There is just so much movie here. For some it may be too much. But in the same secretly sarcastic way most telemarketers say the phrase, the title of this one is particularly apt.

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

One of those movie experiences that is so good it makes you realize you've been grading everything else on a curve.

There is definitely an excellent idea hidden in the background of the film. Unfortunately, it's difficult to find it.

For those who liked the docudrama style of Jack Webb without some of the overblown moralizing that Dragnet was capable of Adam-12 was your kind of show. Done in the staccato Webb style, Adam-12 focused on the day to day happenings of two uniformed officers as they drove in the squad responding to whatever they saw or were dispatched to.Like Dragnet which was revived, Adam-12 was created to refurbish the image of the LAPD which was badly damaged after the LA riots in the middle sixties. The difference here was that Jack Webb and Harry Morgan were already veteran cops. In Adam-12 it starts with Martin Milner as the veteran breaking in a rookie Kent McCord. By the end of the series run however, McCord certainly became a veteran.One thing that they copied exactly from Dragnet was that Officer Reed grew off the job as well. He got married during the show's run and in those alone time scenes in the squad car he would talk about the various problems young marrieds have, especially as they related to the job he was on. But like Joe Friday, Officer Malloy never divulged much if anything about his personal life. Jack Webb and Martin Milner were truly married to the badge.The episodes were done in nice and compact Jack Webb style. They hold up better than a lot of the Dragnets.

Before one can even watch this they have to recognize Jack Webb's persona. All of the complexities of human interaction were present in the late '60s and early '70s but, unlike a lot of the relativistic 'gray' portrayals of law enforcement and crime today, they were not given a lot of air time. Adam-12 was simply a show depicting the 'best' of LAPD and 'how' things should have been done versus how they often were. Jack Webb's involvement with LAPD "and" (significantly) his support of the 'average cop' on the beat went way back and perhaps simply because he had a tough childhood and had to 'be responsible' much of his effort is to show accountability. He was never a cop, his military background was limited but he certainly produced a wonderfully entertaining yet simple "police drama" with Reed and Malloy. "1 Adam-12, see the woman..." and so it goes.These shows were sans profanity, obvious sexuality and even real violence. Significantly they lacked CGI and much in the way of volatility type action (explosions, car crashes and so forth) and really seemed more of 'a training film' process for civilians. Call it nostalgic but I liked that time and manner. Great series! Worth watching today.

This show, for the first time, captured the essence of being a street cop. Not just all shootem-up and car chases.Though obviously dated today.... a whole generation of kids watched this show and wanted to grow up and be Reed or Malloy, including me. The career that provided me with so much satisfaction was really inspired by this show. Despite what some may think, most cops got into the job with the same values and intents that hallmarked the characters on the Adam 12 show.During my 25+ years in law enforcement, I was able to meet Kent McCord and Martin Milner at several charity events that they regularly supported. In real life, they truly are the good guys they portrayed on television. A picture of myself with them hangs on my office wall, and is one of my most cherished possessions.

This show was a solid entry from the start. The pairing of Kent McCord & Martin Milner provided instant sparks as the two of them played off each other very well. As they were both fairly young actors this helped hit a younger audience.Jack Webb revived Dragnet at about the same time as this series started, but while the way the stories are laid out is similar, the youth movement gave this one more spark. Along with that, the rolling moving patrol car theme gave this one more hip than the more office grounded Dragnet. This series just plain had more action.1-Adam-12, see the man at 19 Main Street for possible Liquor Store robbery. The patrol car radio would crackle out something like this at the beginning of every show. There would often be some car chases which would prove as popular on TV series as they were in theaters like Steve McQueens "Bullet" which was on screens when this show started.This show was very solid & provided NBC solid ratings for quite a few years. I am not sure how well it would do on the DVD market, but think it could get some more fans if folks would check it out. It is a very good police action series from the late 60's era.