HOW can anyone like this show ?!?!?! - Dragnet 1967 (1967) Discussion

[–] jaybabb 12 years ago

You are entitled to your opinion. However, the episodes in this show are based on actual case files from the LAPD. Jack Webb had access to these files and so being the producer and director of this show-he used them.

Conspiracy therories are cleverly thought out to evade the real truth

Jay

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[–] scottedgell 12 years ago

Jay is right. Jack carefully picked out which case to use for his storyline.

II Corr. 5:7

"For we walk by faith, not by sight. ..."

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[–] im_weird-1 11 years ago

I agree. The original poster is entitled to her opinion, even though I disagree with it - and everyone else is entitled to theirs.

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[–] PaladinNJ (21587) 5 years ago

Absolutely.

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[–] TheHuronPhish 10 years ago

Webb had access because the police knew he was peddling propaganda. Regardless of acting and production values, this show had a very clear goal: make people afraid of hippies. Webb has a long history in counter-subversive efforts. He's total piece of s---.

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[–] jaybabb 10 years ago

I consider your reply a non response from a grown up two year old who is worse than a little two year old-the only difference is size of body. Webb was not against hippies-but against crime regardless of hair style or whatever. On dragnet-you get all types of criminals.

On "Emergency" another show by Webb's company,There was a patient that came in to Rampart. Dr Morton assumed that he was on drugs-because he was a hippie and had the look of someone who was on drugs. After Dr. Brakett examined him, he found that he was bitten by a scorpion. afterwards Dr. Morton asked "Why didn't I see that bite?" Brakett said "Because you were not looking for it-you assumed that he was on drugs that you weren't going to find anything else."

I guess you don't believe that crime should be punished, Heh?

I don't feed trolls--I eat them(for breakfast!!)

Jay

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[–] TheHuronPhish 10 years ago

So making a house-call when he hears that someone might be smoking pot and then kicking their door in without a warrant after learning that a marijuana party is taking place there is your idea of just "punishing crime"? You are talking about a blatant violation of civil rights and that was being celebrated. I doubt this episode was terribly unique in that regard.

Ever seen "Red Nightmare"? Propaganda defined. Webb produced and narrated it. He was slime.

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[–] franklinlj 10 years ago

He did not like communists. So what? What did RN say that was not true? Tell us more about yourself.

His most important issue was racism. Even when he was a young radio guy in the 1940's. His show "one out seven" (available from otracat.com) spent time detailing scummy intimidation tactics toward negro voters by John Rankin, of MS. Now, Rankin was vice chair of the Dies committee (later HUAC), which looked for reds and fascists, and you would think Webb would like him. But no, this was more important. One whole episode was devoted to Senator Bilbo ( Webb did all the 6 or 7 voices, pretty talented). At one point, Webb played Vito Marcantonio as the lawyer for someone who had been insulted by Bilbo with a racial slur, calling up Bilbo about it. Quite a dignified, more-in-sorrow-than-anger portrayal. Now if you know who Marcantonio was, and what he was about, you would think Webb would be the last person in the world to give him a sympathetic portrayal. But once again, fighting race hate trumped everything.

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[–] TheHuronPhish 10 years ago

Is that why an entire episode of Dragnet ("The Big Problem") was dedicated to showing black people that they had nothing to worry about and that the LAPD was actually not racist even if that's how it appeared?

Webb was a shill for police enforcement. Period.

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[–] bryce-40 9 years ago

If you watch Dragnet, you will find that Jack Webb was exceptional when it came to the use of black actors playing positive roles. Unlike many shows of the same time period, Dragnet had black realtors, crime victims, doctors, nurses, lawyers, judges, police managers, and good cops.

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[–] sjbang 10 years ago

you obviously didn't get Dragnet. furthermore, Jack Webb was all about the 1st Ammendment. he often spoke of a persons' right to do as he pleases, as long as he doesn't infringe on the rights of the next guy. Dragnet 1967 is a classic!

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[–] shempzine 10 years ago

Yeah, the show was anti-drug but I also remember more episodes that would still be consider very liberal (even today) dealing with gun control, racism, and right wing hate groups.

Bite me, fanboy! -- Lobo

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[–] auburn-70735 10 years ago

Now that the hippies are in the government, I'd say alerting people to the dangers they posed was a pretty noble goal.

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[–] TMC-4 (20273) 5 years ago

https://www.quora.com/What-if-Jack-Webb-was-still-alive-today-Would-he-still-be-working-in-television/answer/Jon-Mixon-1

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[–] carthur27 10 years ago

the episodes in this show are based on actual case files from the LAPD

Actually, they're not and those inspired by real events saw the writers taking so much poetic license as to make them unrecognizable.

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[–] mactach 12 years ago

It's a great show and if you don't like it, keep it to yourself.

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[–] tuffigirl1 12 years ago

Last time I checked this is was public forum. You don't like it? Too bad.

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[–] R_Kane (15828) 4 years ago

And I don’t like public restrooms, either, girl.

You find scum in both of them.

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[–] Tobey 12 years ago

From what I've seen and read calling them the 'worst actors' is not really fair. Yes, a lot (and i do agree A LOT) of the performances were very flat and stiff but many people have commented that this was the way Jack Webb wanted it. He produced and directed all the episodes. There were no rehearsals and he insisted that people use cue cards and/or teleprompters. He was going for a style that he thought matched what happens in real life.
The cases did come from real life although the names and details were often changed.
There's an episode where an old actress was swindled with a bank con. Even to this day you'll hear in the news this exact Bank Examiner swindle still being pulled on people.
It's also interesting that the 50's series was much darker and gritty. It ended up being somewhat campy when they brought it back but Jack probably thought that was what the times called for.

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[–] thunderbird56 12 years ago

I see both sides of the good vs. bad acting that is often pointed out as a detriment to this show. Personally, I like the way the series is done despite a lot of stilted acting and cliched dialog. However, two horrendous pieces of "acting" stand out to me and are worthy of being in The Dragnet Hall of Shame should there be such a thing:

One is the idiot woman who is married to the child beater. Not sure of the episodes name but she puts on a "performance" that is cliched, obnoxious, and the epitome of being in denial. As awful as it gets except for:

The Big High (I think that's the name of the episode. The so-called acting by the husband at the end of the show when he makes a very unpleasant discovery is as amateurish as it is absurd. Perhaps the worst acting by anyone on a TV series ever, that's how bad it is. This character was more convincing as The Crimson Crusader in a later episode, and that was no stellar performance either.

Overall, Dragnet is a fun show to watch. I laugh at the stiffness and officiousness of Sgt. Friday and Officer Gannon and the steely-eyed captains they work under, but always enjoy seeing them get the bad guy and put him away.

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[–] mactach 12 years ago

What do you mean by stiffiness and officeness?

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[–] thunderbird56 11 years ago

The word is "officiousness" not " officeness" of which there is no such word. As for the stiffness, just watch how Friday and Gannon walk and talk.

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[–] carthur27 10 years ago

I think the only one who can be accused of officiousness is Jack Webb's character.

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[–] holdencopywriting 11 years ago

Oh, that "Big High" episode! Despite the name, it is a low point in the second Dragnet series. It's not the anti-drug message that makes it bad, it's the acting of the guest stars. Ugh! The young husband and wife are so bad that I actually felt no horror at what happens to them at the end - I was too distracted by their ridiculous performances.

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[–] wrenskibaby 11 years ago

Thank goodness for DVRs. The reaction of the young father, ("Ohhhh!" he gasps, as he turns and nearly collapses, fakely, onto the door frame of the bathroom as his hands sort of grab for his face) is so funny I had to watch it about ten times.

I remember watching this the first time it aired. My father, WWII Navy veteran and staunch conservative, turned to me from his Barkalounger and sternly asked, "How would you like to live like that?" during the scene when Friday and Gannon saw the children in the messy kitchen. I don't remember what I said. Probably nothing since I was only seven years old and afraid of my dad.

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[–] angry_hatter 10 years ago

Those are two different episodes, the dead kid in the tub due to pot and the messy kitchen with the dead adult daughter due to pot.

It's funny that I find your story now, though, I just watched that episode about three hours ao and thought "Jeeze, MY kitchen looks like that save for the can of spaghetti dumped over the stove." Made me start to get my kitchen cleaned up real quick.

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[–] wrenskibaby 10 years ago

You are correct. They were two different episodes.

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[–] carthur27 10 years ago

I think the anti-drug message came on so strong that it did make the show bad. The child drowning in the bathtub -- which never actually occurred -- puts the episode on the level of Reefer Madness.

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[–] 007135 12 years ago

Dragnet is so corny and has an overly CONnard political agenda.
Everything in the show is so fake too, basically no outside shots, cheap interiors, and so much green/blue screen.

Atleast Adam 12 and Emergency turned out good.

Your feeble skills are no match for the power of kittens.

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[–] mactach 12 years ago

Whatever keep it to yourself and allow us who do like it discuss it without without you fools around.

It's better than the crap that's on today.

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[–] censorshipsucks06 12 years ago

Sorry Mactach. We agree here it's a great show, but from my encounters of you, you don't 'discuss' much of anything. Rather most of what you do is post smarmy one or two line posts - mostly about other posters.

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[–] thunderbird56 11 years ago

A big thumbs up to that!

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[–] ememjee 11 years ago

There were absolutely no blue/green screens used in Dragnet. Not a single one.
I notice you have a lot of criticism f this show but you fall short when it comes to examples. Talk about feeble.

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[–] bill3-1 11 years ago

Dragnet is so corny and has an overly CONnard political agenda.

Define the word "connard" please, never heard of it before, neither has Webster.

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[–] carthur27 10 years ago

Dragnet is so corny and has an overly CONnard political agenda.

Sorry, there isn't any such thing as a "CONnard political agenda" on Dragnet or our planet.

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[–] johnnm58 (545) 6 years ago

And that's what makes it fun to watch.

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[–] uber_geek 12 years ago

As others have said, these stories were based on true stories. It seems to me, based on the episodes you cited, that you have an issue with Jack Webb's war against drug use. When everyone was taking a tune in, turn on and drop out attitude in the 60s and 70s, Webb maintained the very "square" position that drugs were dangerous. And he was correct. LSD is not in use like it was back then. But you had people injuring or killing themselves. Sometimes even after they quit taking the drug they would have a flashback and see things that weren't there. Or think they can fly and jump out the window.

It is CERTAINLY believable that someone can forget a baby in the tub because they're smoking pot. People have had children drown in the tub just by being distracted by a phone call.

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[–] tuffigirl1 12 years ago

Thank you for your well thought out reply. My problem is not with Jack Webb or the war on drugs at all... in fact the episode that bothered me most that I mentioned with abusive "Wally" and his wife where he ended up killing the child had no drugs in it at all. No my problem with the show is based entirely on the poor acting and the over-acting. To me it turns a believable situation and makes it totally unbelievable. Funny too ~ I can't stand Dragnet but I love Adam-12, another Webb show with good actors in the leads but horrible guest stars. Not all of them just some... obvious exception being Kent McCord. :)

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[–] carthur27 12 years ago

"the stories were based on real cases"

I think it's more like inspired from real stories. I think some of the episodes stray very far from what actually occurred.

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[–] cbetcher 10 years ago

Even today's crime shows like CSI, Law & Order, and all their spin offs, and various others, are based on real crimes. Sometimes they take a few crimes and consolidate them into one criminal, but no matter how heinous a crime appears on TV realize they were committed in REAL LIFE and often worse than portrayed. Ed Gein alone inspired Psycho, Silence of the Lambs AND Texas Chainsaw Massacre...

I think a lot of the 'bad acting' can be attributed to the "just the facts" manner of Dragnet - plus they went through a LOT of actors, many who probably didn't work very much, or at all, ever again - but sometimes you see actual stars, like a young "Greg Brady" pre-Adam 12 Kent McCord or pre-Emergency Bobby Troupe

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[–] dolphinlou92126 10 years ago

The Dragnet you are thinking about is Season 2, Episode 22 called "The Little Victim". It Guest Starred Brooke Bundy as the mother & Kiel Martin (Hill Street Blues) as the father. Again, as I posted to you on a different message thread, Jack Webb informed his guest actors how HE WANTED the scene to come off and directed them accordingly.

I've seen Brooke Bundy in several different roles guest starring and playing maybe not major, but more than just minor characters. She has quite a body of work and performed admirably in every show I've seen her in. Kiel Martin went on to have a great supporting role in Hill Street Blues as J.D. LaRue, one of the detectives years later.

So I wouldn't label the problem as poor acting imho. MY problem is it's way too UNBELIEVABLE. I just can't believe that ANY mother would be in such a state of DENIAL as to let her baby get abused. A woman's maternal instincts are too strong to allow this to happen. Letting her husband ABUSE HER... that's a different story. I feel Jack Webb took way too many liberties with this story and directed his HOLLYWOOD WRITERS to really embellish the screenplay good ole HOLLYWOOD STYLE.

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[–] cbetcher 10 years ago

I think it was the "just the facts" manner of acting in this show that makes even seasoned actors seem poor.

Even nowdays there are women who allow their males to abuse them and the children, so it's really not that far fetched. Back in those days women were "ladies", and were fearful of divorce. They made their bed and they laid in it... In the mid-50s my mother's first husband would beat her, rape her, and on a night where he beat her and sliced her with a knife SHE got taken to jail for "noise disturbance" cuz the neighbor's called the cops because of her screaming. Back as recently as the 70s it was not a crime for a man to RAPE his wife, abused women's shelters were almost non-existent, people were usually "too proud" to go on the dole, and there weren't many job opportunities for women (secretary or waitress). For a woman to leave a man meant she'd be homeless and penniless, until she could get work and a paycheck, while employers might be leery of hiring a "single mother" or think they should get 'perks' for hiring her.

When my parents divorced in 1969 there were parents who wouldn't allow their children to play with us - the kids of a *gasp* divorcee! (never mind that she raised FIVE of us into honest, hard working citizens who have never seen a day from the wrong side of jail bars)

Children were also SPANKED back then to keep them on the straight and narrow - it was, and still is easy for a woman to be in denial, wishing he wouldn't be so quick to discipline, or discipline so hard, but the kid shouldn't have lipped off, or should have gotten his chores done, or should have been home on time...

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[–] batvette 11 years ago

You probably don't realize that such over the top parodies of reality such as believing marijuana could make you forget about your baby, actually compel intelligent people who know better to tune out the whole message.
Yes LSD is dangerous and the drugs depicted in some episodes could cause a lot of bad things to happen.
However Webb merely showed his complete ignorance by lumping marijuana with them, and the effect makes us wonder if Webb ever knew what he was talking about if he got that so wrong?

(FWIW I like Dragnet and people like the OP and the other person who complained about the conservative agenda should just relax and enjoy it from their perspective as over the top parody just as I do with the smelly hippies and all the "fuzz" talk.)
I know you are but what am I?

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[–] joshwor1 10 years ago

Considering that people in real life forget about their babies while they run errands, go to work, talk on the phone, etc., and their baby ends up dying in the back of the car.....

Um, yes, it REALLY IS possible that it could also happen if a parent is distracted by use of a substance with sedative qualities.

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[–] dolphinlou92126 10 years ago

Dear uber_geek,

I too have a problem with Jack Webb - NOT his war against drug use, rather his war against MARIJUANA use. Mr. Webb and his conservative thinking generation were very HYPOCRITICAL. In their collective day it was alcohol. Did you know that Jack Webb frequented the Lounges/Bars? Especially when he was courting Julie London that he latter married. Miss London was a hugely popular Lounge Singer and became even more famous after recording several albums. Anyway Webb drank like a fish & smoked like a chimney.

Now for a man who was privy to the Los Angeles Police Dept.'s Crime Logs and Crime Statistics he certainly had access to the number of accident fatalities/injuries caused by Drunk Drivers. I find it VERY HYPOCRITICAL that Webb intentionally ignored the dangers of Alcohol and focused on informing the public of the dangers of Marijuana. And advocating thru his TV show of the dangers of Marijuana being a "gateway" drug is down right insulting - it's THAT hypocritical to me.

I realize people like Jack Webb were raised in an era when consuming hard liquor (not just beer) socially and smoking cigarettes were the norm. Webb never addressed the dangers of Second Hand Smoke in an enclosed area (like a Lounge or Bar) because medical science didn't address the dangers of First Hand Smoke yet let alone Second Hand.

Webb certainly had his agenda and never missed an opportunity to promote it.

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[–] ridgerunner72160-609-362419 10 years ago

Although I've been a fan of the show since I was a kid back in the '60s, I thought Jack Webb went too far with his war against marijuana. Nowadays, I feel the same way about the anti tobacco zealots who don't seem to be bothered out and about in heavy traffic by the exhaust fumes, but start coughing and choking if somebody on the other side of a room lights up a cigarette.

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[–] 10 years ago

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[–] ridgerunner72160-609-362419 10 years ago

I quit smoking about five years ago myself. I quit partially for health reasons, partially because I got tired of having to look for a place to light up anytime I was in public and mostly because the feds keep on taxing cigarettes higher and higher to where they're just too expensive now. But if somebody else wants to smoke, I agree with you. It's their business. I despise these busybodies who are always yapping about smoking, carbonated drinks, etc.

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[–] ememjee 8 years ago

IGNORING THE NUMBER OF ACCIDENT/FATALITIES AND INJURIES?? Typical pot freak. See the episode about the drunk driver who was a repeat offender, ended up killing one elderly gentleman on the first occasion (For which he recieved a suspended sentence),and on the second one killed two young girls, put his wife in the hospital and lost the use of both his legs? At the very beginning of the show he *detailed* the "Number of accident fatalities/injuries caused by DRUNK DRIVERS." The entire episode was devoted to the damage caused by drunk driving! Also What he said about marijuana still holds up today. That people who smoke weed do it for the sole reason to GET STONED. To quote the episode "There is no such thing as a "Quickie" or "One with the boys" becuase the whole idea with pot it to get high. He also said that even if pot has the potential to do even one TENTH the damage to society (Lost wages, property damage, medical costs) DO WE NEED POT?
Ignorant people like you who think you can make informed comments becuase you have seen one or two shows should keep your pot smoking mouth shut. . "Second hand smoke"?? are you friggin Serious? It is a crime series. Smoking cigarettes is not a crime. At least not yet until the friggin liberals get their way becuase they would lose their precious tax money from outlawing it. IDIOT.

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[–] tuffigirl1 12 years ago

First off I think I have matured all I'm going to in my 45 years on this earth. I think the four year old here is you... try growing up enough to realize not everyone is going to like the same television shows.

Oh and the "sorry" in my comment was not for disliking the show, but for the people who did and didn't agree with me. It's called common courtesy... but you might not be able to comprehend something so obvious.

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[–] dolphinlou92126 10 years ago

Good for you tuffigirl1. I too preface a few of my comments on public forum boards with an apology. Like you, I don't wish to offend people. I just FORMALLY joined IMDB with my profile and account last month although I've used IMDB as my resource of actors' filmography for several years now. That "Justamessageboardposter" guy is a spoiled punk with no regard to other people's feelings. That kind of obnoxious "Holier Than Thou" attitude came from his upbringing. He's not WORTHY of your time. If you must think about him, than I suggest you pity him. The jerk needs a lot of help.

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[–] dahoss65 10 years ago

There are a LOT of 45 year olds who never mature....they call them liberals.

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[–] ralanmace 10 years ago

HAHAHAHAHA!!! One of the BEST comments I've ever read. You win the internet for the decade!

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[–] mactach 12 years ago

I don't see what have limited amount of channels has to do with anything.

Stupid comment.

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[–] canineloverdi 12 years ago

Well, acting style was overall less natural during that era of TV. Jack Webb went by true LAPD cases but he was not a cop. It's interesting to me in many ways as my dad was an LAPD Sgt from late '40s until late '70s so he knew some of these cases. Given the era Webb was not able to represent any cop cursing & such, I don't know if he really thought all cops acted that stiff on the job or if he was just that stiff as an actor. My dad was good-natured & far from stiff but he was a real person, not a Jack Webb creation.

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[–] 12 years ago

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