Dragnet
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- Publication date
- 2015-09-15
- Topics
- OTRR, Old Time Radio Researchers Group, OTR, OTRR Certified Set, Old Time Radio, OTRR Set, Dragnet, Jack Webb, Webb, Jack, Joe Friday, Friday, Joe, Police, Drama, Crime, Detective, Danger Ahead, 1940s, 1950s, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, Dum Dee Dum Dum, OTRR Updated Release, OTRR - 2015-09
DRAGNET
Dragnet, the brainchild of Jack Webb, may very well be the most well-remembered, and the best, radio police drama series. From September, 1949 through February 1957, Dragnet's 30 minute shows, broadcast on NBC, brought to radio true police stories in a low-key, documentary style.
The origins of Dragnet can be traced to a semi-documentary film, "He Walked by Night" from 1948, in which Webb had a small role. Both employed the same Los Angeles Police Department technical adviser, used actual police cases and presented the case in "just the facts" manner that became a hallmark of Dragnet. It is interesting to note that Webb employed that format in other radio series, some pre-dating the film mentioned above.
Dragnet was a long running radio and television police procedural drama, about the cases of a dedicated Los Angeles police detective, Sergeant Joe Friday, and his partners. The show takes its name from an actual police term, a dragnet, meaning a system of coordinated measures for apprehending criminals or suspects.
Dragnet was perhaps the most famous and influential police procedural drama in American media history. The series gave millions of Americans a feel for the boredom and drudgery, as well as the danger and heroism, of real life police work. Dragnet earned praise for improving the public opinion of police officers.
Actor and producer Jack Webb's aims in Dragnet were for realism and unpretentious acting. He achieved both goals and Dragnet remains a key influence on subsequent police dramas in many media. The shows cultural impact is demonstrated by the fact that even after five decades, elements of Dragnet are known to those who have never heard nor seen the program. The ominous four note introduction to the brass and tympani theme music, titled Danger Ahead, is instantly recognizable as well as the shows opening narration:"Ladies and gentlemen, the story you are about to hear is true. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent."The original Dragnet starring Jack Webb as Sergeant Joe Friday ran on radio from June 3rd, 1949 to February 26th, 1957; and on television from December 16th, 1951 to August 23rd, 1959, and from January 12th, 1967 to April 16th, 1970. All of these versions ran on NBC. There were two Dragnet feature films, a straight adaptation starring Jack Webb in 1954, and a comedy spoof in 1987. There were also television revivals, without Webb, in 1989 and 2003.
Dragnet debuted inauspiciously. The first several months were bumpy, as Webb and company worked out the program's format and eventually became comfortable with their characters. Friday was originally portrayed as more brash and forceful than his later usually relaxed demeanor. Gradually, Friday's deadpanned, fast-talking persona emerged, described by John Dunning as "a cop's cop: tough, but not hard; conservative, but caring". Friday's first partner was Sergeant Ben Romero, portrayed by Barton Yarborough, a long time radio actor.
When Dragnet hit its stride, it became one of radio's top rated shows. Webb insisted on realism in every aspect of the show. The dialogue was clipped, understated, and sparse -- influenced by the hard-boiled school of crime fiction. Scripts were fast moving, but didn't seem rushed. Every aspect of police work was chronicled, step-by-step. From patrols and paperwork, to crime scene investigation, lab work and questioning witnesses or suspects. Webb was a stickler for accurate details, and Dragnet used many authentic touches, such as LAPD's actual radio call sign, KMA-367, 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.
Two announcers were used. Episodes began with announcer George Fennemen intoning the series opening:"The story you are about to hear is true. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent."Hal Gibney described the basic premise of the episode. For example, "Big Saint", from April 26th, 1951, begins with:"You're a detective sergeant. You're assigned to auto theft detail. A well organized ring of car thieves begins operations in your city. It's one of the most puzzling cases you've ever encountered. Your job -- break it."The story usually began with footsteps and a door closing, followed by Joe Friday intoning something like:"Tuesday, February 12th. It was cold in Los Angeles. We were working the day watch out of Robbery Division. My partner's Ben Romero. The boss is Ed Backstrom, Chief of Detectives. My name's Friday."Friday offered voice-over narration throughout the episodes, noting the time, date, and place of every scene as he and his partners went through their day investigating the crime. The events related in a given episode might occur in a few hours or might span a few months. At least one episode unfolded in real time, in "City Hall Bombing", from July 21st, 1949. Friday and Romero had less than 30 minutes to stop a man who was threatening to destroy the City Hall with a bomb.
At the end of an episode, announcer Hal Gibney would relate the fate of the suspect. They were usually convicted of a crime, and sent to the state penitentiary or a state mental hospital. Murderers were often executed in the manner proscribed by law. Occasionally, police pursued the wrong suspect, and criminals sometimes avoided justice, or escaped, at least on the radio version of Dragnet.
