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The Best Episodes of Adam-12 Season 3

Every episode of Adam-12 Season 3 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Adam-12 Season 3!

Binge this in 12h 30m•Peaking at 9.3/10

Adam-12 is a television police drama that followed two police officers of the Los Angeles Police Department, Pete Malloy and Jim Reed, as they patrolled the streets of Los Angeles in their patrol unit, 1-Adam-12.

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    Adam-12 Season 3 Episode 8 - Log 105: Elegy for a Pig
    9.3/10(359 votes)

    S3:E8

    Officer Malloy pays tribute to Officer Tom Porter, who has recently fallen in the line of duty. Malloy recounts the close friendship they developed while training at the academy, as well as the moments where they crossed paths on duty, including the night of the officer's unfortunate demise.

    Director:Christian Nyby
    Writer:Norman Katkov

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  2. Adam-12 Season 3 Episode 4 - Log 045: Bright Boy
    8.4/10(137 votes)

    S3:E4

    Reed and Malloy report to a burglary call that was witnessed by a boy with a photographic memory. Afterward, they are called to the scene of two drunk men shooting at a box of dynamite at close range in a residential area.

    Director:James Neilson
    Writer:John T. Dugan

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  3. Adam-12 Season 3 Episode 23 - Log 056: Vice Versa
    8.4/10(126 votes)

    S3:E23

    Malloy celebrates his birthday by having to let Reed drive 1-Adam-12 (due to Malloy allowing his driver's license to expire) and is nervous about his young partner driving the car. Calls include a bank robbery reported by the Bank robber, a burglary involving several neighbors, an abandoned baby, a suicidal wife who killed her husband on their 22nd wedding anniversary, and a drug dealer selling his wares out of an ice cream truck.

    Director:Christian Nyby
    Writer:John T. Dugan

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  4. Adam-12 Season 3 Episode 3 - Log 095: Purse Snatcher
    8.3/10(151 votes)

    S3:E3

    Reed and Malloy have to think outside the box to capture an intelligent yet neglected teenage purse snatcher. Their efforts to talk sense into him before he commits a much more serious crime prove to be futile.

    Director:James Neilson
    Writer:Michael Donovan

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  5. Adam-12 Season 3 Episode 17 - Log 066: The Vandals
    8.3/10(137 votes)

    S3:E17

    Reed and Malloy have a gun pulled on them after stopping a car that turns out to be stolen, but the contents of the trunk link the two suspects to an even more sinister crime. Afterward, a recently widowed father and his teenage daughter report that their home has just been toilet papered, which ends up being a prelude for a much more serious incident.

    Director:Oscar Rudolph
    Writer:James Doherty

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  6. Adam-12 Season 3 Episode 22 - Log 016: Child in Danger
    8.3/10(121 votes)

    S3:E22

    Malloy has to shoot one of two robbery suspects, then the officers counsel a young woman in a bad neighborhood not to hang around (she is later kidnapped by two men claiming to fix her car), the LAPD's Air-Ten helicopter is used to catch the kidnappers (who already had outstanding kidnapping warrants), find a "mover" (burglar) whose partner hides in a freezer, and the officers visit an apartment on a domestic dispute complaint and find another woman with severe injuries but the couple insists nothing is going on, later arresting the husband on domestic violence charges after the woman's mother calls the police back to the apartment after the woman's husband beats their daughter.

    Director:James Neilson
    Writer:Robert I. Holt

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  7. Adam-12 Season 3 Episode 5 - Log 065: Cigarettes, Cars and Wild, Wild Women
    8.2/10(148 votes)

    S3:E5

    The officers bring down an auto-theft ring where young girls get rides with the victims, steal their cars, and take them to a "chop shop". Other calls include an elderly woman who ran a red light and whose license lists her in her 30s, a would-be motorcycle thief stopped by a feisty woman, a shut-in woman who thinks she is hallucinating while her nephew is hosting a marijuana party, and two men moving a safe down the street.

    Director:Christian Nyby
    Writer:Norman Katkov

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  8. Adam-12 Season 3 Episode 11 - Log 096: Pilgrimage
    8.2/10(127 votes)

    S3:E11

    It's Christmas Eve in Los Angeles, and Malloy and Reed track down a suspect who beat and mugged a rescue mission Santa, who later gets arrested himself. They also respond to an alcohol-related traffic accident that resulted in a fatality, help a penniless widow who has been detained for shoplifting and take part in the search for a young Native American child who wandered off into a mountainous area while her parents were asleep.

