Hondo blames a reporter’s pro-cult stories for seducing the kids, linking unprincipled pop media with teen culture.

And in “Coven of Killers,” teenagers form a sect strikingly similar to the Charles Manson family. In “Omega One,” a group of opinionated college students take over a government laboratory they suspect is manufacturing bacteriological weapons. It’s the ’70s, and so rebellious kids can only mean trouble. As if to demonstrate the value of such an ambition, in “Pressure Cooker,” a nosy woman reporter endangers the S.W.A.T. I saw the way you and your young man looked at each other I hope you have a long and happy life together.” Similarly, Miss New Mexico (a pre- Charlie’s Angels Farrah Fawcett) confesses that her goal is to marry a rich husband. In the episode, “The Steel-Plated Security Blanket,” reporter Susan (Lara Parker), McCabe’s fiancée, interviews a former Miss America, who observes, “I don’t suppose you will be doing this much longer. Also typically, there are only two recurring female characters: Hondo’s wife Betty (Ellen Weston) is relegated to supporting her workaholic husband, and Hilda (Rose Marie) sells sandwiches at the police station. episodes move slowly and are self-contained, not much interested in character development (as opposed to the complicated arcs of many of today’s series). Typical of TV shows at the time, the S.W.A.T. Gunshot entry wounds are bloodless, car chases are bland, corpses aren’t nearly so anatomically correct as those on CSI. Though such assignments call for violence, it looks tame by today’s standards - as does everything about the show.

During their first season, they rescue hostages, fight terrorists, track snipers, and protect a federal witness and a U.S. Team members include Sergeant “Deacon” Kay (Rod Perry), and Officers Jim Street (Robert Urich), Dominic Luca (Mark Shera), and T.J. Dan “Hondo” Harrelson (Steve Forrest) is in charge of the LAPD’s Special Weapons and Tactics, an elite group trained for high-risk operations. But its persistent confidence in the justice system now looks oddly timely. has not aged well with regard to stunts and grit.

And it should not come as a surprise that, after nearly 30 years of increasingly more violent and complex TV shows, S.W.A.T. Produced by the seemingly indefatigable Aaron Spelling ( Dynasty, Beverly Hills 90210), this spin-off of The Rookies was an early effort to make action the focus of a weekly series.Ĭolumbia’s release of the first season on DVD is timed to promote the new movie based on the series, due in theaters 8 August. had a good, brief run during the mid-1970s. Perhaps best remembered today for its theme song, S.W.A.T.

S.w.a.t. the complete series