Adam-12 (TV Series)

Keeping Tabs (1973)

William Boyett: Sgt. MacDonald

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Quotes 

• Officer Pete Malloy : It really wasn't that big of a caper. I know its embarrassing but the rest of the guys around here understand.

  Sgt. MacDonald : You know Pete, I must have made that same speech to a dozen other cops whose sons were arrested, but I guess I won't be making it again. Somehow it isn't the same when it's your own boy.

• Sgt. MacDonald : Whatever I said, he understood. It was natural.

  Officer Pete Malloy : He's growing up, Mac.

  Sgt. MacDonald : I know. I think that's where I've had the most trouble adjusting.

• Sgt. MacDonald : I end up not wanting him to do anything, fearing he will make some kind of mistake.

  Officer Pete Malloy : You know, when I was a kid I built one of those model ships. I worked on it every day after school. It was pretty detailed, exact rigging and built to scale. When I was done, I took it to a pond where we lived and I put it in the water. A gust of wind grabbed it and got it going too fast and sent it toward some rocks. So I ran around the pond and jerked it out of the water. I never sailed it again, I was afraid it was going to get damaged. I took it home and put it on a shelf in my bedroom. I never really enjoyed it again.

  Sgt. MacDonald : This is a boy, not a model ship.

  Officer Pete Malloy : I get the feeling that you're never going to be pleased with him until you let him succeed on his own terms, despite the risks, and he does.