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Changed line(s) 152 (click to see context) from:
* YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle: In "The Big Make," for example.
to:
* YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle: In "The Big Make," the officers identify and arrest a good suspect, an ex-con who lied about his alibi and whom the victims identify as their attacker. They figure that the case is just about cleared up... when an anonymous letter arrives in which someone else claims responsibility for example.the crime and adds enough details to make the claim believable. The detectives scrap everything and start over.
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Added DiffLines:
* DecoyProtagonist: Minor case. After Friday is captured by P.A.G.A.N., Streebek becomes the narrator while he finds out what happened to Friday.
Added DiffLines:
* MsFanservice: Aside from the various girls accompanying Ceasar, there is Streebek's motrocycle cop girlfriend.
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This information is already on the page under Abandonware - which it shouldn\'t be, since that isn\'t the appropriate trope. Moved all to trivia page.
Changed line(s) 15 (click to see context) from:
* ''Dragnet'', called ''Badge 714'' in syndication, a black and white (with one exception) TV series running from 1951-1959. There was a theatrical film adaptation in 1954 and print adaptations in the form of paperback books and newspaper strips. These episodes are in the public domain. [[KeepCirculatingTheTapes Most of the episodes from the early years of this series can be seen on]] YouTube.
to:
* ''Dragnet'', called ''Badge 714'' in syndication, a black and white (with one exception) TV series running from 1951-1959. There was a theatrical film adaptation in 1954 and print adaptations in the form of paperback books and newspaper strips. These episodes are in the public domain. [[KeepCirculatingTheTapes Most of the episodes from the early years of this series can be seen on]] YouTube.
Deleted line(s) 39 (click to see context) :
* {{Abandonware}}: Since just about all of the 1950's TV series has come into the public domain, entire episodes can be seen on YouTube. However, not every episode is available at this point. 47 complete episodes are available from the 1951-52 through 1954-55 seasons but only a total of 12 are available from the rest of the show's run (and seven of those are from the 1955-56 season).
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Changed line(s) 15 (click to see context) from:
* ''Dragnet'', called ''Badge 714'' in syndication, a black and white (with one exception) TV series running from 1951-1959. There was a theatrical film adaptation in 1954 and print adaptations in the form of paperback books and newspaper strips.
to:
* ''Dragnet'', called ''Badge 714'' in syndication, a black and white (with one exception) TV series running from 1951-1959. There was a theatrical film adaptation in 1954 and print adaptations in the form of paperback books and newspaper strips. These episodes are in the public domain. [[KeepCirculatingTheTapes Most of the episodes from the early years of this series can be seen on]] YouTube.
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None
Changed line(s) 120,121 (click to see context) from:
* ShutUpHannibal: Friday often gets off a good one, like this rejoinder to a committed neo-Nazi: "You keep harping about minorities. Well, mister, you're a psychotic, and they're a minority, too."
** Or after arresting a husband who solicited an undercover Friday to kill his wife:
** Or after arresting a husband who solicited an undercover Friday to kill his wife:
to:
* ShutUpHannibal: Friday often gets off a good one, like this ShutUpHannibal
** Friday's rejoinder to a committed neo-Nazi: "You keep harping about minorities. Well, mister, you're apsychotic, psycho, and they're a minority, too."
**Or after After arresting a husband who solicited an undercover Friday to kill his wife:
** Friday's rejoinder to a committed neo-Nazi: "You keep harping about minorities. Well, mister, you're a
**
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Changed line(s) 50 (click to see context) from:
** "The Big Squeeze" features only Friday, Gannon, a Syndicate Man named George Fox and a tape recorder full of evidence.
to:
** "The Big Squeeze" features only Friday, Gannon, a Syndicate Man syndicate man named George Fox and a tape recorder full of evidence.
Changed line(s) 101 (click to see context) from:
* PerpSweating: A particular talent of Friday and his partner.
to:
* PerpSweating: A particular talent of Friday and his partner. "The Big Squeeze" is a half-hour of Friday and Gannon slowly, patiently, expertly wearing down a very savvy suspect by bringing out their bits of evidence - which aren't in themselves enough for an indictment - at just the right time to catch him in his various lies, eventually unsettling him enough that he confesses.
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The line between Canon Discontinuity and Series Continuity Error seems to be a fine one, but I think these examples belong to the latter.
Deleted line(s) 56,58 (click to see context) :
* CanonDiscontinuity
** Mild, with Bill. In the first episode of the '60s revival, the famous "Blue Boy" ep., he states he has two boys. But every time his kids are mentioned later, it's four boys. It's true they could have been born during the series, but when Joe visits Bill's home in two episodes, it doesn't look like there are any babies or very young children living there.
** Done in season one of the '60s revival with a pair of episodes involving frauds. The first episode, they are working on a case involving phony bank examiners. Later they are working on a magazine subscription racket with a ''different'' pair of detectives working on the bank examiners case.
** Mild, with Bill. In the first episode of the '60s revival, the famous "Blue Boy" ep., he states he has two boys. But every time his kids are mentioned later, it's four boys. It's true they could have been born during the series, but when Joe visits Bill's home in two episodes, it doesn't look like there are any babies or very young children living there.
** Done in season one of the '60s revival with a pair of episodes involving frauds. The first episode, they are working on a case involving phony bank examiners. Later they are working on a magazine subscription racket with a ''different'' pair of detectives working on the bank examiners case.
Changed line(s) 116 (click to see context) from:
* SeriesContinuityError: Webb was consistently inconsistent when it came to how long Friday had worked with his various partners.
to:
* SeriesContinuityError: Webb was consistently inconsistent when it came to how long Friday had worked with his various partners. SeriesContinuityError
Added DiffLines:
** In the first episode of the '60s revival, the famous "Blue Boy" ep., Bill states he has two boys. But every time his kids are mentioned later, it's four boys. It's true they could have been born during the series, but when Joe visits Bill's home in two episodes, it doesn't look like there are any babies or very young children living there.
** During season one of the '60s revival there is a pair of episodes involving frauds. In the first episode, Friday and Gannon are working on a case involving phony bank examiners. Later they are working on a magazine subscription racket with a ''different'' pair of detectives working on the bank examiners case.
** During season one of the '60s revival there is a pair of episodes involving frauds. In the first episode, Friday and Gannon are working on a case involving phony bank examiners. Later they are working on a magazine subscription racket with a ''different'' pair of detectives working on the bank examiners case.
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Changed line(s) 57,59 (click to see context) from:
** Mild, with Bill. In the first episode of the revival, the famous "Blue Boy" ep., he states he has two boys. But every time his kids are mentioned later, it's four boys. It's true they could have been born during the series, but when Joe visits Bill's home in two episodes, it doesn't look like there are any babies or very young children living there.
** Done in season one of the revival with a pair of episodes involving frauds. The first episode, they are working on a case involving phony bank examiners. Later they are working on a magazine subscription racket with a ''different'' pair of detectives working on the bank examiners case.
** Webb was consistently inconsistent when it came to how long Joe had worked with his various partners. Most egregiously, Frank Smith is introduced at the beginning of the original TV series' second season, but 20 episodes later it's stated that he and Joe have been partners for years.
** Done in season one of the revival with a pair of episodes involving frauds. The first episode, they are working on a case involving phony bank examiners. Later they are working on a magazine subscription racket with a ''different'' pair of detectives working on the bank examiners case.
** Webb was consistently inconsistent when it came to how long Joe had worked with his various partners. Most egregiously, Frank Smith is introduced at the beginning of the original TV series' second season, but 20 episodes later it's stated that he and Joe have been partners for years.
to:
** Mild, with Bill. In the first episode of the '60s revival, the famous "Blue Boy" ep., he states he has two boys. But every time his kids are mentioned later, it's four boys. It's true they could have been born during the series, but when Joe visits Bill's home in two episodes, it doesn't look like there are any babies or very young children living there.
** Done in season one of the '60s revival with a pair of episodes involving frauds. The first episode, they are working on a case involving phony bank examiners. Later they are working on a magazine subscription racket with a ''different'' pair of detectives working on the bank examinerscase.
** Webb was consistently inconsistent when it came to how long Joe had worked with his various partners. Most egregiously, Frank Smith is introduced at the beginning of the original TV series' second season, but 20 episodes later it's stated that he and Joe have been partners for years.case.
** Done in season one of the '60s revival with a pair of episodes involving frauds. The first episode, they are working on a case involving phony bank examiners. Later they are working on a magazine subscription racket with a ''different'' pair of detectives working on the bank examiners
** Webb was consistently inconsistent when it came to how long Joe had worked with his various partners. Most egregiously, Frank Smith is introduced at the beginning of the original TV series' second season, but 20 episodes later it's stated that he and Joe have been partners for years.
Changed line(s) 64 (click to see context) from:
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: The hippie florist in ''The Big Dog''.
to:
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: The hippie florist in ''The "The Big Dog''.Dog".
Changed line(s) 94,95 (click to see context) from:
* TheMainCharactersDoEverything: Different episodes puts Friday and his partner in different departments -- whichever one is appropriate for the case being investigated, basically -- but within each episode jobs are delegated as normal.
* MommasBoy: Middle-aged bachelor Friday still lives with his mother, at least in the older version. In the color version, he's got his own apartment.
* MommasBoy: Middle-aged bachelor Friday still lives with his mother, at least in the older version. In the color version, he's got his own apartment.
to:
* TheMainCharactersDoEverything: Different episodes puts put Friday and his partner in different departments -- whichever one is appropriate for the case being investigated, basically -- but within each episode jobs are delegated as normal.
* MommasBoy: Middle-aged bachelor Friday still lives with hismother, at least in mother during the early seasons of the older version. In the color version, he's got Eventually, he moves out and gets his own apartment.
* MommasBoy: Middle-aged bachelor Friday still lives with his
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* TheMovie: One was made in 1966 as a prospective [[PilotMovie pilot]] for the revived series; however, it didn't air until 1969.
to:
* TheMovie: One was Two - a theatrical release in 1954 and a TV movie made in 1966 as a prospective [[PilotMovie pilot]] for the revived series; however, it which didn't air until 1969.1969 (the network delayed release when they decided to go ahead with a new series).
Changed line(s) 112 (click to see context) from:
* ProductPlacement: A good part of the first 3 1/2 minutes of the 1954 episode ''The Big False Make'' looks a ''lot'' like a commercial for Poland Spring water, even with a close-up shot of the label in Officer Smith's hands and another of him opening the bottle. The pretense is that Smith offers the water to Friday to drink instead of the water out of the fountain.
to:
* ProductPlacement: A good part of the first 3 1/2 minutes of the 1954 episode ''The "The Big False Make'' Make" looks a ''lot'' like a commercial for Poland Spring water, even with a close-up shot of the label in Officer Smith's hands and another of him opening the bottle. The pretense is that Smith offers the water to Friday to drink instead of the water out of the fountain.
Changed line(s) 117 (click to see context) from:
* SeriesContinuityError: When Friday faces a police board over shooting a robber, Gannon testifies that he and Friday had been partners for five years. A few episodes later in the episode ''The Big Neighbor'' Friday mentions they've been partners for eight years.
to:
* SeriesContinuityError: Webb was consistently inconsistent when it came to how long Friday had worked with his various partners.
** Frank Smith is introduced at the beginning of the original TV series' second season, but 20 episodes later it's stated that he and Friday have been partners for years.
** When Friday faces a police board over shooting a robber, Gannon testifies that he and Friday had been partners for five years. A few episodes later in the episode''The "The Big Neighbor'' Neighbor" Friday mentions they've been partners for eight years.
** Frank Smith is introduced at the beginning of the original TV series' second season, but 20 episodes later it's stated that he and Friday have been partners for years.
** When Friday faces a police board over shooting a robber, Gannon testifies that he and Friday had been partners for five years. A few episodes later in the episode
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Also trivia. Wish we had a flag for these like YMMV.
Deleted line(s) 45 (click to see context) :
* BeamMeUpScotty: Joe Friday never actually said "Just the facts, ma'am." They actually came from AffectionateParody comedy skits by StanFreberg.
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Trivia.
Deleted line(s) 62 (click to see context) :
* TheCharacterDiedWithHim: After Barton Yarborough died of a heart attack shortly after production on the TV version began, his character (Ben Romero) was written out with an off-screen heart attack.
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Changed line(s) 57,58 (click to see context) from:
* CanonDiscontinuity: Mild, with Bill. In the first episode, the famous 'Blue Boy' ep, he states he has two boys. But every time his kids are mentioned later, it's four boys. It's true they could have been born during the series, but when Joe visits Bill's home in two eps, it doesn't look like there are any babies or very young children living there.
** Also done in season one with a pair of episodes involving frauds. The first episode, they are working on a case involving phony bank examiners. Later they are working on a magazine subscription racket with a ''different'' pair of detectives working on the bank examiners case.
** Also done in season one with a pair of episodes involving frauds. The first episode, they are working on a case involving phony bank examiners. Later they are working on a magazine subscription racket with a ''different'' pair of detectives working on the bank examiners case.
to:
* CanonDiscontinuity: CanonDiscontinuity
** Mild, with Bill. In the firstepisode, episode of the revival, the famous 'Blue Boy' ep, "Blue Boy" ep., he states he has two boys. But every time his kids are mentioned later, it's four boys. It's true they could have been born during the series, but when Joe visits Bill's home in two eps, episodes, it doesn't look like there are any babies or very young children living there.
**Also done Done in season one of the revival with a pair of episodes involving frauds. The first episode, they are working on a case involving phony bank examiners. Later they are working on a magazine subscription racket with a ''different'' pair of detectives working on the bank examiners case.case.
** Webb was consistently inconsistent when it came to how long Joe had worked with his various partners. Most egregiously, Frank Smith is introduced at the beginning of the original TV series' second season, but 20 episodes later it's stated that he and Joe have been partners for years.
** Mild, with Bill. In the first
**
** Webb was consistently inconsistent when it came to how long Joe had worked with his various partners. Most egregiously, Frank Smith is introduced at the beginning of the original TV series' second season, but 20 episodes later it's stated that he and Joe have been partners for years.
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Changed line(s) 30 (click to see context) from:
* A 1987 feature film, a combination homage and AffectionateParody, featured Creator/DanAykroyd as a new Joe Friday, the nephew of Webb's character, and Creator/TomHanks as his partner. The duo are assigned to investigate a series of bizarre and (seemingly) unrelated robberies and vandalisms, eventually uncovering a dastardly plot by an underground pagan group of undermine all authority in Los Angeles. Harry Morgan reprised his role as Bill Gannon, now a captain.
to:
* A 1987 feature film, a combination homage and AffectionateParody, featured features Creator/DanAykroyd as a new Joe Friday, the nephew of Webb's character, and Creator/TomHanks as his partner. The duo are assigned to investigate a series of bizarre and (seemingly) unrelated robberies and vandalisms, eventually uncovering a dastardly plot by an underground pagan group of to undermine all authority in Los Angeles. Harry Morgan reprised reprises his role as Bill Gannon, now a captain.
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Changed line(s) 46 (click to see context) from:
* BiblesFromTheDead: A gang uses this con in "The Big Betty".
to:
* BiblesFromTheDead: A gang uses this con in "The Big Betty".Betty," albeit with cheap watches and other bits of useless junk rather than Bibles.
Changed line(s) 65 (click to see context) from:
* CopShow
to:
* CopShowCopShow: Not the first, but its popularity helped establish the genre.
Changed line(s) 71 (click to see context) from:
* DrugsAreBad
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* DrugsAreBadDrugsAreBad: Emphasized repeatedly, especially in the '60s revival.
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* FramingDevice
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* FramingDeviceFramingDevice: The opening and closing narrations.
Changed line(s) 77 (click to see context) from:
-->'''Joe Friday''': ...And I bet your Mother had a loud bark!
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-->'''Joe Friday''': ...And I bet your Mother mother had a loud bark!
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* PoliceProcedural
to:
* PoliceProceduralPoliceProcedural: Invented the genre and was king of it for two decades.
Changed line(s) 111 (click to see context) from:
** One episode has Friday and Gannon on the trail of purse stealing canine.
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** One episode has Friday and Gannon on the trail of purse stealing a purse-stealing canine.
Changed line(s) 113,114 (click to see context) from:
* RadioDrama
* RealTime: "Attempted City Hall Bombing".
* RealTime: "Attempted City Hall Bombing".
to:
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* SoundToScreenAdaptation
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* SoundToScreenAdaptationSoundToScreenAdaptation: From radio to both the small screen and the silver one.
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* SyndicationTitle: ''Badge 714''
to:
* SyndicationTitle: ''Badge 714''714'' for the original TV series.
Changed line(s) 137 (click to see context) from:
* TotallyRadical
to:
* TotallyRadicalTotallyRadical: Many children and teenagers appear on the show, either as victims or suspects. The writers do their best to incorporate modern slang into their dialogue, with... varying success. Especially in the revival series.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
The You Tube video is three minutes long.
