December 16, 1951 - April 16, 1970
NBC Police Drama - 376 Filmed Episodes

Cast:

Sgt. Joe Friday (Badge 714):   Jack Webb
Officer Frank Smith (1953-1959):   Ben Alexander
Officer Bill Gannon (1967-1970):   Harry Morgan
Sgt. Ben Romero (1951):   Barton Yarborough
Sgt. Ed Jacobs (1952):   Barney Phillips
Officer Frank Smith (1952):   Herbert Ellis
Ann Baker, Joe's fiance (1953-1954):   Dorothy Abbott
Sharon Maxwell, Joe's girlfriend (1956):   Marjie Millar
Captain Mack:   Byron Morrow
Captain Brown:   Art Balinger
Captain Didion:   Art Gilmore
Policewoman Dorothy Miller (1967):   Merry Anders
Announcer (1952-1970):   George Fenneman
Narrator (1967-1970):   John Stephenson

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 documetary-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 as 3:55...
We were working the day watch out of homicide"). 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 apprehended, 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".

The classic police drama was updated for the 1960s.
No-nonsense Sgt. Joe Friday and his new partner,
Officer Bill Gannon, tackled traditional police cases
and faced new challenges such as LSD, race riots,
and public service TV shows.


PHOTO GALLERY

Photos courtesy of MPTV.net.

Click HERE to download theme song.

Dragnet

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Look for Dragnet on Nick at Nite.

Badge 714
Fan Site/Author Unknown

Dragnet
From Wikipedia

Dragnet
From The Museum of Broadcast Communications

Dragnet
From The Internet Movie Database

Dragnet
From TV.com

Dragnet Profile
By MysteryNet

Dragnet Shrine
By adadkins@aol.com

Episode Guide (1951-1959)
By Des Martin

Episode Guide (1967-1970)
By Des Martin

Jack Webb: American Legend
By Charlotte Younger

Jack Webb's Grave
By Find A Grave




These links were last tested April 2001.

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