Adam-12Episodes Guide

Two young men are stalking Malloy and Reed while on duty taking pictures and talking to bystanders. They insinuate that the officers are frequently mistreating citizens. They attempt to interfere when the officers are asked to notify a woman that her merchant marine husband has passed away. After picking up a man on drugs and alcohol who injuries himself in the squad car, the men accuse the officers of injuring the man. The officers stop a car with three men wanted in a robbery. The two men appear and interfere with the officers resulting in one of the suspects pulling a gun and shooting an innocent bystander.

Reed is shaken by a child molester and learns valuable lessons on controlling his emotions. They handle a potential dead body, father-son robbery team and a pair of black men who shoot a pair of store owners and try to create a race riot.

An older husband complains about his wife and friend's noisy karate practice. A hit and run traffic accident looks looks like a homicide. The officers use their investigate skills to locate the suspect and arrest him.

Malloy and Reed bring an elderly man into Central Receiving for treatment. While there Malloy confirms his date with nurse Sally Fisher to join him and Reed plus Jim's pregnant wife the next morning on a visit to a remote ghost town. After arriving they hear "thunder" which Malloy recognizes as motorcycles. A gang of several men and women search Reed's car. They learn the men are police officers with women and decide to have fun. The officers and women hold up in an old saloon. They capture the leader of the gang while he is searching for them and shoot another in the leg then capture two more. The rest are scared off and Jim rides a captured cycle for help as they destroyed his car.

Reed foolishly comes to work on the same day his wife is admitted to the hospital to give birth. Reed continually attempts to contact his wife but is always foiled by crime, timing or incompetence. Malloy just tries to get through the day.

Malloy and Reed hear through the grapevine that their snitch Tee Jay, for who Malloy got a job as a dishwasher at Duke's, has been using drugs again. This belief is strengthened when they attend to a call at an inner city church, where Tee Jay was seen by the priest just as the priest was beaten and the church funds stolen. Malloy and Reed manage quickly to locate Tee Jay, who seemingly is on the run from them, and who has the church's money on his person. But Tee Jay tells a different story of another unknown man who he saw beat up the priest and who he caught but who managed to get away, the reason he was on the run as he was chasing that man. The evidence, however circumstantial, starts to mount against Tee Jay, including getting caught in a few lies. But when all the players start to level with Malloy and Reed, the identity of the thief and the truth if Tee Jay is indeed using again come to light.

Of the three outstanding warrants Adam-12 has to serve, Malloy wants to focus on the one to James Llewellyn Brown. Although it is solely for failure to appear on a traffic violation, Malloy recognizes his name as a past drug dealer. Malloy believes Brown is a potential flight risk and asks for backup. Indeed, Brown does attempt to run until he is told they are there solely on the traffic violation issue. However, Reed, in securing the house for Brown's departure, eventually finds drugs and drug paraphernalia in Brown's kitchen, which Malloy and Mac realize is a gray area as Brown was served the warrant in his living room, and whether the kitchen still constitutes in the general vicinity of the where the warrant was served or whether it was off limits as to where Reed could/should have been in the house without a search warrant is up for interpretation. Despite basking in the glory among the other officers at the station for the seizure, Reed finds that his status in court is a little different.

Adam-12 attends to a landlord/tenant dispute turned violent. Although the landlord is legally in the right, they can understand at least why the tenant is so disgruntled. Johnson, the tenant, used a stolen vehicle in the incident, that belonging to a Jay Finlay. As the car was not reported stolen, they assume rightly that Mr. Finlay has no idea that his car is gone. When they arrive in the largely family friendly neighborhood where the Finlays live, Malloy and Reed learn from a belligerent neighbor, Efiginia Grimes, that there have been a rash of robberies throughout the neighborhood, an item stolen here and there, with no major robberies from any one place. Malloy and Reed will eventually learn that there are two elements at play, one which involves a young boy who just wanted a room of his own.

Malloy and Reed encounter a lion in an apartment building and investigate a break-in at a medical supply warehouse. Malloy fends off cop haters and maintains the peace.

Two armed convicts holding up a diner shoot Malloy who entered innocently, and hold him and other civilians hostage.

Wells is excited to be the first officer assigned to the new helicopter patrol. Wells wants this assignment to lead to a life as a helicopter pilot. Adam-12's first call of the shift doesn't use the helicopter patrol as it is an inside job. After overcoming the language barrier with the solely Cantonese speaking servants, Malloy and Reed learn that the wealthy owners of the house to which they are called are locked inside the house's full sized safe by the people who burglarized the house. Adam-12 and the safe unit have to work fast as the people inside may run out of oxygen if they can't get inside quickly enough. Their second call involves two men who robbed a jewelry store, the robbers who managed to escape on motorcycle. The jewelry store owner provides a basic description of the men, which allows Adam-12 to bring into the fold the chopper unit to follow the motorcycle through the streets of Los Angeles, Wells providing information back to Adam-12 on the motorcycle's whereabouts. Beyond the outcome of this tail, the question becomes whether all the other chopper's future duties will have the same outcome.

A sniper named Johnny Kursko is terrorizing a neighborhood in an urban section of the city. He is on top of a building that was once housed a movie theater that the sniper worked at. It is later found out that he is an escaped fugitive from New York and he is shooting up the neighborhood as a way to get back at the people in the neighborhood who he holds responsible for the theater's closing. Reed, Malloy and Detective Sgt. Gus Brown get into their SWAT gear and go after Kursko and try to get him without any further bloodshed.

It's Sunday, and as usual Malloy and Reed have picked up Louie, their resident drunk. Over the next few days, they deal with another alcohol related case. They first meet the Pilafs - husband and wife Christopher and Mae - when they are called to break up an altercation at a bar. From the questioning, they learn that the core of the problem is Mae's drinking, she who believes she can handle her booze, but who turns into a different person after a few drinks. Malloy and Reed later meet the Pilafs again, the couple who are trying to make their marriage work. But Mae's life seems to be a catch-22, where her drinking causes their latest problem, which in turn makes her want to drink to relieve the stress. In between dealing with the Pilafs, Malloy and Reed pull over a speeding vehicle which ends up being a case of good Samaritans that made a poor decision in providing their help. This case causes further problems for Adam-12 in an accusation after the fact.

In between some of their one off calls - a woman beating up on a car with a baseball bat, a suspected residential burglary in progress, and a theft at an auto mechanics shop - Malloy and Reed deal with a string of incidents which may implicate one of their own, Detective Hal Forest in Vice. Malloy and Reed attend to two separate incidents in which someone flashing a badge and having official police ID with Forest's name committed a crime. The first, "Forest" stole $350 from a boxing gym purportedly on a counterfeit money case. The second, "Forest" stole a gun from a pawn shop, threatening the owner not to report the incident or else. In both cases, the victim is able to provide a description which matches that of the real Forest. In addition, Malloy, who knows Forest well, is aware that he is facing some financial stress which may have made him get desperate. They are not to tell Forest of these incidents in the possibility that it is indeed Forest committing these crimes, while Internal investigates. But a third incident may provide the break in determining if it truly is Forest committing these crimes, and if not how the fake Forest was able to devise and carry out such a plan.

Malloy and Reed deal with a purse snatcher focused on being jailed in time for dinner, a young boy on drugs with his dealer out to kill him, while enduring worry and concern over two policemen friends hospitalized in critical care.

Malloy and Reed respond to a drunk in a stolen plane, look for a 17 year old runaway, receive a call for a 2-11 in progress where they catch two armed robbers, and track down a stolen 3-ton safe containing $10k booby-trapped by the owner.

