Let's Take A Closer Look At Lt. Eddie Ryker/Gerald S. O'Loughlin

In the pilot for 'The Rookies,' Sgt. Eddie Ryker was played by the late Darrin McGavin, who I thought would've probably made a fine choice to be Lt. Ryker in the series, but I think Mr. McGavin had other obligations, which led to the role being filled by Gerald S. O'Loughlin. I have to admit that I didn't like Lt. Ryker, at first. I didn't really come to like him until I started rewatching the episodes years later and saw how much he cared for Jill. The first interaction you see between the two of them that demonstrates this is in the Season One episode 'Time Is The Fire' when he's telling Jill the story of his wife and how she died in childbirth, forcing him to give his newborn daughter up for adoption. This story is the reason why the Danko's daughter is named Mary Kate in my fan fiction stories. There weren't many Ryker episodes during the four year run of the series. The best one was 'Get Ryker!' in Season Two. I felt sorry for Jill, stuck in that house with a crotchety old man who was probably literally bouncing off of the walls. My favorite scene in that episode was when he was sitting with the three guys and Jill around his dinner table, explaining to them that he had a standing engagement the next morning. The way he was making it sound was he was visiting a house of ill repute, when in reality he went to a chess club every week. It was a very funny scene. My two favorite scenes of his during the series are the scene where he's trying to shout some sense into Jill in 'A Matter of Justice' and the scene where he's shouting at Rex Winfield in 'Journey to Oblivion.' He was always at his best when he was angry. Moving on to the actor who played Eddie Ryker, I didn't notice any of Gerald's work until after the series had gone off the air. I didn't know that he played one of the detectives in the movie 'In Cold Blood' until I saw it on one of the movie channels just recently. After 'The Rookies' went off the air, he made appearances in TV movies until 1986 when he was cast as Wilfred Brimley's buddy in the series 'Our House.' He was the only reason I watched this show and he wasn't nearly as good in it as he'd been as Lt. Ryker. In an old TV Guide article, Kate Jackson stated that she learned a lot about improving her craft from Gerald. I thought that was a nice compliment. Anyway, that's my opinion. I'd love to hear yours.