Barnaby Jones

I know it's not profound TV, but I enjoyed the early murder plots of the show and Barnaby's way of making remarks that rattled the perpetrators (like a watered-down Columbo sometimes). I just bought Season One in DVD, and I enjoy seeing many big-name actors appearing and looking them up to see whether they're still alive and/or working. I will probably not purchase seasons beyond four or five, because, unlike some reviewers, I was disgruntled with the arrival of Barnaby's nephew, whose presence made the stories more contrived. I was annoyed when the later programs presented cases in which Secretary Betty was involved -- both contrived and unrealistic. The one-man show did it for me.

Buddy Epson & Lee Merriwether- very good acting & put together with Quinn Martin another winning combo. Actually, this show was CBS payback to Buddy who was extremely upset with CBS for canceling the Beverly Hillbillies while they were still a hit show. He kind of felt like he lost his family there & felt the execs at the network were a little nuts.

Buddy was right about that. This show is well done & CBS had raided ABC to get Quinn Martin to do this & Cannon. CBS wanted to change it's country image & these shows became a moderately successful way to do that. Trouble is CBS execs wasted more of the number 1 networks success & by the 1908's after they forced Walter Cronkrite to retire & dumbed down & tarted up their news with Dan Rather, they had pretty much become a second rated network.

This show's success along with MASH & a few others kept them on top through the 1970's. Buddy Ebsen was so talented that he could play almost anybody & make them believable. He comes off here as a fine detective & Lee Merriwether came into her own during this show.

Ebsen is one of the few TV actors to be part of successful shows in the 1950's, 60's, & 70's. It is a fitting tribute to such a unique talent who made his first splash in movies in the 1930's. He has an enduring legacy and this show is the last piece of it.

Standard Quinn Martin series.

Buddy has class, dignity, manners, and is polite, and that really is enjoyable to watch.

Merriweather, is humble and a good supporting character.

Shera is alright.

I have watched the first five seasons, and besides the terrible DVD quality, every single episode, except a few, is about the same, and 95% are about murder:

Crime happens.

Jones visits with the person who hired him.

Immediately, he knows who commited the crime and visits with her or him.

They lie through their teeth.

He investigates, and proves them wrong.

Most times, he plugs the crook, but ALWAYS just wings them.

This is like the Lone Ranger, always tried only to injure.

Epilogue. Some little happy saying, then the credits.

Betty, almost always acts like she can't figure out how Barnaby, deduced something, which makes him look better.

Each season has about two excellent episodes.

But the main reason to watch is for Ebsen.

An excellent 1970s detective show with a heart. Lee Meriwether is superb as the supportive Betty Jones. As the series progressed Betty was allowed out of the office and into the fray. Mark Shera as Jedidah Jones was an unnecessary attempt to attract younger viewers. Barnaby could always handle any young punk that he came across without any help.

Although the physical constraints of age limited the action somewhat in Barnaby Jones, this senior citizen had none of his mental faculties impaired when on a case.

In a pilot that was an episode of the Cannon TV series, Frank Cannon is hired to investigate the death of Hal Jones a colleague. Hal had taken over the detective agency from father Barnaby who decided to retire as senior citizens are wont to do. But his fires are banked with the homicide of his son and Buddy Ebsen and daughter-in-law Lee Meriwether take over the agency with her as Ebsen's secretary. Thus a successful television series was born.

Ebsen was a cagey old bird who a lot of bad guys thought was past his prime. They'd always trip themselves up because they thought he was not really paying attention to what they said. The Medicare set loved Barnaby Jones.

But TV is always after that youth market and after a few seasons Mark Shera was added to the cast as J.R. Jones, a nephew gone into the business with the uncle. Now the rough stuff could be dealt with in house if needed.

Buddy Ebsen as a performer reinvented himself more than Madonna. Over his 95 year life we saw him as musical dancing performer, Georgie Russell companion to Davy Crockett, Jed Clampett of the Beverly Hillbillies, Barnaby Jones, and finally Roy Houston uncle of Matt Houston. And there are a lot more single roles than that, films like Attack and Breakfast At Tiffany's which was a different Ebsen all together from the rest. Was this man ever versatile.

An inspiration to senior citizens everywhere.