Scripts tackled a number of topics, ranging from the thrilling (murders, missing persons, and armed robbery) to the mundane (check fraud and shoplifting) -- yet, Dragnet made them all interesting due to the fast moving plots and behind the scenes realism. In "The Garbage Chute", from December 15th, 1949, they even had a locked-room mystery. Though rather tame by modern standards, Dragnet, especially on the radio, handled controversial subjects, such as sex crimes and drug addiction, with unprecedented and even startling realism. The tone was usually serious, but there were moments of comic relief. Romero was something of a hypochondriac, and often seemed hen-pecked. Though Friday dated women, he usually dodged those who tried to set him up with marriage-minded dates.
Due in part to Webb's fondness for radio drama, Dragnet persisted on radio until 1957, as one of the last old time radio shows to give way to television's increasing popularity. In fact, the TV show would prove to be effectively a visual version of the radio show, as the style was virtually the same. The TV show could be listened to, without watching it, with no loss of understanding of the storyline.
OTRR Release Information:
Series Name: Dragnet
Release Status: OTRR Certified Accurate
Release Date: September 15, 2015
Release Version: Version 4
Number of CDs: 11NOTE: Updated Release! Version 4: Replaced 65 episodes with SPERDVAC copies, added or replaced 9 AFRS versions, and deleted some obsolete artwork and duplicate pdfs (15-Sept-2015).
NOTE: Updated Release! Version 3: Added numerous sound upgrades and alternative (AFRS or sponsored) versions of episodes (01-May-2013).
NOTE: Updated Release! Version 2.1: Added ARFS version of episode 194 "The Big Laugh", and removed erroneous episode 93 "The Big Trunk" and 94 "The Big Lover" (28-Nov-2009).
NOTE: Updated Release! Version 2.0: Fixed Episode 301 "The Big Siege", added 116 scripts, plus other miscellaneous changes (26-Oct-2009).
From the Old Time Radio Researchers Group. See "Notes" Section below for more information on the OTRR.
Notes
OLD TIME RADIO RESEARCHERS GROUP
This is a production of the Old Time Radio Researchers (OTRR) Group located at Old Time Radio Researchers Website (www.otrr.org), Old Time Radio Researchers Facebook Group, and Old Time Radio Researchers Group.
It contains the most complete and accurate version of this series in the best sound possible at the time of creation. An updated version will be issued if more episodes or better sounding ones become available.
If you are interested in preserving Old Time Radio (OTR), you may wish to join the Old Time Radio Researchers Group at Facebook and Groups.io.
Relax, listen, and enjoy!
OTRR Definitions:
OTRR Maintained Set -- This set contains all known episodes in the best available audio condition with the most accurate dates and titles known to be in general circulation and based on current research at the time of release. Replaces OTRR Certified Accurate and OTRR Certified Complete.
OTRR Non-Maintained Set -- A collection of shows that has not gone through the OTRR Maintenance process.
Pre-2019 OTRR Definitions:
OTRR Certified Accurate -- A series that was "Certified Accurate" indicated that all the episodes were properly identified and labeled based on current information but that the series did not contain all known extant episodes.
OTRR Certified Complete -- A series that was "Certified Complete" achieved the highest level of certification available under the OTRR Certified Standards. This certification level implied that all the files in the series were "Certified Accurate" and also indicated that the series was as complete as possible and included all circulating episodes.
OTRR Non-Certified -- A collection of shows that has not gone through the OTRR Certification process.
Also, beginning in 2019, the version numbers of our OTRR releases changed format -- instead of v1.0 or v2.1, we are now using a version number that reflects the year and month the set was released. The format used is a two-digit year followed by a two-digit month. For example, "v1906" indicates a set that was released in June 2019, or "v1910" indicates a set released in October 2019.
NOTE: There are no passwords for any of our ZIP files. If you are prompted for a password, before downloading the file again, try unzipping the file into a shorter full folder path name -- for example, unzip to "C:\" instead of "C:\Documents and Settings\your_Windows_ID\some_other_folder\". Sorry, some of our releases contain long folder and file names, which sometimes manifests itself on the Windows platform as prompting for a password for the ZIP file. Or try renaming the ZIP file itself to a shorter name before unzipping.
- Addeddate
- 2007-09-18 04:20:47
- Boxid
- OL100020404
- Identifier
- OTRR_Certified_Dragnet
comment
Reviews
Reviewer:
RobertJG60
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June 30, 2017
Subject: CD contents just dups when you down load the large zip file
Subject: CD contents just dups when you down load the large zip file
CDs 2,4,5, and 9 are actually cd 7.
2,4,5, and 9 are missing.
And episode 1 is missing along with some others
2,4,5, and 9 are missing.
And episode 1 is missing along with some others
Reviewer:
SpaceNut2
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favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite -
January 19, 2017
Subject: The Best!
Subject: The Best!
Many, many thanks for bringing one of the original programs that brought police lives to reality on radio, and then TV. I truly enjoy this series of radio plays, along with many others here.
Reviewer:
eteonline
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favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite -
October 20, 2011
Subject: Zip Files work
Subject: Zip Files work
Just tested #1 and it unzipped correctly.
Reviewer:
ddrwilli
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August 6, 2011
Subject: Corrupted files
Subject: Corrupted files
Only zip file no. 7 of 9 works; all the other zip files are corrupted and will not unzip/extract... unfortunate.