Changed line(s) 42 (click to see context) from:
** The 1967 series was quite fond of this as Joe Friday has had his fair share of long-winded lectures about the moral of the episode. In "The Interrogation," a policeman (Kent [=McCord=], pre-''Series/AdamTwelve'') is accused of robbing a liquor store. He says that whether or not he's found guilty he'll leave the force. Friday gives him an ''[[Quotes/{{Dragnet}} epic]]'' [[Quotes/{{Dragnet}} six-minute rant]] about how tough police officers have it.
to:
** The 1967 series was quite fond of this as Joe Friday has had his fair share of long-winded lectures about the moral of the episode. In "The Interrogation," a policeman (Kent [=McCord=], pre-''Series/AdamTwelve'') is accused of robbing a liquor store. He says that whether or not he's found guilty he'll leave the force. Friday gives him an ''[[Quotes/{{Dragnet}} epic]]'' [[Quotes/{{Dragnet}} six-minute three-minute rant]] about how tough police officers have it.
Changed line(s) 49 (click to see context) from:
** The aforementioned six minute rant occurs in an episode called "The Interrogation" in which the only characters are Friday, Gannon, and the guy they're questioning (a cop named Paul Culver, played by Kent [=McCord=] aka Jim Reed of ''Series/AdamTwelve'' fame). It's just the three of them in a room in Internal Affairs for the half hour.
to:
** The aforementioned six three minute rant occurs in an episode called "The Interrogation" in which the only characters are Friday, Gannon, and the guy they're questioning (a cop named Paul Culver, played by Kent [=McCord=] aka Jim Reed of ''Series/AdamTwelve'' fame). It's just the three of them in a room in Internal Affairs for the half hour.
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Making this more inform-y, more index-y, less wordy and less opinion-y. Removing Mathnet since it\'s an homage/parody sketch on a different show, not actually part of the franchise.
Changed line(s) 28,34 (click to see context) from:
''Dragnet'' spawned a 1987 feature film, a combination homage and AffectionateParody featuring Creator/DanAykroyd as a new Joe Friday, the nephew of Webb's character, and Creator/TomHanks as his partner. Harry Morgan reprised his role as Bill Gannon, now a captain. The film follows Friday as he continues his uncle's legacy of straight-laced crime-fighting, teaming with undercover detective Pep Streebek. The duo are assigned to investigate a series of bizarre and (seemingly) unrelated robberies and vandalisms, eventually uncovering a dastardly plot by an underground pagan group of undermine all authority in Los Angeles.
Two years later, another ''Dragnet'' (sometimes ''The New Dragnet'') revival (InNameOnly) aired in syndication. It featured an LAPD cop named Vic Daniels, and the only connection to its namesake was the FramingDevice of the opening narration.
DickWolf attempted another {{Revival}} in 2003 with a series which was eventually retitled ''LA Dragnet'', staring Ed O'Neill as Joe Friday. The show failed to distinguish itself from the dozens of other cop shows on at the time (''Series/{{CSI}}'', ''Series/LawAndOrder'', ''NYPDBlue'', etc.), and lasted only a season and a half. This may have been largely due to a lot of people being unable to get past the idea of "Al Bundy as a cop," despite the fact that O'Neil, a highly accomplished actor, created a wonderfully cynical, seen-it-all characterization that was both distinct from Jack Webb's portrayal and nothing like his ''MarriedWithChildren'' role. In addition, after the first season, the show's format moved away from the original ''Dragnet'' template to one closer to Wolf's ''Series/LawAndOrder'', with Friday supervising a group of officers.
''Mathnet'', a math-themed parody of ''Dragnet'', was the central sketch of the educational program ''Series/SquareOneTV''.
Two years later, another ''Dragnet'' (sometimes ''The New Dragnet'') revival (InNameOnly) aired in syndication. It featured an LAPD cop named Vic Daniels, and the only connection to its namesake was the FramingDevice of the opening narration.
DickWolf attempted another {{Revival}} in 2003 with a series which was eventually retitled ''LA Dragnet'', staring Ed O'Neill as Joe Friday. The show failed to distinguish itself from the dozens of other cop shows on at the time (''Series/{{CSI}}'', ''Series/LawAndOrder'', ''NYPDBlue'', etc.), and lasted only a season and a half. This may have been largely due to a lot of people being unable to get past the idea of "Al Bundy as a cop," despite the fact that O'Neil, a highly accomplished actor, created a wonderfully cynical, seen-it-all characterization that was both distinct from Jack Webb's portrayal and nothing like his ''MarriedWithChildren'' role. In addition, after the first season, the show's format moved away from the original ''Dragnet'' template to one closer to Wolf's ''Series/LawAndOrder'', with Friday supervising a group of officers.
''Mathnet'', a math-themed parody of ''Dragnet'', was the central sketch of the educational program ''Series/SquareOneTV''.
to:
* A 1987 feature film, a combination homage and
Two years later, another
* In 1989, a ''Dragnet'' (sometimes ''The New Dragnet'') revival (InNameOnly) aired in syndication. It featured an LAPD cop named Vic Daniels, and the only connection to its namesake was the FramingDevice of the opening
* DickWolf attempted
''Mathnet'', a math-themed parody of ''Dragnet'', was the central sketch of the educational program ''Series/SquareOneTV''.
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None
Changed line(s) 44 (click to see context) from:
** The 1967 series was quite fond of this as Joe Friday has had his fair share of long-winded lectures about the moral of the episode. In "The Interrogation," a policeman (Kent [=McCord=], pre-''Series/AdamTwelve'') is accused of robbing a liquor store. He says that whether or not he's found guilty he'll leave the force. Friday gives him an ''epic'' six-minute rant about how tough police officers have it.
to:
** The 1967 series was quite fond of this as Joe Friday has had his fair share of long-winded lectures about the moral of the episode. In "The Interrogation," a policeman (Kent [=McCord=], pre-''Series/AdamTwelve'') is accused of robbing a liquor store. He says that whether or not he's found guilty he'll leave the force. Friday gives him an ''epic'' ''[[Quotes/{{Dragnet}} epic]]'' [[Quotes/{{Dragnet}} six-minute rant rant]] about how tough police officers have it.
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None
Changed line(s) 155 (click to see context) from:
* YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle: In "The Big Make" (Sept. 14, 1950), for example.
to:
* YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle: In "The Big Make" (Sept. 14, 1950), Make," for example.
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Changed line(s) 152 (click to see context) from:
** "Marty" Milner played a role in one of the 1953-54 season TV episodes as well as several radio episodes, including a short stint as Joe's partner.
to:
** "Marty" Milner Milner, later of ''Series/AdamTwelve'', played a role in one of the 1953-54 season TV episodes as well as several radio episodes, including a short stint as Joe's partner.
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These are all things that belong on the work pages of the works themselves, not on this page.
Deleted line(s) 158,176 (click to see context) :
[[folder:Dragnet Parodies / Shout Outs]]
* In Music/TheBeatles song ''She Came In Though The Bathroom Window'', "Sunday's on the phone to Monday/Tuesday's on the phone to me."
* The StanFreberg recording ''St. George and the Dragonet'' which gave us the BeamMeUpScotty phrase "Just the facts, Ma'am".
* In an episode of ''TheHoneymooners'' Ed Norton says "Dum da Dum Dum".
* An episode of ''Series/ItTakesAThief1968'' titled "The Scorpio Drop" in which star Robert Wagner starts the ColdOpen with "This is the city, UsefulNotes/WashingtonDC. My name is Mundy...I'm a thief." Oddly enough on May 5, 2012 this episode aired on Digital station AntennaTV directly after an actual episode of ''Dragnet'', without even a commercial between the Universal logo and the start of the parody.
* Magazine/{{MAD}} once featured ''Dragged Net!'' (the radio/original tv version) and ''Dumbnet'' - A What IV Production (the 60s/70s version).
* An episode of ''Series/TheMonkees'' features Peter say, "Hey, its time for ''Dragnet''! Anyone got a tv?" This shot is currently (May 2012) being used in an Antenna TV ad, which shows both programs in their line-up.
* Officer Joe Webber was a recurring character on ''TheBobNewhartShow''.
* ''{{Seinfeld}}'' featured a character called Mr Bookman, a library official who behaved like Joe Friday.
** Another episode had Kramer channel a Joe Fridayish Inspector in order to get a stolen statue back from a Cleaning Man.
* An early episode of ''Series/SesameStreet'' featured a segment with [[http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Sergeant_Thursday Sergeant Thursday]] and [[http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Ben his partner Ben]] (a parody of [[TheDanza Ben Romero]]) questioning a letter M to see if it had seen their suspect - a letter W.
* In the episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' entitled "Mother Simpson", Friday and Gannon investigate the return of Homer's long lost Mother, forced underground after a sixties protest incident. [[InkSuitActor Harry Morgan]] voices Gannon.
* The PBS series ''Series/SquareOneTV'' [[OnceAnEpisode would end every episode]] with ''Mathnet'' a complete parody of the show.[[note]] Jack Webb's daughter, Janette Webb, was a producer on ''Mathnet''.[[/note]]
-->The story you are about to see is a fib. But it's short. The names are made up, but the problems are real.
* A LooneyTunes Porky and Daffy cartoon called ''Rocket Squad'' is a straight-up parody, set InSpace , where Daffy Duck plays "Sergeant Joe Monday". The twist is that the WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue shows him and his partner being arrested for wrongful arrest.
* One ''Series/TheTonightShow'' clip features Jack Webb parodying himself as he and Johnny Carson talk in a ''Dragnet'' style tongue twister - The Case of the Copped Copper Clappers.
* In ''LAConfidential'', Jack Vincennes is the LAPD's advisor on the show "Badge Of Honour", which is clearly a ''Dragnet'' {{Expy}} - one of the cast uses "Just the facts", with the implication that it's a recurring phrase in the show.
[[/folder]]
* In Music/TheBeatles song ''She Came In Though The Bathroom Window'', "Sunday's on the phone to Monday/Tuesday's on the phone to me."
* The StanFreberg recording ''St. George and the Dragonet'' which gave us the BeamMeUpScotty phrase "Just the facts, Ma'am".
* In an episode of ''TheHoneymooners'' Ed Norton says "Dum da Dum Dum".
* An episode of ''Series/ItTakesAThief1968'' titled "The Scorpio Drop" in which star Robert Wagner starts the ColdOpen with "This is the city, UsefulNotes/WashingtonDC. My name is Mundy...I'm a thief." Oddly enough on May 5, 2012 this episode aired on Digital station AntennaTV directly after an actual episode of ''Dragnet'', without even a commercial between the Universal logo and the start of the parody.
* Magazine/{{MAD}} once featured ''Dragged Net!'' (the radio/original tv version) and ''Dumbnet'' - A What IV Production (the 60s/70s version).
* An episode of ''Series/TheMonkees'' features Peter say, "Hey, its time for ''Dragnet''! Anyone got a tv?" This shot is currently (May 2012) being used in an Antenna TV ad, which shows both programs in their line-up.
* Officer Joe Webber was a recurring character on ''TheBobNewhartShow''.
* ''{{Seinfeld}}'' featured a character called Mr Bookman, a library official who behaved like Joe Friday.
** Another episode had Kramer channel a Joe Fridayish Inspector in order to get a stolen statue back from a Cleaning Man.
* An early episode of ''Series/SesameStreet'' featured a segment with [[http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Sergeant_Thursday Sergeant Thursday]] and [[http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Ben his partner Ben]] (a parody of [[TheDanza Ben Romero]]) questioning a letter M to see if it had seen their suspect - a letter W.
* In the episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' entitled "Mother Simpson", Friday and Gannon investigate the return of Homer's long lost Mother, forced underground after a sixties protest incident. [[InkSuitActor Harry Morgan]] voices Gannon.
* The PBS series ''Series/SquareOneTV'' [[OnceAnEpisode would end every episode]] with ''Mathnet'' a complete parody of the show.[[note]] Jack Webb's daughter, Janette Webb, was a producer on ''Mathnet''.[[/note]]
-->The story you are about to see is a fib. But it's short. The names are made up, but the problems are real.
* A LooneyTunes Porky and Daffy cartoon called ''Rocket Squad'' is a straight-up parody, set InSpace , where Daffy Duck plays "Sergeant Joe Monday". The twist is that the WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue shows him and his partner being arrested for wrongful arrest.
* One ''Series/TheTonightShow'' clip features Jack Webb parodying himself as he and Johnny Carson talk in a ''Dragnet'' style tongue twister - The Case of the Copped Copper Clappers.
* In ''LAConfidential'', Jack Vincennes is the LAPD's advisor on the show "Badge Of Honour", which is clearly a ''Dragnet'' {{Expy}} - one of the cast uses "Just the facts", with the implication that it's a recurring phrase in the show.
[[/folder]]
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Moving to trivia page.
Deleted line(s) 145 (click to see context) :
* WhatCouldHaveBeen: According to the Other Wiki, Jack Webb was working on a second ''{{Dragnet}}'' revival in 1982 with five scripts completed. With Harry Morgan committed to ''Series/{{Mash}}'' and its AfterShow ''AfterMash'', Webb would have changed partners once again, this time to a character played by Kent [=McCord=] (Although its unknown if it would have been his ''Adam 12'' character or a new one).
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* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Friday's various partners.
to:
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Friday's various partners.Averted with Frank Smith, who wasn't much like Ben Romero, then played straight with Bill Gannon, who was quite the Frank Smith clone at first.
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Changed line(s) 15 (click to see context) from:
* ''Dragnet'' (called ''Badge 714'' in syndication), a black and white TV series running from 1951-1959, along with a theatrical film adaptation in 1954. Many (perhaps all) of the episodes in this incarnation have lapsed into the public domain. A newspaper strip and several paperback books based on the series also appeared.
to:
* ''Dragnet'' (called ''Dragnet'', called ''Badge 714'' in syndication), syndication, a black and white (with one exception) TV series running from 1951-1959, along with 1951-1959. There was a theatrical film adaptation in 1954. Many (perhaps all) of 1954 and print adaptations in the episodes in this incarnation have lapsed into the public domain. A newspaper strip and several form of paperback books based on the series also appeared.and newspaper strips.
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Officer Bill Gannon, played in the revival series by Harry Morgan, was actually a SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute, the last and best known of at least four partners Friday had in the course of the show. Barton Yarborough portrayed Friday's original partner, Sgt. Ben Romero, from the start of the radio show until his death in December 1951, just three episodes into the first TV version. He was briefly succeeded by Barney Phillips as Detective Sgt. Ed Jacobs, then by Ben Alexander as Officer Frank Smith from late 1952 to the end of the TV show's original run in 1959.
to:
Officer Bill Gannon, played in the revival series by Harry Morgan, was actually a SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute, the last and best known of at least four several partners Friday had in the course of the show. Barton Yarborough portrayed Friday's original partner, Sgt. Ben Romero, from the start of the radio show until his death in December 1951, just three episodes into the first TV version. He was briefly succeeded by Barney Phillips as Detective Sgt. Ed Jacobs, then by a number of different partners until Ben Alexander took over as Officer Frank Smith from late 1952 to the end of the TV show's original run in 1959.
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Changed line(s) 15 (click to see context) from:
* ''Dragnet'' (called ''Badge 714'' in syndication), a black and white TV series running from 1951-1959, along with a theatrical film adaptation in 1954. Many (perhaps all) of the episodes in this incarnation have lapsed into the public domain. There was also a newspaper strip based on the series.
to:
* ''Dragnet'' (called ''Badge 714'' in syndication), a black and white TV series running from 1951-1959, along with a theatrical film adaptation in 1954. Many (perhaps all) of the episodes in this incarnation have lapsed into the public domain. There was also a A newspaper strip and several paperback books based on the series.series also appeared.
Added DiffLines:
* {{Novelization}}: Several paperbacks based on the series appeared in the 1950s, along with a daily newspaper strip.
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A little more clean up and consolidation.
Changed line(s) 15 (click to see context) from:
* ''Dragnet'' (Also called ''Badge 714''), a black and white TV series running from 1951-1959, along with a theatrical film adaptation in 1954. Many (perhaps all) of the episodes in this incarnation have lapsed into the public domain. There was also a newspaper strip based on the series.
to:
* ''Dragnet'' (Also called (called ''Badge 714''), 714'' in syndication), a black and white TV series running from 1951-1959, along with a theatrical film adaptation in 1954. Many (perhaps all) of the episodes in this incarnation have lapsed into the public domain. There was also a newspaper strip based on the series.
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Unlike just about every other police show in history, the focus of ''Dragnet'' was not always on homicide: Friday and his partners rotated through the various departments from week to week, allowing them to solve not only murders, but also fraud, arson, and drug-smuggling.
Each episode ended with an unseen voiceover announcer giving [[WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue the results of the perp's trial]], accompanied in the TV version by his/her mug shot.
