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''T. J. Hooker'' is an American
police drama The police show, or police crime drama, is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of a police officer or department as the protagonist(s), as contrasted with other genres that focus on eithe ...
television program starring
William Shatner William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1965 debut as the captain of the starship USS Enterpri ...
in the title role as a 15-year veteran police sergeant. The series premiered as a mid-season replacement on March 13, 1982, on
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
and ran on the network until May 4, 1985. The show was then picked up for a further single season by
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...
. The supporting cast includes
Adrian Zmed Adrian George Zmed (born March 14, 1954) is an American actor, singer and television personality, noted for the roles of Johnny Nogerelli in ''Grease 2'' and Officer Vince Romano in the ''T.J. Hooker'' television series. Early life Zmed was bor ...
as rookie Officer Vince Romano; April Clough as Officer Vicki Taylor (Season 1 only), replaced by
Heather Locklear Heather Deen Locklear (born September 25, 1961) is an American actress famous for her role as Amanda Woodward on ''Melrose Place'' (1993–1999), for which she received four consecutive Golden Globe nominations for Best Actress – Television ...
as rookie Officer Stacy Sheridan (season 2 onwards); and
Richard Herd Richard Thomas Herd Jr. (September 26, 1932 – May 26, 2020) was an American actor, appearing in numerous supporting, recurring, and guest roles in television series and occasional film roles, from the 1970s to the 2010s. He was well known in th ...
as Captain Dennis Sheridan, portraying officers in the LCPD Academy Precinct of a fictional, unnamed California city. Toward the end of the show's second season,
James Darren James William Ercolani (born June 8, 1936) known by his stage name James Darren, is an American television and film actor, television director, and singer. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, he had notable starring and supporting roles in fi ...
became a regular cast member as Officer Jim Corrigan.


