Dragnet S03E16 The Big Thief 

Not so neat period of time for my people

Gemini Johnson very true. My father grew up in the 30’s and 40’s. Not good times for anyone. My Dad’s youth was spent on a farm in Saskatchewan during the depression. A hard meager life. After that he got to join the army for world war 2. Also not a good time for anyone. My Dad used his GI bill to become a doctor. He worked hard to become what he was. But!! I cannot truly imagine what it was like for Blacks at this time, racism, segregation and Jim Crow. A reprehensible part of the past and a time that should be studied and learned from to better everyone’s lives. Education must be offered to all so that people can have theopportunity’s they deserve.

I remember the doctor coming around to see my younger brother. That was in the '70's. Mind you, we lived in a small country town.

I second that! 😯

LAPD u mean??

You are so right Frank! Joe Friday would clean up the streets of LA! Even better if they had a whole crew of Joe Fridays on the street and some tough as nails prosecutors! Then you would see some results over time!

Oh lol lol its that kind of thinking killing us... we're in the 21st century honey. They need to be different. All your 1950s attitudes are old , dry and worn out. Especially for us ladies. No surprise men still think like this😁😁😁

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤷‍♀️

😂😂😂

No..over acting, they have been involved in numerous shootings (although indicated in narrative his first), even let him shoot first before returning fire.

Don’t forget these shows were sponsored by Chesterfield

Sorry for your loss😔

My sincere condolences to you as well. 😯

Shanghai Benny II That’s right 😎 love these shows

lawrence neuen II, agreed. Police officers face way more today than the writers and producers on Dragnet could have ever dreamed of.