Each episode ended with an unseen voiceover announcer giving [[WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue the results of the perp's trial]], accompanied in the TV version by his/her mug shot.
to:
Unlike just about every other police show in history, the focus of ''Dragnet'' was not always on homicide: Friday and his partners rotated through the various departments from week to week, allowing them to solve not only murders, but also fraud, arson, and drug-smuggling.
drug-smuggling. Each episode ended with an unseen voiceover announcer giving [[WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue the results of the perp's trial]], accompanied in the TV version by his/her mug shot.
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''Dragnet'' also spawned a 1987 feature film, a combination homage and AffectionateParody featuring Creator/DanAykroyd as a new Joe Friday, the nephew of Webb's character, and Creator/TomHanks as his partner. Harry Morgan reprised his role as Bill Gannon, now a captain. The film follows Friday as he continues his uncle's legacy of straight-laced crime-fighting, teaming with undercover detective Pep Streebek. The duo are assigned to investigate a series of bizarre and (seemingly) unrelated robberies and vandalisms, eventually uncovering a dastardly plot by an underground pagan group of undermine all authority in Los Angeles.
Two years later, another ''Dragnet'' (sometimes ''The New Dragnet'') revival (InNameOnly) aired in syndication. It featured an LAPD cop named Vic Daniels, and the only connection to its namesake was the FramingDevice of the opening narration.
DickWolf attempted another {{Revival}} in 2003 with a series which was eventually retitled ''LA Dragnet'', staring Ed O'Neill as Joe Friday. The show failed to distinguish itself from the dozens of other cop shows on at the time (''Series/{{CSI}}'', ''Series/LawAndOrder'', ''NYPDBlue'', etc.), and lasted only a season and a half. This may have been largely due to a lot of people being unable to get past the idea of "Al Bundy as a cop," despite the fact that O'Neil, a highly accomplished actor, created a wonderfully cynical, seen-it-all characterization that was both distinct from Jack Webb's portrayal and nothing like his ''MarriedWithChildren'' role. In addition, after the first season, the show's format moved away from the original ''Dragnet'' template to one closer to Wolf's ''Series/LawAndOrder'', with Friday supervising a group of officers.
''Mathnet'', a math-themed parody of ''Dragnet'', was the central sketch of the educational program ''Series/SquareOneTV''.
Two years later, another ''Dragnet'' (sometimes ''The New Dragnet'') revival (InNameOnly) aired in syndication. It featured an LAPD cop named Vic Daniels, and the only connection to its namesake was the FramingDevice of the opening narration.
DickWolf attempted another {{Revival}} in 2003 with a series which was eventually retitled ''LA Dragnet'', staring Ed O'Neill as Joe Friday. The show failed to distinguish itself from the dozens of other cop shows on at the time (''Series/{{CSI}}'', ''Series/LawAndOrder'', ''NYPDBlue'', etc.), and lasted only a season and a half. This may have been largely due to a lot of people being unable to get past the idea of "Al Bundy as a cop," despite the fact that O'Neil, a highly accomplished actor, created a wonderfully cynical, seen-it-all characterization that was both distinct from Jack Webb's portrayal and nothing like his ''MarriedWithChildren'' role. In addition, after the first season, the show's format moved away from the original ''Dragnet'' template to one closer to Wolf's ''Series/LawAndOrder'', with Friday supervising a group of officers.
''Mathnet'', a math-themed parody of ''Dragnet'', was the central sketch of the educational program ''Series/SquareOneTV''.
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Joe Friday's badge, number 714, which appears during the opening titles, is a real LAPD badge, not a reproduction. Joe Friday is the only fictional character ever to be issued an official badge number by a US police department.
When Jack Webb died in 1982 he was given full LAPD police honors at his funeral although he had never actually served in the force. The chief of police, Daryl F. Gates, also announced that badge number 714 would be retired and would never be assigned to anyone else.
When Jack Webb died in 1982 he was given full LAPD police honors at his funeral although he had never actually served in the force. The chief of police, Daryl F. Gates, also announced that badge number 714 would be retired and would never be assigned to anyone else.
to:
Joe Friday's badge, number 714, which appears during the opening titles, is a real LAPD badge, not a reproduction. Joe Friday is the only fictional character ever to be issued an official badge number by a US police department.
department. When Jack Webb died in 1982 he was given full LAPD police honors at his funeral although he had never actually served in the force. The chief of police, Daryl F. Gates, also announced that badge number 714 would be retired and would never be assigned to anyone else.else.
''Dragnet'' spawned a 1987 feature film, a combination homage and AffectionateParody featuring Creator/DanAykroyd as a new Joe Friday, the nephew of Webb's character, and Creator/TomHanks as his partner. Harry Morgan reprised his role as Bill Gannon, now a captain. The film follows Friday as he continues his uncle's legacy of straight-laced crime-fighting, teaming with undercover detective Pep Streebek. The duo are assigned to investigate a series of bizarre and (seemingly) unrelated robberies and vandalisms, eventually uncovering a dastardly plot by an underground pagan group of undermine all authority in Los Angeles.
Two years later, another ''Dragnet'' (sometimes ''The New Dragnet'') revival (InNameOnly) aired in syndication. It featured an LAPD cop named Vic Daniels, and the only connection to its namesake was the FramingDevice of the opening narration.
DickWolf attempted another {{Revival}} in 2003 with a series which was eventually retitled ''LA Dragnet'', staring Ed O'Neill as Joe Friday. The show failed to distinguish itself from the dozens of other cop shows on at the time (''Series/{{CSI}}'', ''Series/LawAndOrder'', ''NYPDBlue'', etc.), and lasted only a season and a half. This may have been largely due to a lot of people being unable to get past the idea of "Al Bundy as a cop," despite the fact that O'Neil, a highly accomplished actor, created a wonderfully cynical, seen-it-all characterization that was both distinct from Jack Webb's portrayal and nothing like his ''MarriedWithChildren'' role. In addition, after the first season, the show's format moved away from the original ''Dragnet'' template to one closer to Wolf's ''Series/LawAndOrder'', with Friday supervising a group of officers.
''Mathnet'', a math-themed parody of ''Dragnet'', was the central sketch of the educational program ''Series/SquareOneTV''.
''Dragnet'' spawned a 1987 feature film, a combination homage and AffectionateParody featuring Creator/DanAykroyd as a new Joe Friday, the nephew of Webb's character, and Creator/TomHanks as his partner. Harry Morgan reprised his role as Bill Gannon, now a captain. The film follows Friday as he continues his uncle's legacy of straight-laced crime-fighting, teaming with undercover detective Pep Streebek. The duo are assigned to investigate a series of bizarre and (seemingly) unrelated robberies and vandalisms, eventually uncovering a dastardly plot by an underground pagan group of undermine all authority in Los Angeles.
Two years later, another ''Dragnet'' (sometimes ''The New Dragnet'') revival (InNameOnly) aired in syndication. It featured an LAPD cop named Vic Daniels, and the only connection to its namesake was the FramingDevice of the opening narration.
DickWolf attempted another {{Revival}} in 2003 with a series which was eventually retitled ''LA Dragnet'', staring Ed O'Neill as Joe Friday. The show failed to distinguish itself from the dozens of other cop shows on at the time (''Series/{{CSI}}'', ''Series/LawAndOrder'', ''NYPDBlue'', etc.), and lasted only a season and a half. This may have been largely due to a lot of people being unable to get past the idea of "Al Bundy as a cop," despite the fact that O'Neil, a highly accomplished actor, created a wonderfully cynical, seen-it-all characterization that was both distinct from Jack Webb's portrayal and nothing like his ''MarriedWithChildren'' role. In addition, after the first season, the show's format moved away from the original ''Dragnet'' template to one closer to Wolf's ''Series/LawAndOrder'', with Friday supervising a group of officers.
''Mathnet'', a math-themed parody of ''Dragnet'', was the central sketch of the educational program ''Series/SquareOneTV''.
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* TheCharacterDiedWithHim: After Barton Yarborough died of a heart attack shortly after production on the TV version began, his character on the radio show (Ben Romero) was written out with an off-screen heart attack.
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* TheCharacterDiedWithHim: After Barton Yarborough died of a heart attack shortly after production on the TV version began, his character on the radio show (Ben Romero) was written out with an off-screen heart attack.
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Moved examples specific to the radio show to the radio page.
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''Dragnet'' was the brainchild of its star and writer, Jack Webb, who brought to the screen a level of realism in the PoliceProcedural that had never been seen before and has only rarely been seen since. This was accomplished via contacts he had in the LAPD, who provided him with both anonymized versions of actual cases and details on contemporary police procedure.
to:
''Dragnet'' was the brainchild of its star and star, writer, director and producer Jack Webb, who brought to the screen a level of realism in the PoliceProcedural that had never been seen before and has only rarely been seen since. This was accomplished via contacts he had in the LAPD, who provided him with both anonymized versions of actual cases and details on contemporary police procedure.
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* ''Dragnet'' (Also called ''Badge 714''), a black and white TV series running from 1951-1959, along with a theatrical film adaptation in 1954. Many (perhaps all) of the episodes in this incarnation have lapsed into the public domain.
to:
* ''Dragnet'' (Also called ''Badge 714''), a black and white TV series running from 1951-1959, along with a theatrical film adaptation in 1954. Many (perhaps all) of the episodes in this incarnation have lapsed into the public domain. There was also a newspaper strip based on the series.
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* {{Abandonware}}:
** Much of the radio series dropped into the public domain. As a consequence, several hundred episodes are available for download from miscellaneous sources -- for example, at archive.org in both [[http://www.archive.org/details/OTRR_Certified_Dragnet ZIP-archive]] and [[http://www.archive.org/details/OTRR_Dragnet_Singles single-episode]] formats.
** Since just about all of the 1950's TV series has come into the public domain, entire episodes can be seen on YouTube. However, not every episode is available at this point. 47 complete episodes are available from the 1951-52 through 1954-55 seasons but only a total of 12 are available from the rest of the show's run (and seven of those are from the 1955-56 season).
** Much of the radio series dropped into the public domain. As a consequence, several hundred episodes are available for download from miscellaneous sources -- for example, at archive.org in both [[http://www.archive.org/details/OTRR_Certified_Dragnet ZIP-archive]] and [[http://www.archive.org/details/OTRR_Dragnet_Singles single-episode]] formats.
** Since just about all of the 1950's TV series has come into the public domain, entire episodes can be seen on YouTube. However, not every episode is available at this point. 47 complete episodes are available from the 1951-52 through 1954-55 seasons but only a total of 12 are available from the rest of the show's run (and seven of those are from the 1955-56 season).
to:
* {{Abandonware}}:
** Much of the radio series dropped into the public domain. As a consequence, several hundred episodes are available for download from miscellaneous sources -- for example, at archive.org in both [[http://www.archive.org/details/OTRR_Certified_Dragnet ZIP-archive]] and [[http://www.archive.org/details/OTRR_Dragnet_Singles single-episode]] formats.
**{{Abandonware}}: Since just about all of the 1950's TV series has come into the public domain, entire episodes can be seen on YouTube. However, not every episode is available at this point. 47 complete episodes are available from the 1951-52 through 1954-55 seasons but only a total of 12 are available from the rest of the show's run (and seven of those are from the 1955-56 season).
** Much of the radio series dropped into the public domain. As a consequence, several hundred episodes are available for download from miscellaneous sources -- for example, at archive.org in both [[http://www.archive.org/details/OTRR_Certified_Dragnet ZIP-archive]] and [[http://www.archive.org/details/OTRR_Dragnet_Singles single-episode]] formats.
**
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* BrokenAesop: In one episode, "A Gun for Christmas", the two investigate the shooting of a child near Christmas. They learn it was done accidentally by the boy's best friend when they were playing with the boy's Christmas gift, a rifle. The dead boy's father storms over to the friend's house, but when he sees how hurt the boy is over the loss of his friend, gives the boy all the dead child's Christmas toys. Lesson learned: kill your friend and you get all their toys. However, it is also made pretty clear the victim's friend is deeply remorseful, and that both families have been, perhaps, permanently damaged by the shooting.
to:
* BrokenAesop: In one episode, "A Gun ".22 Rifle for Christmas", the two investigate the shooting of a child near Christmas. They learn it was done accidentally by the boy's best friend when they were playing with the boy's Christmas gift, a rifle. The dead boy's father storms over to the friend's house, but when he sees how hurt the boy is over the loss of his friend, gives the boy all the dead child's Christmas toys. Lesson learned: kill your friend and you get all their toys. However, it is also made pretty clear the victim's friend is deeply remorseful, and that both families have been, perhaps, permanently damaged by the shooting.
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* ContractualImmortality: Even if one didn't know the series would continue, one would expect ''Joe Friday'' to survive being shot (as he was in "[[spoiler:The Big Ben]]".)
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* ImpersonationGambit: The plot of #72, "The Big Meet", involves Friday impersonating the local contact that a major drug lord plans to use to distribute a batch of his product through.
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* LateArrivalSpoiler: Many radio episodes in the archives are titled with the name of the person ultimately proven guilty.
* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: In the 61st radio production, "The Big Actor", Friday and Romero [[PerpSweating interrogate]] a suspect between takes of a scene in a movie. The last line of the scene is [[spoiler:a police detective saying, "We've got our man."]]
* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: In the 61st radio production, "The Big Actor", Friday and Romero [[PerpSweating interrogate]] a suspect between takes of a scene in a movie. The last line of the scene is [[spoiler:a police detective saying, "We've got our man."]]
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* SeriesContinuityError: When Friday faces a police board over shooting a robber, Gannon testifys that he and Friday had been partners for five years. A few episodes later in the episode ''The Big Neighbor'' Friday mentions they've been partners for eight years.
to:
* SeriesContinuityError: When Friday faces a police board over shooting a robber, Gannon testifys testifies that he and Friday had been partners for five years. A few episodes later in the episode ''The Big Neighbor'' Friday mentions they've been partners for eight years.
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** The radio episode "The Big Trio" was aired on July 3, 1952, and centered around three traffic accidents, [[spoiler: two of them fatal, one of those two involving a motorcycle patrolman]]. Instead of the usual narration describing the fates of the criminals involved, the episode ended with an admonition to drive safely over the Fourth of July weekend.
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DickWolf attempted another {{Revival}} in 2003 with a series which was eventually retitled ''LA Dragnet'', staring Ed O'Neil as Joe Friday. The show failed to distinguish itself from the dozens of other cop shows on at the time (''Series/{{CSI}}'', ''Series/LawAndOrder'', ''NYPDBlue'', etc.), and lasted only a season and a half. This may have been largely due to a lot of people being unable to get past the idea of "Al Bundy as a cop," despite the fact that O'Neil, a highly accomplished actor, created a wonderfully cynical, seen-it-all characterization that was both distinct from Jack Webb's portrayal and nothing like his ''MarriedWithChildren'' role. In addition, after the first season, the show's format moved away from the original ''Dragnet'' template to one closer to Wolf's ''Series/LawAndOrder'', with Friday supervising a group of officers.
to:
DickWolf attempted another {{Revival}} in 2003 with a series which was eventually retitled ''LA Dragnet'', staring Ed O'Neil O'Neill as Joe Friday. The show failed to distinguish itself from the dozens of other cop shows on at the time (''Series/{{CSI}}'', ''Series/LawAndOrder'', ''NYPDBlue'', etc.), and lasted only a season and a half. This may have been largely due to a lot of people being unable to get past the idea of "Al Bundy as a cop," despite the fact that O'Neil, a highly accomplished actor, created a wonderfully cynical, seen-it-all characterization that was both distinct from Jack Webb's portrayal and nothing like his ''MarriedWithChildren'' role. In addition, after the first season, the show's format moved away from the original ''Dragnet'' template to one closer to Wolf's ''Series/LawAndOrder'', with Friday supervising a group of officers.
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Archetype of the PoliceProcedural, ''Dragnet'' followed the exploits of Sgt. Joe Friday (badge number 714) and his partner, Bill Gannon, as they investigated crime in Los Angeles.
to:
Archetype of the PoliceProcedural, ''Dragnet'' followed the exploits of Sgt. Joe Friday (badge number 714) and his partner, Bill Gannon, partners as they investigated crime in Los Angeles.
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* SmugSnake Mister Daniel Lumis. Heck, it's even Lampshaded by his grandmother-in law.
to:
* SmugSnake SmugSnake: Mister Daniel Lumis. Heck, it's even Lampshaded by his grandmother-in law.
