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 lighthearted 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 LCPD, 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 lineup.
Sgt T.J. Hooker
William Shatner
Officer Vince Romano
Adrian Zmed
Officer Stacy Sheridan
Heather Locklear
Capt Dennis Sheridan
Richard Herd
Fran Hooker
Lee Bryant
Cathy Hooker
Susan McClung
Chrissie Hooker
Nicole Eggert
Vicki Taylor
April Clough
Officer Jim Corrigan
James Darren
