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TV series

The Rookies

19724 seasons6.9 / 10

The Rookies is an American crime drama series that aired on ABC from 1972 until 1976. It follows the exploits of three rookie police officers working in an unidentified city for the fictitious Southern California Police Department.

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Checked Sep 3, 2026

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Synopsis

The Rookies is an American crime drama series that aired on ABC from 1972 until 1976. It follows the exploits of three rookie police officers working in an unidentified city for the fictitious Southern California Police Department.

Season 4 episodes

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Episode 1

Lamb to the Slaughter

1h

When burglar Brad Gifford is arrested, his cop-hating, now orphaned son, Jody, is taken to Lambert Hall where he is befriended by Ryker, a former orphan himself. Jody is just beginning to trust and like Ryker when his father, aided by Augie Baker and P.G. Larkan, escapes custody and comes for him. Ryker is taken hostage. The group is traced down by Mike and Terry. In the resulting shootout, Augie is killed, P.G. arrested, and Brad Gifford is mortally wounded. Jody is taken back to the home where he is given foster parents, and a new life.

Episode credits

Directed by William CrainGuest stars Matthew Labyorteaux, Tom Atkins

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Episode 2

Reading Writing and Angel Dust

1h

After the tragic death of a bright high school student, the rookies put in a team effort to get the pushers off the school campus. They get some help from a pusher who is pretending to scorch for the source.

Episode credits

Guest stars Scott Jacoby, Beth Howland, Amy Irving, Dennis Erdman, Mitzi Hoag

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Episode 3

One-Way Street to Nowhere

1h

Mike is critically injured when he tries to capture the leader of a militant group and Terry is taken hostage.

Episode credits

Directed by Georg Stanford BrownGuest stars Michael Parks, Ayn Ruymen

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Episode 4

Someone Who Cares

1h

An unidentified nine-year-old girl is accidentally hit by a car after two hedonistic ""swinging single"" men spike her lunch with narcotics. Before she dies, she begs Terry for help. Terry, reluctant to let her die a Jane Doe, investigates.

Episode credits

Directed by Ivan DixonGuest stars Michael Cristofer

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Episode 5

Ladies Day (a.k.a.) Ladies Kill, Too

1h

Jill is working in a womens prison, fighting an outbreak of diphtheria. In order to protest for better food and working conditions, inmates take Jill Danko and Dr. Malcolm hostage.

Episode credits

Directed by Fernando LamasGuest stars René Enríquez, Laurie Walters, Fran Ryan, Barbara Stuart, Marki Bey

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Episode 6

Reign of Terror

1h

Young crooks Pat Stevens and Glen Barton rob ticket agent Brewster and shoot rookie Chris. The scene is witnessed by mailman Charlie Brooks, who is adamant about not getting involved. Eventually his wife, Nadine, and daughter, Stacy, encourage him to cooperate with the rookies, and finally, the criminals are apprehended.

Episode credits

Directed by Fernando LamasGuest stars Raymond St. Jacques, Jared Martin

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Episode 7

Death Lady

1h

A female officer is blamed for her partner's death during a jewelry store robbery. With her new partner, Mike, she sets out to solve the crime and prove her worth to the police department.

Episode credits

Guest stars Katherine Helmond, Paul Koslo, Susanne Benton, Dave Shelley

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Episode 8

Measure of Mercy

1h

The rookies must investigate a robbery at Memorial Hospital. The blood bank was robbed and its contents sold to the black market, leaving an infant at the hospital on the critical list.

Episode credits

Guest stars George D. Wallace, Didi Conn, Cleavon Little, Anne Bloom, Fritzi Burr, Harold Gould, Martin Kove

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Episode 9

A Time to Mourn

1h

Chris' sister makes a surprise visit on her brother. He is suspended after conducting an unauthorized bust of the man who molested her.

Episode credits

Directed by Gerald S. O'LoughlinGuest stars Season Hubley, Bill Quinn, Philip Bruns, Richard Stahl, Sarah Cunningham, James Woods, Anthony Charnota

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Episode 10

The Torch Man

1h

An ex-convict, out on parole, desperately wants to go straight, but is sought after by his ex-cellmates to use his safe-cracking abilities in a robbery.

Episode credits

Directed by Georg Stanford BrownGuest stars Pepe Serna, Jack DeLeon, Victor Brandt, Charles Napier, Doug McGrath, Nora Heflin

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Episode 11

Invitation to a Rumble

1h

Terry is run down by a car driven by the leader of a street gang in his old neighborhood. When one of the members of the gang is overheard calling for an ambulance, he is forced to kill Terry or he will be killed by the gang for betrayal.

