The Oldest Rookie (1987-1988)

A police veteran with a desk job becomes a street cop again. Ike Porter (Paul Sorvino) has been on the police force lor 25 years and is now a deputy chief of public affairs. He gives speeches at banquets. His office is filled with civic awards. You could say he's done well. But that's not what he says. Ike has eaten one rubber chicken too many. What he wants is to be something he's never been: a "real" cop, working a beat. And one day, at age 50, that's what he decides to do. Just like that? Well, no. The chief of police thinks it's ridiculous. Ike will have to give up his rank, his benefits, his car. Ike smiles. "No problem." And he'll have to go through the police academty again. Ike's smile vanishes. But he does it. He is teamed with Tony Jonas (D.W. Moffett), a brash young cop who bends the rules and shoots hoops in his loft. Tony's idea of "lunch" Is a chili cheese dog with onions at 7 A.M. And, to put it kindly, Ike and Tony's new boss, Lieutenant Zaga (Raymond J. Barry), hates their guts. Despite all this, Ike is a happy man. Somehow, it beats rubber chicken.