Genre: Police Procedural
On Air Date: September 21, 1968
Seasons: 1968-1975
Stars: Martin Milner, Kent McCord
About
Adam-12 was a very popular half hour police procedural, produced by Jack Webb’s Mark VII Limited Productions, which followed officers Pete Malloy (Martin Milner) and Jim Reed (Kent McCord) as they patrolled the streets of Central Los Angeles (or at least that is presumed by their patrol car’s designation, see below). The situations they encounter on their beat range from the serious to the mundane with a good bit of humor thrown in the mix. Originally airing on NBC from 1968-1975, Adam-12 is now seen on the NBC classic TV station, COZI-TV.
Location
According the the way police units were labeled in the Los Angeles police department, 1-Adam-12 was a unit from Division One (1) of the department which patrolled Central Los Angles. Adam represented the type of unit which was an automobile, hence the A for “Adam” designation. The number of the unit was represented by the number 12. Although the exploits seen on the show were to be from Division One (Central Division), the building used as a setting for the show was a new police building which housed Division Two (Rampart Divison) and that is also where many of the crimes they investigated took place, although many of the scenes were filmed throughout the San Fernando Valley.
Mark VII Limited
At the end of each episode of Adam 12, you will notice a hand bringing down a hammer on to of a stamp, imprinting a Roman numeral VII on a piece of metal. The words “Mark” and “Limited” superimposed below and above the VII. Unknown to most people, the hand on the hammer was that of Jack Webb’s construction foreman Harold C. Nyby. This stamp/hammer logo was the conclusion to not only Adam 12, but also for the shows Dragnet and Emergency, two other series also produced by Mark VII Limited. These three shows which aired from 1967-1977 were intertwined ways other than that of having the same producers and creators (Jack Webb and R.A. Cindar). The location of each show was Los Angeles and characters from Adam-12 were seen on Dragnet at times and Emergency actors were seen on Adam-12. In a new re-make of Dragnet (which would’ve been it’s third TV incarnation) scheduled for 1982, Kent McCord was set to play a character alongside Jack Webb. Unfortunately, Jack Webb passed away before the show could start production.
The Only Adam-12 Negative
When this GleeStreet writer was in kindergarten, Adam-12 was my favorite show in the world. This was an NBC show that was MUST SEE TV in my world before that slogan became popularized in the early 1990s. So I was heartbroken as a little kid when Adam-12 was shifted to a new night with a later time for the 1970-1971 season. The new air-time was past my bedtime. I wrote NBC (of course with help from my mom) protesting the new time change. In return, NBC sent me a letter apologizing for the time change and my inability to continue watching the show and autographed pictures of Martin Milner and Kent McCord. Those pictures hung on the red felt bulletin board in my bedroom for years. And believe it or not, the next season of Adam-12 moved to a new night and a new time, an earlier time 🙂
Your thoughts
Did you watch Adam-12 when it originally aired on NBC from 1968-1975? Or have you come to love Adam-12 during its run in syndication? Who is your favorite actor, Milner or McCord? Where else have you seen Martin Milner? He was quite the prolific actor.
Thanks for your time here on GleeStreet.com.