Episode credits

Directed by George McCowanGuest stars John Calvin, Ian Sander

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Episode 12

Reluctant Hero

1h

A rookie accidentally overpowers a professional assassin and is named ""hero"". The assassin vows to kill the rookie and escapes with Jill as a hostage, offering to exchange her for the rookie.

Episode credits

Directed by Fernando LamasGuest stars Bert Remsen, Jack Colvin, Chuck Hayward, John Ritter

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Episode 13

Dead Heat

1h

Chris and Terry have their patrol car stolen by teenage vandals while investigating a major robbery in a department store and three heavily armed killers trap them there.

Episode credits

Guest stars Michael Lembeck, Reni Santoni, Roger E. Mosley

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Episode 14

The Voice of Thunder

1h

After a series of Sunday bombings of porno bookshops and massage parlors sweep the city, Chris and Terry recognize the same girl, at the scene of each incident. The dangerously schizophrenic top fashion model believes she is being instructed by a supreme being.

Episode credits

Guest stars René Auberjonois, Henry Brandon, John Carradine, Gail Strickland, John Zaremba

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Episode 15

The Code Five Affair

1h

The rookies stake out an abandoned factory where a heroin deal is about to take place, and are able to seize the drugs and arrest all but one man. This man must get the heroin back from the police.

Episode credits

Guest stars Jaclyn Smith, Anthony Eisley

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Episode 16

Shadow of a Man

1h

Forest, a tough career cop, takes $10,000 from the scene of a robbery after his partner is killed by the robbers. Lt. Ryker puts an undercover investigator on the case to retrieve the money.

Episode credits

Directed by Fernando LamasGuest stars Linda Marsh, Linda Thompson, Patsy Garrett, John Aprea, Ned Beatty

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Episode 17

Eye for an Eye

1h

A man who was forced to spend eighteen years in prison for a crime he did not commit is determined to get the men who framed him.

Episode credits

Directed by William CrainGuest stars Robert Lansing, Antony Carbone, Bert Freed, Inga Swenson, Cliff Osmond

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Episode 18

Sudden Death (a.k.a.) Return from the Past

1h

Mike, a former helicopter pilot in Vietnam, becomes the prey of a deranged ex-POW who blames the policeman for his capture by the Vietcong.

Episode credits

Guest stars Thom Christopher

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Episode 19

From Out of the Darkness

1h

Terry vows to find the murderer of Dan Kennedy, a retired cop turned security guard. Dan was the father of a blind girl, Terry's former girlfriend.

Episode credits

Directed by Randal KleiserGuest stars Sally Kirkland, Tyne Daly, Michael Forest, Keenan Wynn, Craig Richard Nelson

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Episode 20

The Mugging

1h

After a woman is fatally assaulted by three junkies, her son, a doctor in the same hospital where Jill works, announces his intention to get revenge against the three, who were released from jail on a technicality.

Episode credits

Directed by Richard BenedictGuest stars John Rubinstein, Stephen Davies

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Episode 21

Blue Movie, Blue Death

1h

The rookies are given undercover assignments in order to smash a syndicate-owned porno film company responsible for the deaths of some of its actors.

Episode credits

Guest stars Richard Benedict, William Boyett, James Hong, Raymond Guth

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Episode 22

Deliver Me From Innocence

1h

A frightened sixteen-year-old boy is forced to take the blame for the crimes of a junkie he has become mixed up with. The two had committed a burglary and escaped after killing a cop. The boy is Terry's current girlfriend's brother.

Episode credits

Directed by Richard BenedictGuest stars Kevin Hooks, Phillip Pine, Victor Brandt, Joseph Mell, Marlene Clark

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Episode 23

Journey to Oblivion

1hfinale

A gambler kills his creditor and is witnessed by Jill Danko whom he and his accomplice must now do away with. Another episode dedicated to nurse Jill Danko. In this episode Jill bears a big resemblance to her later character Sabrina Duncan.

Episode credits

Directed by Georg Stanford BrownGuest stars Marc Singer, Marc Lawrence, Geoffrey Lewis, Biff McGuire

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Episode information updated Sep 20, 2026

More about The Rookies

Cast

Georg Stanford BrownTerry Webster
Sam MelvilleMike Danko
Michael OntkeanWillie Gillis
Bruce FairbairnChris Owens
Kate JacksonJill Danko
Gerald S. O'LoughlinLt. Ed Ryker
Joseph Bernard
Scott Jacoby

Credits

Created by
Rita Lakin
Written by
William Blinn, Robert Hamner, Daniel B. Ullman, Larry Brody, William Douglas Lansford, Rance Howard, Hoke Howell

Production details

Status
Canceled
Series type
Scripted
Episodes
93
Original language
English

Networks & production

  • ABCUnited States