Depends on the cop. Some are straight-up criminals. Some are good, a few. Our town/state has had serial rapist cops, many cops take and either keep for personal use or re-sell confiscated drugs (I have personally overheard them discussing and teaching rookies how to go about it, bragging that their target won’t complain about them taking their drugs, they’ll only be grateful that they had them confiscated and let off with a warning). They’ve done stings locally to catch some of these crooked cops. Just one example was when the “good” cops left a suitcase full of drugs, cash, a weapon, and porn in a briefcase, and had it called in as a “lost and found” to be picked up. They sent the unsuspecting, suspected officer to take the call and pick it up. He turned in the briefcase...with the gun only. Kept the drugs, money, and the porn for himself. I myself have made calls for a burglary in progress (vehicular, rolling the neighborhood at night), other times, for aggressive stalking. Cops never showed. Not worth their trouble. I have always had to defend myself. So for those idiots out there that say there’s no reason to own an AK, maybe they need to experience a gang invasion, because a loaded pistol won’t cut it if a dozen or more determined and whacked-out gang members all invade at once. Your only chance is a semi-automatic. Period. You make them scamper, or your night will be miserable... if you live through it. Cops won’t and even if they would, cannot arrive in the seconds it takes to fend off that level of trouble, so rather than whine about disarming people, we need to fully arm all willing citizens, because it’s the not knowing that keeps dishonest and violent criminals from entering a home or attacking anywhere. If they know they may meet with an AK, AR, etc. then they are much less likely to try to cause trouble. Open carry semi-automatics for all willing citizens, and all nonsense would end, because to carry, you have to have a permit and pass the gun safety class. And unlike what the media would like to portray to the gullible masses, most gun owners are very cautious, not malicious, and are definitely the people you want to have next door if you refuse to arm yourself. We need more guns, not less. Then the staged, fake shootings would also stop, because crisis actors don’t get hazard pay, most just get the usual $200-$250/day plus their Uber fare reimbursement, unless they’re going to play the sister, brother, mother, uncle, etc. for several days or weeks, doing repeat performances for the news. Those guys get 6-figure checks to betray humanity, paid by our tax dollars. And for the scum that are considering a career change from reading this, what goes around comes around. No, they are not “helping” the government by doing drills to “help catch the bad guys”, while reporting them as real on the news, which is what they tell some of them. They ARE the bad guys, these crisis actors are helping the bad guys terrorize the news-watching masses who don’t know they are staged, and are only being called “drills” behind the scenes to get greedy idiots to participate. Non-disclosure/gag-orders, and hefty prison penalties for speaking out keep the mouths shut. Plus greed to get more money and another gig on TV, that does it, too. Why don’t people notice the same damn faces over and over? Even identical photos with brand new names and a new backstory? I guess they check to see how sleepy the public is. Behind the scenes, they like to call them “worldwide experiments to test the public’s response, both foreign and domestic, to mass terror events” . I call it sick and twisted. And all those who have already taken the money, you already know what kinds of scum you are. It will come back to you. Paybacks are a bitch. And...for those in disbelief or damage control that will try mockery and nonsense here, I do know what I am talking about...it isn’t a multi-million and billion dollar industry because they market to the masses and it’s the masses are hiring these lying sacks of shite...the masses don’t seem to even realize it IS an industry unto itself. Crisis acting isn’t an accusation, it’s an industry, as is “crowd sourcing”. That’s where they hire people, the same loser crowd, to pretend to be whatever you want for a day, if the price is right... you can hire a supportive crowd to your “you-name-it” causes, or “the newest racist/hate group”, the “we whore ourselves out for your news camera for a day or week or month” crowd. There is hazard pay there, bonuses for those who will maybe get punched for the cameras and bleed a little. (Why do people think they really came up with stupid “reality TV”? To test how low people will go for a little money and to get their sorry selves on TV (for all the upcoming staged events, duh, people, that’s why we see more insanity, nor because people are actually more hostile), and secondly, to see how many people would get emotionally tied up and not use reason to question what is being presented to them, see how many would fall for it (Punk’d is a good illustration of an early mass social experiment, but they all are. Careful editing works wonders!). And anyone participating is truly the lowest scum on earth, betraying their fellow humans, but they clearly don’t care. At least people can stop falling for obvious forensics impossibilities, that would help. These are real industries. They call it “experimenting”, “drills”, “testing with realism”, “PR”, or even good old “shaping and molding public opinion, both foreign and domestic”. In their eyes, if you actually believe them, well, that’s your fault. You fail the observation test. Their little mass IQ tests they spring in the masses pretty frequently these days. In decades past, they were far less often. After reality TV, they realized people almost want to be lied to, and if the TV says so, then it’s the gospel truth to them, especially if the teleprompter reader has a great look of concern on his or her face. That helps a lot. But I digress, those are usually alphabet agencies and the mainstream news, though the local cops do also participate in these “drills” and “activities” and “events”. Just one more example of our wonderful local cops... A friend recently had her 5 kids home alone (yes, 2 are old enough to legally watch the others, so no drama about leaving children home alone), and a few “someones” (strangers) came trying to break in, pounding on the door and threatening them. The terrified kids called the police. They didn’t come. Some neighbor must have walked by, because it got quiet for a little bit, but then the would-be intruders tried breaking in again. The kids called the cops again, they should have arrived by then (just down the road, they should have come, kids home alone with imminent danger). The neighbors were the ones to hear the racket going on and finally scare them off. They called the cops yet again. The cops said they’d come “take a report”. They never even bothered their lazy selves to do that. So, no. Not all cops deserve respect. Some criminals take the job to get away with murder. Others simply don’t care at all. For the few out there doing their job, yes, we do appreciate those who actually still have some ethics. I know one. One cop with ethics. One.

some of em give out a lot more than they ever take , then all of em get that "respect" that the murderous nazi pigs solicit by their crimes , so the good ones deserve it too for covering for the bad ones

Miss Kim damn...write a book next time...annoying ass...🤦🏽‍♀️😂😂😂

@ Geez Louise... I thought I typed a lot until I saw that...LOL

Like, Captain Kirk of the Starship Enterprise, Joe is married to his job.

