Adam 12 was a hit cop show from the early 70's. A sister show to Dragnet, it was a half hour police drama dealing with the day to day life of Officers Pete Malloy and Jim Reed, uniformed officers who patrolled the streets of Los Angeles.

   And lord knows the Los Angeles entertainment industry loves a popular established title it can reinvent. The idea is that the public already knows and likes a show that used to be on the air. If you make a new version they'll love it and watch it.

   That's what happened to both Adam 12 and Dragnet in 1989. New updated versions of both shows were produced for syndication. The plan didn't work as well as hope though. First of all, yes, people loved Adam 12 and Dragnet. But they both got canceled when they started feeling old and dated and when people got tired of them. Fifteen to twenty years passage of time didn't help these shows feel any fresher, especially with so many new police dramas on the air taking dramatic chances trying to establish a realistic feel. By comparison the new Dragnet and Adam 12's 1970s inspired version of realism frankly felt contrived and fake. Adam 12 and Dragnet are products of past times and without the willingness to take dramatic chances didn't transplant well.

   Even though the new versions of Dragnet and Adam 12 were produced as sister shows in the same way the originals were, I am not aware that the new versions ever actually crossed over the way their parent shows had.

Other Adam 12 (1968-1975) Crossover Links
Adam 12 and Dragnet '67
Adam 12 and Emergency


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