Malloy and Reed contend with an ambush aimed at them, search for a missing boy, track down a car thief who is being crushed by his loot, and deal with a recent parolee who has sworn revenge on Malloy.

Malloy and Reed deal with a suspicious looking elderly man carrying a couple of bags of items that probably don't belong to him, and a couple of drag racers. But most of their shift is preoccupied with a case at Amalgamated Products. Their first visit to Amalgamated is to investigate a reported theft. The owner, Phil Watters, is charging one of employees, Elmo Constant, of stealing one of the products they manufacture, which has since been returned. There are a couple of issues concerning this visit. First, that product is top secret which Watters is unwilling to hand over, and without it as material evidence, Constant cannot be charged. And second, Amalgamated's head of security is Ed Bowler, ex-LAPD, who was fired from the force for inappropriate conduct, with Malloy being one of the material witnesses which led to the firing. That antagonism between the two still exists. Later, Bowler calls in to report a suspicious package in a store room that he believes is a bomb. He believes this implicates Constant further as he is one of the few employees who has access to the restricted room. Beyond getting the bomb squad in to determine if it truly is a bomb, Malloy and Reed, with Bowler's assistance, have to determine if it is Constant who is the culprit.

Malloy and Reed are on front desk duty because Malloy has a busted hand. A rally at a college gets rowdy requiring Reed to assist, leaving Malloy at the desk worrying about Reed. Malloy's shift isn't all quiet as he captures two criminals.

Malloy and Reed respond to a fire where a young man saves a man trapped inside. A concerned landlord reports suspicious in-activity from a tenant with heart trouble where Malloy and Reed arrive in time to give him CPR and save his life.

Once the officers get an aggressive dog out of the car, they investigate the kidnapping of a child, contend with an elderly miser paying a bill with trading stamps, capture an escapee on a bus, and rescue a delivery man from two hijackers.

Malloy and Reed take a domestic abuse call where they become the abused. They become suspicious of a man whose apartment has been robbed, help a man who found stolen parts of his VW on another car, and end the day catching bank robbers.

Malloy and Reed prove they cannot and will not be bribed, no matter how good the offer, resulting in desperation from a young man charged with his third drunk driving offense. An elderly man admits mercy killing his wife.

Malloy and Reed track down a kooky female shoplifter involved in a cult-type relationship with a ego-maniacal spiritualist weirdo. Malloy gets help tracking her down from an old girlfriend.

Malloy and Reed have a monotonous day interrupted by two rambunctious female felonious joyriders, an exceptionally bright young boy with a photographic memory named Harold that clues them into a home burglary ring disguised as movers, respond to two paint-sniffing country bumpkins shooting rifles at a suspended box of dynamite, and check out a beauty school client who lodges a potentially explosive complaint. While at the station, Malloy and Reed decide to check in on Harold to discover he doesn't see the burglar's mugshot in the books. When they give Harold a ride home, Harold spots the burglar. Malloy and Reed make a successful, albeit bullet riddled, arrest and solve the crime while proving Harold's brilliance to the police department's doubting detectives.

Reed and Malloy work to break up an auto theft ring, where pretty mini-skirted women bait young motorists into giving them a ride, steal their cars and take them to a local chop-shop for disassembly (to sell the parts on the black market).

Malloy and Reed rescue a cat and birds from an elderly woman's good intentions, a man from being robbed by his nephew, get help investigating a missing girl with a band-aid on her right leg from the little girl who lives down the lane, and respond to a auto robbery turned homicide where Malloy convinces a Hispanic family that the US law will protect them.

The shift starts with Reed being taken hostage by a woman out of her mind. They are faced with multiple reports of burglaries in a neighborhood and the thieves appear to be young boys. After a couple interviews Malloy picks up on the fact that the victims are all supposed to be playing bridge and it points to one family. Mixed into their day they break up a fight over what music to play in front of a church between the choir director and organist.

In this documentary style episode, Malloy narrates the story of his best friend Officer Tom Porter, who was killed chasing a suspect. He talks about how he and Porter applied for and attended the academy together and their history as members of the force. It also looks at Porter's personal life including how he met his wife Marge on the day he applied for the force and the birth of his two children.

Malloy and Reed confront a series of explosions due to a protection racket. They happen upon a shooting as it occurs while hunting the bomber. That is followed with a call to a bar where a fight was reported between Apache Indians but the fight has stopped when they arrive. Later they receive a tip that a fight to the death is about to occur between the Apaches because one of them is seeing the other one's 16 year old sister.

Not only do Malloy and Reed have to deal with a strings of fires with conflicting descriptions of the fire-bug, but they must also handle an escaped mental patient holding a knife to his wife's throat.

In this Christmas themed show Malloy and Reed confront a man who robbed a bell ringing Santa Claus followed by a pregnant woman caught shop lifting. She tells the store manager and the officers she wanted to be caught so her kids would be taken some place for Christmas since her husband deserted her. The store manager has a change of heart and she is taken to social services for help. They also encounter a Native American couple with a young daughter from New Mexico who are unaccustomed to city life. Later they are found sleeping in the hills and their daughter has walked away requiring a search party.

Malloy and Reed start the shift with a call to a liquor store robbery where a fellow officer was shot but the owner of the store appears to be lying. Further investigation pushes the owner to admit one of the thieves was his brother and he was trying to protect him. In the meantime, they have a zoning issue with an elderly lady who does astrology readings out of her apartment followed by the report of a young boy asking a pharmacist questions about Seconal pills he had. When they confront his mother, she is not very cooperative. They end with a shoot-out with the liquor store thieves at a stake-out.

Malloy and Reed are busying tracking the exploits of the con artist Johnson family making their annual pilgrimage through Los Angles ripping off people. They involve false delivery of wood, bogus roof repair, and finally catching rattlesnakes for a couple of elderly sisters. Mixed in is the capture of a two men trying to burn a plant where one of them had been fired as a security guard for drinking on the job.

Patrol starts with a robbery suspect at a gas station and grocery store escaping Reed on foot. The pair are called in to quell a brewing fight between two gangs by a local priest. With backup they succeed in breaking up the rumble before the fight breaks out. A domestic dispute calls leads the pair to the robbery suspect who is sick after eating the food he stole. They are then called a second time to stop the gang fight but are too late to stop it.

The department introduces the LEMRAS program to help identify major crime problems one of which is hitting Malloy and Reed's area. In addition they hand a grocery store holdup and catch a kidnapper of a young girl.

The show starts with Officer Tony Johnson saving Malloy's life when he is almost gored by a fork lift while they arrest men committing a warehouse robbery. After the shift Johnson turns down Malloy's offer of a steak dinner as he has been told a complaint has been lodged against him for blackmail. Malloy believes him to be innocent and Johnson tells them his version of the story. He needs to find a B girl named Ginger who he says can clear him. Malloy and Reed are called to a bar where they happen to find Ginger and she eagerly tells a story exactly like Johnson's leading Malloy to confront Johnson about the truth. Reed provides a hint via a tip to a waitress at a restaurant where Reed is forced to intervene in a dispute.

The shift starts with the officers pulling over a vehicle for a traffic violation. When Reed spots one of the men pulling a gun, they arrest them after learning the car is stolen. They find the body of a young woman which the men planned to dump in the ocean in the trunk of the car. The girl had stolen the car and the men who escaped from a mental institution killed her for seven dollars and the car. Later the officers are called to a home where a teenage girl's friends accidentally break a small window while toilet papering the house. The girl tells the officers the boys are planning to return but she refuses to name them. The officers roll by the house as the boys are in a fight with the father resulting in him being seriously stabbed.

