Dragnet

NBC (ended 1959)

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20 EPISODES ONLINE Watch Online
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Show Summary

Premiered: --
Status: Ended

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).moreless

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Episode Guide

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S 8 : Ep 39	The Big Red	Aired 8/23/59
S 8 : Ep 38	The Big Counterfeit	Aired 8/16/59
S 8 : Ep 37	The Big .38	Aired 8/9/59
S 8 : Ep 36	The Big Operator	Aired 8/2/59
S 8 : Ep 35	The Big Appetite	Aired 7/26/59

Watch Dragnet Full Episodes

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The Big Oskar

S 8 : Ep 4

Aired 10/14/58
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The Big War

S 7 : Ep 28

Aired 4/10/58
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The Big Pair

S 4 : Ep 4

Aired 9/16/54
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The Big Crime

S 4 : Ep 3

Aired 9/9/54

Dragnet News

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8

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15

Kevin Hagen dies at 77

By Lila Holland, Jul 13, 2005

Little House on the Prairie star Kevin Hagen has died at the age of 77. Little House on the Prairie's "Doc" Baker." link="/kevin-hagen/person/9203/summary.html"> The much-loved character actor, who was diagnosed with esophageal cancer just one year ago, succumbed to the… more

Cast & Crew

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Jack Webb

Sergeant Joe Friday
Herb Ellis

Officer Frank Smith (1952-1953)
Ben Alexander

Officer Frank Smith

Fan Reviews (1)

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The grandaddy of them all.

10

"Perfect"

By Mad_Buck, Jul 28, 2005 Report Abuse

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.moreless

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Replies

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 ...

By JonJax, Mar 02, 2008

01/06/10

4
Reply
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 dr...

By Lokar, Jun 30, 2006

08/30/09

4
Reply
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...

By Lokar, Jul 03, 2006

11/10/07

6
Reply
DVD's
Do you think this show will ever get Season DVD's ?

By xbox_lover, Feb 17, 2006

03/01/06

2
Reply