M6190 MOD SQUAD (9/24/1968-3/1/1973) [TV SERIES]

Series summary: Detective/mystery series set in contemporary Los Angeles. Pete Cochrane (Cole), Julie Barnes (Lipton) and Linc Hayes (Williams), young adults arrested on minor charges, are recruited as undercover cops to infiltrate organizations impenetrable by regular police.

A far away place so near (11/17/1970)

Credits: director, Terry Becker ; writer, Theodore Apstein. Cast: Michael Cole, Clarence Williams III, Peggy Lipton. Tige Andrews, Ben Murphy. Summary: A group of Vietnam vets (some still on active duty) try to prevent one of their number from talking about a massacre of civilians that they carried out during the war.

Peace now, Arly Blau (4/8/1969)

Credits: director, Gene Nelson ; writer, William Wood. Cast: Michael Cole, Clarence Williams III, Peggy Lipton. Tige Andrews, Christopher Connelly. Summary: Linc and Pete go undercover as prison inmates to protect the life of a convicted draft dodger, whose father is a general with Vietnam War service.

Short course in war (1/5/1971)

Credits: director, Robert Michael Lewis ; writer, Mann Rubin. Cast: Michael Cole, Clarence Williams III, Peggy Lipton. Tige Andrews, Bob Balaban. Summary: Student protestors take over two buildings at a college campus that Julie (Lipton) is attending part-time. She becomes their hostage when she helps an elderly teacher the students want to hold captive. The protest is supposed to be a peaceful sit-in, but one of the students is deranged and starts shooting students, faculty and cops when protest demands are not met.

Taps, play it louder (10/12/1972)

Credits: director, E.-W. Swackhamer ; writer, Sandor Stern. Cast: Michael Cole, Clarence Williams III, Peggy Lipton. Tige Andrews, Peter Hooten. Summary: A Vietnam veteran orphan assumes his friend’s identity after the latter is killed during a battle in Vietnam. He wanted to experience what having a family was like, but becomes a murder suspect when the family shows up for a visit.

When Smitty comes marching home (10/22/1968)

Credits: director, George McCowan ; writers, Tony Barrett, Harve Bennett. Cast: Michael Cole, Clarence Williams III, Peggy Lipton. Tige Andrews, Lou Gossett. Summary: Black ex-Special Forces and Vietnam vet SSG William ‘Smitty’ Smith is a friend of Linc who suffers from flashbacks and memory loss. He is suspected of murder and hides out with Linc. Linc’s investigation finds that the victim, also a former soldier, was actually murdered by his wife and her lover.

Bodroghkozy, Aniko. “Negotiating the mod : how ‘The mod squad’ played the ideological balancing act in prime time” Chap. 5. in his Groove tube : sixties television and the youth rebellion Durham, N.C. : Duke Univ. Press, 2001. (p. 164-98) Gianakos, Larry James. Television drama series programming Metuchen, N.J. : Scarecrow Press, 1980-87. (v. 2, p. 620-626) Terrace, Vincent. Encyclopedia of television series, pilots and specials New York : New York Zoetrope, 1985. (Entry 3078)