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* SpiritualSuccessor: ''Series/AdamTwelve'', essentially the "patrolman" version of ''Dragnet'', was also produced by Webb. Both stars had already appeared on ''Dragnet'' multiple times (indeed, Martin Milner had appeared on the ''radio'' version).
to:
* SpiritualSuccessor: SpiritualSuccessor:
** ''Series/AdamTwelve'', essentially the "patrolman" version of ''Dragnet'', was also produced by Webb. Both stars had already appeared on ''Dragnet'' multiple times (indeed, Martin Milner had appeared on the ''radio'' version). Webb and Robert Cinader of ''Series/AdamTwelve'' later did ''{{Emergency}}'', which was ''Series/AdamTwelve'' [-[[RecycledInSpace WITH PARAMEDICS!]]-]
** More recently, Team Bondi's ''VideoGame/LANoire'' is effectively one big love-letter to ''Dragnet'', albeit set in the postwar '40s and somewhat DarkerAndEdgier.
** ''Series/AdamTwelve'', essentially the "patrolman" version of ''Dragnet'', was also produced by Webb. Both stars had already appeared on ''Dragnet'' multiple times (indeed, Martin Milner had appeared on the ''radio'' version). Webb and Robert Cinader of ''Series/AdamTwelve'' later did ''{{Emergency}}'', which was ''Series/AdamTwelve'' [-[[RecycledInSpace WITH PARAMEDICS!]]-]
** More recently, Team Bondi's ''VideoGame/LANoire'' is effectively one big love-letter to ''Dragnet'', albeit set in the postwar '40s and somewhat DarkerAndEdgier.
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* ''Dragnet'', the original radio series, which ran from 1949-1957.
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* ''Dragnet'', ''Radio/{{Dragnet}}'', the original radio series, which ran from 1949-1957.
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Added DiffLines:
[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dragnet-2.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:"Their job... to enforce the laws, and preserve the safety of decent citizens."]]
->''[[RomanAClef "The story you are about to hear/see is true. Only the names have been changed, to protect the innocent."]]''
Archetype of the PoliceProcedural, ''Dragnet'' followed the exploits of Sgt. Joe Friday (badge number 714) and his partner, Bill Gannon, as they investigated crime in Los Angeles.
[[quoteright:150:~~RadioDrama,DramaticHalfHour,DramaticHourLong PoliceProcedural~~]]
''Dragnet'' was the brainchild of its star and writer, Jack Webb, who brought to the screen a level of realism in the PoliceProcedural that had never been seen before and has only rarely been seen since. This was accomplished via contacts he had in the LAPD, who provided him with both anonymized versions of actual cases and details on contemporary police procedure.
Unqualified, the title ''Dragnet'' usually refers to an entire franchise of series which ran intermittently from 1949 to 1971:
* ''Dragnet'', the original radio series, which ran from 1949-1957.
* ''Dragnet'' (Also called ''Badge 714''), a black and white TV series running from 1951-1959, along with a theatrical film adaptation in 1954. Many (perhaps all) of the episodes in this incarnation have lapsed into the public domain.
* ''Dragnet 1967'', a {{Revival}} of the original series, which ran (under a different title each year) from 1967 to 1971. (This series was launched by a movie, unsurprisingly titled ''Dragnet 1966''.) While sometimes considered the show's weakest incarnation, and prone to unintentional self-parody, this series is the most familiar one to modern audiences. Being filmed in color, it was more attractive to syndicators, and still being under copyright, it's the only incarnation that has received an official DVD release.
Officer Bill Gannon, played in the revival series by Harry Morgan, was actually a SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute, the last and best known of at least four partners Friday had in the course of the show. Barton Yarborough portrayed Friday's original partner, Sgt. Ben Romero, from the start of the radio show until his death in December 1951, just three episodes into the first TV version. He was briefly succeeded by Barney Phillips as Detective Sgt. Ed Jacobs, then by Ben Alexander as Officer Frank Smith from late 1952 to the end of the TV show's original run in 1959.
Unlike just about every other police show in history, the focus of ''Dragnet'' was not always on homicide: Friday and his partners rotated through the various departments from week to week, allowing them to solve not only murders, but also fraud, arson, and drug-smuggling.
Each episode ended with an unseen voiceover announcer giving [[WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue the results of the perp's trial]], accompanied in the TV version by his/her mug shot.
The show spawned a number of {{CatchPhrase}}s, such as "The story you are about to hear is true"; "This is the city: Los Angeles, California"; and "My name's Friday. I'm a cop" (eventually, "My name is Friday; I carry a badge"). But the most famous phrase identified with the show - "Just the facts, Ma'am" - is actually a BeamMeUpScotty born from a series of ''Dragnet'' parodies created by StanFreberg.
''Dragnet'' also spawned a 1987 feature film, a combination homage and AffectionateParody featuring Creator/DanAykroyd as a new Joe Friday, the nephew of Webb's character, and Creator/TomHanks as his partner. Harry Morgan reprised his role as Bill Gannon, now a captain. The film follows Friday as he continues his uncle's legacy of straight-laced crime-fighting, teaming with undercover detective Pep Streebek. The duo are assigned to investigate a series of bizarre and (seemingly) unrelated robberies and vandalisms, eventually uncovering a dastardly plot by an underground pagan group of undermine all authority in Los Angeles.
Two years later, another ''Dragnet'' (sometimes ''The New Dragnet'') revival (InNameOnly) aired in syndication. It featured an LAPD cop named Vic Daniels, and the only connection to its namesake was the FramingDevice of the opening narration.
DickWolf attempted another {{Revival}} in 2003 with a series which was eventually retitled ''LA Dragnet'', staring Ed O'Neil as Joe Friday. The show failed to distinguish itself from the dozens of other cop shows on at the time (''Series/{{CSI}}'', ''Series/LawAndOrder'', ''NYPDBlue'', etc.), and lasted only a season and a half. This may have been largely due to a lot of people being unable to get past the idea of "Al Bundy as a cop," despite the fact that O'Neil, a highly accomplished actor, created a wonderfully cynical, seen-it-all characterization that was both distinct from Jack Webb's portrayal and nothing like his ''MarriedWithChildren'' role. In addition, after the first season, the show's format moved away from the original ''Dragnet'' template to one closer to Wolf's ''Series/LawAndOrder'', with Friday supervising a group of officers.
''Mathnet'', a math-themed parody of ''Dragnet'', was the central sketch of the educational program ''Series/SquareOneTV''.
The four note {{Sting}} used as a ThemeTune and at commercial breaks is one of the most recognizable musical cues in the history of television and radio. Even today, the sting signifies the forces of law and order as a calm, methodical and relentless force hounding criminals. [[http://www.badge714.com/images/DRAG.WAV Listen here]] (.wav file).
Joe Friday's badge, number 714, which appears during the opening titles, is a real LAPD badge, not a reproduction. Joe Friday is the only fictional character ever to be issued an official badge number by a US police department.
When Jack Webb died in 1982 he was given full LAPD police honors at his funeral although he had never actually served in the force. The chief of police, Daryl F. Gates, also announced that badge number 714 would be retired and would never be assigned to anyone else.
----
!!''{{Dragnet}}'' provides examples of:
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:The (various) Series]]
* {{Abandonware}}:
** Much of the radio series dropped into the public domain. As a consequence, several hundred episodes are available for download from miscellaneous sources -- for example, at archive.org in both [[http://www.archive.org/details/OTRR_Certified_Dragnet ZIP-archive]] and [[http://www.archive.org/details/OTRR_Dragnet_Singles single-episode]] formats.
** Since just about all of the 1950's TV series has come into the public domain, entire episodes can be seen on YouTube. However, not every episode is available at this point. 47 complete episodes are available from the 1951-52 through 1954-55 seasons but only a total of 12 are available from the rest of the show's run (and seven of those are from the 1955-56 season).
* AlwaysOnDuty: Webb did his best to avert this. It is made clear that our main characters are one team out of many working one shift out of many and that just as much happens off-camera as on. In the episode "D. H. Q. — Night School", however, Friday flat out states "I'm a police officer, I have to be on duty 24 hours of the day". Also subverted slighty in episodes in which one of the partners invites the other for dinner and neighbors come out of the woodwork, looking for help.
* AuthorFilibuster:
** The 1967 series was quite fond of this as Joe Friday has had his fair share of long-winded lectures about the moral of the episode. In "The Interrogation," a policeman (Kent [=McCord=], pre-''Series/AdamTwelve'') is accused of robbing a liquor store. He says that whether or not he's found guilty he'll leave the force. Friday gives him an ''epic'' six-minute rant about how tough police officers have it.
** A subversion in "The Grenade" - ''Gannon'' takes the floor to deliver the filibuster, on how teens were growing up too fast.
* {{Badass}}: Joe Friday could be one when the situation called for it. There is an early episode when Joe and Bill track down a couple thugs who shot another cop with a shotgun. Joe kicks down the door, shoves a shotgun in the perp's face and says: "Flinch and you'll be chasing your head down Fifth Street." Later on, he tells the same guy, "I've bumped into jaywalkers tougher than you."
* BeamMeUpScotty: Joe Friday never actually said "Just the facts, ma'am." They actually came from AffectionateParody comedy skits by StanFreberg.
* BiblesFromTheDead: A gang uses this con in "The Big Betty".
* BigEater: Bill Gannon. Or perhaps more accuratly Weird Eater. As part of his comic relief role, when Gannon wasn't trying to make an honest man of Joe he was usually telling Joe about recipes like his secret bbq sauce ("here's the secret, Joe...add a quart of vanilla ice cream"), bringing his "lunch box" (a fishing tackle box holding everything from extra bread to jars of pickled quail eggs) to work, buying chilli and cupcakes when the two do policework in restaurants and bakeries, and offering Friday a bite of sandwiches combining such things as pastrami pickle and peanut butter. And as he'd say - the topper ("are you listening, Joe?") would be his favorite and most famous sandwich: The Garlic Nut-Butter Sandwich. (See YourFavorite, below).
* BottleEpisode:
** The aforementioned six minute rant occurs in an episode called "The Interrogation" in which the only characters are Friday, Gannon, and the guy they're questioning (a cop named Paul Culver, played by Kent [=McCord=] aka Jim Reed of ''Series/AdamTwelve'' fame). It's just the three of them in a room in Internal Affairs for the half hour.
** "The Big Prophet" features only Friday, Gannon and a self styled Prophet who helps people "find their way" through drugs in a half hour debate with only one set - the interior and exterior of the Prophet's "church".
** "The Big Squeeze" features only Friday, Gannon, a Syndicate Man named George Fox and a tape recorder full of evidence.
** A 50s episode called "The Big Phone Call" has a very similar plot to "The Big Squeeze," this time involving a robbery.
** "A.I.D. - The Weekend" focuses on Friday being a guest at Gannon's house for a weekend. It plays much more like a sitcom than a typical episode and the actual crime doesn't become part of the plot until the last six minutes.
* BribeBackfire: Repeatedly, because Joe Friday was notoriously non-bribeable. Once, a DirtyCop tried to bribe him to protect his bookmaking...Joe went to the captain and worked with him to get evidence for arrest. Another involved Gypsy fortune tellers who tried it...Joe went along long enough to get evidence, then busted them.
* BrokenAesop: In one episode, "A Gun for Christmas", the two investigate the shooting of a child near Christmas. They learn it was done accidentally by the boy's best friend when they were playing with the boy's Christmas gift, a rifle. The dead boy's father storms over to the friend's house, but when he sees how hurt the boy is over the loss of his friend, gives the boy all the dead child's Christmas toys. Lesson learned: kill your friend and you get all their toys. However, it is also made pretty clear the victim's friend is deeply remorseful, and that both families have been, perhaps, permanently damaged by the shooting.
* ByTheBookCop: Friday and his partners. This is presented as a positive trait, too -- standard procedure is standard for a ''reason'', and on this show, trying to second-guess that usually makes things worse.
* CanonDiscontinuity: Mild, with Bill. In the first episode, the famous 'Blue Boy' ep, he states he has two boys. But every time his kids are mentioned later, it's four boys. It's true they could have been born during the series, but when Joe visits Bill's home in two eps, it doesn't look like there are any babies or very young children living there.
** Also done in season one with a pair of episodes involving frauds. The first episode, they are working on a case involving phony bank examiners. Later they are working on a magazine subscription racket with a ''different'' pair of detectives working on the bank examiners case.
* CatchPhrase: Several examples frequently used or parodied, including, "My name is Friday. I carry a badge."
* TheCharacterDiedWithHim: After Barton Yarborough died of a heart attack shortly after production on the TV version began, his character on the radio show (Ben Romero) was written out with an off-screen heart attack.
* CharacterFilibuster: Mostly overlaps with AuthorFilibuster, as Joe Friday (whose views are indistinguishable from Jack Webb's) gets the vast majority of the big speeches. "The Big Prophet" is an exception. The discussion between Friday and Gannon and a Timothy Leary {{Expy}}/suspect is, almost literally, an episode-length formal debate over "Resolved: Drug use is harmless." The Leary character, while a StrawmanPolitical whose arguments are demolished by the detectives, actually gets a pretty good opportunity to state his case, and about as much time to do so as the cops get.
* ChristmasEpisode: The series did at least two. One was about a little boy borrowing a statue of the baby Jesus to give it a ride in his wagon. And then there was ".22 Rifle for Christmas", which lives up to its ominous title (see the [[Tearjerker/{{Dragnet}} TearJerker page]] for more details).
-->'''Joe Friday''' ''(narrating)'': The display was almost perfect. One of the Wise Men had a chipped face, a donkey was old and broken, and the baby Jesus was missing from his manger.
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: The hippie florist in ''The Big Dog''.
* ContractualImmortality: Even if one didn't know the series would continue, one would expect ''Joe Friday'' to survive being shot (as he was in "[[spoiler:The Big Ben]]".)
* CopShow
* CordonBleughChef: Bill Gannon as revealed in the episode "A.I.D. - The Weekend."
* CrossOver: Officers Malloy and Reed, from the Webb-produced ''Series/AdamTwelve'', appear in a 1968 episode.
* DarkerAndEdgier: The 1954 theatrical movie is more violent (and more graphically violent) than the radio or TV series.
* DeadpanSnarker: Friday, occasionally.
* DramaticDeadpan: Joe Friday, usually. Bill Gannon, occasionally.
* DrugsAreBad
* EarTrumpet: Appears in one episode as Joe Friday and his partner attempt to question a hard-of-hearing witness.
* EyepatchOfPower: In the episode "D. H. Q. -- Night School", the fellow classmate in Friday's night class [[spoiler: that forces the Professor to keep Friday in the class]].
* FramingDevice
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Friday comes close to calling a suspect's mother the 'B' word after lighting her cigerette, only to have her [[SecondFaceSmoke blow smoke in his face]].
-->'''Female Suspect''': You know, you're kinda sexy....for a cop.
-->'''Joe Friday''': ...And I bet your Mother had a loud bark!
* GenericCopBadges: Subverted, see above.
* HaveAGayOldTime: A non-sexual example. In the episode "The Prophet", Friday states "Marijuana is the flame, heroin is the fuse, LSD is the bomb." In 1993, a techno song was released, entitled "LSD is the Bomb," which quoted Friday's line.
* HeyItsThatSound: The animation production company Williams Street (''Sealab2021'', ''WesternAnimation/AquaTeenHungerForce'', ''SpaceGhostCoastToCoast'' and many other Creator/AdultSwim productions) uses the audio from Jack Webb's Mark VII Productions VanityPlate for their own VanityPlate.
* HigherUnderstandingThroughDrugs: This trope is [[InvokedTrope invoked]] in the late '60s series, where at least one [[MonsterOfTheWeek criminal of the week]] espouses it. In a different episode, Friday recommends that a teenage boy try the local library instead.
* HospitalityForHeroes: In one episode, Friday and Gannon bust a perp just before he can go after a restaurant owner. Immediately afterwards, a line of dialogue reveals that the cops haven't had lunch yet. The restaurant owner immediately offers a free lunch; when they refuse she tells them to sit down and order anyway, [[LoopholeAbuse there's nothing controlling the size of the portions she serves them.]]
* HumansAreBastards: "The story you are about to hear/see is true." And some of the crimes are horrific.
* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: Most episodes of the original radio/TV series were titled "The Big (something)".
* ImpersonationGambit: The plot of #72, "The Big Meet", involves Friday impersonating the local contact that a major drug lord plans to use to distribute a batch of his product through.
* IncorruptiblePurePureness: Joe Friday. His only vice is cigarettes, which can be Handwaved given the time the TV show was filmed, and that the series was once sponsored by Chesterfield cigarettes.
* InstrumentalThemeTune: By Walter Schumann. The famous "dum-da-DUM-dum" sting was actually swiped from Miklós Rózsa's score to the 1946 film ''The Killers''. Later arranged as a [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7bwCijT_Lc swingin' big-band number]] by Ray Anthony (which became a hit single), and a rather excellent [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUTlp0ODS7s four-part fugue]] by Stephen Malinowski.
* ItsPronouncedTroPay: In the 1950s TV and radio episodes, archaic pronounciations for "Los Angeles" (Los ANG-el-ess, with a hard "G" sound compared to a soft "G" or "J" sound that comes out "Los An-jel-ess") and "California" (Cal-i-forn-ee-a) are often heard.
