Lindsay Wagner is Sydney Shannon, a Los Angeles vice detective who has been on the job 14 years and is showing signs of strain after her best friend ex-cop Millie Ellis suicides. Sydney acts out against a pimp,  has a drunken pickup, and a drug problem, before she is able to continue with her current case - the killing of Janet Wilson. The test is when she holds a gun to the killer trying not to shoot him.

Wagner's black roots in her grey/blonde hair help her deteriorated appearance, though she gets an unintentional laughline when she says `The other day I found a grey hair'. She looks best in a red dress for a date, where the camera pans up her standing as she dresses post coitum, though she also has a beautiful grungy closeup turning her head back to other detectives in a conference. Sydney's running slowly and ineffectually after someone is compared to her later getting fit montage, with it's own associations with Wagner's Bionic Woman. We see Wagner's handwriting, she slurs her voice for a medicated telephone conversation, makes `I'm relatively young' funny, and flares her nostrils as she holds the gun on the killer.

The teleplay by Mark Rodgers, created by Joseph Wambaugh, presents the loneliness of police officers to whom work is everything, and Sydney claims that she can only meet married men since all the available ones are criminals. The treatment doesn't make police heroes or as despicable as the law breakers, and director Michael Switzer focuses more on interpersonal relationships than chases and gunfights.

The action genre features fast-paced, thrilling, and intense sequences of physical feats, combat, and excitement. The characters of these stories are involved in daring and often dangerous situations, requiring them to rely on their physical prowess, skills, and quick thinking to overcome challenges and adversaries.

The thriller genre features suspense, tension, and excitement. These stories are known for keeping audiences on the edge of their seats and delivering intense emotional experiences by revolving around high-stakes situations, dangerous conflicts, and the constant anticipation of unexpected events.

A veteran vice cop (Wagner) has a hard time dealing with her partner's suicide.

The Biggest Movies and TV Coming in September

"The Gentlemen" and "Slow Horses" return this fall, while the "Reacher" spin-off series "Neagley" makes its debut. See our guide of the biggest Fall TV and streaming releases.

2026 Fall TV and Streaming Watch Guide

&quot;The Gentlemen&quot; and &quot;Slow Horses&quot; return this fall, while the &quot;Reacher&quot; spin-off series &quot;Neagley&quot; makes its debut. See our guide of the biggest Fall TV and streaming releases.

Get a closer look at these actors from their many TV and streaming series roles.

Streaming Stars, Then and Now

Angie Dickinson and Ben Gazzara in Police Story: The Freeway Killings (1987)

Karen Black in Police Story: Confessions of a Lady Cop (1980)

Anthony Quinn, Ernest Borgnine, James Coburn, James Brolin, Cleavon Little, and Lindsay Wagner in High Risk (1981)

Richard Crenna and Joanne Woodward in Passions (1984)

Dana Delany, Annabeth Gish, and Angelina Jolie in True Women (1997)

Robert Forster, David Birney, and Richard E. Kalk in Police Story (1973)

Police Story: Burnout

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