Dragnet (1951)

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Dragnet (1951) ranks 2,926 out of the 18,228 shows on TV.com.

The 40 users who count themselves as Dragnet (1951) fans have written a total of 1 reviews.

Status

Premiered

Ended

Genre

Theme

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The program opened each week with these words from
Det. Sgt. Joe Friday: "This is the city, Los Angeles,
California. I work here, I carry a badge." Then that
arresting theme music began to play ("Dum-de-dum-dum").
Probably the most successful police drama in television
history.... more »

The program opened each week with these words from
Det. Sgt. Joe Friday: "This is the city, Los Angeles,
California. I work here, I carry a badge." Then that
arresting theme music began to play ("Dum-de-dum-dum").
Probably the most successful police drama in television
history. Dragnet's hallmark was its appearance of realism,
from the documentary-style narration by Joe Friday, to the
cases drawn from the files of the real L.A.P.D., to its
attention to the details of police work ("It was 3:55. . .
We were working the day watch out of homocide"). Viewers
were reminded of the unglamorous dead ends and the constant
interruptions of their private lives that plague real policemen,
and this made the final shoot-out and capture of the criminal
all the more exciting. At the end of each episode, after the
criminal was apprehanded, an announcer would describe what
happened at the subsequent trial and the severity of the sentence.
The series was created and directed by Jack Webb himself.
It's catchphrases and devices became national bywords and
were widely satirized. There was Webb's terse "My name is
Friday--I'm a cop," and "Just the facts, ma'am" It was revived in 1967 as Dragnet 1967 and again in 1989 as "The New Dragnet". This was followed by a short-lived revival in 2002 with Ed O' Neill as Joe Friday. The series was renamed L.A. Dragnet in 2003 and canceled shortly thereafter. A theatrical film in 1987 with Dan Ackroyd and Tom Hanks also surfaced. Other spinoffs included Adam-12 (1968-75) and Emergency (1972-77).less «

• The cops

  To my mind, these are still two of the best police/detective characters ever put on screen. I watch a lot of police and mystery dramas, but the scripts and acting on Dragnet still rank up there. :D

  To my mind, these are still two of the best police/detective characters ever put on screen. I watch a lot of police and mystery dramas, but the scripts and acting on Dragnet still rank up there. :D less «

  Lokar Last online 4 days ago
  3 comments, last one Feb 23, 2009 + Add Comment

• Superior Dragnet series, '51 or '67?

  Original 1951 Dragnet was the best of the 2 TV incarnations with Jack Webb in my estimation. The second run of Dragnet was not as realistic as the first run. The gritty almost "film noir" look of Dragnet 1951 gave it an distinct advantage against the whimisical and surrealistic Dragnet 1967.

  Original 1951 Dragnet was the best of the 2 TV incarnations with Jack Webb in my estimation. The second run of Dragnet was not as realistic as the first run. The gritty almost "film noir" look of Dragnet 1951 gave it an distinct advantage against the whimisical and surrealistic Dragnet 1967.less «

  JonJax Last online 7 hrs, 9 mins ago
  3 comments, last one Mar 11, 2008 + Add Comment

• Theme music

  It has to be one of the most effective and popular of all time. It's just so well identified with this show. I can't think of many that have had even a similar impact. When I was a kid I had a hard time believing that wasn't what they played when you called a real police station.

  It has to be one of the most effective and popular of all time. It's just so well identified with this show. I can't think of many that have had even a similar impact. When I was a kid I had a hard time believing that wasn't what they played when you called a real police station. less «

  Lokar Last online 4 days ago
  6 comments, last one Nov 10, 2007 + Add Comment

•  

  10 Perfect

  The grandaddy of them all. hide « show »

  The original Dragnet, which ran from 1951 to 1959, was the grandaddy of all TV cop shows. Without Dragnet the police drama as we know it today would have never been born. Star, producer, director, and writer Jack Webb took what was originally a radio drama and gave us a glimpse into the lives of ordinary policemen and their routine which was often boring but filled with drama and tension on occasion.
  
  Dragnet took its scripts from real life police files. As the narration said, "The story you are about to see is true. The names have been changed to protect the innocent." The show seemed real at times and the LAPD frequently reported instances of people showing up at police stations and asking to see Sgt. Joe Friday (Webb's character). Their stock answer was, "Sorry, it's his day off."
  
  Dragnet had a second incarnation under Webb's guidance and would have two more after his death. One in the late 80's and the other in 2002 starring Ed O'Neill. None had the impact or garnered the ratings of the original though. Perhaps Dragnet was a product of its times--the easy going era of the 1950's. Trying to update it made for interesting television at times but you couldn't duplicate the success or the impact of the original.

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  Mad_Buck Added Jul 28, 2005 All my reviews