Reed is conned out of $300.00 by a door to door salesman who modifies a $30.00 check Reed gives him. Ed Wells gives Reed a hard time about being too trusting which is further embellished when Reed buys a day old newspaper from a young boy. On the street they are faced with a fight by two men over a marijuana plant. It is followed by a woman running to a bank for a $1000 ransom for her young baby being held by a mentally unstable and armed man. Finally they are called to a home where a hysterical woman tells them a man in a light colored shirt shot at her. Reed and Wells catch a man fitting the description in the backyard but the man says he is innocent. Reed wants to see if the woman can identify him but Wells takes him to the station under arrest. After the woman calmed down she told Mally the man who shot at her was her drunk husband who shows up again threatening her and Reed. Wells is then faced with a chewing out by Sgt. MacDonald for making the false arrest giving Reed some revenge and smiles.

While on beat patrol they come across a homeless man who has been stabbed. They suspect a retired policeman, Jack Donohoe, living in the run down area who always seems to be on the scene at crimes there and take him in for questioning. That is followed by a call about a woman shooting a phone booth at Union Station. She has been bilked out of her money by an agent promising her a career in movies after coming from Missouri and then they find that her suitcase was stolen by a man who switched locker keys on her. The suitcase contains her pet rattlesnake, Henry. Donohoe is released when it is determined someone else is guilty and they drop him off at Union Station with a warning. They are called back to Union Station again to arrest a robbery suspect who fires at them. However, Donohue intervenes in the incident.

Malloy and Reed are called to the scene of an ambushed of two officers by a pair of black men. One officer is severely injured but tells them he believes he wounded one of the assailants. During a search Reed and Malloy find one of the assailants as he dies from his wounds in an alley. He is a member of a black militant group. At the hospital Reed sees a black friend, Kenneth James, and his family with whom he played football in school. They have to inform him it was his younger brother they found dead and later it is determined his older brother was the accomplice. The militant group accuses the police of murdering the younger James boy and Kenneth believes them even when Reed says it isn't true. When Kenneth confronts his older brother Cleotis, he learns the truth as Malloy and Reed arrest him.

The first call is a police garage employee taking a police car for a "Code 3" ride followed by a young woman trying to cash an Old Age Benefits check she found. Malloy and Reed are accused of poaching Officer Ed Wells' territory when they check some warehouses in Wells' area that has been having a rash of break-ins. They both have a nervous time in a mortuary that has been broken into and the thief is found hiding in a casket. During rounds they finally catch a pair of men high on drugs breaking into a warehouse.

The day starts with a robbery in progress by two men at a bar. Malloy is forced to shoot one of the men. The shift continues with Malloy warning a young woman in a bad neighborhood at a store to pick up food for her friends that she should be careful and to avoid the area in the future but she makes light of the issue. The pair handle a call at an apartment building about noise indicating a domestic dispute but the couple living there report no problems even though her face is severely injured. While back on patrol they notice two men helping the young woman with her car. When they check the men's car, they are wanted for kidnapping. With the aid of a helicopter patrol they are able to capture the men and rescue the woman. They close the shift with a return to the apartment complex where the mother asks for their help for her daughter and the men have to chase the husband through the parking lot as he tries to escape.

It's a good news/bad news situation for Malloy. The good news is that it's his birthday. The bad news is that he forgot to renew his drivers license and must now let Reed drive Adam-12, something he was always nervous about. Also, during this day, the officers must deal with an unusual bank robbery, an abandoned baby, a woman who murdered her husband on their wedding anniversary and a drug dealer who uses an ice cream truck to sell marijuana and other drugs.

A press is stolen from a print shop; an elderly gentleman threatens a shoot-out rather than leave his apartment; and the officers encounter an armored car -- not bank-type, but ex-Army.

Malloy and Reed are called to a riding stable run by retired actor Slim Berkeley. The owner is careless about trusting people and has $100 and a gold belt buckle stolen. By instinct due to a record in New York his young assistant runs but when searched nothing is found. A call to a phone booth where the man inside is being attacked by another man leads to a drug arrest and sore jaw for Reed. Reed spots a robbery at a drive-in resulting in a shoot-out and capture of the robber. An illegally parked car with a woman who refuses to move the car leads to a second shoot out with two men robbing a liquor store. A complaint is filed by a jewelery salesman. His new convertible is poured full of concrete by the husband of his client in front of the client's house (the concrete had time to completely harden). When Slim reports a second robbery of his clients money, the mother of one the clients comes forward to say her daughter has a history of theft and she returns the belt buckle.

A series of safe jobs lead Malloy and Reed to an old-time safe-cracker who's supposedly gone straight, but there may be more to it then they think.

A drug addict robs a store run by elderly women selling small items they make by sewing things such as pot holders and doilies. They spot a convertible with three men just after they are reported on the radio to have held up a store. A pursuit takes place and, together with Mac, arrest the three men. Later a nearby antique shop is held up by someone with a similar description to the first robber. He asked for a limited amount of money and a later call back to the first shop indicates he returned the money stolen earlier. A car is spotted making a rolling stop at a stop sign but the driver is a priest looking for the police to arrest a man from whom he bought marijuana. They accompany him back to the dealer's apartment and make the arrest. The final call is back to the first store where the same addict is in the midst of another robbery. They capture him followed by Malloy secretly buying some doilies after having teased Reed for buying pot holders the previous day from the "grandmothers".

On patrol they encounter a squad car that is deserted and they have not heard any officer announce stopping there. When they check it out, they find that a lone officer saw a hitchhiker and had chased him down with a bag of stolen items. During roll call the officers are told to be on the lookout for the radical Robin Saydo who has ties to bombings. The department wants him trailed but not picked up. Malloy receives a call from retired security officer Fred Tibbles who works on the docks and is being forced to overlook thefts. They come upon a truck driver who was knocked out and his load of pantyhose stolen. Tibbles calls with a tip about a heist to take place that afternoon and one earlier. Malloy realizes the trucks being hijacked are being taken for the trucks and not their loads. In a stakeout and pursuit with a police chopper, they become involved in a shootout but break the ring. Reed spots the radical on the streets. They trail him to a building where the DA decides to arrest him and make a search for weapons, etc.

The officers receive their car back after routine maintenance. They find, however, that the radio has problems and they have to repeat calls. The pair is called to a robbery in progress. Reed captures one suspect while Malloy goes in pursuit of the second through a city park on a winding street at night. However only some of his radio calls are being received, including his position. Malloy loses control of the car and goes off the road, rolling the car. His position is hidden from the road and he is severely injured with internal injuries and a broken leg. He comes to and splints his leg with a shotgun. He hears the search on the radio but they miss him, the search is moved to a new location but Reed resists moving out of the park. A man hiding from from the police for a murder he committed watches Malloy and finally comes to him but instead of helping steals the shotgun, his pistol, and rips the microphone off the cord leaving the wires exposed. Malloy then uses the exposed wires to signal for help which Reed picks up as he is still in the park.

The first call is to catch a man nicknamed the "Ferret" who is damaging a manufacturing company. He out runs Reed, and the newspaper reporter on the scene delights in the story. When they respond to an intruder call they find a man going house to house who flags them down for help. His wife is comatose and about to have a baby. They take the couple to the hospital where the doctor asks them to check for mud the woman has been eating. They find the mud and follow up with a visit to a voodoo priest who had ordered the mud for the couple. He puts a mojo hex on Reed which is followed by Mac showing them the paper with Reed on the front page. They pull an elderly lady over for erratic driving and she takes them for gas station attendants. When they go to the manufacturing company to check recently fired employees for the ferret, he shows up at the office and this time Reed is able to catch him.

