Adam 12

     "Adam 12" which ran for 8 seasons from the late 60's to the mid 70's, has never had the cultural impact that similar police procedurals such as "Dragnet" (which shares creator Jack Webb with Adam 12) have had, yet the show was certainly long running, and still well remembered. The show was added to Netflix along with a slew of others this past weekend.

     The pilot episode introduces us to the world through the eyes of Jim Reed, a brand new cadet on his first day on the job, being shown the ropes by Pete Malloy, who begins the episode saying that this will be his last day on the job. Even though Jim's lack of knowledge is a regular source of humor, the show still respects him as a character, and his proficiency for police work.

     So many years later with the genre of "realistic" police procedurals having changed so much, it's hard to take this show seriously. In many ways the show at this point seems like a parody of itself. The show doesn't seem to play for laughs very often, and yet I was often chuckling at Malloy's straight man character. In addition the many characters that the police come in contact with are eccentric. As a result the show's reputation for realism seems to have more to do with the show's attention to police detail and jargon. In fact the episode often felt weighted down by the constant facts that Malloy quizes Reed on, and by extension the audience.

     Because the show lacked a single story arc that spanned the entire episode it felt more like police vignettes. In fact, it was short as a 24 minute drama. The character development such as learning why Malloy was leaving the force comes out slowly, and kept me intrigued. The fast moving pace of the show, the interesting characters and what in retrospect feels like light hearted camp, make this show feel like a cute occasional diversion.

Conclusion: Middle of the queue