Keeping Tabs

Episode aired Mar 14, 1973
TV-PG
25m

IMDb RATING

8.3/10

YOUR RATING

William Boyett and Martin Milner in Adam-12 (1968)

Crime Drama

Malloy and Reed stop a car full of young men on a midnight joyride. They are surprised when one is Sgt MacDonald's son. Pete wants to help, and quickly finds himself in the middle.Malloy and Reed stop a car full of young men on a midnight joyride. They are surprised when one is Sgt MacDonald's son. Pete wants to help, and quickly finds himself in the middle.Malloy and Reed stop a car full of young men on a midnight joyride. They are surprised when one is Sgt MacDonald's son. Pete wants to help, and quickly finds himself in the middle.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

8.3/10

YOUR RATING

2User reviews

See production info at IMDbPro

Photos2

User reviews2

8.397

Featured reviews

6StrictlyConfidential

Ducks

(*Sergeant MacDonald quote*) - "That might seem funny to you, Pete. But, I don't see the humor in it."

Billy MacDonald (Mac's son) is caught joyriding with his friends. Mac asks Officer Malloy (who doesn't have any children) his advice on disciplining his son.

In the meantime - There's a call about a burglary in an old apartment complex.

On top of that, there's a fight to stop, as well.

10charles-p-hall

One of the most memorable episodes

Malloy's speech to Mac about his sailboat has stuck with me all these years. Amidst all the episodes through the run of the series some are suspenseful, some are action-packed, but some are just plain memorable. This episode is just really memorable.

I don't think any of the episodes are bad, there's just good and great. The plot here is pretty routine (albeit entertaining).

Martin Milner's previous series, "Route 66", does not hold up near as well. Each episode of "Route 66" had some dramatic emotional fight scene, usually involving whoever was riding with Milner that season. Watching those old shows in 2023 is not boring, but the shows are pretty stagey and try too hard to make a point.

Adam-12 is just the opposite, low-key, never in your face, yet the point is made. That point is usually that ordinary people can be heroes or crumbs, and it can happen wherever you live.

Milner and Kent McCord do a fine job, season after season, with well-written scripts. If you watch enough of these at one sitting you'll soon be find yourself requesting Code 7 before lunch, with Malloy's voice in one ear and the dispatcher in the other. A little spooky actually.

Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
217 = assault with the intent to murder.

Goofs
The actor's microphone and cord are evident under Billy's white turtleneck when he's walking with Pete.

Quotes
Sgt. MacDonald: I end up not wanting him to do anything, fearing he will make some kind of mistake.
Officer Pete Malloy: You know, when I was a kid I built one of those model ships. I worked on it every day after school. It was pretty detailed, exact rigging and built to scale. When I was done, I took it to a pond where we lived and I put it in the water. A gust of wind grabbed it and got it going too fast and sent it toward some rocks. So I ran around the pond and jerked it out of the water. I never sailed it again, I was afraid it was going to get damaged. I took it home and put it on a shelf in my bedroom. I never really enjoyed it again.
Sgt. MacDonald: This is a boy, not a model ship.
Officer Pete Malloy: I get the feeling that you're never going to be pleased with him until you let him succeed on his own terms, despite the risks, and he does.