Two boys break into a garage. Truants have become a big problem in terms of crime and Reed has a plan he wants approved to pick up truants on the street. While patrolling, they come upon a stalled car they help off the street. Malloy receives a message to hold the car and occupants under arrest. They are smuggling heroin in the gas tank and some leaked stalling the car. They spot a stolen car which leads them to the thieves who stripped the car to build a dune buggy. Reed's plan is approved but initially the other officers are unhappy playing babysitter. A pair of truants are spotted and picked up as a call comes in about a nearby theft. The lady identifies the two truants as the thieves and they are caught with the goods. The results show massive reduction in crime and happier officers. However, as Reed envisions stopping juvenile crime, one of the boys from the first call whose mother did not see her son as a problem is brought into the station again.

The pair are sent to transport a prisoner from the Sheriff's office in Malibu back to LA due to traffic warrants. Unknown to everyone he is a witness to a gangland murder and a hit has been ordered on him. Their patrol car has a tire shot out in an ambush and they find themselves isolated in the hills of the area and no radio contact. Reed goes for help but is captured by the hit men. Malloy and their passenger steal the hit man's car and make it to a phone. A helicopter search ensues for the two hit men and Reed. However, Reed is able to overpower them.

Reed has agreed to buy an anniversary present for Mac but funds are limited. The first call is to bar where an ex-wrestler paralyzed by polio and confined to wheelchair is breaking up the bar. Next stop is a liquor store where they decide to buy a bottle of champagne for Mac and the owner offers a discount on a large bottle but the pair go for a smaller bottle they can afford. The pair notice a car tailing them in an manner that causes them to pull him over as they are afraid of an ambush. However, it is a man who has received several tickets in 24 hours. A call comes about a disturbance at a used car dealership. The owner is trying to take advantage of a Mexican man who is not very fluent in English and signed a sales contract without understanding it. This is followed by a call back to the liquor store where the owner has been robbed and shot. A nearby shop owner thinks he shot the robber. The owner reminds the men to take the champagne he wrapped for Mac. Last call is about a man down in a park who has been shot dead. He is the gunman who shot the liquor store owner.

Reed and Malloy deal with various disturbances during their shift such as a gas station owner who has a lot of robberies, a drunk who continually causes problems, and a hitchhiker who steals money from the people who pick her up.

On a prowler report at a non-existent address someone fires multiple rounds at the officers. Next day on a run to a heliport to pick up a blood donor, they are again fired upon. Evidence points to the same shooter both times and reveals that Adam-12 is being targeted by a man known to pass bad checks. Reed's wife receives a call indicating that Reed is the target. A man tries to kill himself with gasoline at a gas station but Malloy stops him using a fire extinguisher. Another nighttime prowler call turns up a wino that Reed comes close to shooting. Malloy drops Reed off at his house when a man walks by, known to Reed, and tells him that his car has broken down. Reed offers to let him use his phone. Malloy notices there is a car like the one the suspect is supposed to be driving down the street as he leaves.

Officer Art McCall returns to the force after eight years on disability. He rides with Malloy and Reed learning changes since he left the force. They start with a young woman whose ex-husband has returned from prison and she feels threatened. McCall wants to resort to old techniques that are no longer allowed. After a juvenile robbery bust, they are forced to release the boy captured by Art who did not read the boy his rights. He fumbles the arrest of the ex-husband carrying a gun. After being released, the ex-husband plants a bomb in the woman's car. Malloy is forced to have a frank discussion with Art about his inability to adjust to the changes in law enforcement policy.

Malloy and Reed are at a crime scene in the hills where another girl has been found raped and dumped but this time she is alive. Her account includes the fact that a red sports car was involved. Later, they see a red Porshe pick up a young girl and the car tries to escape when they signal it to stop. The car stops and dumps the girl. Malloy continues the chase alone but loses the car. He finds a red Porshe but the girl says the owner is not the man. A call to a robbery at a lumber yard has unexpected aid from police scouts who collar one of the two men. Reed captures the second man in a shootout. The mother of the young girl calls the officers when she finds drugs in her daughter's laundry. She is selling drugs and the man they had her identify is her supplier.

Woman reports a pickup truck bumped her car. When she stopped, they stole her purse. On patrol they spot a stopped car with the hood up. Driver says his engine over heated but a stakeout shows him meeting with a counterfeiter. A call about loud noise results in a citizen chewing out the officers. A scuffle at a food drive-in results in the arrest of a man for outstanding warrants. A cruise by the house with noise turns up the pickup and two men who robbed the woman.

A call to a night club finds a singer, Kathy, strung out on drugs causing a disturbance. She finds security with Reed who rides with her to the hospital. She tells him someone is trying to kill her and giving her drugs. Narcotics believes she can provide a lead to new drugs and ask Reed to go undercover with Kathy as a soldier AWOL with a big cache of heroin to sell. He agrees and although he makes a deal, the girl burns him under pressure. The narcotics squad lose Reed but Malloy arrives as the dealers are trying to kill Reed and Kathy.

They are on a stake out for an armored truck robbery but the thieves make a clean escape. A call to the bus station about a potential rattlesnake in a suitcase turns out to be an electric toothbrush. They make contact with their source T.J. about the robberies and he a provides a few extra details as to where he overheard the threat. A call to the same bar puts them onto a man they suspect might be involved but with no proof. Malloy develops a theory on how the robberies are committed involving the sewer system. They plan a stakeout based on Malloy's theory which they execute with success.

Malloy is given a tip that a young man he coaches is using heroin again. Malloy and the boy's parole officer work together to track down what is going on. Reed and Malloy respond to a hit and run where a small boy is hit and hurt severely. The boy thinks Reed is his father who was killed in Vietnam. A man blows a stop sign resulting in a traffic stop. He is given a ticket but his passenger is taken in for selling drugs. In reality he is an undercover officer trying to make a buy from the driver. Malloy is called by the parole officer to help take in the young man for using again. They learn he had bought some heroin but did not use it. However, they find his younger brother had.

A maid for a wealthy couple tells Reed and Malloy that the family had a baby, and now it is missing. They find the baby was put up for adoption. Also, a case involving a trashed football locker room, a burglar and high speed chase.

Adam-12 arrives at a scene in Chinatown where a young man was beaten. He is an undercover officer working on Chinese gang problems. A young lady briefly appears but runs off before talking. A report is taken at a department store where a woman's purse was stolen while she was in a bathroom stall. They accompany her to her house where they catch the thief, a man. Reed is asked to report to the hospital where they believe the young woman has reappeared but her uncle refuses to let her talk. The next day they are asked to help bust counterfeiters where the same burglar from the day before had stolen counterfeit money and then caught passing it. They spot a man driving erratically thinking he is drunk. However, A lit joint in his pocket gives him away when it burns him. Reed receives a call from the young woman reporting an attack by the gang on the older Chinese organization. They and the gang squads arrive as the shooting starts.

The officers are on loan to LAX airport. The first case is a man taking a stewardess hostage because he wants a job with a specific film director in LA. They convince the man that the director is on the phone to distract him. The police are given a tip by another police department that a shipment of drugs is arriving in a suitcase. They tail the suitcase and arrest a group of men making separate drug pickups at the airport leading to a huge bust. Final call is a woman who is picked up by man posing as a limo driver. He pistol whips, robs and dumps her but she tears his shirt. They find the car and a tip leads them to the suspect in the airport.