* KnightInSourArmor: Friday is a KnightInShiningArmor who sometimes slips into this, particularly in the 1967 revival when confronting egregious examples of late '60s societal decay.
* LateArrivalSpoiler: Many radio episodes in the archives are titled with the name of the person ultimately proven guilty.
* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: In the 61st radio production, "The Big Actor", Friday and Romero [[PerpSweating interrogate]] a suspect between takes of a scene in a movie. The last line of the scene is [[spoiler:a police detective saying, "We've got our man."]]
* LimitedAdvancementOpportunities:
** Despite his years of competent service to the force, Friday is apparently never able to rise above the rank of sergeant. He ''does'' make lieutenant toward the end of the original series, but for the revival show he's knocked back down to sergeant without (in-universe) explanation. Jack Webb once explained that this was because in real life a police lieutenant would have more of a DeskJockey position and wouldn't be involved in the nuts and bolts of an investigation. That wasn't what Webb wanted for the character, and he wanted to keep the show as true-to-life as possible, so...
** Subverted with Officer Bill Gannon though, who we see has made Captain in the 1987 movie.
* LocardsTheory: Possibly the earliest TV instance, in an early episode.
* UsefulNotes/LosAngeles: "This is the city..."
* TheMainCharactersDoEverything: Different episodes puts Friday and his partner in different departments -- whichever one is appropriate for the case being investigated, basically -- but within each episode jobs are delegated as normal.
* MommasBoy: Middle-aged bachelor Friday still lives with his mother, at least in the older version. In the color version, he's got his own apartment.
* MotiveRant: A frequent staple.
* TheMovie: One was made in 1966 as a prospective [[PilotMovie pilot]] for the revived series; however, it didn't air until 1969.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: The culprit in ''The Big Crime''. The only thing he's glad of was that he [[spoiler:forgot the pocketknife--he'd have killed the kids had he remembered it]].
* {{Narrator}}: Friday himself.
* OpeningNarration: By Friday.
** In the 1966 revival, his opening narrations often included facts and statistics about the city of Los Angeles relating somehow to that episode's case. By the time of ''Dragnet 1971'', however, Webb more often then not just opened with a standard "This is the City - Los Angeles California. I work here...I carry a badge", before the opening credits.
** The openings of the original 1950s TV series were similar but often ended with "I'm a cop" instead of "I carry a badge."
* OvertOperative: When Joe Friday has to go undercover and pretend to be ''anything'' other than a cop. InUniverse, he's good at it, but it can be awfully tough for the ''audience'' to buy, since everything about Jack Webb's demeanor just screams "cop," even when he uses the alias [[NamesTheSame "Joe Fraser."]]
* PerpSweating: A particular talent of Friday and his partner.
* PyrrhicVictory: In the 1954 movie, Friday and Smith finally get the evidence to put Starkey's two killers away. Unfortunately, by the time they get it, [[spoiler: one has been rubbed out by his fellow crooks, and the other has died during a cancer operation.]]
* PoliceProcedural
* PreciousPuppies:
** Ginger, a drug sniffing dog. The closing narration tells us she did her job so well the Underground paid her their highest complement: they put a price on her head.
-->'''Joe Friday''': (To a fellow cop belittling the dog program) "Woof"
** One episode has Friday and Gannon on the trail of purse stealing canine.
* ProductPlacement: A good part of the first 3 1/2 minutes of the 1954 episode ''The Big False Make'' looks a ''lot'' like a commercial for Poland Spring water, even with a close-up shot of the label in Officer Smith's hands and another of him opening the bottle. The pretense is that Smith offers the water to Friday to drink instead of the water out of the fountain.
* RadioDrama
* RealTime: "Attempted City Hall Bombing".
* RequiredSpinoffCrossover: Kent [=McCord=] and occasionally Martin Milner appearing as their ''Series/AdamTwelve'' characters Reed and Malloy
* RomanAClef: As it says on TheOtherWiki, "Webb was a stickler for accurate details, and Dragnet used many authentic touches, such as the LAPD's actual radio call sign ([=KMA367=]), and the names of many real department officials, such as Ray Pinker and Lee Jones of the crime lab or Chief of Detectives Thad Brown." The then-Chief of Police was always credited at the end of every episode.
* SeinfeldianConversation: Usually instigated by Ben Romero (in the radio series), Frank Smith or Bill Gannon (in the television series).
* SeriesContinuityError: When Friday faces a police board over shooting a robber, Gannon testifys that he and Friday had been partners for five years. A few episodes later in the episode ''The Big Neighbor'' Friday mentions they've been partners for eight years.
* ShoutOut: Friday's badge number (714) commemorated Babe Ruth's career home run total.
* ShownTheirWork: Webb took accuracy and research ''very'' seriously, and it shows in the scripts.
* ShutUpHannibal: Friday often gets off a good one, like this rejoinder to a committed neo-Nazi: "You keep harping about minorities. Well, mister, you're a psychotic, and they're a minority, too."
** Or after arresting a husband who solicited an undercover Friday to kill his wife:
-->'''Forrester''': Lousy stinking drunk.
-->'''Friday''': Don't knock her, Forrester, she had a reason to drink - she was married to you.
* SignificantReferenceDate: In the third season episode "Community Relations - DR-10", the comic relief subplot has Gannon bothering Friday about Friday's horoscope. Joe tells Bill that his birthday is April 2 -- the same date that his actor Jack Webb was born. (In a similar ''Series/AdamTwelve'' episode scene Pete Malloy's birthday is ''not'' the same as Martin Milner's).
* SmugSnake Mister Daniel Lumis. Heck, it's even Lampshaded by his grandmother-in law.
* SoundToScreenAdaptation
* SpeakIllOfTheDead: Justified, as sometimes you have to speak ill of a murder victim to get to the truth. Also, roughly half the murderers were executed.
* SpiritualSuccessor: ''Series/AdamTwelve'', essentially the "patrolman" version of ''Dragnet'', was also produced by Webb. Both stars had already appeared on ''Dragnet'' multiple times (indeed, Martin Milner had appeared on the ''radio'' version).
* StandardPoliceMotto: This was the TropeMaker, bringing the LAPD's now-famous motto into the public eye.
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Friday's various partners.
* SyndicationTitle: ''Badge 714''
* TheyFightCrime (obviously)
* ThirdPersonPerson: George Fox does this a few times in "The Big Squeeze".
* TotallyRadical
* VanityPlate: According to the other Wiki, those sweaty hands banging out Mark VII are none other than Jack Webb's himself.
* VerySpecialEpisode:
** One episode of ''Dragnet 1968'' took place on April 4 1968...the day Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated. The episode details a special police bunker that Gannon, Friday and a handful of officers bunkered down in, awaiting any signs of rioting that might come in LA and across the country.
** One ''Dragnet 1968'' had Joe Friday face a police inquiry board after killing a robber he caught in the act. The ending featured Friday in the 'mugshot' tag with the overlay 'Joe Friday - Returned to Duty'.
** The radio episode "The Big Trio" was aired on July 3, 1952, and centered around three traffic accidents, [[spoiler: two of them fatal, one of those two involving a motorcycle patrolman]]. Instead of the usual narration describing the fates of the criminals involved, the episode ended with an admonition to drive safely over the Fourth of July weekend.
* VignetteEpisode: Occasionally happened during the 60's series, particularly in later seasons, when Friday and Gannon were assigned to work covering a special desk, like Juvenile on the Night Shift, or the Business Office, where several different people with unrelated cases would ask for help. At least one of those cases would result in an arrest, allowing for the OncePerEpisode trial result epilogue.
* WhatCouldHaveBeen: According to the Other Wiki, Jack Webb was working on a second ''{{Dragnet}}'' revival in 1982 with five scripts completed. With Harry Morgan committed to ''Series/{{Mash}}'' and its AfterShow ''AfterMash'', Webb would have changed partners once again, this time to a character played by Kent [=McCord=] (Although its unknown if it would have been his ''Adam 12'' character or a new one).
* WhyDoYouKeepChangingJobs: Friday and Gannon would be on detail to many different police divisions -- from Homicide to Bunco to Community Relations -- for the current episode's case. While Webb was a stickler for details, he opted for less realism here to allow for a wider variety of stories. By comparison, in the 2003 revival, Friday was always assigned to Homicide.
* YouLookFamiliar: There were [[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061248/fullcredits#cast many of these]], actually. Jack Webb maintained a cadre of actors that he liked working with, and cast them often as he needed them, provided they were available. Many of these actors got their start working with Webb on the radio series, and continued working with him to the end of the '60s revival series. Of particular note are:
** Don Ross, who according to IMDB holds the record at 31 episodes.
** Virginia Gregg, probably the most recognizable actress, a fixture on the radio series and appearing at least 13 times on the TV series.
** Peggy Webber, who many may remember from her appearances on the MST3K episodes "The Screaming Skull" and "The Space Children", was in eight episodes of the 60's revival, four episodes of the fifties show, and a couple of the radio shows, plus several episodes of ''Series/AdamTwelve'' and ''{{Emergency}}''.
** Kent [=McCord=] appeared as a desk clerk (uncredited) in the made-for-TV movie, then as a couple different patrolmen in early episodes before appearing as Officer Reed here and in ''Series/AdamTwelve''. (Oddly enough, he appeared in consecutive episodes in the 1968 season as different cops. One of his ''partners'' was an Officer Reed, according to the credits of the first of the two shows. He appears in the 1968 episodes "The Phony Police Racket" and "The Search" as an Officer Reed, but it's not certain if he's playing '''the''' Jim Reed or if the name of the character was just a coincidence.)
** Tim Donnelly qualifies both in terms of the ''{{Dragnet}}'' series itself (5 different roles), as well as the ''Radio/{{Dragnet}}''/''Series/AdamTwelve''/''{{Emergency}}'' shared universe (2 roles in ''Adam'' and his regular role as Firefighter Chet Kelly in ''{{Emergency}}'').
** "Marty" Milner played a role in one of the 1953-54 season TV episodes as well as several radio episodes, including a short stint as Joe's partner.
* YourFavorite: For Bill Gannon, his Garlic Nut-Butter Sandwich.
-->'''Bill Gannon''': "Take two slices of pumpernickel bread, spread one with your preferred variety of peanut butter, spread one with cream cheese, crush garlic cloves over the cream cheese side, allowing juice to drip into cream cheese (to taste), join slices into sandwich form, cut into quarters and enjoy!"
* YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle: In "The Big Make" (Sept. 14, 1950), for example.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Dragnet Parodies / Shout Outs]]
* In Music/TheBeatles song ''She Came In Though The Bathroom Window'', "Sunday's on the phone to Monday/Tuesday's on the phone to me."
* The StanFreberg recording ''St. George and the Dragonet'' which gave us the BeamMeUpScotty phrase "Just the facts, Ma'am".
* In an episode of ''TheHoneymooners'' Ed Norton says "Dum da Dum Dum".
* An episode of ''Series/ItTakesAThief1968'' titled "The Scorpio Drop" in which star Robert Wagner starts the ColdOpen with "This is the city, UsefulNotes/WashingtonDC. My name is Mundy...I'm a thief." Oddly enough on May 5, 2012 this episode aired on Digital station AntennaTV directly after an actual episode of ''Dragnet'', without even a commercial between the Universal logo and the start of the parody.
* Magazine/{{MAD}} once featured ''Dragged Net!'' (the radio/original tv version) and ''Dumbnet'' - A What IV Production (the 60s/70s version).
* An episode of ''Series/TheMonkees'' features Peter say, "Hey, its time for ''Dragnet''! Anyone got a tv?" This shot is currently (May 2012) being used in an Antenna TV ad, which shows both programs in their line-up.
* Officer Joe Webber was a recurring character on ''TheBobNewhartShow''.
* ''{{Seinfeld}}'' featured a character called Mr Bookman, a library official who behaved like Joe Friday.
** Another episode had Kramer channel a Joe Fridayish Inspector in order to get a stolen statue back from a Cleaning Man.
* An early episode of ''Series/SesameStreet'' featured a segment with [[http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Sergeant_Thursday Sergeant Thursday]] and [[http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Ben his partner Ben]] (a parody of [[TheDanza Ben Romero]]) questioning a letter M to see if it had seen their suspect - a letter W.
* In the episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' entitled "Mother Simpson", Friday and Gannon investigate the return of Homer's long lost Mother, forced underground after a sixties protest incident. [[InkSuitActor Harry Morgan]] voices Gannon.
* The PBS series ''Series/SquareOneTV'' [[OnceAnEpisode would end every episode]] with ''Mathnet'' a complete parody of the show.[[note]] Jack Webb's daughter, Janette Webb, was a producer on ''Mathnet''.[[/note]]
-->The story you are about to see is a fib. But it's short. The names are made up, but the problems are real.
* A LooneyTunes Porky and Daffy cartoon called ''Rocket Squad'' is a straight-up parody, set InSpace , where Daffy Duck plays "Sergeant Joe Monday". The twist is that the WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue shows him and his partner being arrested for wrongful arrest.
* One ''Series/TheTonightShow'' clip features Jack Webb parodying himself as he and Johnny Carson talk in a ''Dragnet'' style tongue twister - The Case of the Copped Copper Clappers.
* In ''LAConfidential'', Jack Vincennes is the LAPD's advisor on the show "Badge Of Honour", which is clearly a ''Dragnet'' {{Expy}} - one of the cast uses "Just the facts", with the implication that it's a recurring phrase in the show.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:1987 AffectionateParody Movie]]
* AerithAndBob: Joe Friday, meet Pep Streebek.
* AffablyEvil: [[spoiler:Jonathan Whirley]]
* AgonyOfTheFeet: Friday has this when a limo runs over his feet.
* AffectionateParody
* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: After Friday's car is car-bombed... "My hat was in that car."
** "Reckless endangerment of human life...willfull destruction of private property...failure to signal for a safe lane change..."
* AscendedMeme: Friday actually gets to say [[BeamMeUpScotty "Just the facts, ma'am"]] in the film.
* BigBadDuumvirate: [[spoiler:Reverend Whirley and the police commissioner]].
* BigDamnHeroes: with a [[TankGoodness tank]]!
* BitchInSheepsClothing: Whirley, a self-proclimed MoralGuardian who is [[spoiler:secretly the BigBad in disguise.]]
* BrickJoke: The film parodies the series' opening "names have been changed" CatchPhrase by noting that "[[spoiler:George Baker will now be called Sylvia Wiss]]." A minor character [[spoiler:by the name of Sylvia Wiss]] later shows up for a brief exchange.
* [[BuddyCopShow Buddy Cop Movie]]
* CassandraTruth: During the [[FunWithAcronyms pagan]] ritual, The Virgin Connie Swail manages to snag the mask off the pagan leader and see his face. When she later identifies him as [[spoiler:the Reverend Whirley]], only Friday believes her.
** ItWasHereISwear: Friday and Streebek bring the police commissioner and their captain back to the site of the pagan ritual, only to discover that the pagans are better at cleaning up after themselves than a SlasherMovie villain. [[note]]In all fairness, the pagans had plenty of forewarning, since the detectives blew their own cover during TheInfiltration.[[/note]]
* ChekhovsGun: The handful of drugs Streebek takes at the Pagan rally to blend in while undercover.
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: When Friday is nearly mugged by a gang of teenage delinquents, he laments "And on a school night too!"
* ComicallySerious: Dan Aykroyd takes Jack Webb's [[TheStoic uber-straight]] demeanor and cranks it UpToEleven. Could be described as [[BluesBrothers Elwood Blues]] UpToEleven as well.
* CoolOldLady: Granny Mundy is clearly a lot more laid back than her grandson Friday is.
* CrankyLandlord: Enid Borden.
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: The other characters (and the audience) chuckle at Friday's [[ValuesDissonance hopelessly outdated, stodgy attitudes]]. But he shows us time and time again exactly why he's considered the best cop in Los Angeles.
* DeadpanSnarker: Pep Streebek. And Friday, in his own MotorMouth way.
* {{Determinator}}: Friday, chasing a kidnapper who [[spoiler:escapes on a Lear jet]]. Cue [[spoiler:the police jet]]! (Complete with [[spoiler: siren, flashing lights and 'To Serve and Protect' emblem]])
* DidYouJustHaveSex: Fridary constantly mentions his resuce of the Virgin Connie Swail. Until [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtKUyfkBA2w the very end]]:
---> '''Streebeck:''' ''[catches Friday yawning on the way into work]'' Long night last night partner? [[IncrediblyLameFun I thought the Christian Science Reading Room closed at ten.]]
---> '''Friday:''' Not that it's any of your business, Mr. National Enquirer, but I had the pleasure of spending a quiet evening in the company of Connie Swail.
---> '''Streebeck:''' Wait a minute. "Connie Swail?" Don't you mean "''[[InsistentTerminology the virgin]]'' Connie Swail"?
