While plenty of shows can gain an audience by promoting the most outlandish, action-packed plotlines possible, sometimes the best piece of media is one that sticks to the facts as closely as possible.

While plenty of Adam-12 episodes left viewers on the edge of their seats, the fact was that many of the show's cast and crew worked hard to ensure that they were portraying an accurate day in the life of the LAPD.

Series creator, Jack Webb, had a deep respect for the law profession, and it was an admiration that meant that making a show like Adam-12 required a great deal of studying.

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Actors Martin Milner and Kent McCord previously shadowed real police officers to prepare for their roles as officers of the law in Adam-12. There was also a police officer specifically on call for any questions or concerns regarding the believability of Adam-12.

"There is a real police officer assigned to the series - he's from the department's public information office," said Milner during an interview with the Associated Press. "He checks scripts and actions and is around to give us advice on handling situations. If we're rolling in on an armed robbery, for instance, he'll tell us how to disperse police personnel. Recently he showed us how to cuff two men together in a situation when we had only one set of handcuffs."

Not only did this keep the plot of Adam-12 as realistic as possible, but it also worked as marvelous character prep for Milner and McCord, who learned how to act like legitimate police officers would at a crime scene.

"We would never pick up a gun with a handkerchief," said Milner. "That might smudge any prints. We would pick it up by inserting a pencil in the barrel or by the trigger guard."