and hope seasons 3-7 will be released in a timely manner as well in the future. June 30, 2008

Season 2 IS COMING (YEEHAH)

Universal (and other labels) have been shopping their catalogue of shows so others can sell the shows that were stalled on DVD. Adam-12 was one of the first picked up & season 2 will be out in September. Hopefully Dragnet, McCloud, Simon & Simon, Kojak will soon follow. May 31, 2008

Great But Bad DVD

This is the 3rd tv dvd box set i have bought from universal that freezes.Now the picture and sound quality is excellent but when you get to about the 3rd episode on disc 1 as usual it freezes.This is total BS from Universal who should make good on this but as always i e-mail them and no response.Same problem with Dragnet and Rockford Files.Universal should be liable for this!Very dissappointed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! May 25, 2008

Family Favorite

This is one of our favorite shows to watch together as a family. When will Season Two be released? March 29, 2008

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