---> ''[Friday merely turns his head and looks at Streebeck, accompanied with a [[ThemeTune *BUM-BA-DUM-BUM!*]] ]''
* DirtyCop: Or in this case, dirty police commissioner.
* DistressedDamsel: The Virgin Connie Swail
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything:
-->The Virgin Connie Swail: "How come his is so much bigger than yours?"
-->Officer Joe Friday: "Miss?"
-->The Virgin Connie Swail: "The gun."
-->Officer Joe Friday: "I've never needed more."
* DoItYourselfThemeTune: Not the title theme itself, but the film's other major song, "City Of Crime" which plays over the closing credits, is an 80's style rap performed by Dan Aykroyd and Tom Hanks (in-character as Friday and Streebek).
* TheDragon / TheBrute: Emil Muzz.
* DragonInChief: [[spoiler:Police commissioner Jane Kirkpatrick]]
* DrivesLikeCrazy: "Streebek, there's no '''road''' here!"
** During Friday's and Streebek's first police chase together, Friday enumerates a LongList of traffic violations... against his own partner.
** Later [[HypocriticalHumor reversed]] when Friday is rushing to save The Virgin Connie Swail:
--->'''Streebek:''' Don't you remember those films they showed us in high school? ''Red Asphalt''? ''Blood On The Highway''?\\
'''Friday:''' Buddy, you just picked two of my favorites!
--->'''Streebek:''' (turns around) Hey, that was a four-way stop you just blew through!\\
'''Friday:''' Felt good!
* TheFilmOfTheSeries
* {{Flanderization}}: Ackroyd's Joe Friday takes the original Friday's straight-laced, by-the-rules personality UpToEleven. Somewhat justified, as Ackroyd's character [[SpinOffspring is the nephew of]] Webb's Friday, and clearly only imperfectly emulates his uncle.
* FunWithAcronyms: '''P'''eople '''A'''gainst '''G'''oodness '''A'''nd '''N'''ormalcy. Pulls double duty as an IncrediblyLamePun.
** Not forgetting '''M'''oral '''A'''dvance '''M'''ovement of '''A'''merica, though that one gets a bit less attention.
* GilliganCut: Not an actual cut, but in one scene where Friday is waiting to meet Streebek in a bad neighborhood, Narrator!Friday notes that it's not a good place to stand around whistling. You can guess what Friday is doing in the scene.
* GroinAttack
* HeyItsThatGuy: Emil Muzz is [[SupermanII Non]]!
** The BigBad is [[TheSoundOfMusic Captain Von Trapp]].
** And [[TheBeverlyHillbillies Mr. Drysdale]] runs a ''Playboy'' {{Expy}}!
* HumanSacrifice: Luckily for her, they needed a virgin.
-->'''Streebek:''' You're still a virgin?\\
'''Connie:''' Yes!\\
'''Streebek:''' [prat-fall]
* HypocriticalHumor: see DrivesLikeCrazy, above.
* IHaveYouNowMyPretty: "You'll get used to me in time."
* IncorruptiblePurePureness: Friday. Spoofed, of course.
* IncrediblyLamePun: "Thank God, it's Friday!"
** Hilariously, they totally drop the ball on the "tank" jokes. But it's okay, [[TankGoodness we got that covered]].
** There's also [[FunWithAcronyms PAGAN]].
* TheInfiltration: Friday and Streebek go undercover at a pagan festival.
** DressingAsTheEnemy: Played semi-straight with the detectives; but also reversed with [[spoiler: a pair of highway patrol officers who turn out to be disguised pagans]].
* InsistentTerminology: Everyone calls her "The Virgin Connie Swail".
* IntergenerationalFriendship: Streebek puts the charm on Friday's grandmother.
* JerkAss: Jane Kirkpatrick, Jerry Caesar (who narrowly escapes becoming an AssholeVictim later on) and Emil's [[CrankyLandlord landlady.]]
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Capt. Gannon is presented as a crusty, "tough love" type of guy. On the other hand, when told that one of the best officers on the entire force has [[spoiler:gone missing]] (let alone the nephew of your old partner), you'd think your reaction would be a little more than [[spoiler:"WHO CARES?"]].
* LastNameBasis: Friday is on one with Streebek, which irks him to no end.
-->"And by the way, my name... is ''[[TheyCallMeMisterTibbs Pep]]''. ... Friendships start with first names. [[FirstNameBasis Joe.]]"
* AManIsNotAVirgin: WordOfSaintPaul (Dan Aykroyd, to be precise) is that Friday averts this.
* MotorMouth: Friday.
* MyNameIsNotDurwood: Friday's Granny Mundy cannot pronounce Streebek's last name to save her life. She even calls him "[[ShoutOut Detective]] Franchise/StarTrek" at one point.
* MythologyGag: At the start of the film, Friday's partner Frank Smith gets PutOnABus (since he never appears on camera, it's more accurate to say he never got off the bus). One of Friday's partners in the series, as detailed in the body, was also named Frank Smith.
-->Capt. Gannon: "I'm afraid Frank won't be coming in today, Joe."
-->Joe Friday: "24 hour flu?"
-->Capt. Gannon: "It's a bit more serious than that."
-->Joe Friday: "48?"
* OfCourseImNotAVirgin: Totally averted. The virgin Connie Swail doesn't mind people introducing her as such, and Friday doesn't deny it himself.
-->Joe Friday: "Prepare the virgin [for a virgin sacrifice]?" I don't like the sound of that."
-->Pep Streebeck: "Let's just hope they're not referring to you."
* OddCouple
* PerpSweating / JackBauerInterrogationTechnique: "Well, Muzz, looks like it's just you and me... [[spoiler: your balls, and this drawer]]."
* PsychoForHire: Emil Muzz.
* RemakeCameo / ContinuityNod: Harry Morgan as Captain Gannon, having been promoted a few times since the original series' run.
** A photo of Jack Webb sits on Joe's desk.
* [[CaptainsLog Sergeant's Log]]: Friday gives us the facts, just like Jack Webb used to.
* SexIsEvil: Friday seems to think so at first.
--> '''Friday''': [After turning down Sylvia Wiss] Now let me tell you something, Streebeck. There are two things that clearly differentiate the human species from animals. One, we use cutlery. Two, we're capable of controlling our sexual urges. Now, you might be an exception, but don't drag me down into your private Hell.
* SinisterMinister: Reverend Whirley, whose pious televangelist act is just that, and while he rails against the wickedness of Jerry Caesar's smut empire for the cameras, he's also plotting to murder Caesar and take it over himself. Friday, [[BrokenPedestal who was a fan of the Reverend]], isn't happy to learn this.
* SirSwearsALot: Enid Borden.
* SmugSnake: Reverend Whirley and Jerry Caesar.
* StraightMan: Dan Ackroyd portrays a very anal-retentive Joe Friday. Can be described as [[BluesBrothers Elwood Blues]] UpToEleven.
* SpinOffspring: Well, nephew, at any rate. Just for good measure, the nephew not only acts like his uncle, but also talks and dresses like him.
* StormingTheCastle
* TankGoodness
* TeethClenchedTeamwork: Friday invokes this when forced to work with smut king Jerry Ceasar:
-->'''Friday:''' I don't care for you or for the putrid sludge you're troweling out. But until they change the laws and put you sleaze kings out of business, my job is to help you get back your stench-ridden boxes of smut; and [[BadassBoast since I'll be doing it holding my nose, I'll be doing it with ONE HAND!]]
* ThemeNaming: Granny Mundy. Sure, [[MyNaymeIs it's spelled different]], but still...
* TurnInYourBadge: Threatened by the police commissioner, [[spoiler:mainly because she's in on the caper]].
* ValuesDissonance: InUniverse example with Friday, who doggedly clings to his uncle's [[TheFifties Fifties]]-/[[TheSixties Sixties]]-era button-down, hyper-conservative worldview in the midst of [[TheEighties the so-called Decade Of Excess]].
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: [[spoiler:Whirley and Kirkpatrick]]
* VirginInAWhiteDress: In the 1987 film, the bad guys steal a wedding dress so their Virgin Sacrifice will wear white.
* VirginSacrifice
* VirginTension: Downplayed, but Connie Swail is always "the virgin Connie Swail"... until the closing shot of the film.
* WhamLine: "Don't you mean [[spoiler:the VIRGIN Connie Swail?]]" [[CrowningMomentOfFunny Cue dramatic look from Friday and "DUN Dun DUN DUN..."]]
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Nothing is said about what happens to [[spoiler:Commissioner Kirkpatrick]].
* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: Of course, the film dutifully trots out the series' signature closing shot describing the BigBad's ultimate (legal) fate... and then proceeds to give it a big ol' wedgie. "[The Villain] was sentenced to [[spoiler:43 consecutive 99-year prison terms]]. Which means [[spoiler:he'll be eligible for parole in seven years]]."
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: "And then I'll control '''both''' sides of the equation."
* YouLookFamiliar: Dabney Coleman was a background extra on one of the final episodes of the 70's version of the TV Show.
* YourApprovalFillsMeWithShame:
-->'''Ceasar:''' I'll give you money, I'll give you jewels, I'll give you women! I'll give you anything you want, just name it!\\
'''Friday:''' How about you take your hands off my suit.\\
'''Ceasar:''' Absolutely.
[[/folder]]
----
[[caption-width-right:300:"Their job... to enforce the laws, and preserve the safety of decent citizens."]]
->''[[RomanAClef "The story you are about to hear/see is true. Only the names have been changed, to protect the innocent."]]''
Archetype of the PoliceProcedural, ''Dragnet'' followed the exploits of Sgt. Joe Friday (badge number 714) and his partner, Bill Gannon, as they investigated crime in Los Angeles.
[[quoteright:150:~~RadioDrama,DramaticHalfHour,DramaticHourLong PoliceProcedural~~]]
''Dragnet'' was the brainchild of its star and writer, Jack Webb, who brought to the screen a level of realism in the PoliceProcedural that had never been seen before and has only rarely been seen since. This was accomplished via contacts he had in the LAPD, who provided him with both anonymized versions of actual cases and details on contemporary police procedure.
Unqualified, the title ''Dragnet'' usually refers to an entire franchise of series which ran intermittently from 1949 to 1971:
* ''Dragnet'', the original radio series, which ran from 1949-1957.
* ''Dragnet'' (Also called ''Badge 714''), a black and white TV series running from 1951-1959, along with a theatrical film adaptation in 1954. Many (perhaps all) of the episodes in this incarnation have lapsed into the public domain.
* ''Dragnet 1967'', a {{Revival}} of the original series, which ran (under a different title each year) from 1967 to 1971. (This series was launched by a movie, unsurprisingly titled ''Dragnet 1966''.) While sometimes considered the show's weakest incarnation, and prone to unintentional self-parody, this series is the most familiar one to modern audiences. Being filmed in color, it was more attractive to syndicators, and still being under copyright, it's the only incarnation that has received an official DVD release.
Officer Bill Gannon, played in the revival series by Harry Morgan, was actually a SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute, the last and best known of at least four partners Friday had in the course of the show. Barton Yarborough portrayed Friday's original partner, Sgt. Ben Romero, from the start of the radio show until his death in December 1951, just three episodes into the first TV version. He was briefly succeeded by Barney Phillips as Detective Sgt. Ed Jacobs, then by Ben Alexander as Officer Frank Smith from late 1952 to the end of the TV show's original run in 1959.
Unlike just about every other police show in history, the focus of ''Dragnet'' was not always on homicide: Friday and his partners rotated through the various departments from week to week, allowing them to solve not only murders, but also fraud, arson, and drug-smuggling.
Each episode ended with an unseen voiceover announcer giving [[WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue the results of the perp's trial]], accompanied in the TV version by his/her mug shot.
The show spawned a number of {{CatchPhrase}}s, such as "The story you are about to hear is true"; "This is the city: Los Angeles, California"; and "My name's Friday. I'm a cop" (eventually, "My name is Friday; I carry a badge"). But the most famous phrase identified with the show - "Just the facts, Ma'am" - is actually a BeamMeUpScotty born from a series of ''Dragnet'' parodies created by StanFreberg.
''Dragnet'' also spawned a 1987 feature film, a combination homage and AffectionateParody featuring Creator/DanAykroyd as a new Joe Friday, the nephew of Webb's character, and Creator/TomHanks as his partner. Harry Morgan reprised his role as Bill Gannon, now a captain. The film follows Friday as he continues his uncle's legacy of straight-laced crime-fighting, teaming with undercover detective Pep Streebek. The duo are assigned to investigate a series of bizarre and (seemingly) unrelated robberies and vandalisms, eventually uncovering a dastardly plot by an underground pagan group of undermine all authority in Los Angeles.
Two years later, another ''Dragnet'' (sometimes ''The New Dragnet'') revival (InNameOnly) aired in syndication. It featured an LAPD cop named Vic Daniels, and the only connection to its namesake was the FramingDevice of the opening narration.
DickWolf attempted another {{Revival}} in 2003 with a series which was eventually retitled ''LA Dragnet'', staring Ed O'Neil as Joe Friday. The show failed to distinguish itself from the dozens of other cop shows on at the time (''Series/{{CSI}}'', ''Series/LawAndOrder'', ''NYPDBlue'', etc.), and lasted only a season and a half. This may have been largely due to a lot of people being unable to get past the idea of "Al Bundy as a cop," despite the fact that O'Neil, a highly accomplished actor, created a wonderfully cynical, seen-it-all characterization that was both distinct from Jack Webb's portrayal and nothing like his ''MarriedWithChildren'' role. In addition, after the first season, the show's format moved away from the original ''Dragnet'' template to one closer to Wolf's ''Series/LawAndOrder'', with Friday supervising a group of officers.
''Mathnet'', a math-themed parody of ''Dragnet'', was the central sketch of the educational program ''Series/SquareOneTV''.
The four note {{Sting}} used as a ThemeTune and at commercial breaks is one of the most recognizable musical cues in the history of television and radio. Even today, the sting signifies the forces of law and order as a calm, methodical and relentless force hounding criminals. [[http://www.badge714.com/images/DRAG.WAV Listen here]] (.wav file).
Joe Friday's badge, number 714, which appears during the opening titles, is a real LAPD badge, not a reproduction. Joe Friday is the only fictional character ever to be issued an official badge number by a US police department.
When Jack Webb died in 1982 he was given full LAPD police honors at his funeral although he had never actually served in the force. The chief of police, Daryl F. Gates, also announced that badge number 714 would be retired and would never be assigned to anyone else.
----
!!''{{Dragnet}}'' provides examples of:
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:The (various) Series]]
* {{Abandonware}}:
** Much of the radio series dropped into the public domain. As a consequence, several hundred episodes are available for download from miscellaneous sources -- for example, at archive.org in both [[http://www.archive.org/details/OTRR_Certified_Dragnet ZIP-archive]] and [[http://www.archive.org/details/OTRR_Dragnet_Singles single-episode]] formats.
** Since just about all of the 1950's TV series has come into the public domain, entire episodes can be seen on YouTube. However, not every episode is available at this point. 47 complete episodes are available from the 1951-52 through 1954-55 seasons but only a total of 12 are available from the rest of the show's run (and seven of those are from the 1955-56 season).
* AlwaysOnDuty: Webb did his best to avert this. It is made clear that our main characters are one team out of many working one shift out of many and that just as much happens off-camera as on. In the episode "D. H. Q. — Night School", however, Friday flat out states "I'm a police officer, I have to be on duty 24 hours of the day". Also subverted slighty in episodes in which one of the partners invites the other for dinner and neighbors come out of the woodwork, looking for help.
* AuthorFilibuster:
** The 1967 series was quite fond of this as Joe Friday has had his fair share of long-winded lectures about the moral of the episode. In "The Interrogation," a policeman (Kent [=McCord=], pre-''Series/AdamTwelve'') is accused of robbing a liquor store. He says that whether or not he's found guilty he'll leave the force. Friday gives him an ''epic'' six-minute rant about how tough police officers have it.
** A subversion in "The Grenade" - ''Gannon'' takes the floor to deliver the filibuster, on how teens were growing up too fast.
* {{Badass}}: Joe Friday could be one when the situation called for it. There is an early episode when Joe and Bill track down a couple thugs who shot another cop with a shotgun. Joe kicks down the door, shoves a shotgun in the perp's face and says: "Flinch and you'll be chasing your head down Fifth Street." Later on, he tells the same guy, "I've bumped into jaywalkers tougher than you."
* BeamMeUpScotty: Joe Friday never actually said "Just the facts, ma'am." They actually came from AffectionateParody comedy skits by StanFreberg.
* BiblesFromTheDead: A gang uses this con in "The Big Betty".
