History Series / TheRookies

''The Rookies'' is a CrimeAndPunishmentSeries that aired on Creator/{{ABC}} from 1972 to 1976. It was the first production from Spelling-Goldberg productions, and was produced by Creator/AaronSpelling and Leonard Goldberg[[note]]Goldberg had previously been a censor at ABC, where he met Spelling and cut him some breaks with regard to content on ''Series/BurkesLaw'', which Spelling was producing for Creator/FourStarTelevision at that time. He then became an executive for Creator/ScreenGems before joining up with Spelling.[[/note]] and created by William Blinn.

A pilot film aired as a Movie of the Week in early 1972. It focused on five rookie cops for the LCPD, Jared Whitman (Robert F. Lyons), Terry Webster (Creator/GeorgStanfordBrown), Mike Danko (Creator/SamMelville), Willie Gillis (Creator/MichaelOntkean) and Kevin Lassiter (Creator/JeffPomerantz), who were under the tutelage of tough Sgt. Eddie Ryker (Creator/DarrenMcGavin). Also featured were Mike's wife Jill Danko (Creator/JenniferBillingsley) and Kevin's wife Molly (Davey Davison). These five men were put through rigorous training and eventually thrown into a real-life situation involving a sniper.

This being an Aaron Spelling series, there were an awful lot of 'personal episodes', in addition to the crime solving (Willie facing possible paralysis, Terry facing the possibility of blindness, pregnant Jill being shot by a sniper and losing the baby, even Ryker struggling with the possibility that a kidnapped girl they're searching for just might be the daughter he gave up for adoption years before).

Off-camera, the actors looked at the show somewhat differently. Georg Stanford Brown wondered if he was properly portraying a cop...was he doing his best to portray a police officer in a positive light? Conversely, Michael Ontkean was only concerned with what the series could do for his acting career. The disgruntled actor left the series (and acting, temporarily) at the end of the second season.

Do not confuse this with the [[Film/TheRookies 2019 spy parody film with the same title]].

* SerialKiller: Jack Lambo, in the episode "An Ugly Way to Die", is a killer who is after firefighters with mustaches. His motivation is that a fire truck collided with his family, killing his wife and kids, and the fire truck driver had a mustache.

* OneWordTitle: "Commitment","Crossfire", "Vendetta", "Angel" and "Cliffy".

* OneWordTitle: "Commitment","Vendetta", "Angel" and "Cliffy".

* ImpersonatingAnOfficer: Don Richardson, a police academy dropout, takes to posing as a cop to shake down honest businessmen, in the episode "Dead, Like a Lost Dream".

The series could be described as a cross between ''Series/TheModSquad'' (another Spelling-produced series, which was on its last legs at the time) and ''Series/AdamTwelve''. The men were young idealists like the trio in ''Mod Squad'' and also young uniformed cops. Unlike Captain Greer on ''Mod Squad'', Ryker was hardly a benevolent father figure, but a stern taskmaster trying his best to forge his charges into serviceable officers. He felt that trying to handle dangerous situations peacefully, which the guys were always trying to do, could result in dead cops, or worse, dead civilians. He realized that no officer likes to pull their guns out, but at times, it's a necessity.

* AbsenteeActor: Gerald S. O'Loughlin does not appear in the episode he directed, "A Time to Mourn".
** Kate Jackson does not appear in "Dead Heat" or "Shadow of a Man". Sam Melville might as well not be in the latter episode, as he only appears for a couple of minutes at the end and has no lines whatsoever.

* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Como in "The Shield", after Terry has found the real killer and cleared him, complains that he's now a marked man because Terry had to play hero.

* DrivenToSuicide: Professional assassin Wolfe Bardett, in the episode "Reluctant Hero", chooses to leap off a building to his death, rather than be captured by the cops.

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---->'''Terry''': What do you want from me, huh? What do you want me to do? You steal, you push dope to kids, you pimp, you rape, and if none of that works, you can always hold a gun to someone's head and make them beg for their lives? I don't feel nothin' for you, Como, so come on, take a walk!

* ShoutOut: In the episode "A Test of Courage", writer Rick Husky included a character named Esposito. This is a shout-out to Joe Esposito, who was a member of Music/ElvisPresley's 'Memphis Mafia', just like Husky. The episode also features characters named Jerry Schilling and Sonny West, two more Mafia members.

A pilot film aired as a Movie of the Week in early 1972. It focused on five rookie cops for the LCPD, Jared Whitman (Robert F. Lyons), Terry Webster (Creator/GeorgStanfordBrown), Mike Danko (Sam Melville), Willie Gillis (Michael Ontkean) and Kevin Lassiter (Jeff Pomerantz), who were under the tutelage of tough Sgt. Eddie Ryker (Creator/DarrenMcGavin). Also featured were Mike's wife Jill Danko (Jennifer Billingsley) and Kevin's wife Molly (Davey Davison). These five men were put through rigorous training and eventually thrown into a real-life situation involving a sniper.

Off-camera, the actors looked at the show somewhat differently. Georg Stanford Brown wondered if he was properly portraying a cop...was he doing his best to portray a police officer in a positive light? Conversely, Michael Ontkean was only concerned with what the series could do for his acting career. With that in mind, it seems safe to say that no tears were shed when he left the series (and acting, temporarily) at the end of the second season.

---->'''Terry''': What do you want from me, huh? What do you want me to do? You steal, you push dope to kids, you pimp, you rape, and if not of that works, you can always hold a gun to someone's head and make them beg for their lives? I don't feel nothin' for you, Como, so come on, take a walk!