@R Hugh Sirius Ph.D. How sad! 🙁

@@deezimmo4814 thank you Dee! ...a very sharp comparison.

Played by Dorothy Abbott, a bit part player who had a tragic end.

I"ve seen it on other shows but this might be chronologically oldest to show it. Carl on Family Matters, at least once on Barney Miller, and others. Oddly it seems to be the comedies that take it more seriously then the dramas.

Dirty Harry technically qualifies

@@marcelmoreau2733 There is actually an earlier incident in this same programme. Smith gets shot in the episode The Big Frank (series 2, episode 26). Also available on You Tube.

Dindin Private Have we seen Didian spelled? Bet it’s the Armenian “ian” ending. Pretty big Armenian community in LA.

I wonder if in reality most of the detectives had a half pint or fifth in their desk or locker?

Dindin Private In a couple shows Junkies are hurtin , Jonesing . Quick .. get him some milk ?? I didn’t know that helped 😲

The bottle was filled with bicarbonate of soda

Not that it matters, but it's Didion -- see end credits.​@aardvark1956

Her husband was an LAPD narcotics officer for years, later in homicide. Two of his cases were made into the show. After he retired, he became an actor, Rudy Dias. He started stepping out with starlets and she killed herself. What a pity. GOD rest her soul, and forgive him.

@@Catquick1957 I looked it up. Dorothy Abbot.

24:31 - She's most definitely a keeper!

In real life he was married to Julie London, who made Friday’s girl seem plain by comparison. They divorced and she later married bandleader Bobby Troup. They went on to co-star in Webb’s “Emergency.”

Smith don't GAF! LOL

Your Fabulous Happy Mann ya I couldn't figure that out. Kid shot first. It was him or the kid. Good thing it was the kid. Otherwise the series would have ended. The comic relief was the chick saying the kid didn't do anything. Lol.

"DRAGNET" had a cigarette sponsor on TV and radio at the time: Chesterfield. Here's one of their Christmas magazine ads from that month: i.pinimg.com/736x/91/c9/de/91c9dec6cb1b61a4743d980a156d30e0--christmas-ad-vintage-christmas.jpg

....and here's Jack Webb himself "pushing" it in a concurrent magazine ad: www.grayflannelsuit.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/celebrity-smoking-ad_jack-webb-1953-chesterfield.jpg

Old radio version of Dragnet: "Smoke Fatimas".

I smell them

thank god can''t smell that shit ~

What about Harry Callahan?

"Dirty Harry" was and is a right wing fantasy. The Right wing see Criminals NOT as fellow Human beings but hostile animals that must be killed or otherwise controlled. In real life almost all criminals are like the Criminals in Dragnet not inhuman monsters (even Dragnet had a tendency to go with right wing talking points even as to criminals). Sorry, Dragnet had a problem, to a degree, Dragnet had to reflect real life, Dirty Harry has no such restriction.

and this is half the fun...reading interesting comments like yours

It seems unfair (in the 2nd example) if legally driving somewhere can be considered a predicate for being charged with felony murder UNLESS the intended crime (eg robbery) is also at least attempted. If the would-be robbers never got to the scene of the intended robbery, they obviously never committed the robbery. So without an actual primary crime (eg, robbery or attempted robbery), how is there a predicate that upgrades manslaughter (death from a loose tire that falls off your truck and kills someone) to murder? They might have gotten to the scene and changed their minds and left without attempting the robbery. Maybe due to a pang of conscience or they heard the night watchman or whatever. People are innocent until proven guilty. And to be proven guilty, doesn't there have to be a crime?!

First time I've seen him with a chick.

Me too ! And only the second episode I've seen that featured a girlfriend !

He killed a punk who took a shot at him when he caught him rifling a laundromat change machine in a ‘60s Dragnet episode. The story was that forensics couldn’t find the bullet the punk fired at Joe and it looked bad.

