Universal needs to restore Dragnet! (1 Viewer)

[Michael.J.Hayde]

Ha, ha! Speaking of "bull" I know a red flag being waved when I see one!

Too bad for you that Friday (or Webb, although the two weren't synonymous) had "just the facts" on drugs that still hold up today. Interesting that both the "Leary" character and the "baby-in-the-bathtub dad" in "The Big High" both predict that when the current generation comes of age and takes power, LSD and marijuana will become legal. I must have been watching "Dragnet" reruns when that happened, 'cause I missed it. Neither President Bill "I never inhaled" Clinton nor California Governor Jerry "I never exhaled" Brown were able to decriminalize them. I wonder why? Maybe because, I don't know... they're DANGEROUS when abused???? Maybe because the vast majority of cocaine and heroin addicts BEGAN not with beer, but with pot????

FRIDAY: "I know that when you drink, you suffer a loss of judgement; when you drink to excess. But I also know that judgement returns when you sober up. I know, and so do you, when you flip out on an acid trip, you never know if you're gonna slip out again.... We've had time now to study the effects of LSD. People who haven't had a dose in weeks sail out on another trip. They never know when."

Just where's the bs in that, my friend?

Michael

 

[Jay Pennington]

Please don't derail the thread, guys.

 

[Eric Paddon]

I take the view that "Dragnet" holds up a lot better in terms of what it's underlying philosophy than do a lot of certain overhyped programs of the 70s and later that have earned too much undeserved praise for being "socially relevant."

 

[Paul_Scott]

Webb, who as i understood it oversaw production or at least had a specific vision for the show, would often set up straw men to debate an issue(usually drugs) in the final act of the show.

the 'misguided evil doer' would sprinkle in just enough 'facts' to propel the debate thru a three act structure, the climax occuring when they make an absolutely absurd point to which Friday can counter and knock out of the park, with one of his patented rapid fire dramatic monologues.

thats what makes the show fun to watch.

and yes, i do believe there are several if/therefore problems w/ your last post Michael, but i will ackowledge that this isn't the proper venue to counter them right now.

 

[Eric Paddon]

If Webb used a "straw man" to set up the stage for his arguments, then so too did Norman Lear use straw men more times than I can remember in AITF and other shows.

 

[Paul_Scott]

the show is awash in dated slang, fashions, etc as is natural.
it also has a very distinctive 'flat' visual style to it-
almost as if the entire show were filmed in 1 point persepctive (its a conscious attempt to be non-sensational and journalistic).
the content- the law & order conflicts, and the fraternal nature of law enforcement are not dated- although as i said, i believe some of the 'debates' that spring up within the shows are not always intelligently countered or solicited (but thats just my opinion).

 

[Paul_Scott]

i wouldn't argue with that, Eric.
and i don't doubt that there were/are many people that share the 'straw-mans' beliefs down to the letter-

 

[Dan McW]

By "music" do you mean the different first-season end-credits theme or something else? BTW, who wrote this different theme? Lyn Murray?

 

[Carlos Garcia]

Friday is to Dragnet, what Bunker was to All in the Family. People thought Bunker was funny when he made such inane comments as "You'll have Reagan in '80 wiseguy!", or Edith said "We don't watch CBS because you say Walter Cronkite is a communist". I suppose some people like to laugh when they hear "just the facts" LOL!

 

[Carlos Garcia]

You mean one of the most recognizable and popular themes in the history of television?

 

[Paul_Scott]

'cept that Archie was purposefully set up to be the fool more often than not.

 

[Eric Paddon]

"People thought Bunker was funny when he made such inane comments as "You'll have Reagan in '80 wiseguy!""

Actually that's the ultimate case of how Lear's attempts to make the Meathead his always-right version of Webb's Friday when taking on straw-man Archie, backfired over the long-haul.

 

[Paul_Scott]

i would disagree.
Archie and Mike represented two distinct and conflicting points of view- conflict being the essence of good drama.
neither side was always 100% right.
if the show had been just a didactic liberal harangue every week, i doubt it would have lasted more than one season.

on the other hand, Dragnet was pretty much straight authoritarian propaganda.
social disorder will never be shown to come about from bad laws, it only arises from law breakers.
the state is never wrong.
and while the point can be (insubstantially) debated, in the end the state will win the debate because it has moral certitude on its side.

 

[Eric Paddon]

"Archie and Mike represented two distinct and conflicting points of view- conflict being the essence of good drama."

I can count on one hand the number of episodes where Mike was shown to be either in the wrong or just as wrong as Archie, and neither of those episodes had anything to do with making a political propaganda point. The first was Season 3's "Everyone Tells The Truth", and the second is the Season 4 episode where Mike goes ballistic during a Group Therapy game when everyone starts pointing out his faults to him. When it came to actual political candidates and social issues, Lear was as one-sided if you will as Webb arguably was in "Dragnet."

 

[Carlos Garcia]

I always loved Joe's "Jesus" speeches. Anyone who knows right from wrong knows he always meant well with them. I can't wait for the show to hit the DVD market and seriously hope they decide to release the 50s version, which I hear was more powerful, and judging by the handful of those episodes I've watched, I would tend to agree.

 

[Michael.J.Hayde]

I'll be happy to continue the discussion via email or private messaging, or not at all. I do want to say this about "if/therefore." Friday never said that using pot will inevitably lead to hard drugs. He said nearly all hard drug users began with pot. It was statistically true then, and was when I was researching "My Name's Friday" (1998-2000). Maybe it's not anymore.

And do not confuse the character's message with the creator's. Sure, Webb was the guiding light behind the show, but his agenda was to present Joe Friday as the ideal LAPD cop. Another constant Friday observation was "If you don't like the laws, work to change 'em... don't break 'em." Had marijuana been decriminalized in L.A., I don't think we would have heard Friday bemoaning that fact. Webb himself was certainly no choirboy.

My personal observation: I've known scores of people who are content to have their one beer a night - no desire to up that intake or move on to stronger alcoholic beverages. I've never known any regular user of marijuana who didn't at least try something stronger, in search of a better "high." Not one. I'll leave it at that.

Michael

 

[Jay Pennington]

Thank you, guys, for making my school marmish worries about a flame war unfounded. Always a pleasure to see such civil and intelligent disagreement.