Dragnet

Dragnet first aired on television in December 1951 on a special presentation of the NBC program Sound-Off Time. The regular series debuted in January 1952. Friday's original partner in the TV episodes (as on the radio) was Sgt. Ben Romero, played by Barton Yarborough, who died after only three episodes were filmed. The Romero character was replaced by first by Detective Sergeant Ed Jacobs (Barney Phillips), and then by Officer Frank Smith. Smith was first played by Webb crony Herb Ellis. After four episodes, Ben Alexander took over the role on both television and radio. Jack Webb thought Ben Alexander made an ideal partner. The dramatic scripts of the 1950s usually feature at least one comic interlude with Alexander to lighten the tone. Thus Frank offhandedly chats with Joe about his latest enthusiasm (favorite foods, fad diets, hobbies, home life, etc.). Alexander stayed with Dragnet through its original run, which ended in 1959. While Dragnet was still on the air, reruns began to air in syndication as Badge 714.

Listed below are 20 episodes from the original Dragnet television series you may down load any of them by right clicking and save target as. These files are in the mpeg 4 format and look great when loaded onto an ipod.

The Big September Man Original Air Date: 8 May 1952
Someone murdered a secretary late at night in her office. She was beaten to death with a metal pipe wrapped in newspaper. Could it be the drunk found three blocks away beating his head against a wall

The Big Seventeen Original Air Date: 6 November 1952
Upper middle-class teenagers in Los Angeles are going crazy. They trash a movie theater, beating up the manager and pushing a young man through a plate glass window. Sargeant Friday must get to the bottom of what is causing this to happen.

The Big Show Original Air Date: 22 January 1953
A lady reports an abandoned baby at a bus depot. Officers Friday and Smith investigate, and realize her story doesn't quite hold water.

The Big Break Original Air Date: 19 March 1953
Friday leads a team in a raid on the house of a very dangerous armed robber, which results in a bloody shootout.

The Big Hands Original Air Date: 21 May 1953
Friday and Smith are assigned to investigate the strangulation of an unidentified woman in a hotel room. With no leads and no clues, and no idea of who she is, they must start from scratch to find her killer.

The Big Betty Original Air Date: 24 September 1953
A gang of con artists checks the obituary section of the daily newspaper, then uses the information they gather to prey on the grief-stricken families of those who have recently died.

The Big Thief Original Air Date: 17 December 1953
A gang of robbers are calling Los Angeles physicians down to hotels and mugging and robbing them of drugs and valuables. Sargeants Friday and Smith are called in to put a stop to this.

The Big Little Jesus Original Air Date: 24 December 1953
It's Christmas Eve when Father Rojas at the Old Mission Plaza Church in Los Angeles discovers that the statue of the Infant Jesus is stolen from the crib. The statue's worth is only a few dollars, but it is of great sentimental value for the parish. Friday and Smith promise to try to get it back before mass on Christmas Day, but this means that they have less than 24 hours to catch the thief.

The Big Trunk Original Air Date: 7 January 1954
Three men are the suspects in the beating death of a former vaudevillian actress found in her apartment. The possible reason for her murder could be among the contents of an old steamer trunk which she kept locked in her room. Surveillance equipment is used to solve the mystery.

Season 3, Episode 21: The Big Boys Original Air Date: 21 January 1954
Friday and Smith receive a bulletin about an armed four-man gang, two of whom are army deserters, who have committed a series of robberies and auto thefts in San Francisco and are on their way to Los Angeles.

The Big Shoplift Original Air Date: 11 March 1954
There seems to be a lot of recent theft at retail stores in the city, and Jack Webb and his partner are on the case. The detectives question a salesperson from a big department store downtown, and she denies any involvement. They talk to a woman who was at the bus station, who saw another woman leave a parcel which contained a fur coat. Eventually Webb talks to a teenage girl, who saw a woman discard boxes of new items in a vacant lot. The girl knows the woman's identity, and soon the officers are interrogating the shoplifter, a doctor's wife with a lot of time on her hands.

The Big Hit-Run Killer Original Air Date: 18 March 1954
A truck kills an old lady and her little grandson at a crossing and drives away. The owner of the truck asserts that he let a man called Paul lend the truck for one hour, but he doesn't know the last name of this man or where he lives. The police must investigate all circumstances, but should Friday and Smith really spend lots of resources on trying to find a man they hardly believe exists at all?

The Big Girl Original Air Date: 1 April 1954
The detectives try to track down a tall, beautiful woman who has been terrorizing the city by robbing men, beating them up and in some cases shooting them. Their job is made more difficult by the fact that there are many inconsistencies in the victims' reports.

The Big Frame Original Air Date: 22 April 1954
A man is found dead in the gutter. At first it seems as a hit-run case, but Friday and Smith become suspicious when all witnesses from the night before give exactly the same story. Usually witnesses are at variance in some respects.

The Big Producer Original Air Date: 26 August 1954
Obscene literature and pictures are spread among youngster at a school in Los Angeles. The supplier of this illegal stuff turns out to be a former film producer from the days of silent movies.

The Big Crime Original Air Date: 9 September 1954

The Big Pair Original Air Date: 16 September 1954

The Big Bar Original Air Date: 14 October 1954
A holdup man is sticking up bars. After he takes the money he kills many of his victims. Sargeant Friday has few leads other than that the holdup man likes a certain song on the jukebox and likes to drink scotch and water.

The Big War Original Air Date: 10 April 1958
Friday and Smith attempt to get a hold of the leaders of several street gangs in order to stop an approaching gang war.

The Big Oskar Original Air Date: 14 October 1958
The detectives take a report of valuables stolen from the home of a somewhat eccentric old lady. They begin to suspect something is amiss when she starts talking about how she gets the "scoop" on crimes by being the first to report them to the local newspaper.

The Big September Man Original Air Date: 8 May 1952 Someone murdered a secretary late at night in her office. She was beaten to death with a metal pipe wrapped in newspaper. Could it be the drunk found three blocks away beating his head against a wall

The Big Show Original Air Date: 22 January 1953 A lady reports an abandoned baby at a bus depot. Officers Friday and Smith investigate, and realize her story doesn't quite hold water.

The Big Break Original Air Date: 19 March 1953 Friday leads a team in a raid on the house of a very dangerous armed robber, which results in a bloody shootout.

The Big Hands Original Air Date: 21 May 1953 Friday and Smith are assigned to investigate the strangulation of an unidentified woman in a hotel room. With no leads and no clues, and no idea of who she is, they must start from scratch to find her killer.

The Big Betty Original Air Date: 24 September 1953 A gang of con artists checks the obituary section of the daily newspaper, then uses the information they gather to prey on the grief-stricken families of those who have recently died.

The Big Thief Original Air Date: 17 December 1953 A gang of robbers are calling Los Angeles physicians down to hotels and mugging and robbing them of drugs and valuables. Sargeants Friday and Smith are called in to put a stop to this.

Season 3, Episode 21: The Big Boys Original Air Date: 21 January 1954 Friday and Smith receive a bulletin about an armed four-man gang, two of whom are army deserters, who have committed a series of robberies and auto thefts in San Francisco and are on their way to Los Angeles.

The Big Frame Original Air Date: 22 April 1954 A man is found dead in the gutter. At first it seems as a hit-run case, but Friday and Smith become suspicious when all witnesses from the night before give exactly the same story. Usually witnesses are at variance in some respects.