Malloy and Reed are called to provide backup to of all people Mac, who happened upon a B&E in progress. Mac requests Malloy to be the accompanying officer in transporting the perpetrator, Victor Lamson, back to the station, while Reed secures the crime scene. Both Mac and Malloy's friendly attitude change as they, while driving to the station, hit an elderly pedestrian. Both Mac and Malloy know that the pedestrian came out from between two parked cars into traffic, whereas the three independent witnesses on the street all state that the pedestrian was in the pedestrian crosswalk, thus had the right of way, and that Mac was speeding. Lamson, who knows that Mac and Malloy are telling the truth, will not corroborate their story unless they let him go, which they both refuse. Internal Affairs does an investigation. Mac comes to the realization that he could be in real trouble and lose his job, and that Malloy will also have a rough ride if Mac is found guilty. They have to do some digging to see if the victim, who eventually dies from her injuries, and/or the witnesses have ulterior motives in lying about what they saw. Malloy also believes there may be another witness out there that can and will tell the truth. Meanwhile, Lamson ends up being a victim himself when friends of his realize that because he is in jail, his apartment filled with stolen goods is just ripe for the picking.

The officers are working to move drag racing off the streets onto a regulated drag strip. Working with various racing organizations they finally meet the requirements for insurance, etc. provided by the drag strip owner. He also requires that the drivers keep the noise down in the streets surrounding the strip. However, the day before they are to start racing the timing and audio equipment at the drag strip are stolen. When he announces he has replacement equipment on the way, the street organizer of the races who stands to lose money puts on a race in front of the drag strip owner's own home. Malloy, however, finds evidence that indicates the street organizer stole the equipment trying to stop the legal racing.

The pair have been helping with a search for a first grade boy missing after school. They return to patrol handling a loud dog complaint. Malloy realizes the dog is a seeing eye dog that has been stolen. A neighbor reports seeing a man and boy covered with blood getting into a taxi. They then spot the car suspected in the case of the missing boy. His father had picked up the boy and not told his mother. Family dispute call revolves around a wife upset with her husband unending football viewing smashing his TV. They trace the witness sighting of the bloody boy and a man, to someone who took his son to the hospital for a scalp injury. Next call is to close a report on a stolen car. Students had disassembled their professor's Beetle and reassembled it in his home. They close with a foot chase and shootout through a railroad park for men who killed a person in a robbery. They are aided by a police helicopter.

Albert Porter, Reed's friend in the reserves is on his first day of patrol partnered with Officer Wells. Wells is not impressed with his geeky partner. First call is to a park where they advise a young group where they can legally camp. Second call is a bank robbery where they are the backup to Wells and Porter. The robbery seems to fit a pattern of other crimes where the robber is always different, wears a backpack, and is young. Reed suspects a car they pull over for a broken brake light. Malloy believes the young man to be okay but Reed spots a problem in their story leading to their arrest. Reed and Malloy see Wells and Porter with a traffic stop and stop to check out the situation. Porter accidentally backs the stopped car into their patrol car. Malloy and Reed are called to another bank robbery where they corner the suspect and learn that he is wearing a bomb and is being forced to holdup the bank. The man behind the robberies forces the suspect to flee with him in a car chase. At a dead end the man tosses the backpack to Wells trying to hold him hostage. Porter suspects a fake bomb and yanks it away from Wells.

In a combined episode with Emergency, a boy runs away from the hospital when he is afraid due to his diagnosis. Malloy dates a woman volunteer on the hospital hot-line who is handling a teenage suicide when the program's funding is cut.

Reed and Malloy search for an auto thief, but then are switched to bicycles to try to break up a ring of car strippers.

When Reed sees Officer Charlie Burnside choking out an apprehended suspect, he reports Burnside, but with very little actual evidence it may not be possible to bring the badge-heavy Burnside down.

A hotel room shooting is witnessed by the janitor Harry, a man considered to be a wino, a "nobody", by his family and friends. When Reed treats him with respect, he admits he witnessed the shooting, but his confession gets tangled in Harry's dead end life. Meanwhile, Molloy retells his experience of chaperoning a junior high dance.

When a string of jewelry stores are robbed with the same M.O., Reed pulls some clever police work during an unrelated traffic stop. Also, Malloy spots the pattern of a second burglar as he breaks into stores in a path across town.

A WWII survivor encounters a Nazi collaborator. Malloy and Reed stumble upon his ambush plan during a routine night check. The pair use their humanity and police training before this vendetta causes another tragedy.

Malloy and Reed have to deal with an out of state bounty hunter tracking down a bail jumper. With his out of state gun permit, swagger, and physical skills, he keeps the Adam-12 team hopping in his wake.

At the beginning of their patrol the officers are forced to wear long sleeves although the forecast is for hot weather. A call about a theft in a park leads to a tip that a man had his bicycle pump stolen from his bicycle and it might have contained drugs. Man complains about his grass being trampled by people shopping at his neighbor's never ending yard sale. When they investigate the sale, they find some of the items are stolen. The man running the sale is taking the items on consignment from a man who supposedly does repo work. They wait and arrest the man who gives them a tip on where a man wanted for murder is hiding leading to the man's capture. They learn that short sleeves were approved hours ago but missed the radio call. A drive through the park finds a woman in her car suffering withdrawal symptoms. After she is helped, they spot a man walking a bicycle. When confronted, he turns out to be her connection with drugs in his bicycle pump.

A call about a suicide attempt at a hotel finds a women has tried to commit suicide for the second time but she is okay. She has left a note for another resident of the hotel. When they contact the man they recognize him as a convicted felon on parole involved with some serious mob activities. The man is a recluse and refuses to talk to the woman. The officers spot a man changing a tire and ask if he needs help but he says no. A second call to hotel occurs when the manager tries to evict the parolee because he types till 3:00 am but really simply wants the man evicted. When they hear a robbery report on the radio including the car the man was changing the tire on, they report it and a description of the man. They stop at the restaurant where the woman works to check on her and tell her why her friend refuses to see her which is due to a fear of someone from the mob being after him. Detectives locate the car and ask Malloy and Reed to help identify the owner which they do. A report of shots fired at the hotel finds the parolee has lost contact with reality and believes someone is after him forcing the officers into a gun battle until he runs out of ammunition.

A little old lady has her purse stolen and annoys the police until the thief is caught. The Adam-12 team are assigned undercover work on the case. Also, a routine traffic stop uncovers two men involved in a criminal situation.

Reed returns from the flu and half the other officers have caught his bug. He and Malloy get drafted to double shift to night watch. Finally, Mac asks them to host a civilian police commissioner, and they get a surprise.

Adam-12 escorts a woman police commissioner during a routine night shift. They respond to a gang fight, a drunken man, and a runaway youth. The commissioner receives many ideas on improving police protocol.

The officers respond to a call at a market where a woman is held for shoplifting. She claims it is her first attempt and she has no money. When they leave the store she runs to a car claiming the baby inside is hers. At the station she escapes when a disruption in the hall distracts the officer with her. Back on patrol the officers take a call about a break-in at a warehouse. Reed is taken hostage but tricks the man holding him. The police receive a report of a baby stolen by a couple including the shoplifting suspect. A call about a disturbance at an apartment results in the capture of the girl and the manager saying her husband stole his car and has the baby. The girl accuses the manager of making the extortion call for $2,000 for the baby. While on patrol another squad car spots the stolen car. Malloy and Reed intercept the car leading to a foot chase by Reed through a rail yard to capture the man.

Malloy and Reed are assigned a temporary squad car that is ready for the junkyard. They deal with a lady car thief, an elderly peeping tom, a warehouse robbery and a goofy traffic stop. All the while, their car needs repeated repairs.

