Synopsis
Veteran LCPD detective Thomas Jefferson "T. J." Hooker (William Shatner) saw his partner murdered. The longtime plainclothes officer then returned to the beat as a uniformed sergeant to try and rid the streets of the same type of criminals that were responsible for crimes including his partner's death. In "The Protectors," the series' pilot TV movie, Hooker trained a group of new police academy recruits, including those played by Richard Lawson (All My Children), Brian Patrick Clarke ("Merle" from Eight is Enough) (The Bold and the Beautiful), Kelly Harmon (Bay City Blues), and Adrian Zmed (Dance Fever). Hal Williams played a senior officer, and Richard Herd made a brief appearance as Captain Dennis Sheridan, Hooker's tough but understanding superior. Back in uniform, Hooker was assigned to train the academy recruits. During most of the series, Hooker was partnered with brash, sometimes hot-headed young rookie Vince Romano (Adrian Zmed). With Romano much his junior, Hooker acted 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 was divorced as a result of his work putting a strain on his marriage, but was still friendly with his ex-wife, nurse Fran. Hooker was a ladies' man, but was still trying to adjust to being single once again. Lee Bryant was the original actress to portray Fran; the part was later reprised by a different actress.
Hooker's tough, no-nonsense demeanor saw him often clashing with station Captain Sheridan (Richard Herd), 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) was a female officer who usually spent time dodging pick-up comments from Vince Romano. Introduced at the start of the second season was attractive Officer Stacy Sheridan (Heather Locklear), the daughter of Captain Sheridan and Hooker's younger partner-in-command, who attended the police academy and replaced Vicki. Initially brought in to fill Officer Vicky Taylor's shoes, by the end of the season she had progressed to patrolling with Jim Corrigan (James Darren), 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 (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. 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, Captain Sheridan being dropped into the background (appearing as 'Special Guest Star' in just a few third and fourth season episodes), and stories drifting toward a more straight forward cops-and-robbers fare.
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