The episode starts off with Sergeant MacDonald getting a bit testy with Malloy and Reed. The partners are in their squad car, sitting in the Station House parking lot. Reed has been having trouble with the 2-way radio. They can hear dispatch, but dispatch can't hear Reed when he calls in a "1 - Adam-12, Clear." Turns out the microphone cord had come just loose enough to not work yet not be noticed. When Reed tells Mac this info, Mac basically accuses Reed of telling a bald-faced lie and the partners of just lazying about.
It's surprising to see good ol' Sergeant Mac behave like this. Plus, he should remember that back in the 4th season of Adam-12, the squad having a faulty radio led to a massive "Search" (the episode's title) for Malloy. Riding alone during a car chase, Malloy had crashed the patrol car, in the dark of night, in a heavily forested area. Because of the faulty radio, the terribly injured Malloy couldn't radio in his position. So here, in this episode, Mac should know better. Then too, he should have known better just because - Hey! This is Pete Malloy and Jim Reed we're talking about here. There's never been a finer pair of Police Officers to set foot on American soil, west of the Mississippi River!
Mac's behavior later gets an explanation. He's having trouble with the Missus. She's running an Antique Shop and would like her husband to share in some of the household duties. Well, one at least. Picking up their kids from High School this particular day. However, even when Malloy offers to help out by picking up the kids, Mac would rather keep making his wife the "bad guy".
Turns out, this storyline has it's basis in the Woman's Liberation Movement of the time. Mac thinks his wife's place is in the home. When Reed is about to suggest that Malloy seems to agree with Mac, Malloy cuts him off, insisting that he's simply going to remain a bachelor. It's all sort of amusing from a point of view some 50 years on.
To add to the Woman's Lib angle of the episode, M & R also deal with an elderly couple. The husband asks the partners to go in search of his wife. She's rolled herself on down to the local tavern in her wheelchair. She's just listening to a gentleman piano player do his thing. This scenario actually leads to Sergeant MacDonald realizing the errors of his ways. All ends well, leading to continued peace throughout the Rampart Division.
Besides all this though, there's a prolonged storyline in which Adam-12, MacDonald, Officer Brinkman, Officer Woods and other Officers, all respond to a hostage situation at a grocery store. A lot of this scenario has Malloy and Reed running around on the roofs of several buildings. They even have to jump from rooftop to rooftop. This involves some good stunt work and a nice switch-er-roo from Stuntman to actor Martin Milner all in one shot. There's also some great camera work in which the camera focuses on Reed as it (the camera) leads Reed from place of safety to place of safety atop one roof. Great direction in these scenes. It's pretty cool seeing Kent McCord and Martin Milner scurrying about on these rooftops.
Great episode!
It's surprising to see good ol' Sergeant Mac behave like this. Plus, he should remember that back in the 4th season of Adam-12, the squad having a faulty radio led to a massive "Search" (the episode's title) for Malloy. Riding alone during a car chase, Malloy had crashed the patrol car, in the dark of night, in a heavily forested area. Because of the faulty radio, the terribly injured Malloy couldn't radio in his position. So here, in this episode, Mac should know better. Then too, he should have known better just because - Hey! This is Pete Malloy and Jim Reed we're talking about here. There's never been a finer pair of Police Officers to set foot on American soil, west of the Mississippi River!
Mac's behavior later gets an explanation. He's having trouble with the Missus. She's running an Antique Shop and would like her husband to share in some of the household duties. Well, one at least. Picking up their kids from High School this particular day. However, even when Malloy offers to help out by picking up the kids, Mac would rather keep making his wife the "bad guy".
Turns out, this storyline has it's basis in the Woman's Liberation Movement of the time. Mac thinks his wife's place is in the home. When Reed is about to suggest that Malloy seems to agree with Mac, Malloy cuts him off, insisting that he's simply going to remain a bachelor. It's all sort of amusing from a point of view some 50 years on.
To add to the Woman's Lib angle of the episode, M & R also deal with an elderly couple. The husband asks the partners to go in search of his wife. She's rolled herself on down to the local tavern in her wheelchair. She's just listening to a gentleman piano player do his thing. This scenario actually leads to Sergeant MacDonald realizing the errors of his ways. All ends well, leading to continued peace throughout the Rampart Division.
Besides all this though, there's a prolonged storyline in which Adam-12, MacDonald, Officer Brinkman, Officer Woods and other Officers, all respond to a hostage situation at a grocery store. A lot of this scenario has Malloy and Reed running around on the roofs of several buildings. They even have to jump from rooftop to rooftop. This involves some good stunt work and a nice switch-er-roo from Stuntman to actor Martin Milner all in one shot. There's also some great camera work in which the camera focuses on Reed as it (the camera) leads Reed from place of safety to place of safety atop one roof. Great direction in these scenes. It's pretty cool seeing Kent McCord and Martin Milner scurrying about on these rooftops.
Great episode!