    Director:Oscar Rudolph
    Writer:John T. Dugan

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  9. Adam-12 Season 3 Episode 25 - Log 088: Reason to Run
    8.2/10(145 votes)

    S3:E25

    Malloy and Reed are called to a riding stable run by retired actor Slim Berkeley. The owner is careless about trusting people and has $100 and a gold belt buckle stolen. Because of a criminal record in New York his young assistant runs, but when searched nothing is found. A call to a phone booth where the man inside is being attacked leads to a drug arrest and sore jaw for Reed. Reed spots a robbery at a drive-in resulting in a shoot-out.

    Director:Christian Nyby
    Writer:James Doherty

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  10. Adam-12 Season 3 Episode 6 - Log 055: Missing Child
    8.1/10(139 votes)

    S3:E6

    Malloy and Reed investigate a missing child with a Band-Aid on her leg. Other calls include rescuing a cat and birds from a woman who was trying to get rid of them using gas, apprehending a man who stole a disability check from his uncle, and responding to an auto burglary turned homicide with a Hispanic family more concerned with how the officers would treat them.

    Director:Christian Nyby
    Writer:William P. McGivern

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  11. Adam-12 Season 3 Episode 7 - Log 075: Have a Nice Weekend
    8.1/10(115 votes)

    S3:E7

    The shift starts with Reed being taken hostage by a woman out of her mind. Malloy and Reed are faced with multiple reports of burglaries and the thieves appear to be young boys. After a couple interviews, Malloy picks up on the fact that the victims are all supposed to be playing bridge and it points to one family.

    Director:Oscar Rudolph
    Writer:Robert I. Holt

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  12. Adam-12 Season 3 Episode 18 - Log 036: Man Between
    8.1/10(108 votes)

    S3:E18

    Officer Reed, who is an optimist and still has faith in the human race, is subjected to ridicule from Officer Wells after he is swindled twice. On patrol, he and Malloy come to the aid of a woman whose baby has been kidnapped by a heavily armed man seeking a large ransom. Afterward, wells once again questions Reed's judgment during the search for an intoxicated sniper at large.

    Director:James Neilson
    Writer:Michael Donovan

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  13. Adam-12 Season 3 Episode 24 - Log 106: Post Time
    8.1/10(123 votes)

    S3:E24

    After beginning the search for a well known suspect who just stole a 600-pound offset printing press, Reed and Malloy try to convince an 85-year-old man to leave the soon-to-be demolished apartment building where he's resided alone for 27 years. Afterward, they pull over a very unusual vehicle, and chase a delivery truck to the end of an unfinished bridge.

    Director:Christian Nyby
    Writer:Stephen J. Cannell

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  14. Adam-12 Season 3 Episode 1 - Log 174: Loan Sharks
    8.0/10(125 votes)

    S3:E1

    Malloy and Reed try to investigate a series of beatings at a plant resulting from a loan shark operation, but the employees refuse to talk until the son of one employee stands up to testify. The officers arrest an armed robber who could only bring himself to steal $2, then was robbed himself.

    Director:Bruce Kessler
    Writer:Michael Donovan

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  15. Adam-12 Season 3 Episode 12 - Log 085: Sign of the Twins
    8.0/10(111 votes)

    S3:E12

    Malloy and Reed start the shift with a call to a liquor store robbery, where a fellow officer was shot but the owner of the store appears to be lying. Further investigation pushes the owner to admit one of the thieves was his brother and he was trying to protect him. In the meantime, they have a zoning issue with an elderly astrology reader followed by the report of a young boy asking a pharmacist questions about Seconal pills.

    Director:Christian Nyby
    Writer:Wilton Schiller

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  16. Adam-12 Season 3 Episode 13 - Log 175: Con Artists
    8.0/10(117 votes)

    S3:E13

    Reed and Malloy respond to a car rollover where a good samaritan makes matters worse. Afterward, they respond to several victims of a well-known family of seasonal home improvement con artists before finally catching them in the act. In the meantime, they search for a disgruntled ex-employee who is trying to sabotage his former workplace, and take a drunk driver off the street.

    Director:James Neilson
    Writer:Norman Katikov

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  17. Adam-12 Season 3 Episode 16 - Log 155: I.A.D.
    8.0/10(125 votes)

    S3:E16

    Officer Tony Johnson finds out he has been accused of a shakedown just after saving Malloy's life during a shootout. Reed and Malloy set out to find a bar girl named Ginger who Johnson says will prove his innocence, but her story leaves Malloy with an uneasy feeling.

