BURKE'S LAW

Amos Burke is a Los Angeles Police Homicide captain.

For most of the time we watch his activities he is but for a while, for reasons never given, he chucks all that and becomes a secret agent, globe-trotting all over on behalf of a very secret, unnamed American Intelligence agency. And then after a while doing that, he returns to L.A., gets a promotion, and resumes being a detective.

And did I mention he does all that, both being a cop and an operative, while being chauffeured in a Rolls Royce? Amos Burke is a multi-millionaire, you see.

How he got rich is never explained and, to be honest, never plays a part. He is so smooth, debonair, cosmopolitan, and any other words of that nature you want to put in, it does not matter. That last line could be taken as a snide comment but I did not mean it that way - Burke is so cool he personifies the adjective and it is a blast to watch him be so.

Most of his adventures we have of him are as he is driven around the California region dealing equally well with low-life and high-brow crooks and victims. He is aided by a young, intelligent but somewhat green detective and a police sergeant he has known and been friends with for years. He also has a chauffeur who works outrageous hours and never complains.

Some of the murders that Burke is called upon to solve are a bit out there and are quite fascinating because of it. Not as fascinating as the people involved, though, and dealing with snobs and kooks and everywhere in between.

Then, as stated, he throws all that away and becomes a secret agent. Now as he handles this new set of troubles, he is still a cool as he ever was but since he heads all over the world, he often does not have his awesome limo with him and that loses a lot.

Plus he is working for "The Man", real name never given, who has to be one of the nastiest bosses any agent has had to deal with. He thinks nothing of calling at any hour and demanding Burke drop everything to race to the Man's plane (he is always flying to or from something) to get the next assignment. Never a friendly greeting. Never a nice word or a good job or anything civil. As said, a nasty man.

The missions Burke handles as an operative are interesting and fun to follow and he continues to have his same panache. However, it is nice when he finally gives it up and goes home to his mansion and his real life.

I was just becoming a teenager when Burke's Law was on. My folks watched so I did, too, because there weren't but two channels in my town and one television in our house. I didn't get most of it but I did love the "Burke's Law" line whenever it came up. Sounded cool.

When Burke stopped being a cop and became a secret agent, my parents stopped watching and by then I was way into comics and books and girls (the latter from afar) so I had no real concept of the show. Years and years later, I saw a couple of the episodes and was not impressed. I mean, Burke as a rich homicide detective calling the shots was cool. Burke as a flunky, albeit still rich, not really.

My attitude hasn't changed with the years. He needed to be a cop and when they brought him back as one, I rejoiced. Show did not last long but my pleasure did. "Don't throw away a good thing" - Burke's Law.