The F.B.I.

"The FBI" is one of those wonderful old shows I remember from when I was a kid, and it was great finding it being rerun on the "American Life" channel.

There was no question who the good guys and bad guys were, and Inspector Lewis Erskine is as straitlaced as they come, he and Sargent Friday were two of a kind.

The theme music is perfect, it has a serious solidity to it, and the writing is just what it should be. I also love seeing all the new, old cars, and seeing what high technology (like their computers) was in those days helps us to appreciate what we have today.

Great show, well worth watching again.

I don't think it was an accident that The FBI came to television when it did and left when it did. If J. Edgar Hoover was one thing it was that he was conscious of the image of his agency. He really did personally supervise films like The Street With No Name, The House On 92nd Street, and The FBI Story, anything where the Bureau was involved. And it was never shown in a bad light.

But in 1965 we had just lost a president through assassination and while the FBI does not have direct responsibility for presidential protection, the rumblings about Hoover's relationship with the Kennedys were being heard. I think Hoover felt that the FBI needed some good publicity so this show was aired.

It wasn't a bad show, it wasn't the best police action adventure show on television, but it had its share of well acted episodes. Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. was a stalwart defender of law and order and he was ably assisted first by Stephen Brooks and later William Reynolds for most of the show's run and then Shelley Novack. Take a look at the cat list, a whole lot of people who later became prominent appeared in this show.

Hoover died in 1972, rather suddenly and the FBI then became a casualty of the Watergate Scandal. It was put forth in that film The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover that if Hoover had lived a few more years, Watergate would never have seen the light of day. I think there's some truth to that. In any event acting director L. Patrick Gray was forced to resign in the whole Watergate mess and a show about The FBI just wasn't a big item any more for television.

Indirectly I think the show was a casualty of Watergate as well though it was probably nearing its end in any event. No coincidence it ended in the year Richard Nixon resigned as president.

Still The FBI is both a reflection of the times and it somehow stood outside the changes that were going on in America during its run.

Now that the show is back in syndication, I've watched as many as I can and see some major differences between the early shows (1965 or so) and later ones (in the early 70s). The early ones SHOWED more violence and often the bad guys were "pushing up daisies" by the end of the show. Later, the FBI agents hardly ever shot the bad guys or if they did it was just in the leg or arm--hardly realistic, but an apparent bow to overly sensitive pressure groups that had grown in the early 1970s. Also, while Inspector Erskine shot a lot of crooks, they tended to be non-lethal shots in later shows.

Another difference is by the end of the series, the FBI and its abuses had come to light...such as warrantless wiretaps, warrentless breakins and the like. So, to counter this, Inspector Erskine OFTEN would ask things like "makes sure we have a warrant"!

Finally, the earlier episodes made the characters seem a little more human--often, Erskine was shown with a good looking woman or would complain about having to work too hard, while later he was pretty much a robot. Finally, the earlier episodes were occasionally more histrionic--sometimes too much and some times very juicy and exciting! In general, I prefer the earlier shows--they may have been a little campier, but they seemed more exciting. Still, despite this, it's an exceptional series and holds up very well today.

The FBI With Efrem Zimbalist JR Can be seen if you have cable every Friday night on the American life TV network at 7 PM. central time. Check with your local cable company about getting American life TV the have 6 episodes every Friday the say a whole evening of crime busting action. Both Steven Brooks and William Reynolds have been on in different episodes and Phillip Abbott and Efrem Zimbalist JR are in all episodes I never miss it. They call it FBI Friday. American Life is good every night Monday is the private Eyes which include 77 Sunset Strip which also has Efrem Zimbalist JR. also Harry O with David Jansson and several others. Tuesday night is the American Soldier Wednesday night is the Secret agents Thursday night is the American west Friday is FBI Friday Saturday is good comedy and Sunday is the American family. It is a good channel all around but if you turn on American life TV at 7 PM central time you will get all the reruns of the FBI with Efrem Zimbalist JR. David Kerr Minnespolis Minnesota.

I can still hear it now... The four notes of the series theme, and that familiar voice over, "The F.B.I, A Quinn Martin Production!"...

Great show, great cast, and well deserving of a run in syndication, someplace. Or sold by Time-Life on video. I am amazed that this show is buried somewhere, and not seen. "Hawaii Five-O", was missing in action for years, and then came back to life, so why not this gem.

And remember this, car nuts out there, how Inspector Erskine would, at the end of the show, hop into a new Ford Motor Company product? A friend of mine and I would bet on what it might be, that week. A new pointy nosed 1970 T-bird? A lowly Custom 500, LTD, or Mustang? I wonder if Ford's catch phrase slogan of that era, "Ford has a Better Idea", came from "F.B.I"? See the connection?