First, I'd like to thank all those who submitted critiques of the so- called "corny, stilted, preachy. boring" Dragnet series.
I admit - for you, Dragnet is indeed insufficiently...stimulating. Very few explosions in Dragnet. Little gun play. Worst of all: no narcissistic affirmation. No airtime given to the viewer that everyone else is wrong and stupid and that you are the superior creature.
Incidentally, there's no obligatory male-bashing. Women are portrayed as imperfect human beings, therefore they can be unflattering characters and even - gasp - CRIMINALS! And not very romanticizible anti-heroes (anti-heroine could be misinterpreted in the Dragnet style book). Lots of gray hair and wrinkles too. The target demographic doesn't like "old men".
Funny - so many "reality" shows reject the kind of realism Dragnet attempted.
Dragnet - and most of Adam-12 and Emergency! - were staunchly counter- counter-culture. Even in the 1960's, Dragnet was an antidote to most of the cultural tumult of its era. Interesting that NBC broadcast these shows: NBC even then was the most left-leaning of the 3 networks.
Like every series, Dragnet has its good and not-so-good episodes. Of all the good Dragnet episodes, Night School always stood out to me. Not all of the show, though. Most of the episode was actually a typical illegal drug debate with an extra helping of police antipathy.
What resonated with me was the final standoff between the "professor" and a student.
I won't reveal the resolution. If you haven't seen the episode, I suggest you watch it for yourself.
If you do watch the episode, I ask you: Did this happen in 1969 - or 2013?
I admit - for you, Dragnet is indeed insufficiently...stimulating. Very few explosions in Dragnet. Little gun play. Worst of all: no narcissistic affirmation. No airtime given to the viewer that everyone else is wrong and stupid and that you are the superior creature.
Incidentally, there's no obligatory male-bashing. Women are portrayed as imperfect human beings, therefore they can be unflattering characters and even - gasp - CRIMINALS! And not very romanticizible anti-heroes (anti-heroine could be misinterpreted in the Dragnet style book). Lots of gray hair and wrinkles too. The target demographic doesn't like "old men".
Funny - so many "reality" shows reject the kind of realism Dragnet attempted.
Dragnet - and most of Adam-12 and Emergency! - were staunchly counter- counter-culture. Even in the 1960's, Dragnet was an antidote to most of the cultural tumult of its era. Interesting that NBC broadcast these shows: NBC even then was the most left-leaning of the 3 networks.
Like every series, Dragnet has its good and not-so-good episodes. Of all the good Dragnet episodes, Night School always stood out to me. Not all of the show, though. Most of the episode was actually a typical illegal drug debate with an extra helping of police antipathy.
What resonated with me was the final standoff between the "professor" and a student.
I won't reveal the resolution. If you haven't seen the episode, I suggest you watch it for yourself.
If you do watch the episode, I ask you: Did this happen in 1969 - or 2013?