The series follows the adventures of New York City Police Department officers Gunther Toody (badge #1432) (Joe E. Ross) and Francis Muldoon (badge #723) (Fred Gwynne), assigned to Patrol Car 54. Toody is short, stocky, nosy, and not very bright and lives with his loud, domineering wife, Lucille (Beatrice Pons). College educated, Muldoon is very tall, quiet, and more intelligent. A shy bachelor, he lives with his mother and two younger sisters and eschews the notion of being married.