A routine traffic stop goes awry and Malloy and Reed end up hostages to two men escaping from a foiled hold-up. The officers must use their skills and partnership to turn the tables on their armed captors.

On a Saturday night they start with a man pulled over for a possible DUI but he passes the sobriety tests. When they noticed an oddly parked car, they start to investigate but hear shouts from a nearby house followed by three gunshots. They find the owner has killed his ex-son-in-law who invaded his house after being released recently from jail. A report of car strippers turns up a single man stripping a car. A stopped speeder says he has forgotten his wallet and license but the car has over $900 of outstanding traffic tickets. Malloy pulls a bluff to force the man to give his real name. The shift closes with two robberies/beatings at motels.

After an off night at the shooting range, Reed leaves work and stops at an all night grocery. As he is leaving with both arms full of groceries, a young man approaches as if he knows Reed. He points out a friend in a green Volkswagon Beetle holding a pistol on Reed. Reed drops the groceries, pushes the young man, leaps, and fires at the car hitting it. The man in the car fires hitting his friend. The grocer heard only one shot as he comes out of the store, the car races off, and the young man hit in the head makes a dying declaration that Reed was gun happy and shot him. Reed is on desk duty until a review board clears him but the young man dies increasing the pressure on Reed. Malloy with a new by the book partner spends time on and off duty running license plate number combinations looking for the green Beetle.

Malloy has won $10,000 in a woman's shampoo naming contest and is being bombarded with mail at work and suggestions from Reed on how to invest the money but Malloy wants a new boat. Opening call is a loud noise complaint from an elderly gentleman about a new elderly female tenant and her Irish music. Malloy and Reed explain the complaint and introduce the couple to each other and quietly leave them together. While on patrol a sniper starts shooting and they call in support resulting in them shooting the sniper in a car while fleeing. A theft report call is a man in an expensive home that appears to have been stripped. In fact due to his financial ruin and three wives the only items left were two cameras and a TV that were stolen. A call about body in alley is a wino killed for his new tennis shoes. As they leave the scene the officers spot another wino wearing new tennis shoes sleeping it off in a junked car. Malloy realizing Reed has his best interests at heart presents Reed with a gift of a single share of stock worth $5 to develop a "nest egg".

The officers spot a young boy hiding in the woods at night. He has run away from home and as they take him home they receive a call about a disturbance at his address. When they arrive, his mom and step dad appear quiet but are warned. A call to a parking lot involves a man in a car waiting for his wife. He reports a young girl jumped in his car with money ready to buy pills. They stake out the lot and spot the girl find the correct car. Next call is back to the couple's apartment as Officer Woods tells them he has handled the same call in the past week. The couple is in a throwing match and require time to settle down. They spot a man with a screwdriver trying to break into a pickup truck topper. What looks like a car theft is a man locked out by his dog. A return call to the apartment results in them taking the husband to his sister's apartment. They spot a drunk on a stolen bicycle and take him in. The sister of the husband calls and reports her brother has gone back to their apartment. As they arrive at the couple's apartment, they hear shots.

Malloy and Reed stop a car full of young men on a midnight joyride. They are surprised when one is Sgt MacDonald's son. Pete wants to help, and quickly finds himself in the middle.

Reed leaves juvenile court after losing a case against a seventeen year old car thief and his dad's attorneys. On patrol they are called to house where a woman says she is afraid her boyfriend is sick from heroin but they find he has died potentially from a hot shot. The girl has been clean for two months and tells them her boyfriend's connection name. Malloy spots the teenage car thief in a car but it is his dad's. The girlfriend, Cindy, returns with the address of the pusher but Malloy says they need more. Later they pull over an elderly woman in an old car for unsafe driving but she refuses to sign the ticket forcing them to arrest her. Cindy returns with drugs she bought and the serial number of the ten dollar bill she bought it with. The officers with the narcotics squad stakeout the house and finally arrest the pusher. Another squad car calls for help during a potential robbery. The driver is the young man Reed was in court with. They end up in a pursuit of the car ending in an accident fatal for the teenager.

During patrol the officers notice a very nice looking woman walking her Scott Terrier. Air 10 requests Adam-12 help to stop a motorcyclist riding in the dry hills with potential to start a wildfire. Results in pursuit and following Air-10's directions to his house where a discussion with the young man and his mother ensues. A call to a movie theater by a patron who found the manager and ticket saleslady both missing. A search reveals them tied up upstairs. A man on a gray motorcycle had held them up. They stop a gray motorcycle but the rider is a woman. Another patrol car spots the motorcycle and Malloy recognizes they can cut him off at a pedestrian tunnel where they force the man to crash. They notice the woman and Scottie are still out walking and window shopping. At a robbery scene they encounter a guard who has been shot, provides them a description, and then dies. Air-10 spots a possible suspect and with Adam-12 purses the car. It is a couple who thought it would be fun to play chase with the police copter. When they notice the Scottie tied up, further inspection turns up the woman who is stealing furs.

The Venice Division begins their patrol with a case of a nude sunbather on the public beach with her publicity agent hoping in vain for her arrest. Reed spots a man in a phone booth who they arrest. They help a motorcycle officer stop a man in a stolen dune buggy. A young woman who likes to exercise in her apartment in leotards is receiving obscene phone calls. A call about a drunk passed out in a diner turns out to be a drunk who died. Malloy and Reed have a hot 10 mph pursuit of a pumpkin down an alley but the motorcycle officer comes to their aid in stopping the pumpkin. They have a return call to the girl in the leotard location and find she has been attacked. They track the man to the roof.

The officers spot a car failing to yield to another car; the driver is a cat burglar Reno West that Malloy arrested and recently released from prison. They spot an abandoned and stolen car and call to have it removed. Reed spots a robbery in a store. The owner is shot and killed and they pursue the suspect into a pedestrian tunnel where Malloy wounds him and Reed is forced to kill him. A call to a library about stolen books turns up West checking out books on several costly items he is looking to steal. They receive a call about a domestic disturbance that turns into a shots fired call. A distraught man is in his house with his daughter. Reed and Malloy are able to rescue the girl even though the man had Reed in his sights. The girl is able to talk her dad out.

Malloy returns from vacation sporting a mustache bringing forth jokes from the coworkers. The officers spot a light plane on a glide path to crashing. With the help of Air 10 they locate the plane and pull the drunk pilot away before he lights a cigarette as gas leaks from the plane. They discover the pilot's son in the plane injured requiring CPR. A robbery report about three missing stamps appears to have the marks of Reno West who the officers know is back on the street. The officers receive unexpected help at the scene of a jewelry store robbery. A customer is a costuming specialist in the film industry. She provides two sketches of the robbery. One as he looked and one without the fake facial hair leading to comments on men's facial hair directed at Pete. The officers hear a honking horn which is a woman driving a car with a man captured in the passenger window. He tried to steal her purse and she grabbed him and intended to walk him to the nearest police station: four miles away. Another pair of officers arrest the jewelry store robber during a traffic stop and Pete shaves his mustache after trouble trimming it.

The opening scene shows a traffic stop of two suspected armed robbers gone tragically wrong; pull back to see that it is actually a training exercise at the police academy. Later, one of the rookie officers who was at the demonstration - Officer George Barrett - bungles the arrest of an elderly man suspected of robbing the bank. Malloy and Wells are upset with Barrett for his reluctance to go through the proper procedures in arresting the man, even though he appeared harmless (the suspect did not display a weapon and merely presented a note requesting $1 million). Later, Mac, Malloy and Reed talk about what happened, with Mac noting that this is another in a growing series of Barrett's serious mistakes and that he seems unwilling to learn or take good advice. Later, the officers are called to a grocery store, where a madman has planted an explosive device inside a cereal box, and the bomb will detonate within the hour. The officers corner the suspect, who holds another man at gunpoint.Reed orders Barrett to arrest the hostage, but Barrett hesitates to do so. Malloy completes the arrest before the "hostage" can do anything. In the closing tag, Mac informs Reed and Malloy that "Barrett's through".