Plot

The background of Sergeant Thomas Jefferson "T. J." Hooker is that he, up until recently, was a plainclothes LCPD Detective Sergeant whose partner was killed in the line of duty while he and Hooker were trying to stop a bank robbery. An angry Hooker becomes motivated to rid the streets of criminals like those who murdered his partner. Thus, he decides the only way to do so is return to his former position as a uniformed patrolman. Hooker is a combat veteran of the Vietnam War, serving in U.S. Army Special Forces during the early years of the U.S.'s involvement in the war. In "The Protectors," the series'
pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...
/
TV movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...
, Hooker, back in uniform, trains a group of police academy recruits, including those played by Richard Lawson,
Brian Patrick Clarke Brian Patrick Clarke (born August 1, 1952) is an American actor. He has appeared in many television series and features. Early life Clarke was born in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Clarke, a punter, was a three-time varsity football letterwinn ...
,
Kelly Harmon Kelly Jean Harmon Miller ( Harmon; born November 9, 1948) is an American actress and model, best known for appearing in a series of television commercials for mints. She was a regular on the 1983 NBC series ''Bay City Blues'', playing the role ...
, and
Adrian Zmed Adrian George Zmed (born March 14, 1954) is an American actor, singer and television personality, noted for the roles of Johnny Nogerelli in ''Grease 2'' and Officer Vince Romano in the ''T.J. Hooker'' television series. Early life Zmed was bor ...
.
Hal Williams Halroy Candis Williams (born December 14, 1938) is an American actor, best known for his recurring roles as Police Officer Smith ("Smitty") on '' Sanford and Son'' (1972–1976), Harley Foster on ''The Waltons'' (1973-1980), and as the patriarch L ...
plays a senior officer, and
Richard Herd Richard Thomas Herd Jr. (September 26, 1932 – May 26, 2020) was an American actor, appearing in numerous supporting, recurring, and guest roles in television series and occasional film roles, from the 1970s to the 2010s. He was well known in th ...
makes a brief appearance as Captain Dennis Sheridan, Hooker's tough but understanding superior. During most of the series, Hooker is partnered with brash, sometimes hot-headed young rookie Vince Romano (played by Zmed). Romano is also a combat veteran of the Vietnam War, serving in the Army Infantry towards the end of U.S. ground forces involvement in the war. Hooker acts as his mentor both professionally and socially. The age difference generally being the key hook of the partnership, the pair quickly became fast friends and a good team. Outside of his work, Hooker is divorced as a result of his work putting a strain on his marriage, but he is friendly with his ex-wife Fran, a nurse. A ladies' man, Hooker is still trying to adjust to being single again.
Lee Bryant Lee Bryant (born August 31, 1945) is an American actress. She played a hysterical passenger in the 1980 film ''Airplane!'', reprising the role in the 1982 sequel. She also appeared as Sam Waterston's wife in the 1977 conspiracy thriller ''Capri ...
was the original actress to portray Fran; the part is later played by Leigh Christian. Hooker's tough, no-nonsense demeanor has him often clashing with station
Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
Sheridan (
Richard Herd Richard Thomas Herd Jr. (September 26, 1932 – May 26, 2020) was an American actor, appearing in numerous supporting, recurring, and guest roles in television series and occasional film roles, from the 1970s to the 2010s. He was well known in th ...
), but he always got the job done and was highly respected as a result. Working behind the desk at the police precinct, Vicki Taylor (April Clough) is a female officer who continually dodges pick-up attempts by Vince Romano. Introduced at the start of the second season was attractive Officer Stacy Sheridan (
Heather Locklear Heather Deen Locklear (born September 25, 1961) is an American actress famous for her role as Amanda Woodward on ''Melrose Place'' (1993–1999), for which she received four consecutive Golden Globe nominations for Best Actress – Television ...
), the daughter of Captain Sheridan, who attended the police academy. Initially brought in to replace Vicki, by the end of the season she had progressed to patrolling with Jim Corrigan (
James Darren James William Ercolani (born June 8, 1936) known by his stage name James Darren, is an American television and film actor, television director, and singer. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, he had notable starring and supporting roles in fi ...
), another veteran cop much in the mold of Hooker. From the third season onward, Hooker and Romano (Unit 4-Adam-30), and Stacy and Corrigan (Unit 4-Adam-16), usually worked closely together to tackle cases. The addition of Corrigan and Sheridan's partnership added an extra dimension to the show, sometimes with whole plots revolving around one or both of them. For the final season, the series moved from ABC to a late-night slot on
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...
. Along with the move, Adrian Zmed chose to leave the series to pursue other projects, leaving Hooker to patrol alone or to generally work as more of a trio with Stacy and Jim, often on undercover work. With its blend of humor mixed with "on the streets" grittiness, the show proved popular. The first season ranked 28th in the Nielsen ratings, but subsequent seasons failed to repeat the same level of success. The third season saw a slight revamp (including the theme music being rearranged into a more pop-driven version), with Corrigan set into place as Stacy's partner, and Captain Sheridan being dropped into the background (appearing as 'Special Guest Star' in just a few third and fourth-season episodes). The recurring character of Hooker's new boss, Lieutenant Pete O'Brien, portrayed by
Hugh Farrington Hugh Farrington (June 9, 1931 - August 7, 2001) was an American actor best known for his recurring role as Detective Lieutenant Pete O'Brien on the television series '' T. J. Hooker''. Farrington was injured while serving as an aviator in the Uni ...
, was added. Lt. O'Brien was a veteran detective who was wounded in the line of duty. The injuries put him in a wheelchair but he still worked complex investigations and supervised officers. The stories started drifting toward a more straightforward cops-and-robbers fare.


