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 In
Robert Urich's first dramatic television series,
an idealistic police officer
named Jim Street decides
to join the newly formed Special Weapons and
Tactics squad headed by Lieutenant Dan “Hondo” Harrelson (Steve Forrest)
after his partner is ambushed by snipers. Urich
also stars as Street, the social-minded young cop who becomes Hondo’s
team scout.
One
of the most controversial shows of the 1970s, S.W.A.T.
was inspired by the growing number of actual such police units in Los Angeles
and other U.S. cities in the wake of the civil disturbances of the 1960s.
Though S.W.A.T. quickly became a Top 20 hit, drawing an audience
of over 33 million viewers a week in 1975, it
was never actually supposed to be a series.
Aaron Spelling originally hired Forrest for a special two-hour episode
of The Rookies in which Hondo trained the Rookies in S.W.A.T. methods.
ABC liked the segment so much, however, that it immediately ordered 13
episodes.
S.W.A.T.
premiered on February 24, 1975, one week after Hondo's introduction on The
Rookies.
S.W.A.T.:
The Collectors Edition
featuring liner notes
by Ed Robertson
S.W.A.T.:
"The Killing Ground"
and "Coven of Killers"
S.W.A.T.:
"Kill S.W.A.T."
and "Dealers in Death"
S.W.A.T.:
"The Bravo Enigma"
and "Pressure Cooker"
S.W.A.T.:
"Hit Men" and "Jungle War"
Related
links
S.W.A.T:
The Movie
S.W.A.T:
The Soundtrack
Did
S.W.A.T. Ever
Jump the
Shark?
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Ed
Robertson's articles appear in
MediaLifeMagazine.com,
The Wave Magazine,
Bell TV Magazine,
TV Party.com,
Television Chronicles,
Reel Talk,
San
Franciso Giants Magazine,
and the British magazine
Calafia,
as well as media venues like
Columbia
House,
the world’s largest direct marketer
of music, DVDs and videos.
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