    Director:Christian Nyby
    Writer:Michael Donovan

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  18. Adam-12 Season 3 Episode 19 - Log 165: Once a Cop
    8.0/10(121 votes)

    S3:E19

    Malloy and Reed are on patrol, and find a homeless man stabbed. They take a retired policeman, Jack Donohoe (who lives nearby), in for questioning, but he is released when the real suspect is found. Donohoe later gets involved in a shootout with a robbery suspect. Other incidents include an aspiring actress from Missouri shooting up a phone booth at Union Station after being lured by a theatrical agent who promised a movie career and took her money, and then having her suitcase, containing a rattlesnake, stolen at the station.

    Director:Christian Nyby
    Writer:James Doherty

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  19. Adam-12 Season 3 Episode 21 - Log 164: The Poachers
    8.0/10(107 votes)

    S3:E21

    Malloy and Reed's day begins with a police garage employee taking a joyride in a police car (Code 3), later finding a young woman trying to cash an old age benefits check she found, checking a garage whose closed circuit TV security system was stolen, an elderly woman thinking she saw a prowler, finding a B&E suspect inside a coffin in a mortuary, and poaching into Officer Wells' territory to check on break-ins occurring in warehouses; finally apprehending two drugged out burglars inside a warehouse.

    Director:James Neilson
    Writer:John T. Dugan

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  20. Adam-12 Season 3 Episode 26 - Log 125: Safe Job
    8.0/10(110 votes)

    S3:E26

    Malloy and Reed investigate a series of safe jobs, which all seem to tie in with a retired safecracker who is taking care of his orphaned niece and nephew, and after a "tip" from him, finds the niece and nephew practicing his old tricks on another safe. The officers also investigate a woman whose baby was held hostage by her cousin and forcing her to meet and steal from other men, after which the officers arrest the cousin and rescue the baby.

    Director:Jean Yarbrough
    Writer:William P. McGivern

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  21. Adam-12 Season 3 Episode 15 - Log 026: LEMRAS
    7.8/10(116 votes)

    S3:E15

    Malloy and Reed drive up on a convenience store robbery in progress, which results in the suspects taking hostages. Later, they pull over a reckless driver who has just committed a heinous crime, learn about a new computer system designed to help them be more productive and finally thwart a group of serial burglars who use motorcycles.

    Director:James Neilson
    Writer:William R. Cox

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  22. Adam-12 Season 3 Episode 2 - Log 035: Easy Bare Rider
    7.7/10(128 votes)

    S3:E2

    Malloy and Reed investigate the mysterious source behind a boy's suspicious spending spree, wield a blanket instead of gun during a disrobed driver's DUI arrest and bust up a car parts theft ring.

    Director:Bruce Kessler
    Writer:Norman Katkov

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  23. Adam-12 Season 3 Episode 20 - Log 076: Militants
    7.7/10(126 votes)

    S3:E20

    The officers respond to a shooting involving police and two black men, one of which was shot by one of the officers and later found dead in an alley. The dead man was the younger brother of Reed's friend Kenneth James; his older brother Cleotis was an accomplice and both were members of a black militant gang, The Brotherhood. Kenneth believes the gang's contention that Cleotis was murdered by the officers until the James brothers confront each other and Kenneth learns the truth; his brother Cleotis is arrested after briefly taking his brother hostage. Malloy and Reed also pull over an elderly driver on his 75th birthday for multiple traffic violations.

    Director:Christian Nyby
    Writer:Michael Donovan

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  24. Adam-12 Season 3 Episode 10 - Log 135: Arson
    7.5/10(118 votes)

    S3:E10

    Malloy and Reed search for a serial arsonist who spawns a copycat, settle a domestic dispute that results from a love triangle, rescue a man who wandered onto the ledge of a high rise and deal with a mentally ill man who is holding his wife at knife-point.

    Director:Christian Nyby
    Writer:Howard Dimsdale

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  25. Adam-12 Season 3 Episode 14 - Log 115: Gang War
    7.4/10(107 votes)

    S3:E14

    Officer Reed loses a robbery suspect while in foot pursuit. Afterward, he and Malloy try to help a priest prevent bloodshed between rival hispanic gangs, and then respond to a battered wife whose husband is very familiar to the officers.

    Director:James Neilson
    Writer:John T. Dugan

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Season 3 Ratings Summary

"Log 105: Elegy for a Pig" is the best rated episode of "Adam-12" season 3. It scored 9.3/10 based on 359 votes. Directed by Christian Nyby and written by Norman Katkov, it aired on 11/21/1970. This episode is rated 0.9 points higher than the second-best, "Log 045: Bright Boy".