Cast

*
William Shatner William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1965 debut as the captain of the starship USS Enterpri ...
as Sergeant Thomas Jefferson "T. J." Hooker (Seasons 1-5) *
Adrian Zmed Adrian George Zmed (born March 14, 1954) is an American actor, singer and television personality, noted for the roles of Johnny Nogerelli in ''Grease 2'' and Officer Vince Romano in the ''T.J. Hooker'' television series. Early life Zmed was bor ...
as Officer Vincent "Vince" Romano (Seasons 1–4) * April Clough as Officer Vicki Taylor (Season 1) *
Heather Locklear Heather Deen Locklear (born September 25, 1961) is an American actress famous for her role as Amanda Woodward on ''Melrose Place'' (1993–1999), for which she received four consecutive Golden Globe nominations for Best Actress – Television ...
as Officer Stacy Sheridan (Seasons 2–5) *
Richard Herd Richard Thomas Herd Jr. (September 26, 1932 – May 26, 2020) was an American actor, appearing in numerous supporting, recurring, and guest roles in television series and occasional film roles, from the 1970s to the 2010s. He was well known in th ...
as Captain Dennis Sheridan (main cast Seasons 1–2, occasional special guest star Seasons 3–4) *
James Darren James William Ercolani (born June 8, 1936) known by his stage name James Darren, is an American television and film actor, television director, and singer. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, he had notable starring and supporting roles in fi ...
as Police Officer III Jim Corrigan (Seasons 2–5) *
Hugh Farrington Hugh Farrington (June 9, 1931 - August 7, 2001) was an American actor best known for his recurring role as Detective Lieutenant Pete O'Brien on the television series '' T. J. Hooker''. Farrington was injured while serving as an aviator in the Uni ...
as Detective Lieutenant Pete O'Brien (Seasons 3–5)


Production


Background

The series was created by
Rick Husky Rick Husky (born May 6, 1940) is an American television writer and producer perhaps best known for creating the television series ''T. J. Hooker''. Husky is also known for such television series as '' Mission: Impossible''; ''Charlie's Angels''; ...
who had also worked on ''
The Rookies ''The Rookies'' is an American police procedural 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 (SC ...
'' for
Aaron Spelling Aaron Spelling (April 22, 1923 June 23, 2006) was an American film and television producer and occasional actor. His productions included the TV series ''Family'' (1976–1980), '' Charlie's Angels'' (1976–1981), ''The Love Boat'' (1977–1986 ...
and
Leonard Goldberg Leonard J. Goldberg (January 24, 1934 – December 4, 2019) was an American film and television producer. He had his own production company, Panda Productions (formerly Mandy Films, and earlier Daydream Productions when he was working with Jerr ...
. The series was originally to be a reworking of that former cop show, this time called ''The Protectors''. After the pilot, it was decided to focus the series on William Shatner's character and retitle it ''T. J. Hooker''. The series initially set out to give a more "hands on", procedure-based view of police work than some of the more stylized cop shows of the 1970s and 1980s, evident in the very early episodes.


Setting

The LCPD Academy scenes were filmed at th
Los Angeles Police Department Academy
in Elysian Park. Though the series itself was produced in Burbank and filmed in the Los Angeles area, the setting was not disclosed throughout the show's entire run. Hooker and Romano's radio call sign for their "
black and white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...
" was "4-Adam-30", and radio calls were very similar to those of
Los Angeles Police Department The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...
, using three bursts of a 900 Hz tone, using LAPD-type radio codes, and the officers acknowledging with ''roger''.


Vehicles

Vehicles used In the first, second and up to the fourth episode of the third season, Hooker drove a '77-'78 Dodge Monaco police package but afterwards he started driving a '79-'81 Dodge St-Regis usually powered by the much more anemic 318 or 360 Cid V8 as opposed to the 440 Cid V8 Monaco! By the Fourth season,when Hooker and his team needed an unmarked cruiser, they usually rolled around in a '82-'83 light blue Dodge Diplomat or a '77-'78 burgundy red Dodge Monaco. Hooker's personal car for the duration of the series was a '74 blue Ford Torino sedan. Romano's car was a gold Datsun 280z and Corrigan's ride was a silver and red Jeep CJ-5.