Dragnet was one of my all-time favorite shows and I hope the problems will be corrected soon so that we can continue to enjoy Dragnet on radio!
Dragnet was one of my all-time favorite shows and I hope the problems will be corrected soon so that we can continue to enjoy Dragnet on radio!
Reviewer:
splue
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May 6, 2011
Subject: BREAKFAST MUFFINS
Subject: BREAKFAST MUFFINS
1 egg 1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar 1 heaping teaspoon baking
1 cup sweet milk powder
1^ cups flour Butter size of a walnut
Sift the dry ingredients together and add the beaten egg in milk and the melted butter; place in well greased muffin pans and bake fifteen minutes in a quick oven.
Terms of Use (10 Mar 2001): Eat biscuits slowly.
2 tablespoons sugar 1 heaping teaspoon baking
1 cup sweet milk powder
1^ cups flour Butter size of a walnut
Sift the dry ingredients together and add the beaten egg in milk and the melted butter; place in well greased muffin pans and bake fifteen minutes in a quick oven.
Terms of Use (10 Mar 2001): Eat biscuits slowly.
Reviewer:
uniQ
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favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite -
May 6, 2011
Subject: Excellent
Subject: Excellent
For the amount of work that has to go into making such an authoritative collection, this series is unquestionably worth it.
Reviewer:
Seckinger2
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favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite -
December 11, 2010
Subject: Misunderstanding?
Subject: Misunderstanding?
First off, this show is fantastic including the kitchy parts and even the "propaganda". Second, I think there was a misunderstanding about the use of the term "tea party". Tea is slang for marijuana. Reread the original "tea party" post with that in mind and I think you'll come away with a different take on the review. Everyone better now??
Reviewer:
Dr Feel Rotten
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December 2, 2010
Subject: Yes yes yes
Subject: Yes yes yes
Surrrrre the tea partiers are all pure as the driven snow and want us all to live good, clean, wholesome, honest lives after the filthy rich milk every man woman and child dry, but hey. why not inject some more nonsense into the commentary and while we're at it put up a tea party banner on every page? [sarcasm]
Point? Everyone is entitled to their opinion and putting yourselves up on imaginary moral high road pedestals don't really impress anyone other than yourselves.
Point? Everyone is entitled to their opinion and putting yourselves up on imaginary moral high road pedestals don't really impress anyone other than yourselves.
Reviewer:
VnTGordon
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favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite -
December 1, 2010
Subject: Previous review has it all mixed up
Subject: Previous review has it all mixed up
Mixiearmadillo has taken the sad step of interjecting his personal political biases into what should be a place friendly to all.
It would be one thing if he had it right, but to suggest the tea party types are mixed up in reefer madness shows a profound lack of understanding. Most tea party types are Libertarians who support drug legalization.
Meanwhile Mixiearmadillo's favored Democrats continue the war on drugs. Just ask Feinstein or Obama. Sorry to get into politics, but MA just had it so backwards.
Thankfully Dragnet is politics free. People who wish to look back on these old radio shows and judge the content by modern standards suffer from extreme vanity. As the saying goes, "how vain of the present to expect the past to live up to its standards."
It would be one thing if he had it right, but to suggest the tea party types are mixed up in reefer madness shows a profound lack of understanding. Most tea party types are Libertarians who support drug legalization.
Meanwhile Mixiearmadillo's favored Democrats continue the war on drugs. Just ask Feinstein or Obama. Sorry to get into politics, but MA just had it so backwards.
Thankfully Dragnet is politics free. People who wish to look back on these old radio shows and judge the content by modern standards suffer from extreme vanity. As the saying goes, "how vain of the present to expect the past to live up to its standards."
Reviewer:
OTRRArchive
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favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite -
November 29, 2009
Subject: Updated Files!
Subject: Updated Files!
28-Nov-2009: Version 2.1 -- removed erroneous versions of episodes 93 "The Big Trunk" and 94 "The Big Lover"; added AFRS version of episode 194 "The Big Laugh".
26-Oct-2009: Version 2.0: Fixed Episode 301 "The Big Siege", added 116 scripts, added some AFRS versions, plus other miscellaneous changes.
26-Oct-2009: Version 2.0: Fixed Episode 301 "The Big Siege", added 116 scripts, added some AFRS versions, plus other miscellaneous changes.
Reviewer:
mixiearmadillo
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favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite -
April 7, 2009
Subject: Love Dragnet!
Subject: Love Dragnet!
One of the very best, no question. Love the campiness of some topics and "Reefer Madness" propoganda in full play (makes me want to attend a "tea party"). Any case, Jack Webb with an excellent supporting cast, writing, and sound effects make this easily a front-runner for all time best OTR. Hugely enjoyable.
One heads-up: Season 8's episode "The Big Seige" (ep 301) plays in fast-forward so everyone sounds like chipmunks, with a bunch of empty air at the end.
One heads-up: Season 8's episode "The Big Seige" (ep 301) plays in fast-forward so everyone sounds like chipmunks, with a bunch of empty air at the end.