First time I remember seeing Friday with a swell looking dame.

@@edwardgarea7650 The episode is called "The Shooting Board"...It would be really swell of you Edward if you would edit your comment so as to not give the entire episode away,but no big deal ,i have watched that episode at least 50 times and still come up with stuff i missed. Thanks!

Usually it's Monday.

Fired two warning shots...directly into he suspect!

Crowdfunding Hell Let that be a warning to criminals to not resist arrest!

Officers actually rarely kill. When they have to it shakes them up.

Darling story!

Chesterfield {"Made by LIGGETT & MYERS- FIRST major tobacco company to offer a COMPLETE line of QUALITY CIGARETTES!"} was the show's sponsor on radio and TV at the time. They insisted Jack Webb and others in the cast "light up" whenever possible during each episode.

@@fromthesidelines They likely shaved years off Mr Webb's life

He lived to be 62. Died in December 1982 of a heart attack.

He wasn't the addict, she was. She said he was doing it for her.

She appeared in five other episodes according to IMDB.

Every time you see a couple get married on the show, the show is on a downward trend (Get Smart, I dream of Geni are two examples of that). Now if the couple starts the series as already married the show has last for years (McMillian is?an example of that). Sorry unless we are dealing with a married couple when the series start do not leave the couple marry.

Mike Lindner Yeah including the doctor . Wow how times have changed

NIC FEL TX

Well sure . A trying moment like that . That’s the time for a mild , refreshing cigarette. They mask the pain 😎

I just smoked one five minutes ago . I know all about addiction 😎

Jack Webb smoked three packs a day.

Trapper Dragnet was sponsored by Chesterfield cigarettes, if memory serves. I'm pretty sure some of it was product placement and some that Webb was a heavy smoker. In the episode Joe's girl mentioned, when Frank got shot, she and Joe met at the hospital to see Frank and each of them brought a carton of cigs for Frank as a get well gift, lol

Chesterfield was owned by Liggett tobacco nothing wrong with having a cigarette at least real men back then we're smoking a cigarette and not each other's Johnson like nowadays.

@@desotofiresweep58 I've got some bad news for you....homosexuals existed in 1953 as well.

This is long before smoking was bad and nobody seems to be lactose intolerant

I'd give her one.

if you see "The Big Threat" at about the 16 min. mark locker room...see his western? pistol grips also....thanks...

Dee Zimmo ... It’s near the end of March 2020, in the middle of the Covid 19 pandemic. If we had all read your text earlier and started wearing gloves, there would probably be a lot fewer people sick now! I hope you are safe.

@@calmheart1782 i was going to say the same thing Calm Heart ,but you have said it better already.Thank You.

I'm sure not everyone wore gloves so shut up. Plus why do that unless it's cold outside.

I still wear a Fedora almost exclusively except during the summers when I switch to a Panama. As for gloves? Not practical for Gentlemen.

Hats man a posse roundup while gloves you tote the glove department, an insurance card. ..PLOTS THAT WOULD CARD THE MOUNTAINS..., glove up.

Killed Joe at 51

@@Catquick1957 62

Jlballs....You are right about that. I still have a closet full of Nehru Jackets........

No, John is absolutely right. After this attack, the American Medical Association advised its members to stop making house call, and threatened to blacklist any who did. Look it up!

what good was that,....most of them smoked like fiends and died later from lung cancer.

Yeah a few bad eggs ruin it for everybody.

I was a kid in the sixties and seventies, and my doctor made house calls. He just charged more for them.

The William Tell Overture by Rossini.

mesutter.I don't think Tim Allen was a famous actor back then.

You are correct. He was an unknown, barely getting started in the business. He was lucky to be able to overcome this potential blemish on his reputation!

Tim Allen was a baby when Dragnet was on the air.

Well actually since Tim Allen is his stage name he probably got it from this episode of Dragnet since he was born the year before this aired