"Adam-12" depicts professional and compassionate police work that's based on actual police cases in the LA area. The main characters, officers Pete Malloy and Jim Reed, are well-developed through the series with screenplays that present a good balance of action, human interest, and humor that engages you with the sincerity of the two men and how they carry out their duties. I love the way Reed and Malloy sometimes tease each other. The fact that Reed is a married man and Malloy a happy bachelor creates plenty of opportunities for humorous jabs. At the same time, the two actors adeptly portray officers that clearly have a great deal of respect for each other, for the public, and for their jobs.
Equally enjoyable are the vintage scenes of LA, with the 70s cars, mild traffic, unimproved lots, uncrowded public areas, grubby beer joints, greasy spoons, and depictions 70s fashions that are sometimes lovably corny, as in the portrayal of long-haired hippy troublemakers with their headbands and mod vests.
In spite of the crime and suffering depicted, the series conveys the comfort of simpler times when criminal behavior didn't seem so deeply engrained in American culture that two hardworking, upright officers couldn't make a difference.
Equally enjoyable are the vintage scenes of LA, with the 70s cars, mild traffic, unimproved lots, uncrowded public areas, grubby beer joints, greasy spoons, and depictions 70s fashions that are sometimes lovably corny, as in the portrayal of long-haired hippy troublemakers with their headbands and mod vests.
In spite of the crime and suffering depicted, the series conveys the comfort of simpler times when criminal behavior didn't seem so deeply engrained in American culture that two hardworking, upright officers couldn't make a difference.