TJ Hooker
1 9 8 2 - 1 9 8 7 (USA)
92 x 50 minute episodes
 Q:
How many LCPD cops does it take to clean up this type of rotten
city?
A: Just three - a blonde bimbo, a Latino clothes horse and Captain
James T Kirk (late of the starship Enterprise)!
I can believe Heather Locklear as Amanda in Melrose Place,
but as a police officer??? Come on . . . And what can you say
about that epitome of irony, William Shatner, that hasn't been
said a million times?
Captain Kirk with a badge and a revolver - and just like the
good Captain, T J Hooker (call sign 4-Adam-30) was prone to
frequent fits of self-righteous rage which have become Shatner's
trademark.
Throw in the gorgeous (but vacuous) Locklear, and this show has
all the (most bizarre) ingredients . . .
Anybody remotely involved in TJ Hooker's life was promptly
kidnapped or killed (or both) which provided plenty of scope for
him to throw the rule book out the window, break several laws and
regulations, and cop a bollocking for being too "personally
involved".
Inevitably the baddie ("Lowlife scum") would be
brought to justice and a crap light-hearted laugh-along scene
would close each episode. This show was worthwhile primarily
because Officer Sheridan (Heather Locklear) posed as a stripper,
call-girl or erotic dancer in nearly every episode. And that can't
be a bad thing . .
Sgt. T.J. Hooker had been a detective, but gave up his gold
shield and civilian clothing for a uniformed street patrol because
that's where he thought he was needed. He was assigned to the
Academy Precinct of the L.C.P.D., where he could give advice to
police trainees like Stacy and rookies like his new partner,
Officer Vince Romano.
T.J. taught them more than street smarts. There was much
anguish over the rights and wrongs of police work in this series.
Hooker stood for traditional values, despite his own
disappointments - a marriage that had ended in divorce (though he
was still on good terms with his ex-wife, Fran) and a partner that
was killed in the line of duty.
His two daughters, Cathy and Chrissie were seen occasionally.
Captain Sheridan was the by-the-book supervisor and Stacy's
father.
Celebrity appearances included: an old familiar face in Leonard
Nimoy (as a cop going off the deep end because of his daughters'
rape); The Beach Boys and Jerry Lee Lewis.
In the fall of 1983, Stacy graduated to street patrol, with
veteran patrolman Jim Corrigan as her partner.
When ABC cancelled T.J. Hooker in the spring of 1985, CBS
picked it up with new episodes as an addition to its late-night line-up.
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