* BigEater: Bill Gannon. Or perhaps more accuratly Weird Eater. As part of his comic relief role, when Gannon wasn't trying to make an honest man of Joe he was usually telling Joe about recipes like his secret bbq sauce ("here's the secret, Joe...add a quart of vanilla ice cream"), bringing his "lunch box" (a fishing tackle box holding everything from extra bread to jars of pickled quail eggs) to work, buying chilli and cupcakes when the two do policework in restaurants and bakeries, and offering Friday a bite of sandwiches combining such things as pastrami pickle and peanut butter. And as he'd say - the topper ("are you listening, Joe?") would be his favorite and most famous sandwich: The Garlic Nut-Butter Sandwich. (See YourFavorite, below).
* BottleEpisode:
** The aforementioned six minute rant occurs in an episode called "The Interrogation" in which the only characters are Friday, Gannon, and the guy they're questioning (a cop named Paul Culver, played by Kent [=McCord=] aka Jim Reed of ''Series/AdamTwelve'' fame). It's just the three of them in a room in Internal Affairs for the half hour.
** "The Big Prophet" features only Friday, Gannon and a self styled Prophet who helps people "find their way" through drugs in a half hour debate with only one set - the interior and exterior of the Prophet's "church".
** "The Big Squeeze" features only Friday, Gannon, a Syndicate Man named George Fox and a tape recorder full of evidence.
** A 50s episode called "The Big Phone Call" has a very similar plot to "The Big Squeeze," this time involving a robbery.
** "A.I.D. - The Weekend" focuses on Friday being a guest at Gannon's house for a weekend. It plays much more like a sitcom than a typical episode and the actual crime doesn't become part of the plot until the last six minutes.
* BribeBackfire: Repeatedly, because Joe Friday was notoriously non-bribeable. Once, a DirtyCop tried to bribe him to protect his bookmaking...Joe went to the captain and worked with him to get evidence for arrest. Another involved Gypsy fortune tellers who tried it...Joe went along long enough to get evidence, then busted them.
* BrokenAesop: In one episode, "A Gun for Christmas", the two investigate the shooting of a child near Christmas. They learn it was done accidentally by the boy's best friend when they were playing with the boy's Christmas gift, a rifle. The dead boy's father storms over to the friend's house, but when he sees how hurt the boy is over the loss of his friend, gives the boy all the dead child's Christmas toys. Lesson learned: kill your friend and you get all their toys. However, it is also made pretty clear the victim's friend is deeply remorseful, and that both families have been, perhaps, permanently damaged by the shooting.
* ByTheBookCop: Friday and his partners. This is presented as a positive trait, too -- standard procedure is standard for a ''reason'', and on this show, trying to second-guess that usually makes things worse.
* CanonDiscontinuity: Mild, with Bill. In the first episode, the famous 'Blue Boy' ep, he states he has two boys. But every time his kids are mentioned later, it's four boys. It's true they could have been born during the series, but when Joe visits Bill's home in two eps, it doesn't look like there are any babies or very young children living there.
** Also done in season one with a pair of episodes involving frauds. The first episode, they are working on a case involving phony bank examiners. Later they are working on a magazine subscription racket with a ''different'' pair of detectives working on the bank examiners case.
* CatchPhrase: Several examples frequently used or parodied, including, "My name is Friday. I carry a badge."
* TheCharacterDiedWithHim: After Barton Yarborough died of a heart attack shortly after production on the TV version began, his character on the radio show (Ben Romero) was written out with an off-screen heart attack.
* CharacterFilibuster: Mostly overlaps with AuthorFilibuster, as Joe Friday (whose views are indistinguishable from Jack Webb's) gets the vast majority of the big speeches. "The Big Prophet" is an exception. The discussion between Friday and Gannon and a Timothy Leary {{Expy}}/suspect is, almost literally, an episode-length formal debate over "Resolved: Drug use is harmless." The Leary character, while a StrawmanPolitical whose arguments are demolished by the detectives, actually gets a pretty good opportunity to state his case, and about as much time to do so as the cops get.
* ChristmasEpisode: The series did at least two. One was about a little boy borrowing a statue of the baby Jesus to give it a ride in his wagon. And then there was ".22 Rifle for Christmas", which lives up to its ominous title (see the [[Tearjerker/{{Dragnet}} TearJerker page]] for more details).
-->'''Joe Friday''' ''(narrating)'': The display was almost perfect. One of the Wise Men had a chipped face, a donkey was old and broken, and the baby Jesus was missing from his manger.
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: The hippie florist in ''The Big Dog''.
* ContractualImmortality: Even if one didn't know the series would continue, one would expect ''Joe Friday'' to survive being shot (as he was in "[[spoiler:The Big Ben]]".)
* CopShow
* CordonBleughChef: Bill Gannon as revealed in the episode "A.I.D. - The Weekend."
* CrossOver: Officers Malloy and Reed, from the Webb-produced ''Series/AdamTwelve'', appear in a 1968 episode.
* DarkerAndEdgier: The 1954 theatrical movie is more violent (and more graphically violent) than the radio or TV series.
* DeadpanSnarker: Friday, occasionally.
* DramaticDeadpan: Joe Friday, usually. Bill Gannon, occasionally.
* DrugsAreBad
* EarTrumpet: Appears in one episode as Joe Friday and his partner attempt to question a hard-of-hearing witness.
* EyepatchOfPower: In the episode "D. H. Q. -- Night School", the fellow classmate in Friday's night class [[spoiler: that forces the Professor to keep Friday in the class]].
* FramingDevice
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Friday comes close to calling a suspect's mother the 'B' word after lighting her cigerette, only to have her [[SecondFaceSmoke blow smoke in his face]].
-->'''Female Suspect''': You know, you're kinda sexy....for a cop.
-->'''Joe Friday''': ...And I bet your Mother had a loud bark!
* GenericCopBadges: Subverted, see above.
* HaveAGayOldTime: A non-sexual example. In the episode "The Prophet", Friday states "Marijuana is the flame, heroin is the fuse, LSD is the bomb." In 1993, a techno song was released, entitled "LSD is the Bomb," which quoted Friday's line.
* HeyItsThatSound: The animation production company Williams Street (''Sealab2021'', ''WesternAnimation/AquaTeenHungerForce'', ''SpaceGhostCoastToCoast'' and many other Creator/AdultSwim productions) uses the audio from Jack Webb's Mark VII Productions VanityPlate for their own VanityPlate.
* HigherUnderstandingThroughDrugs: This trope is [[InvokedTrope invoked]] in the late '60s series, where at least one [[MonsterOfTheWeek criminal of the week]] espouses it. In a different episode, Friday recommends that a teenage boy try the local library instead.
* HospitalityForHeroes: In one episode, Friday and Gannon bust a perp just before he can go after a restaurant owner. Immediately afterwards, a line of dialogue reveals that the cops haven't had lunch yet. The restaurant owner immediately offers a free lunch; when they refuse she tells them to sit down and order anyway, [[LoopholeAbuse there's nothing controlling the size of the portions she serves them.]]
* HumansAreBastards: "The story you are about to hear/see is true." And some of the crimes are horrific.
* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: Most episodes of the original radio/TV series were titled "The Big (something)".
* ImpersonationGambit: The plot of #72, "The Big Meet", involves Friday impersonating the local contact that a major drug lord plans to use to distribute a batch of his product through.
* IncorruptiblePurePureness: Joe Friday. His only vice is cigarettes, which can be Handwaved given the time the TV show was filmed, and that the series was once sponsored by Chesterfield cigarettes.
* InstrumentalThemeTune: By Walter Schumann. The famous "dum-da-DUM-dum" sting was actually swiped from Miklós Rózsa's score to the 1946 film ''The Killers''. Later arranged as a [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7bwCijT_Lc swingin' big-band number]] by Ray Anthony (which became a hit single), and a rather excellent [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUTlp0ODS7s four-part fugue]] by Stephen Malinowski.
* ItsPronouncedTroPay: In the 1950s TV and radio episodes, archaic pronounciations for "Los Angeles" (Los ANG-el-ess, with a hard "G" sound compared to a soft "G" or "J" sound that comes out "Los An-jel-ess") and "California" (Cal-i-forn-ee-a) are often heard.
* KnightInSourArmor: Friday is a KnightInShiningArmor who sometimes slips into this, particularly in the 1967 revival when confronting egregious examples of late '60s societal decay.
* LateArrivalSpoiler: Many radio episodes in the archives are titled with the name of the person ultimately proven guilty.
* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: In the 61st radio production, "The Big Actor", Friday and Romero [[PerpSweating interrogate]] a suspect between takes of a scene in a movie. The last line of the scene is [[spoiler:a police detective saying, "We've got our man."]]
* LimitedAdvancementOpportunities:
** Despite his years of competent service to the force, Friday is apparently never able to rise above the rank of sergeant. He ''does'' make lieutenant toward the end of the original series, but for the revival show he's knocked back down to sergeant without (in-universe) explanation. Jack Webb once explained that this was because in real life a police lieutenant would have more of a DeskJockey position and wouldn't be involved in the nuts and bolts of an investigation. That wasn't what Webb wanted for the character, and he wanted to keep the show as true-to-life as possible, so...
** Subverted with Officer Bill Gannon though, who we see has made Captain in the 1987 movie.
* LocardsTheory: Possibly the earliest TV instance, in an early episode.
* UsefulNotes/LosAngeles: "This is the city..."
* TheMainCharactersDoEverything: Different episodes puts Friday and his partner in different departments -- whichever one is appropriate for the case being investigated, basically -- but within each episode jobs are delegated as normal.
* MommasBoy: Middle-aged bachelor Friday still lives with his mother, at least in the older version. In the color version, he's got his own apartment.
* MotiveRant: A frequent staple.
* TheMovie: One was made in 1966 as a prospective [[PilotMovie pilot]] for the revived series; however, it didn't air until 1969.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: The culprit in ''The Big Crime''. The only thing he's glad of was that he [[spoiler:forgot the pocketknife--he'd have killed the kids had he remembered it]].
* {{Narrator}}: Friday himself.
* OpeningNarration: By Friday.
** In the 1966 revival, his opening narrations often included facts and statistics about the city of Los Angeles relating somehow to that episode's case. By the time of ''Dragnet 1971'', however, Webb more often then not just opened with a standard "This is the City - Los Angeles California. I work here...I carry a badge", before the opening credits.
** The openings of the original 1950s TV series were similar but often ended with "I'm a cop" instead of "I carry a badge."
* OvertOperative: When Joe Friday has to go undercover and pretend to be ''anything'' other than a cop. InUniverse, he's good at it, but it can be awfully tough for the ''audience'' to buy, since everything about Jack Webb's demeanor just screams "cop," even when he uses the alias [[NamesTheSame "Joe Fraser."]]
* PerpSweating: A particular talent of Friday and his partner.
* PyrrhicVictory: In the 1954 movie, Friday and Smith finally get the evidence to put Starkey's two killers away. Unfortunately, by the time they get it, [[spoiler: one has been rubbed out by his fellow crooks, and the other has died during a cancer operation.]]
* PoliceProcedural
* PreciousPuppies:
** Ginger, a drug sniffing dog. The closing narration tells us she did her job so well the Underground paid her their highest complement: they put a price on her head.
-->'''Joe Friday''': (To a fellow cop belittling the dog program) "Woof"
** One episode has Friday and Gannon on the trail of purse stealing canine.
* ProductPlacement: A good part of the first 3 1/2 minutes of the 1954 episode ''The Big False Make'' looks a ''lot'' like a commercial for Poland Spring water, even with a close-up shot of the label in Officer Smith's hands and another of him opening the bottle. The pretense is that Smith offers the water to Friday to drink instead of the water out of the fountain.
* RadioDrama
* RealTime: "Attempted City Hall Bombing".
* RequiredSpinoffCrossover: Kent [=McCord=] and occasionally Martin Milner appearing as their ''Series/AdamTwelve'' characters Reed and Malloy
* RomanAClef: As it says on TheOtherWiki, "Webb was a stickler for accurate details, and Dragnet used many authentic touches, such as the LAPD's actual radio call sign ([=KMA367=]), and the names of many real department officials, such as Ray Pinker and Lee Jones of the crime lab or Chief of Detectives Thad Brown." The then-Chief of Police was always credited at the end of every episode.
* SeinfeldianConversation: Usually instigated by Ben Romero (in the radio series), Frank Smith or Bill Gannon (in the television series).
* SeriesContinuityError: When Friday faces a police board over shooting a robber, Gannon testifys that he and Friday had been partners for five years. A few episodes later in the episode ''The Big Neighbor'' Friday mentions they've been partners for eight years.
* ShoutOut: Friday's badge number (714) commemorated Babe Ruth's career home run total.
* ShownTheirWork: Webb took accuracy and research ''very'' seriously, and it shows in the scripts.
* ShutUpHannibal: Friday often gets off a good one, like this rejoinder to a committed neo-Nazi: "You keep harping about minorities. Well, mister, you're a psychotic, and they're a minority, too."
** Or after arresting a husband who solicited an undercover Friday to kill his wife:
-->'''Forrester''': Lousy stinking drunk.
-->'''Friday''': Don't knock her, Forrester, she had a reason to drink - she was married to you.
* SignificantReferenceDate: In the third season episode "Community Relations - DR-10", the comic relief subplot has Gannon bothering Friday about Friday's horoscope. Joe tells Bill that his birthday is April 2 -- the same date that his actor Jack Webb was born. (In a similar ''Series/AdamTwelve'' episode scene Pete Malloy's birthday is ''not'' the same as Martin Milner's).
* SmugSnake Mister Daniel Lumis. Heck, it's even Lampshaded by his grandmother-in law.
* SoundToScreenAdaptation
* SpeakIllOfTheDead: Justified, as sometimes you have to speak ill of a murder victim to get to the truth. Also, roughly half the murderers were executed.
* SpiritualSuccessor: ''Series/AdamTwelve'', essentially the "patrolman" version of ''Dragnet'', was also produced by Webb. Both stars had already appeared on ''Dragnet'' multiple times (indeed, Martin Milner had appeared on the ''radio'' version).
* StandardPoliceMotto: This was the TropeMaker, bringing the LAPD's now-famous motto into the public eye.
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Friday's various partners.
* SyndicationTitle: ''Badge 714''
* TheyFightCrime (obviously)
* ThirdPersonPerson: George Fox does this a few times in "The Big Squeeze".
* TotallyRadical
* VanityPlate: According to the other Wiki, those sweaty hands banging out Mark VII are none other than Jack Webb's himself.
* VerySpecialEpisode:
** One episode of ''Dragnet 1968'' took place on April 4 1968...the day Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated. The episode details a special police bunker that Gannon, Friday and a handful of officers bunkered down in, awaiting any signs of rioting that might come in LA and across the country.
** One ''Dragnet 1968'' had Joe Friday face a police inquiry board after killing a robber he caught in the act. The ending featured Friday in the 'mugshot' tag with the overlay 'Joe Friday - Returned to Duty'.
** The radio episode "The Big Trio" was aired on July 3, 1952, and centered around three traffic accidents, [[spoiler: two of them fatal, one of those two involving a motorcycle patrolman]]. Instead of the usual narration describing the fates of the criminals involved, the episode ended with an admonition to drive safely over the Fourth of July weekend.
* VignetteEpisode: Occasionally happened during the 60's series, particularly in later seasons, when Friday and Gannon were assigned to work covering a special desk, like Juvenile on the Night Shift, or the Business Office, where several different people with unrelated cases would ask for help. At least one of those cases would result in an arrest, allowing for the OncePerEpisode trial result epilogue.
* WhatCouldHaveBeen: According to the Other Wiki, Jack Webb was working on a second ''{{Dragnet}}'' revival in 1982 with five scripts completed. With Harry Morgan committed to ''Series/{{Mash}}'' and its AfterShow ''AfterMash'', Webb would have changed partners once again, this time to a character played by Kent [=McCord=] (Although its unknown if it would have been his ''Adam 12'' character or a new one).
* WhyDoYouKeepChangingJobs: Friday and Gannon would be on detail to many different police divisions -- from Homicide to Bunco to Community Relations -- for the current episode's case. While Webb was a stickler for details, he opted for less realism here to allow for a wider variety of stories. By comparison, in the 2003 revival, Friday was always assigned to Homicide.
* YouLookFamiliar: There were [[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061248/fullcredits#cast many of these]], actually. Jack Webb maintained a cadre of actors that he liked working with, and cast them often as he needed them, provided they were available. Many of these actors got their start working with Webb on the radio series, and continued working with him to the end of the '60s revival series. Of particular note are:
** Don Ross, who according to IMDB holds the record at 31 episodes.
** Virginia Gregg, probably the most recognizable actress, a fixture on the radio series and appearing at least 13 times on the TV series.
** Peggy Webber, who many may remember from her appearances on the MST3K episodes "The Screaming Skull" and "The Space Children", was in eight episodes of the 60's revival, four episodes of the fifties show, and a couple of the radio shows, plus several episodes of ''Series/AdamTwelve'' and ''{{Emergency}}''.
