Veteran cop Sgt. T.J.Hooker (William Shatner) has a nightmare which recounts a moment back in his plainclothes days five years earlier when his old partner Johnny Durrall was shot as they tried to foil a bank robbery. A string of new robberies have the same pattern and fit the profile of the thieves who escaped. After the incident he requested to go back to plainclothes duty to be closer to the action on the streets.
When he and his new partner Officer Vince Romano (Adrian Zmed) are dispatched to the scene of a robbery Hooker spots the one-handed bandit (William Lucking) who killed Johnny leading the gang of robbers. But he gets away again. Hooker knows for sure that the only way for him to gain inner peace and closure is to catch his partner's killer. Whether he can remain detached enough to do his job by the book is questionable.
The theme of nostalgia in this episode telling. Hooker is seen remembering music of the big band era fondly and wistfully talking about how things used to cost a lot less. The episode itself has a plot similar to that which TV cop shows had been staging in the 1950s and Hooker was played by an actor 15 years passed his prime. Things were comfortably familiar for the older demographic drawn to the show.
The only shocking thing about the premier episode of season 3 is that there was a season 3. T.J.Hooker had debuted as a mid-season replacement series in Spring 1982 and cracked the ratings top 30. Season 2 should theoretically have seen an improvement in its numbers. But the gimmick of seeing Captiain Kirk play cops & robbers wore thin in a hurry. Though the numbers weren't terrible in season two they were far from spectacular on a medium where cop shows were a staple.
From early 1982 to Fall 1984 the only other cop show on the air that wasn't floundering was Hill Street Blues. CHiPS - a longstanding schlock cop show was on the chopping block. Even Barney Miller, a sitcom about cops was soon to be cancelled. Numerous attempts at creating lasting hit network cop shows failed. There were plenty of crime investigator shows on TV but they were not cop shows. Tastes had changed. They would change back but this show would not be a significant part of the resurgence.
Thoughts of regaining top 30 standing lingered though it wouldn't happen. It was figured that Heather Locklear's Officer Stacy Sheridan character might stimulate ratings by going out into the field with a partner - Officer Jim Corrigan (James Darren) and that change at the end of season two helped stem an inevitable decline but failed to win many new viewers.
Shatner's weight noticeably fluctuated during the series but in the premier episode of season 3 he had noticeably shed some chunk. Doubtless he took the off-season to get into better shape in hopes of maximizing his appeal as the main character to give it a better chance of a solid debut.
When he and his new partner Officer Vince Romano (Adrian Zmed) are dispatched to the scene of a robbery Hooker spots the one-handed bandit (William Lucking) who killed Johnny leading the gang of robbers. But he gets away again. Hooker knows for sure that the only way for him to gain inner peace and closure is to catch his partner's killer. Whether he can remain detached enough to do his job by the book is questionable.
The theme of nostalgia in this episode telling. Hooker is seen remembering music of the big band era fondly and wistfully talking about how things used to cost a lot less. The episode itself has a plot similar to that which TV cop shows had been staging in the 1950s and Hooker was played by an actor 15 years passed his prime. Things were comfortably familiar for the older demographic drawn to the show.
The only shocking thing about the premier episode of season 3 is that there was a season 3. T.J.Hooker had debuted as a mid-season replacement series in Spring 1982 and cracked the ratings top 30. Season 2 should theoretically have seen an improvement in its numbers. But the gimmick of seeing Captiain Kirk play cops & robbers wore thin in a hurry. Though the numbers weren't terrible in season two they were far from spectacular on a medium where cop shows were a staple.
From early 1982 to Fall 1984 the only other cop show on the air that wasn't floundering was Hill Street Blues. CHiPS - a longstanding schlock cop show was on the chopping block. Even Barney Miller, a sitcom about cops was soon to be cancelled. Numerous attempts at creating lasting hit network cop shows failed. There were plenty of crime investigator shows on TV but they were not cop shows. Tastes had changed. They would change back but this show would not be a significant part of the resurgence.
Thoughts of regaining top 30 standing lingered though it wouldn't happen. It was figured that Heather Locklear's Officer Stacy Sheridan character might stimulate ratings by going out into the field with a partner - Officer Jim Corrigan (James Darren) and that change at the end of season two helped stem an inevitable decline but failed to win many new viewers.
Shatner's weight noticeably fluctuated during the series but in the premier episode of season 3 he had noticeably shed some chunk. Doubtless he took the off-season to get into better shape in hopes of maximizing his appeal as the main character to give it a better chance of a solid debut.
