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The Rookies Season 3 Episodes

Season 3 Episode Guide

23 Episodes 1974 - 1975

Episode 1

An Ugly Way to Die

Mon, Sep 9, 1974

After Officer Gillis departs from the precinct, Webster reluctantly accepts rookie Chris Owens as his new partner. Fresh from the academy, Officer Owens is eager to help Webster catch an arsonist who's purposely killing firefighters.

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Episode 2

Key Witness

Mon, Sep 23, 1974

A couple having an affair witnesses a murder, but the married man in the relationship wants to keep quiet about it and not go to the police for fear of losing his family. What they don't realize is that the killers are now after them.

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Episode 3

Legacy of Death

Mon, Sep 30, 1974

The Rookies are concerned about a fellow officer who is purposely trying to get killed in the line of duty in order to receive the financial benefits his family needs to pay for medical bills.

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Episode 4

Death at 6 A.M.

Mon, Oct 7, 1974

Four young people out for excitement in a stolen pickup become fugitives from the law when their fun turns into robbery and murder. Rookie Chris Owens is on the case after his partner is killed, but he wonders whether the dangers of police life are worth it.

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Episode 5

Walk a Tightrope

Mon, Oct 21, 1974

Two law students are out to exact revenge against Officer Webster for the death of a young woman, a sister of one of the students, who was shot and killed by an unknown gunman at a demonstration at which Webster was present.

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Episode 6

Judgement

Mon, Oct 28, 1974

Adult siblings, a brother and sister whose father died in prison after he was denied parole, set about to kill the 3 judges who they hold responsible for their father's death. Unfortunately, Terry can identify the brother, whose shot misses and hits Chris.

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Episode 7

Johnny Lost His Gun

Mon, Nov 4, 1974

A drug bust goes down, but Terry chases one of dealers, who gets away. An old friend of Mike's from Vietnam shows up, but seems cagey. After a bit of investigation, Chris and Terry come to believe that Mike's friend is a drug pusher. Mike goes to have a talk with Johnny, but the drug pushers take both Mike and Johnny hostage. Not all is at it seems, however.

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Episode 8

Prelude to Vengeance

Mon, Nov 11, 197460 mins

When Terry delivers the baby of a young woman who seems to be an accomplice in a robbery during which the store owner is shot, it's a prelude to revenge as the baby's father becomes jealous of Terry's friendship and sets out to claim what he thinks is his. But something goes wrong with his next heist, and the girl is in danger: Terry's car has a bomb underneath.

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Episode 9

Vendetta

Mon, Nov 18, 197460 mins

Mike Danko is teamed with Pete McCall, who is returning to the force after being severely wounded 10 years before. Unknown to anyone, Pete is planning vengeance on Tivoli and Ducas, the two responsible for his injuries.

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Episode 10

The Old Neighborhood

Mon, Nov 25, 197460 mins

Lt. Ryker goes back to his old neighborhood and finds old friends and an old love being threatened by a vicious protection racket. Everyone is terrified to finger the guilty parties until a teenager, who could have been Ryker's son, takes action.

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Episode 11

A Test of Courage

Mon, Dec 2, 197460 mins

Terry's friend Johnny Dane is shot in both legs during a gun battle with two thieves who rob sporting-goods stores of guns. What if Johnny loses a leg?

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Episode 12

The Assassin

Mon, Dec 9, 1974

Chris meets a photographer named Jobina; they spend the day together and agree to meet later, but when he goes to meet her, he sees someone kill her. He goes after the man and suffers an injury. When he wakes up in the hospital, he doesn't remember the day, but slowly his memory comes back and he remembers her. He goes to her place and she turns up alive. She had to leave town and asked a friend to tell him, lending her her jacket so that Chris would go to her--and the killer thought she was Jobina. They discover her darkroom open and all her photos and negatives destroyed, and she recalls that when she was with Chris, a man whose picture she took was eyeing her camera. That film was not damaged; they develop it and the man is identified as an assassin, so they must find him.