** Kent [=McCord=] appeared as a desk clerk (uncredited) in the made-for-TV movie, then as a couple different patrolmen in early episodes before appearing as Officer Reed here and in ''Series/AdamTwelve''. (Oddly enough, he appeared in consecutive episodes in the 1968 season as different cops. One of his ''partners'' was an Officer Reed, according to the credits of the first of the two shows. He appears in the 1968 episodes "The Phony Police Racket" and "The Search" as an Officer Reed, but it's not certain if he's playing '''the''' Jim Reed or if the name of the character was just a coincidence.)
** Tim Donnelly qualifies both in terms of the ''{{Dragnet}}'' series itself (5 different roles), as well as the ''Radio/{{Dragnet}}''/''Series/AdamTwelve''/''{{Emergency}}'' shared universe (2 roles in ''Adam'' and his regular role as Firefighter Chet Kelly in ''{{Emergency}}'').
** "Marty" Milner played a role in one of the 1953-54 season TV episodes as well as several radio episodes, including a short stint as Joe's partner.
* YourFavorite: For Bill Gannon, his Garlic Nut-Butter Sandwich.
-->'''Bill Gannon''': "Take two slices of pumpernickel bread, spread one with your preferred variety of peanut butter, spread one with cream cheese, crush garlic cloves over the cream cheese side, allowing juice to drip into cream cheese (to taste), join slices into sandwich form, cut into quarters and enjoy!"
* YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle: In "The Big Make" (Sept. 14, 1950), for example.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Dragnet Parodies / Shout Outs]]
* In Music/TheBeatles song ''She Came In Though The Bathroom Window'', "Sunday's on the phone to Monday/Tuesday's on the phone to me."
* The StanFreberg recording ''St. George and the Dragonet'' which gave us the BeamMeUpScotty phrase "Just the facts, Ma'am".
* In an episode of ''TheHoneymooners'' Ed Norton says "Dum da Dum Dum".
* An episode of ''Series/ItTakesAThief1968'' titled "The Scorpio Drop" in which star Robert Wagner starts the ColdOpen with "This is the city, UsefulNotes/WashingtonDC. My name is Mundy...I'm a thief." Oddly enough on May 5, 2012 this episode aired on Digital station AntennaTV directly after an actual episode of ''Dragnet'', without even a commercial between the Universal logo and the start of the parody.
* Magazine/{{MAD}} once featured ''Dragged Net!'' (the radio/original tv version) and ''Dumbnet'' - A What IV Production (the 60s/70s version).
* An episode of ''Series/TheMonkees'' features Peter say, "Hey, its time for ''Dragnet''! Anyone got a tv?" This shot is currently (May 2012) being used in an Antenna TV ad, which shows both programs in their line-up.
* Officer Joe Webber was a recurring character on ''TheBobNewhartShow''.
* ''{{Seinfeld}}'' featured a character called Mr Bookman, a library official who behaved like Joe Friday.
** Another episode had Kramer channel a Joe Fridayish Inspector in order to get a stolen statue back from a Cleaning Man.
* An early episode of ''Series/SesameStreet'' featured a segment with [[http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Sergeant_Thursday Sergeant Thursday]] and [[http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Ben his partner Ben]] (a parody of [[TheDanza Ben Romero]]) questioning a letter M to see if it had seen their suspect - a letter W.
* In the episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' entitled "Mother Simpson", Friday and Gannon investigate the return of Homer's long lost Mother, forced underground after a sixties protest incident. [[InkSuitActor Harry Morgan]] voices Gannon.
* The PBS series ''Series/SquareOneTV'' [[OnceAnEpisode would end every episode]] with ''Mathnet'' a complete parody of the show.[[note]] Jack Webb's daughter, Janette Webb, was a producer on ''Mathnet''.[[/note]]
-->The story you are about to see is a fib. But it's short. The names are made up, but the problems are real.
* A LooneyTunes Porky and Daffy cartoon called ''Rocket Squad'' is a straight-up parody, set InSpace , where Daffy Duck plays "Sergeant Joe Monday". The twist is that the WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue shows him and his partner being arrested for wrongful arrest.
* One ''Series/TheTonightShow'' clip features Jack Webb parodying himself as he and Johnny Carson talk in a ''Dragnet'' style tongue twister - The Case of the Copped Copper Clappers.
* In ''LAConfidential'', Jack Vincennes is the LAPD's advisor on the show "Badge Of Honour", which is clearly a ''Dragnet'' {{Expy}} - one of the cast uses "Just the facts", with the implication that it's a recurring phrase in the show.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:1987 AffectionateParody Movie]]
* AerithAndBob: Joe Friday, meet Pep Streebek.
* AffablyEvil: [[spoiler:Jonathan Whirley]]
* AgonyOfTheFeet: Friday has this when a limo runs over his feet.
* AffectionateParody
* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: After Friday's car is car-bombed... "My hat was in that car."
** "Reckless endangerment of human life...willfull destruction of private property...failure to signal for a safe lane change..."
* AscendedMeme: Friday actually gets to say [[BeamMeUpScotty "Just the facts, ma'am"]] in the film.
* BigBadDuumvirate: [[spoiler:Reverend Whirley and the police commissioner]].
* BigDamnHeroes: with a [[TankGoodness tank]]!
* BitchInSheepsClothing: Whirley, a self-proclimed MoralGuardian who is [[spoiler:secretly the BigBad in disguise.]]
* BrickJoke: The film parodies the series' opening "names have been changed" CatchPhrase by noting that "[[spoiler:George Baker will now be called Sylvia Wiss]]." A minor character [[spoiler:by the name of Sylvia Wiss]] later shows up for a brief exchange.
* [[BuddyCopShow Buddy Cop Movie]]
* CassandraTruth: During the [[FunWithAcronyms pagan]] ritual, The Virgin Connie Swail manages to snag the mask off the pagan leader and see his face. When she later identifies him as [[spoiler:the Reverend Whirley]], only Friday believes her.
** ItWasHereISwear: Friday and Streebek bring the police commissioner and their captain back to the site of the pagan ritual, only to discover that the pagans are better at cleaning up after themselves than a SlasherMovie villain. [[note]]In all fairness, the pagans had plenty of forewarning, since the detectives blew their own cover during TheInfiltration.[[/note]]
* ChekhovsGun: The handful of drugs Streebek takes at the Pagan rally to blend in while undercover.
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: When Friday is nearly mugged by a gang of teenage delinquents, he laments "And on a school night too!"
* ComicallySerious: Dan Aykroyd takes Jack Webb's [[TheStoic uber-straight]] demeanor and cranks it UpToEleven. Could be described as [[BluesBrothers Elwood Blues]] UpToEleven as well.
* CoolOldLady: Granny Mundy is clearly a lot more laid back than her grandson Friday is.
* CrankyLandlord: Enid Borden.
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: The other characters (and the audience) chuckle at Friday's [[ValuesDissonance hopelessly outdated, stodgy attitudes]]. But he shows us time and time again exactly why he's considered the best cop in Los Angeles.
* DeadpanSnarker: Pep Streebek. And Friday, in his own MotorMouth way.
* {{Determinator}}: Friday, chasing a kidnapper who [[spoiler:escapes on a Lear jet]]. Cue [[spoiler:the police jet]]! (Complete with [[spoiler: siren, flashing lights and 'To Serve and Protect' emblem]])
* DidYouJustHaveSex: Fridary constantly mentions his resuce of the Virgin Connie Swail. Until [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtKUyfkBA2w the very end]]:
---> '''Streebeck:''' ''[catches Friday yawning on the way into work]'' Long night last night partner? [[IncrediblyLameFun I thought the Christian Science Reading Room closed at ten.]]
---> '''Friday:''' Not that it's any of your business, Mr. National Enquirer, but I had the pleasure of spending a quiet evening in the company of Connie Swail.
---> '''Streebeck:''' Wait a minute. "Connie Swail?" Don't you mean "''[[InsistentTerminology the virgin]]'' Connie Swail"?
---> ''[Friday merely turns his head and looks at Streebeck, accompanied with a [[ThemeTune *BUM-BA-DUM-BUM!*]] ]''
* DirtyCop: Or in this case, dirty police commissioner.
* DistressedDamsel: The Virgin Connie Swail
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything:
-->The Virgin Connie Swail: "How come his is so much bigger than yours?"
-->Officer Joe Friday: "Miss?"
-->The Virgin Connie Swail: "The gun."
-->Officer Joe Friday: "I've never needed more."
* DoItYourselfThemeTune: Not the title theme itself, but the film's other major song, "City Of Crime" which plays over the closing credits, is an 80's style rap performed by Dan Aykroyd and Tom Hanks (in-character as Friday and Streebek).
* TheDragon / TheBrute: Emil Muzz.
* DragonInChief: [[spoiler:Police commissioner Jane Kirkpatrick]]
* DrivesLikeCrazy: "Streebek, there's no '''road''' here!"
** During Friday's and Streebek's first police chase together, Friday enumerates a LongList of traffic violations... against his own partner.
** Later [[HypocriticalHumor reversed]] when Friday is rushing to save The Virgin Connie Swail:
--->'''Streebek:''' Don't you remember those films they showed us in high school? ''Red Asphalt''? ''Blood On The Highway''?\\
'''Friday:''' Buddy, you just picked two of my favorites!
--->'''Streebek:''' (turns around) Hey, that was a four-way stop you just blew through!\\
'''Friday:''' Felt good!
* TheFilmOfTheSeries
* {{Flanderization}}: Ackroyd's Joe Friday takes the original Friday's straight-laced, by-the-rules personality UpToEleven. Somewhat justified, as Ackroyd's character [[SpinOffspring is the nephew of]] Webb's Friday, and clearly only imperfectly emulates his uncle.
* FunWithAcronyms: '''P'''eople '''A'''gainst '''G'''oodness '''A'''nd '''N'''ormalcy. Pulls double duty as an IncrediblyLamePun.
** Not forgetting '''M'''oral '''A'''dvance '''M'''ovement of '''A'''merica, though that one gets a bit less attention.
* GilliganCut: Not an actual cut, but in one scene where Friday is waiting to meet Streebek in a bad neighborhood, Narrator!Friday notes that it's not a good place to stand around whistling. You can guess what Friday is doing in the scene.
* GroinAttack
* HeyItsThatGuy: Emil Muzz is [[SupermanII Non]]!
** The BigBad is [[TheSoundOfMusic Captain Von Trapp]].
** And [[TheBeverlyHillbillies Mr. Drysdale]] runs a ''Playboy'' {{Expy}}!
* HumanSacrifice: Luckily for her, they needed a virgin.
-->'''Streebek:''' You're still a virgin?\\
'''Connie:''' Yes!\\
'''Streebek:''' [prat-fall]
* HypocriticalHumor: see DrivesLikeCrazy, above.
* IHaveYouNowMyPretty: "You'll get used to me in time."
* IncorruptiblePurePureness: Friday. Spoofed, of course.
* IncrediblyLamePun: "Thank God, it's Friday!"
** Hilariously, they totally drop the ball on the "tank" jokes. But it's okay, [[TankGoodness we got that covered]].
** There's also [[FunWithAcronyms PAGAN]].
* TheInfiltration: Friday and Streebek go undercover at a pagan festival.
** DressingAsTheEnemy: Played semi-straight with the detectives; but also reversed with [[spoiler: a pair of highway patrol officers who turn out to be disguised pagans]].
* InsistentTerminology: Everyone calls her "The Virgin Connie Swail".
* IntergenerationalFriendship: Streebek puts the charm on Friday's grandmother.
* JerkAss: Jane Kirkpatrick, Jerry Caesar (who narrowly escapes becoming an AssholeVictim later on) and Emil's [[CrankyLandlord landlady.]]
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Capt. Gannon is presented as a crusty, "tough love" type of guy. On the other hand, when told that one of the best officers on the entire force has [[spoiler:gone missing]] (let alone the nephew of your old partner), you'd think your reaction would be a little more than [[spoiler:"WHO CARES?"]].
* LastNameBasis: Friday is on one with Streebek, which irks him to no end.
-->"And by the way, my name... is ''[[TheyCallMeMisterTibbs Pep]]''. ... Friendships start with first names. [[FirstNameBasis Joe.]]"
* AManIsNotAVirgin: WordOfSaintPaul (Dan Aykroyd, to be precise) is that Friday averts this.
* MotorMouth: Friday.
* MyNameIsNotDurwood: Friday's Granny Mundy cannot pronounce Streebek's last name to save her life. She even calls him "[[ShoutOut Detective]] Franchise/StarTrek" at one point.
* MythologyGag: At the start of the film, Friday's partner Frank Smith gets PutOnABus (since he never appears on camera, it's more accurate to say he never got off the bus). One of Friday's partners in the series, as detailed in the body, was also named Frank Smith.
-->Capt. Gannon: "I'm afraid Frank won't be coming in today, Joe."
-->Joe Friday: "24 hour flu?"
-->Capt. Gannon: "It's a bit more serious than that."
-->Joe Friday: "48?"
* OfCourseImNotAVirgin: Totally averted. The virgin Connie Swail doesn't mind people introducing her as such, and Friday doesn't deny it himself.
-->Joe Friday: "Prepare the virgin [for a virgin sacrifice]?" I don't like the sound of that."
-->Pep Streebeck: "Let's just hope they're not referring to you."
* OddCouple
* PerpSweating / JackBauerInterrogationTechnique: "Well, Muzz, looks like it's just you and me... [[spoiler: your balls, and this drawer]]."
* PsychoForHire: Emil Muzz.
* RemakeCameo / ContinuityNod: Harry Morgan as Captain Gannon, having been promoted a few times since the original series' run.
** A photo of Jack Webb sits on Joe's desk.
* [[CaptainsLog Sergeant's Log]]: Friday gives us the facts, just like Jack Webb used to.
* SexIsEvil: Friday seems to think so at first.
--> '''Friday''': [After turning down Sylvia Wiss] Now let me tell you something, Streebeck. There are two things that clearly differentiate the human species from animals. One, we use cutlery. Two, we're capable of controlling our sexual urges. Now, you might be an exception, but don't drag me down into your private Hell.
* SinisterMinister: Reverend Whirley, whose pious televangelist act is just that, and while he rails against the wickedness of Jerry Caesar's smut empire for the cameras, he's also plotting to murder Caesar and take it over himself. Friday, [[BrokenPedestal who was a fan of the Reverend]], isn't happy to learn this.
* SirSwearsALot: Enid Borden.
* SmugSnake: Reverend Whirley and Jerry Caesar.
* StraightMan: Dan Ackroyd portrays a very anal-retentive Joe Friday. Can be described as [[BluesBrothers Elwood Blues]] UpToEleven.
* SpinOffspring: Well, nephew, at any rate. Just for good measure, the nephew not only acts like his uncle, but also talks and dresses like him.
* StormingTheCastle
* TankGoodness
* TeethClenchedTeamwork: Friday invokes this when forced to work with smut king Jerry Ceasar:
-->'''Friday:''' I don't care for you or for the putrid sludge you're troweling out. But until they change the laws and put you sleaze kings out of business, my job is to help you get back your stench-ridden boxes of smut; and [[BadassBoast since I'll be doing it holding my nose, I'll be doing it with ONE HAND!]]
* ThemeNaming: Granny Mundy. Sure, [[MyNaymeIs it's spelled different]], but still...
* TurnInYourBadge: Threatened by the police commissioner, [[spoiler:mainly because she's in on the caper]].
* ValuesDissonance: InUniverse example with Friday, who doggedly clings to his uncle's [[TheFifties Fifties]]-/[[TheSixties Sixties]]-era button-down, hyper-conservative worldview in the midst of [[TheEighties the so-called Decade Of Excess]].
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: [[spoiler:Whirley and Kirkpatrick]]
* VirginInAWhiteDress: In the 1987 film, the bad guys steal a wedding dress so their Virgin Sacrifice will wear white.
* VirginSacrifice
* VirginTension: Downplayed, but Connie Swail is always "the virgin Connie Swail"... until the closing shot of the film.
* WhamLine: "Don't you mean [[spoiler:the VIRGIN Connie Swail?]]" [[CrowningMomentOfFunny Cue dramatic look from Friday and "DUN Dun DUN DUN..."]]
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Nothing is said about what happens to [[spoiler:Commissioner Kirkpatrick]].
* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: Of course, the film dutifully trots out the series' signature closing shot describing the BigBad's ultimate (legal) fate... and then proceeds to give it a big ol' wedgie. "[The Villain] was sentenced to [[spoiler:43 consecutive 99-year prison terms]]. Which means [[spoiler:he'll be eligible for parole in seven years]]."
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: "And then I'll control '''both''' sides of the equation."
* YouLookFamiliar: Dabney Coleman was a background extra on one of the final episodes of the 70's version of the TV Show.
* YourApprovalFillsMeWithShame:
-->'''Ceasar:''' I'll give you money, I'll give you jewels, I'll give you women! I'll give you anything you want, just name it!\\
'''Friday:''' How about you take your hands off my suit.\\
'''Ceasar:''' Absolutely.
[[/folder]]
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