T.J. Hooker Season 1 Episode 1

The first episode(Pilot) which runs in a 90 minute time slot. It begins with Sergeant T.J. Hooker telling the trainees what he is expecting from all the recruits. They will undergo intense on the job training. One of the recruits girlfriends talks with a crook named Harry who is the Deputy DA. He expects her to help him with his crooked activities. We cut to Hooker on the workout field giving pointers and critique to the new recruits. The next scene shows a man named Whit loading a gun. His girlfriend and baby are upset about it. His buddy Travis walks in and they go to do a job. They rob a couple for $17 and Wit is upset and kills them. Hooker continues to train. He is upset about laws and judges that throw out cases on a technicallity. Later at the bar, he talks about a cop who dies because of all of the procedure he must follow while the criminal does not follow any rules. He also talks favorably for the death penalty for the scum who kill innocent people. He leaves by saying "I've seen the past and it works".(Love this line about the death penalty and the way it used to be working-That is something you will never see on tv again and it is a sad thing). Hooker goes to his ex-wifes home to watch his kids. He meets his daughter Chrissy. He then see his ex Fran with her date Harvey waiting to leave. He and Fran talk about why Hooker is still on the beat. He had lost part of his stomach in a shooting and still has some lead in his back. He says he likes doing his job. Hooker watches Harry the DA taking a shot at him on tv for a shooting he did on the job. The recruits then call him about another hit by the two bad guys. Hooker tells them they are going out for on the field training in the morning. Hooker takes Romano and Mcneil with him. They stop a man from running a red light. Then a woman runs over to tell them there is a sniper on the roof. Ramano has flashback to nam as he is shot at. He snaps out of it. He tackles the guy and loses control for another minute. Hooker sanps him out of it and tells him to call it in. Later that Mcneil & Country are out with a superior officer. Country goes over to check on a guy fixing his car when the superior is in the bathroom. It is one of the crooks and he is shot and killed. Mcneil is shot and is alive. Hooker tells the recruits that Country made a mistake by leaving the car. He says that the badge is a target. The next day a woman reports a disturbance at a house next door. The crook Wit answers the door and is real testy. He gets his wife to the door to tell them she is ok. The next day the recruits have a picnic with their family. A few of the wives go over to a store where Wit and Travis are hitting. Hooker and the other hear shots and they go to help. Wit tries escape in a car and Hooker shoots through the window to stop him.(Great close up shot of Hooker shooting his gun. Mcneil tells Hooker of how His Ex Fran was telling him how she still loved him except for his insane antics sometimes. Hooker replies that he thought sanity was a little overratted. The last scene show all the recruits getting an assignment. Romano is left alone with no assignment. Hooker walks up to him and tells him he lucked out and got him as a partner. What a wonderful start to a classic series. Shatner is in top form and the other recruits all do a fine job. It would have been nice if they could have kept a few more recruits on theshow for the series run.