Dragnet was one of my favorite Crime Dramas of all time. Jack Webb and Harry Morgan played two tough cops and their chemistry was great. I especially liked the episode "the Big High" in which a young couple is so high on marijauna that they forget about their 2 year old daughter and let her drown in a bathtub. I also enjoyed "The Hit and Run Driver" where a man kill four people and ends up losing his legs as a result. Finally, my third favorite is "The Joyriders" in which a bunch of teenagers start stealing cars, then one of them ends up killing a man in the end. Police dramas just are not made like this anymore. Jack Webb really knew how to make 'em. This show will definitely go down in history as one of the best.

--ralsalongi

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"This is the city, Los Angeles, California. I work here. I carry a badge. " Each show rings in the same way, but each show covers a different subject that pertained to the events of the times, though the times were definitely different when you watch these shows in today's light. Dragnet, by far, was one of my favorite shows. I have almost every episode on Betamax (if anyone can remember what that is), and watch them still.

The show reflected the seriousness of the subjects at hand, but also took the time to interject some humor as Bill Gannon (Harry Morgan) continually tested Joe Friday's (Jack Webb) patience with his many new age (for the time, anyway) ideas and schemes. Their interaction was what really made this show a pleasure to watch. Joe's board-stiff walk (even when he ran) was also a treat to watch as you attempted to understand how he got anywhere at all. Something unseen in these days, but not in Dragnet, is watching Joe smoke his cigarettes in public buildings - even putting them out of the floor from time to time. It had been so long since I had seen smoking in public places, that I had almost forgotten that it ever existed.

--Michael Bauer

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Police drama in the late 60's and early Super70s were defined by a distinctive sound: dum-dah-dum-dum, dum-dah-dum-dum-dum. The files of Dragnet were opened each week by star/producer Jack Webb as Sgt. Joe Friday, along with his partner Officer Bill Gannon (Harry Morgan).

Sgt. Friday and Officer Gannon of the Los Angeles Police Department gave viewers the inside scoop on the investigation as the story unfolded. With voice-overs by Webb to fill in the details, Joe and Bill probed into the case until a final outcome was decided.

Each week the duo would move from one branch of the LAPD to another. They might work a homicide one week, then the next week work a bank fraud caper.

"The story you are about to see is true, the names have been changed to protect the innocent, " and "This is the city, Los Angeles California, I work here I carry a badge. " were heard every week keeping viewers on edge until the final moments when Joe and Bill would unmask the wrong-doer.

Webb used quick edits and tight shots to add drama to the series. And monotone voice that quickly became the trademark for police drama's of the era.

The final signature of the week's episode was the summary of the results of the trial and the sentence of the culprits.

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