Cancellation and revival

''T. J. Hooker'' was canceled by ABC in the summer of 1985 (the final episode was a proposed reworking of the series set in Chicago) but the series survived when CBS picked up the show and produced new episodes (still produced in Los Angeles) and one two-hour TV movie titled "Blood Sport". The new episodes were shown later at night as the first portion of the network's ''
CBS Late Night ''The CBS Late Movie'' is a CBS television series (later known as ''CBS Late Night'') during the 1970s and 1980s. The program ran in most American television markets from 11:30 p.m. ( ET/ PT) until 2:30 a.m. or later, on weeknights. A ...
'' program block, with each episode's runtime extended to 70 minutes (or one hour and ten minutes) to allow CBS affiliates time for increased availability for advertisements. The TV movie and the penultimate episode were both aired by CBS on May 21, 1986, with the finale one week later on May 28, 1986. The season was produced on a much smaller budget and reused action sequences from the previous seasons.


Episodes

William Shatner is the only actor to appear in every episode of the series. Heather Locklear appeared in the second-highest number of episodes, appearing in 84 of the 90 episodes, after joining the cast's second season.


Broadcast


US and international syndication

Starting in 2005, the
A&E Network A&E is an American basic cable network, the flagship television property of A&E Networks. The network was originally founded in 1984 as the Arts & Entertainment Network, initially focusing on fine arts, documentaries, television drama, dramas, and ...
re-broadcast the entire series, running one episode per weekday at 4:00 a.m. It is also available in a shortened format on
The Minisode Network The Minisode Network (later known as Crackle Minisodes) was a Sony Pictures Television internet television network launched in June 2007. The term ''minisode'' is a portmanteau of "mini" and "episode". Unlike webisodes, which are initially broadc ...
and full length episodes are available on
Crackle Crackle or crackling may refer to: Foods * Cracklings, the tissue remaining after lard and tallow have been extracted from animal fats ** Pork rinds in American English, pork scratchings in British English when served in small pieces as a snac ...
. The Universal HD Channel started airing episodes in September 2010. On October 9, 2010, the Sleuth network began a 24-hour T. J. Hooker marathon. In 2023, the
MeTV+ MeTV, an acronym for Memorable Entertainment Television, is an American broadcast television network owned by Weigel Broadcasting. Marketed as "The Definitive Destination for Classic TV", the network airs a variety of classic television progra ...
network began airing the program. In the United Kingdom, the show was originally broadcast by
ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
starting in April 1983. Most regions broadcast episodes at 7:45 p.m. on Saturday evenings, later in a similar Friday evening slot. Some regions gave it a slot on a different day (southern region TVS, for example, typically ran it on Tuesday evenings), and not all regions broadcast the entire series, with some areas not progressing beyond the third or fourth seasons. Some regions also broadcast the later episodes - particularly those concerning a more adult or violent nature - as part of the night-time line-up during the advent of 24-hour broadcasting in the later 1980s. In 2002,
Five 5 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 5, five or number 5 may also refer to: * AD 5, the fifth year of the AD era * 5 BC, the fifth year before the AD era Literature * ''5'' (visual novel), a 2008 visual novel by Ram * ''5'' (comics), an awa ...
ran the whole series through, in a weekday 11:00 a.m. slot. This run included every episode, although some were edited for content for the daytime slot. In 2009, digital channel
Quest A quest is a journey toward a specific mission or a goal. The word serves as a plot device in mythology and fiction: a difficult journey towards a goal, often symbolic or allegorical. Tales of quests figure prominently in the folklore of ever ...
aired the series on a daily basis, although they only hold the rights to show the first three seasons. On 11 November 2019, series 1 began broadcasting on
Sony Channel Sony Channel is a brand of general entertainment television channels, owned by Sony Pictures Television. It was previously known as Sony Entertainment Television (SET), but many of the channels, except the Indian television channel, were rebrand ...
. In Italy, the series started to air in 1983 on
Canale 5 Canale 5 () is an Italian free-to-air television channel of Mediaset, owned by MFE - MediaForEurope. It was the first private television network to have a national coverage in Italy in 1980. On 4 December 2012, Mediaset launched Canale 5 HD, a s ...
. After his first run, it was often repeated through the years: first on
Italia 1 Italia 1 (Italian pronunciation ) is an Italian free-to-air television channel on the Mediaset network, owned by MFE - MediaForEurope. It is oriented at both young and adult people. Italia 1 was launched on 3 January 1982 and, originally, was o ...
(late afternoon or in the morning ) and then on
Rete 4 Rete 4 (in English Network 4) is an Italian free-to-air television channel operated by Mediaset Italia and owned by MFE - MediaForEurope. Presently the director is Sebastiano Lombardi. Programs TV Programmes (currently) Rete 4's strength ...
(in the morning) and Fox Retro (in the evening). Recently, METOO a Sister station of WCIU-TV in Chicago began airing the show in a 2:00 p.m. timeslot. In Japan, the series has been playing 1985 – 1988 on
Nippon TV JOAX-DTV (channel 4), branded as , is the flagship station of the Nippon News Network and the Nippon Television Network System, owned-and-operated by the which is a subsidiary of the certified broadcasting holding company , itself a listed su ...
. In Australia, the series has been playing reruns on the 7 Networks 3rd channel
7mate 7mate is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel, which was launched by the Seven Network on 25 September 2010. The channel contains sport and regular programs aimed primarily to a male audience, with programming drawn from a c ...
from 2012 to 2016. In New Zealand, the series is being screened for the first time, as from May 13, 2013, on Sky Television's Jones! channel. In September 2014, FamilyNet cable channel began carrying the series, which was remastered in the mid-2000s with a high definition version that originally aired on
Universal HD Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a t ...
. On June 26, 2017
FETV FETV (abbreviation for Family Entertainment Television) is an American cable and satellite television network owned by the Family Broadcasting Corporation. Marketed as "satellite and cable network featuring classic and inspirational programming ...
began airing the series weeknights at 10:00 p.m. As of 2019, the show has been re-run in the UK and Ireland by
Sony Channel Sony Channel is a brand of general entertainment television channels, owned by Sony Pictures Television. It was previously known as Sony Entertainment Television (SET), but many of the channels, except the Indian television channel, were rebrand ...
. Currently, in the U.S., the show airs late evenings on
FETV FETV (abbreviation for Family Entertainment Television) is an American cable and satellite television network owned by the Family Broadcasting Corporation. Marketed as "satellite and cable network featuring classic and inspirational programming ...
.


