Adam-12: Season 07 (1974)

The seventh and final season of Adam-12 spends a bit more time on the private lives of LAPD officers Malloy (Martin Milner) and Reed (Kent McCord) than in previous years. Reed was seen commiserating with his wife Jean, played by Kristin Harmon (replacing season two's Mikki Jamison). As for the unmarried Malloy, he devoted much of his down time to talking about his new girlfriend Judy, who was seen from time to time in the person of actress Aneta Corsaut, better known as Helen Crump on The Andy Griffith Show. The season opens with one of the series' rare two-part episodes, "Camp," and closes with another two-parter, "Something Worth Dying For." In between, the viewer is treated to one of Adam-12's best-ever episodes, "X-Force," in which Malloy loses his cool with a child abuser and smacks his handcuffed prisoner against a wall -- leading to an excessive-force charge, with Reed reluctantly corroborating the evidence. Although Adam-12's ratings suffered mightily as a result of being scheduled opposite Happy Days and Good Times, the series still enjoyed a loyal following during its final season -- and, as a bonus, it had entered the Valhalla of media history as prime time's last-ever half-hour dramatic network series. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi