On 'History of Television' (HOT) channel?

In his day, I think that Webb got a lot more credit for his accomplishments than he does now. Of course, even then not everyone was a believer. I have a 1950's magazine article written by Richard Tregaskis (sp?)--the reporter who wrote "Guadalcanal Diary" that is about Webb and Julie London and he just goes on and on about the size of Webb's ears--admittedly two of the wonders of the world but hardly the sort of thing you would expect to dominate a story about one of the great innovators of early television.

I have another 50's article--a cover piece actually, featuring Webb on the cover of Time Magazine--that does recognize Webb for his innovations but tends to treat the whole Dragnet phenomenon as rather a fad.

In my view, Webb did for television what guys like Orson Welles did for the movies. To this day, you can see Webb's influence on TV shows. But do many people recognize this? Hardly. Most people who even know who he is tend to regard him as some sort of a crank who lectured and sucked up to LAPD on the 60's show. His rants against pot in particular have become a joke.

A film historian could write a book about how Webb influenced television, breaking old rules and innovating new ideas--if someone hasn't already done so. A few of us recognize this--obviously you do--but a full-fledged release of all of the original Dragnets would do much to bring more of us into the fold. With all of the lovers of film noir out there, I can't believe that Universal can't see the upside of doing this--and the profits to be made.

It's interesting to me that there are probably more hard-core Webb fans on the radio side of his career that on television. The radio Dragnet is pure genius, and it is interesting how some of his most ardent fans were police officers who appreciated how he, for the first time, dramatized police work for what it really was, and how he gave credit to his audiences for being able to pick up on police jargon and procedures without having to explain everything, or worse, dramatize it in the traditional sense when the drama was built in. You see the influence of this train of thought even today. He was a hell of a funny guy, too, as you can see (or hear) when he was doing shows like Pat Novak. It isn't so obvious today, but in his time, Webb was a great believer in equal treatment among races. I don't know if he ever marched with Martin Luther King Jr., but by portraying blacks, as well as other ethnic groups, as every day people whose hopes and dreams largely mirrored the white majority, he did much to make people rethink their old stereotypes and prejudices.

Just as an aside--I recognize your handle and see that we frequently comment on the same shows. May I congratulate you on your (obviously) superior taste!

Good to see that there are other geniuses posting out there on IMDB--or cranks, depending on your point of view!

"He was running around like a rooster in a barnyard full of ducks."--Pat Novak