Log 152: A Dead Cop Can't Help Anyone

You may not like his character, he was written to be annoying and know-it-all, I get that; but at least, he gets the job done, unlike submissive and mostly useless Malloy & Reed! These 2 cops are about as useless as any Southern California cop since the 2000s. Anything not to do any police work. I don't know how many times they meet an old lady and say they can't get her money back or help in any way. (Wait: maybe that's the other Jack Webb show, Dragnet.)

Well the 2 shows are pretty much the same, except Reed is easy on the eyes (whoever made Malloy the "star"..??? Bad call!) but it's quite a boring show, the first time around, at least. If, like me, you've never watched it back when but you're used to good cops like Starsky & Hutch, it's a huge letdown. Sure S&H are fictitious cops and these right here are as close to any real life lazy cop as you'll encounter. The same with Webb and his "Friday" (Robinson Crusoe complex, anyone?!) cop.

That said, it's better than any of the crap on regular channels today, which I refuse to watch. But gawd, was Reed written like paint drying or what?! Boring AF, character. And Kent McCord does not add anything to make him more interesting. Stiff as a rock. Don't get me wrong, but go ahead and vote no till your finger is blue in the face, I like him but he's dull and boring. He never adds any oomph, any humor to his part, any slight hint of charm when he interacts with the ladies. I'm not asking for him to go all Jerry Lewis or Harvey Weinstein creepazoid, but com'on, man: give us something to look forward to when we watch.

That said, I know he was not just a pretty face: watch his Culver cop in Dragnet and shows the range of his acting. He was solid, he was good, I just need a bit more to keep my attention. There's no wild car chases here like in S&H (which I can do without, so that's not the problem) but how did this show last wthout something exciting at all?!

I don't get it. It's just a very dull show and here you have one character, Ed Wells and he gets a bad rap. I don't like the actor who plays him (physically nor personality) and I don't like Ed Wells cos he's written not to be liked and the actor does a good job to insure no one likes him over the stars of the show, but - beyond that - you gotta admit, he was the excitement of the show and he brought it! And anyone voting me down here would be lying if they'd say they'd prefer a Reed or a Malloy (or a Joe Friday for that matter) when calling the cops. You can have them: send me an Ed Wells any day, I know he'd take care of the perps for me. The others?? Limp biskit can't be bothered to do any police work. Keep them! 5/10 stars because I can't figure out any other way to express my displeasure without going any lower, because McCord had a good face and it's not his fault his character was written dumb as rocks and useless AF.

Jack Webb was a speaker at the services for Officer Gary Murakami, the first Asian LAPD Officer, perishing on duty 1 year earlier. Google it, in Memory of Officer Gary Murakami. Other remarkable notes; Ofcr. Murakami had just graduated from the Academy that Friday, celebrated over the weekend, and, it was his first call. His FIRST call. He was a casualty within his first hour on duty. I wonder why Jack Webb didn't stick more closely to the events. Wells would be the actual Senior Training officer who wasn't scratched by the shooter, and, did not receive recognition rightly so for the wrongful loose protocol he observed on the call, that failed to instruct Murakami of proper approach methods. Murakami was the real life hero who was hit and on the ground, that the two other arriving hero officers drove their car onto the lawn between him and the shooter and put him in the car, to rush to the hospital. They were decorated for the act and one of them, also having been hit, survived and served for decades later until fairly recently on the force.

Gary Murakami, Hero LAPD Officer. In your honor.

When I was in active duty I learned that the hotheads who rush in tend to be pretty short lived, and not really help anyone. Better to have a plan. The plan may not (and probably won't) survive the first encounter with the enemy but the act of planning allows you to adequately assess risks, resources, and options and thus greatly increase your chances.

Action first think later may be boring but it does better for everyone and for the long run. The Wells character may be a bit of a stereotype, but thinking like his exists. I for one am glad that in its first season Adam-12 made a point of making this point. Sure, as Harlan Ellison once said, I think, the real LAPD was nothing like Adam-12, but that is the story of TV. And in this case, I am thankful for that.

What makes Malloy such a good character is how seriously he takes his job as a police officer. He's seen his partner (Before Reed) get shot and die on the job and therefore knows the danger associated with it. Unfortunately, not every other policeman in his department knows that pain. In this episode he clashes with one such officer who is more reckless than conservative.

This is also the episode that introduces us to Ed Wells, A recurring character who is the closest thing to "Robo-cop" as the common man says. In this episode, Wells is called in as back-up for Malloy and hijacks the call and makes a clean bust but unnecessarily risks his life in the process, agitating Malloy and getting him in trouble with Sergeant MacDonald. But it's only a matter of time before Wells' luck runs out and Malloy's maturity saves the day.