Emblazoned on the side door of every Los Angeles police department squad car is its official motto: "to protect and serve." This is the theme of NBC-TV's police-action series Adam-12. The series follows the experiences of two officers working motor patrol. The classification for this assignment is "A" or, phonetically, "Adam." The numeral "12" designates the geographic location within the city of Los Angeles.
The series, created by Dragnet's Jack Webb, stars Martin Milner as senior officer Pete Malloy and his rookie partner, Jim Reed. Malloy has two jobs: to patrol the beat and make a good cop out of his green partner.
Milner began his career at the age of 10 acting in local children's plays. After years of stage, television, and movie work, his big break came when he landed a lead role in the popular Route 66 series.
McCord was attending Citrus Junior College when he got his first taste of acting. He was a close friend of Rick Nelson and subsequently appeared as Rick's fraternity brother in the Ozzie and Harriet show. He played minor roles in many TV series and in a segment of Run for Your Life portrayed a policeman. In a Dragnet episode, he was cast as the young vice squad officer to whom Sgt. Joe Friday [Jack Webb] delivered his "What Is a Cop?" monologue. Later, Webb chose McCord for Adam-12.
Case histories and criminal records of operation in Adam-12 are factual. Captains of each of the 16 divisions of the Los Angeles police department assign one sergeant to act as technical advisor on each episode. A segment writer generally accompanies a police officer for one complete tour of duty in an L.A.P.D. patrol car. After working with the sergeant and riding in the squad car, the writer evolves an episode.