- Drama
- 1968
- Buy the DVD
Reviewed by Will Harris
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n an era where cop shows are a dime a dozen and you’re forced to sit still for an hour to endure the trials and tribulations of both law and order, it’s nothing short of a pleasure to have the opportunity to travel back in time to an era when the thin blue line could get the job done in only 30 minutes, with nothing but a simple voiceover to explain what happened to the bad guy after getting his carcass hauled off to the station.
Welcome, then, to “Dragnet 1968: Season Two.”
“Dragnet” first started on radio in 1949 and then made the move to television, where it ran from 1951 – 1959. The series wrapped up as a result of creator / star Jack Webb wanting to pursue more work behind the scenes as a director and producer. In 1967, however, Webb decided that the time was right to bring the show back to the airwaves. While bringing Sgt. Joe Friday back to the LAPD was easy enough, attempts to secure Friday’s partner, Frank Smith, proved futile, due to actor Ben Alexander already having his own cop drama (“Felony Squad”). As a result, Joe got himself a new wingman: Bill Gannon, played by Harry Morgan. This back story, of course, is all old hat to those of you who picked up “Dragnet 1967: Season One” back in 2005, but given how long ago that was, it’s quite reasonable to presume that you may have forgotten. Or, indeed, this may well be the first time a “Dragnet” set has ever appeared on your radar. If the latter should be the case, then you’re in luck, as this is arguably the best place to start, anyway.
No, it’s not because “Dragnet ’68: Season 2” includes the series pilot, which was somehow left out of the ’67 set. It’s because this is the season where Webb and the writers decided to take aim at the generation gap in a manner which will, on more than one occasion, find you having to remove your jaw from the floor.
Make no mistake about it: “Dragnet” is an awesomely addictive series – one which moves at such a rapid clip (in no small part because of Webb’s famed machine-gun patter when delivering his dialogue) that you find yourself blowing through episodes like nobody’s business, unable to keep yourself from watching. With that said, however, it’s particularly remarkable to watch the worst-case-scenario methodology that’s used when tackling the problems of the nation’s youth in the late ‘60s, such as “The Big High,” which involves a young couple who throw a pot party at their house and get so toasted that they let their baby drown in the bathtub; “The Little Victim,” where an abusive father beats his child to death; and “The Starlet,” where an aspiring actress is thrust into the world of pornographic filmmaking – yes, that pun was totally intended – and becomes so depressed after her debut that she commits suicide.
It’s easy to mock the show’s heavy-handed manner, especially considering how clueless a great deal of it may seem to today’s viewers, but even in an episode like “The Big Prophet,” where Friday and Gannon spend almost the entire 30 minutes debating with an LSD manufacturer, the dialogue is delivered so spectacularly that you sometimes forget to laugh. There are some legitimate gems to be found within this set as well, including “The Christmas Story,” which has rightfully become a holiday classic, and “The Big Neighbor,” a hilarious episode which takes place almost entirely within Gannon’s living room and spotlights the hassle policemen have to endure when their neighbors take advantage of having easy access to a cop. In fact, it may surprise you to find that “Dragnet” actually had several intentional comedic episodes which focused on strange crimes, such as “The Big Dog,” about a four-legged purse snatcher, “The Senior Citizen,” about an octogenarian thief, and “The Big Amateur,” a highly entertaining romp about an exemplary police officer who doesn’t actually work for the LAPD.
Don’t write off “Dragnet 1968: Season Two” because you’ve heard it’s aged poorly. Heck, some of these installments felt dated even when they originally aired. (No one ever accused Jack Webb of being “with it.”) Yes, if you sit down and start watching the show, you’ll find yourself doing a little laughing here and there, but don’t be the least bit surprised if you start rooting for Friday and Gannon. They might’ve had a bit too much starch in their shirts, but damn they were good cops.
Special Features: All hail to Shout Factory! In addition to deserving applause simply for the fact that they resurrected the Universal-owned series from the dead to continue releasing further seasons, but they’ve even taken the time to add bonus material. First and foremost, fans will be thrilled that – as noted above – the series pilot, which was embarrassingly omitted from the Season One box set, has been rescued from oblivion to kick off this collection. There’s also a trailer for “Dragnet 1969,” which hopefully bodes well for that season to be released in the near future. Best of all, though, is a featurette entitled “Jack Webb: The Man Behind Badge 714,” in which actors, writers, and directors who worked with Webb chime in on their experiences with him both on and off the camera. It’s a pretty loose production, but the anecdotes told by these folks are well worth hearing.
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