S.W.A.T. (1975 TV series)


S.W.A.T. is an American action/crime drama television series about the adventures of a Special Weapons And Tactics team operating in an unidentified California city. A spin-off of The Rookies, the series aired on ABC from February 1975 to April 1976. Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg were executive producers. It was created by Robert Hamner and developed by Rick Husky.
S.W.A.T. stars Steve Forrest as the unit's leader, Lt. "Hondo" Harrelson, Robert Urich as Officer Jim Street, Rod Perry as Sgt. David "Deacon" Kay, Mark Shera as Officer Dominic Luca, and James Coleman as Officer T.J. McCabe. The opening theme was composed by Barry De Vorzon.
The pilot for the series was a two-part episode of The Rookies titled "S.W.A.T.".

Synopsis

The series is known for its instrumental theme song composed by Barry De Vorzon which became a number-one hit single in 1976 for Rhythm Heritage. The title sequence that used that piece was also familiar with the principal characters responding to a muster signal, grabbing their weapons and running to their specially equipped transport van driven by "Sam", an uncredited, non-speaking role.
The show's setting was rarely, if ever, specified and the shoulder patch the team members wore on their uniforms said, "W.C.P.D." Richard Kelbaugh, a former member of the LAPD's S.W.A.T. team, was the technical advisor for the series. WCPD stood for Western California Police Department.

Cast

Broadcast and syndication

On October 1, 2011, S.W.A.T. began airing on Antenna TV and in Australia on 7mate in 2012. In May 2016, it began airing on getTV.

Home media

DVD

The first season of S.W.A.T. was released on DVD on June 3, 2003 to tie in with the release of the feature film. Season Two's episode "Time Bomb" was actually produced for Season One and, as such, "Time Bomb" is Episode 8 on the Season One DVD set. The Season One DVD set has a total of 13 episodes.
On February 10, 2012, it was announced that Shout! Factory had acquired the rights to the series; they subsequently released the second and final season on DVD on May 22, 2012.
On January 16, 2018, Mill Creek Entertainment released S.W.A.T.: The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1.

Streaming

As of March 2009, the show can be purchased on iTunes.

Reception

The series premiered at a time when violence on television was becoming a subject of controversy, and the actual Los Angeles SWAT team on which the fictional team had been modeled was harshly critical of its depiction of such teams.

Film adaptation

A film version of the series, S.W.A.T., was released in 2003 starring Colin Farrell and Samuel L. Jackson. Steve Forrest has a cameo role as a police truck driver and Rod Perry plays the father of LL Cool J.
In 2011, a direct-to-DVD sequel titled was released; it bore little connection to either the TV series or the 2003 film.

Television series reboot

On May 12, 2017, a rebooted version of S.W.A.T. was ordered to series by CBS. The new series premiered on November 2, 2017.