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Episode 13

Blue Christmas

Mon, Dec 16, 197460 mins

It's a "blue" Christmas when Jill's separated sister visits and her niece wonders if Christmas can even come without her dad. Police calls for Chris and Terry include a drunk driver, a stripper who doesn't want to perform her act on Christmas, a lonely old woman, a scheming peeping Tom, a priest murdered by a crazy man, and a man who just lost his job.

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Episode 14

Take Over

Mon, Dec 30, 1974

After a syndicate boss is arrested, his thugs take over the precinct, led by an ex-con former police officer. They aim to free the boss and his brother but find that, despite the bloodshed in their wake, success is uncertain.

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Episode 15

The Saturday Night Special

Mon, Jan 13, 1975

Returning vacationers purchase a gun for protection, but a burglar shoots the owner, who is paralyzed. The gun goes on a journey from teens, to a punk murderer, to the punk's cousin. A liquor store owner is killed. The teen makes an attempt to find the gun so that he can turn it in.

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Episode 16

The Hunting Ground

Mon, Jan 20, 197560 mins

Mike gets a new partner, Luke, with whom he shares many interests, but Luke is a man obsessed, blurring the lines between law and vengeance. When Mike fears that he'll become just like him, he quits. Terry pleads with him to change his mind, and he realizes that he's a good officer.

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Episode 17

Solomon's Dilemma

Mon, Jan 27, 1975

A baby is kidnapped from a grocery-story parking lot. Mike and Terry believe that the baby was adopted illegally. The story follows both the natural and the adoptive parents, their motives and feelings. Meanwhile, two goons kidnap the natural father to force him to tell where the baby is so he can be returned to the "adoptive" parents. In the end, a judge decides.

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Episode 18

Angel

Mon, Feb 3, 1975

Angel, an acquaintance from Jill's hometown arrives, looking to be a model or actress. She hooks up with an "agent" who gets her a lead in a porno film, but she has a health problem that could endanger her.

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The Rookies, Season 3 Episode 18 image

Episode 19

The Shield

Mon, Feb 10, 1975

An officer is shot and killed by a man who assaulted a woman in her home. Officer Webster isn't sure if the man they've arrested for the crime is the right man, although the victim and three officers at the scene positively identify him. The Rookies must discover whether it's a case of mistaken identity.

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Episode 20

S.W.A.T.

Mon, Feb 17, 1975

Terry respond to a call about man with a gun holding some people hostage. He tries to talk to the man but S.W.A.T. shows up and takes over. Terry tells the leader, Lt. Harrelson, that he thinks he can talk to the man, but Harrelson says he's taking over and they bust in and shoot the man. Terry thinks he could have talked the man out. Ryker then informs them that they need to take some S.W.A.T. training, and when Terry learns that he'll be under Lt. Harrelson, he asks Ryker if he can be excluded, but Ryker says that it's mandatory, and when he meets the man, he continues to question his methods.

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Episode 21

A Deadly Image

Mon, Feb 24, 1975

Ryker meets a young woman who has been arrested for hooking. The young woman becomes hysterical and attempts to kill herself in lockup. Ryker rescues her and gets her to the hospital in time. His squad suspects that she reminds him of his daughter. The problem is her sleazy con-artist criminal boyfriend, Vic. He needs a favor which requires her to try to manipulate Ryker. A powerful thug forces Vic to get inmate Barney Dell transferred to a hospital. Ryker naïvely obliges. Dell is promptly killed in the hospital.

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Episode 22

Cliffy

Mon, Mar 3, 1975

Cliffy, a mentally-challenged young man who dreams of being a police officer, witnesses a murder. The killers keep an eye on Cliffy, while prejudiced neighbors want him to move out. Written by Mark Slade, who plays Cliffy, and directed by Georg Stanford Brown, who plays Terry.

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Episode 23

Nightmare

Mon, Mar 17, 1975

On a rainy night, Jill has a car accident and is rescued by a young man who claims to be a doctor. She has temporary amnesia, but dreams of Mike. Meanwhile, Chris and Terry are put on the lookout for an escaped mental patient who fancies himself a doctor.

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