Reed and Malloy work to resolve the long running "take a little, leave a little" burglary case. Reno West, the main suspect, proves a slippery character that covers his tracks through confusion and distraction. How can the LAPD collar him?

A new dispatcher with a sexy voice has Pete's interest. A hit and run accident has a little girl seriously injured, however, her brother caught the license of the car that hit her. A synagogue reports a typewriter with a Hebrew typeface and money stolen. The third call is a drunk woman sitting on a lawn. They take her to her daughter's nearby house but the daughter refuses to deal with her. During a stop for a meal at TJ's lunch wagon, he tells them he heard a man make threats about being fired as a painter at a studio. When they arrive at the studio, gunshots are heard and they find two painters have been shot. They work with SWAT to rescue one painter and capture the sniper. At the end of the shift they meet the dispatcher but to Pete's dismay, she is married to the SWAT lieutenant.

Reed's scout friend with a merit badge in electronics comes in to pick up Reed's TV to repair it but unexpectedly takes it apart at the station. The other officers are skeptical he can repair it. On patrol they receive a call about motorcycle racing on the streets. It is a juvenile on a souped up minibike who forces them to pursue him. He is living with an aunt after his parents were killed and has no friends. A neighbor calls and reports he overheard his neighbors arguing and saw the wife digging in her backyard the night before and the husband is now missing. The woman is raising chickens in the house and one named after her husband who has left died and she buried the chicken. A radio call reports a tall blonde woman with a big purse held up a store. Reed spots her at a bus stop minus wig and high-heeled shoes. Picketing at a store is resolved when the lead picketer learns she met the store manager on a computer date the previous night. He said he was a test pilot and she stalks off ending the issue. Malloy and Reed take a report on a robbery at a restaurant where two men were shot. They quickly recognize that the people making the report are the actual robbers. Reed's TV is fixed but the scout had to call a TV repairman for some minor help.

While his old shoes are being repaired, Reed is wearing a new pair which squeak and drive Malloy crazy. A neighbor reports a break-in but it is the owner breaking up his furniture due to his wife leaving him and the country. A near accident causes them to pull over a van for no brake lights and the driver is very anti-police. Mac sends them to a demolition site where a young boy with bad eyesight has hidden. Malloy is hoisted by crane to pluck down the boy frozen on a beam. While the officers stop at the shoe repair store to retrieve Reed's shoes, Reed notices a bank robbery going down across the street. After a couple of shots followed by a hostage situation, Malloy provides the robbers a car but the doors are locked.

Malloy is teased when he buys a modern painting at a roadside gallery to end a dispute. Later, the pair capture an escaping robber at the LA Coleseum who returns there to relive his life's greatest moment as a young football player.

Malloy and Woods went fishing, and the car smells like fish. Adam-12 picks up a disoriented senior who spills a bottle of perfume in the car as well. The pair mistake a minister to be a church prowler, and retrieve a young girl.

While on patrol, Reed stops into the local bank to pay a loan - and walks right into a bank robbery. Two hardened criminals with nothing to lose learn that Reed is a police officer and decide to take him hostage as a bargaining tool. Malloy and Mac are forced to come up with a drastic way to save Reed's life and foil the criminals.

When Mac assigns Reed to write an article about Malloy for Police Beat magazine, he agonizes to find details and an angle for the story. Meanwhile, the pair chase a gas station robber, end a domestic dispute, and capture a fleeing gunman.

Reed's sprained wrist puts him on office duty while Malloy breaks in a rookie partner. A bomb threat and Brinkman firing a shotgun at the station adds to the excitement.

Mallory returns to duty with a new car. He lets Reed drive it to work. They leave the car parked in the street when they chase a purse snatcher and catch him in a dumpster. On their return they find someone scraped the right front fender. At roll call they fill Mac in on what happened and he suggests his brother's body shop in Beverly Hills. Reed agrees to pay half but Malloy is worried about the cost. They receive a call from a woman whose drunk boyfriend is playing Indian and shooting arrows. They catch him at a newsstand in a fight. A store is held up and the owner suffers a heart attack in front of his wife as the officers question him. They try CPR but at the hospital he is pronounced dead. The last call is a robbery in progress at a pharmacy. The thief jumps through the window and is chased by the officers. A couple of shots are fired but the man gets away in the back of a pickup. A witness trails the pickup and alerts a motorcycle officer who notifies Malloy and Reed. They are able to take the wounded man in the house. Mac's brother's estimate is high ($120) but says he will do it for the materials costs of $20.

Reed and Malloy start their shift at a bar where a drunk woman is threatening everyone with a gun. Other cases involve carjackers who happen to steal a car with guns, and a death of a mentally challenged man which looks suspicious.

Reed returns from vacation with a bad case of sunburn and is in agony all day. Reed and Malloy deal with a traffic accident, drug dealer, robbery suspect, and help rescue two boys from the water whose boat capsized.

On Reed's suggestion, Mac arranges for him and Malloy to spend a few days on air patrol so that they can get a feel for what air patrol can or cannot do in assisting ground patrol. If this pilot test is successful, other ground units may also take shifts up in the air, much to some officer's chagrin. Upon their arrival at the helicopter station, they learn that they will be in the air with an old ground patrol friend, Officer Lou Walters, and Officer Chet Mills. Their first call is a heist at a wholesale jewelers located in a high rise complex downtown, the perpetrators still somewhere in the building. Malloy wonders if they can not only patrol the exterior of the building, such as the roof, but also do visual checks in windows. He soon gets his answer. They are then asked to assist in a ground patrol call in an apparent homicide, where the perpetrator left the scene in an identified vehicle. Air patrol takes up the search for that car, based partly on some past information Malloy is able to provide. Just as they land for their meal break, they are called back up into the air, this time in two 'copters, to pursue a stolen light plane that almost collided mid air with an incoming Boeing 727 at Burbank Airport. However, before the two units can pursue the stolen plane, they first have to locate the stolen plane, with only the vector from air traffic control providing a general direction. The rest has to be done visually.

Continuing with their air patrol shift, Reed with Mills and Malloy with Walters, they are still pursuing the light plane that was stolen from Burbank Airport. They have to coerce the pilot, who had a few drinks prior to stealing the plane and is suicidal over a failing long term marriage, to land the plane safely without injuring anyone. Next, the two air units pursue two different vehicles that were involved in a robbery. Malloy and Reed learn that more than one 'copter per pursuit may cause problems. On what is supposed to be their second and final air shift, Malloy is called back to ground patrol leaving Reed to cover the air, this time with Walters. Late into that shift in the evening, Reed and Walters can smell a fire, which they have to locate. They can use their position in the air for mass evacuation purposes if the fire gets out of hand. By the end of the shift, Reed will have a lengthy report of what measures can be taken to improve not only cooperation between air and ground, but also to assist air in doing their own job more effectively.

Malloy and Reed are assigned as vacation fill-in at LA airport. As Zebra-12 they work on foot and motorbikes around LAX, handling an amazing number of crimes. Pete makes time with a shapely blonde supervisor at a ticket counter.