High definition

Beginning on October 1, 2010, the series was rebroadcast on
Universal HD Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a t ...
to overwhelming success, quickly becoming one of the most successful series on the channel although the channel did not yet subscribe to Nielsen ratings. Due to the high ratings, the original film elements were re-mastered for high definition, and the program was cropped to a 1.78 aspect ratio to fill the screens of modern televisions.


Home media

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (abbreviated as SPHE) is the home video distribution division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. Background SPHE is responsible for the distribution of the Sony Pictures lib ...
has released the first two seasons on DVD in Region 1 and 2. Due to poor sales, no further seasons were released. This release has been discontinued and is out of print. On August 27, 2013, Mill Creek Entertainment announced that it had acquired the rights to various television series from the Sony Pictures library, including ''T. J. Hooker''. It subsequently re-released the first two seasons on DVD on April 1, 2014. On April 5, 2017, it was announced that
Shout! Factory Shout! Factory is an American home video and music company founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases include previously released feature films, classic and contemporary television series, animation, live music, and comedy ...
had acquired the rights to the series and subsequently released ''T. J. Hooker – The Complete Series'' on DVD in Region 1 on July 18, 2017.


References


External links

* * {{Aaron Spelling 1982 American television series debuts 1986 American television series endings 1980s American crime drama television series 1980s American police procedural television series American Broadcasting Company original programming CBS original programming American television series revived after cancellation English-language television shows American action television series Television series by Sony Pictures Television Television series by Spelling Television Fictional portrayals of the Los Angeles Police Department Television shows set in Los Angeles