When an old man wearing a strange-looking belt is found dead of natural causes, fraud is suspected and the case is turned over to major frauds division. Investigation leads to a Dr. Gantman, whose useless treatment of a blind seven-year-old girl with a pituitary tumor is preventing its timely surgical removal. A break comes when a television repairman, who makes "electro-charged oscillator belts" for the doctor, is arrested for bookmaking and is willing to testify against him. The bookie isn't needed after a courtroom demonstration by the doctor results in the doctor's undoing.

Reed and Malloy are assigned to "team policing", where officers from different departments work as a unit. Their team uncovers and busts a car accident insurance scam and works an undercover stakeout for a daylight burglar.

When an officer calls for help but fails to give his name or location, it results in a frantic search for the missing officer. The dispatcher helps by doing a roll call of all the known officers on patrol at the time of the call, while Reed and Malloy assist in the search. A motorcycle officer is the one who is missing, eventually leading their comrades to a parking garage and an armed hostage situation.

Malloy is contacted by Charlie Bishop who has served his time and is having a hard time adjusting to life on the outside. After listening to Charlie's story Malloy and Reed go back out on patrol, and after catching a potential tax cheat they check out a halfway house in hope that it has room for Charlie. In the meantime Charlie has decided that he'd rather be back in prison and after receiving a radio call Malloy and Reed realize they have to stop him from making a big mistake.

When Mac's wife gets a job he complains to Malloy but the patrol calls all teach lessons about this new "women's liberation". Malloy and Reed rescue a hostage from supermarket bandits and find an elderly nursing home escapee.

The officers spot a girl in a park by a school who has been raped by a serial rapist in the area. They accompany Sgt. Gloria Tyler to help teach a class of girls at the school how to handle sexual assaults. At a home burglary they catch an elderly man they know and his nephew leaving the scene. A market reports a shoplifter in a rain coat who ran away. The officers' search turns up the rain coat outside a bar and the man inside pretending to be a comic. Several officers participate in an undercover sting to catch the rape suspect using Tyler as the bait. They catch him after a chase when he attacks another girl and she screams.

A door-to-door search for a missing girl in a red sweater leads to a foot chase with the pedophile who kidnapped the youngster. Malloy catches the suspect, then loses his cool when the suspect makes a smart remark. The suspect fights back by filing an excessive force complaint against Malloy. Malloy admits what he did and accepts the consequences, even though he knows it could affect his long-term career goals.

Malloy and Reed handle a humorous drunk forced to dry out at the station jail and help a woman recover an antique when she discovers her husband hid their savings inside. They capture a rapist, and free a woman stuck in a phone booth.

Reed goes to visit the bank when his credit rating is incorrect. He and Malloy stop a liquor store robbery, return two kids that ran away from home, and resolve a mystery fender bender all the while Jim gets his bank records fixed.

It's the Christmas season, and Malloy and Reed discuss the differences they have in approaching the holidays. They deal with a noise complaint against a man on their first call. Next, they head to a loading dock where two young men just stole a truck to take for a joyride. The truck contains radioactive material which could kill them if they tamper with it. Next, a passerby informs them of a liquor store robbery in progress. Malloy and Reed encounter Sam, a Christmas tree salesman who channels more the spirit of Scrooge than Santa... or does he?

Malloy stops to drop off laundry before shift. While there the manager confronts a young man tying up a dryer. Malloy arrrests him for drying marijuana. A bus driver reports a young girl left on his bus. They take her to the station as she does not speak english. By trial and error they learn she in from Finland. They take her to back track her route to find her relative's home. When they return her, they have to handle a neighbor dispute across the street where a man's boys are trashing his neighbor's property again. The laundry manager reports a man and woman looking for their friend. The police use the license plate of their car to track down the people. Malloy purses the girl in the car while Reed must handle the man on foot. Back at the laundromat, Reed learns Malloy was dropping off his laundry plus his girlfriend's.

The men start with a theft report of an older car of little value. They return to the station to investigation a hunch and learn that older cars often tagged as abandoned are disappearing as noticed in other parts of the city. A call about an abandoned car blocking a woman's driveway provides them the chance to ask her to report if someone takes it. They spot a man at a bus stop matching a robbery suspect and when they check on him he runs forcing Reed into foot pursuit while Malloy tracks them in the car to catch him. They stop by a scrap metal company to ask the owner for any clues and he says that the wildcatters are not really wildcatters. A call about two boys who went into a house filled with lethal bug spray turns fatal for two boys by the time they get inside. The woman reports a tow truck taking the abandoned car. After stopping it, they find the truck has false labels on it covering the name of the scrap yard. At the scrap yard they are in luck as the equipment is broken allowing them to find the stolen car from the initial theft.

An elderly lady reports one of her most prized possessions, a TV, has been stolen. A silent alarm call is a robbery where the store owner is critically wounded putting him and his daughter in a severe financial pinch. They capture one of the suspects but the second one escapes as Reed rescues a baby in a runaway stroller. Reed wishes they had forms for the new program to reimburse victims of violent crimes like this one. A detective has them question the bail bondsman about the suspect in the robbery to find the missing one. He gives them an address where a neighbor has information on the suspect's car and license number. Silent alarm at a drive-in is young men robbing it but unable to flee when their car stalls. They get away but are caught five blocks away by the backup car. A patrol car spots the missing suspect's car and pursues it. Adam-12 picks up the pursuit when the other car is blocked. They chase the man on foot and apprehend him. The elderly woman comes to the station to ask if the officers have found her TV and why something isn't done for victims. At the end the forms for victim reimbursement arrive and they provide one to the daughter.

Reed and Malloy work with a rookie officer who hides the fact that he stutters, a handicap that has dangerous consequences for the recruit's fellow officers.

Reed and Malloy agree to double date for dinner, but on the way to the restaurant Jim and Jean see a robbery in progress. Once again Mrs Reed gets stood up but Jean, Pete, and Judy are good sports and citizens once they know Reed is safe.

On PM watch, Reed and Malloy assist Wells and Brady at a domestic dispute involving an armed husband. They investigate the report of a possible dead body, and later, the robbery of a pawn shop. At the gun range the next day, Reed and Malloy, along with Wells and Brady, among others, practice before their monthly qualification. Later, a cabbie tips them on what he thinks is a burglary in progress. They get a hit on prints taken at the pawn shop the night before and find the suspect working at a car wash. He tries for a clean getaway, but pulls a gun instead and is caught. After nightfall they back up Wells and Brady again, on a prowler call this time, where the homeowner takes a shot at a suspected prowler.

Reed and Malloy handle a call about a stolen horse that someone is trying to sell to a horse stable. Also, after a call from a wealthy woman, she accuses them of stealing one of her valuable rings. Reed thinks Malloy should buy a used boat.

Reed and Malloy deal with victims of depression as a new mother and suicidal businessman need hospitalization.

Three drug runners kidnap Malloy after his shift, holding him hostage in exchange for the police dropping charges against their associate. Reed leads an investigation and rescue effort, using a key clue Malloy had dropped to the dispatcher.

While Malloy is filling in for Sgt. MacDonald, Reed has a new partner Gus Corbin who is relatively new and takes a few too many risks for Reed or Malloy's liking.

Malloy sits one out as Reed drives and pairs up with a new partner: Dana Hall, a policewoman! The sexual attitudes of the 1970s run rampant with Wells representing the worst of the era while Reed, ever the Renaissance Man, treats his temporary partner with respect and bemusement.

When Reed fails to get a conviction on a drug arrest, he decides to temporarily join the narcotics squad. He finds the work mentally hard and his wife dislikes the impact on him.

Malloy and Reed are faced with citizens who want to skirt the law in special cases. Reed is faced with fallout from his wife Jean about his safety after being awarded the Medal of Valor for rescuing a wounded Malloy during a shootout.