Dragnet

What began as an outstanding updated version of the classic cop/detective show was picked and hacked at by TV executive dolts until it finally bore little or no resemblance to the original, and did away with a central character.

TV executives are absolutely clueless. The show did not instantly get top rating, and therefore Mr. Moneybags or Mr. Big Cigar or whoever over at the network called up and said, "Change it so we get more sponsorship and I can afford to put another wing on my chalet in the south of France. Oh, and my wife wants a solid gold Maserati for her birthday."

If they had left the show alone, it would have gained steam and become a very successful series. Instead, they ruined it and then threw it away.

Ed O'Neil was excellent as Joe Friday.

It may seem unimaginable that an iconic television series such as Jack Webb's Dragnet could be updated and still do justice to the original's charm and quality, but Dick Wolf and others behind the gripping Law & Order television series apply the strengths of their previous efforts into a superb updating of Webb's immortal series on the most famous working detective in the annuls of the LAPD.

Ed O'Neill is still most famous for his role of Al Bundy in Married.....With Children, but few remembered how he tackled the role of Popeye Doyle in the eponymous 1986 TV film sequel to The French Connection, and though not as gripping as Gene Hackman he nonetheless did a commendable job in a very difficult role. O'Neill really flexes dramatic muscle as Detective Joe Friday, in a much-faster-paced version of the classic series that at times reads like a real documentary, a goal Webb strove to achieve throughout the original run of Dragnet but which Dick Wolf and company have the resources to pull off.

While this new version of Dragnet is more keyed toward crime-solving and has a much greater intensity as a result, it nonetheless leaves some room for levity, such as in the recently-aired Bel Air kidnapping episode where the perp makes a deal with the LAPD to rat out his boss, but is arrested anyway because the FBI wants him. "We're local, they're federal," deadpans Ed O'Neill's Joe Friday, a line more fit for Ben Alexander's Frank Smith or Harry Morgan's Bill Gannon than Joe himself.

Ed O'Neill has thus succeeded in keeping an iconic character in TV history "alive and working," and TV land's LAPD knows that its most famous working detective is still on the job in the 21st century.

I was stunned after watching the Pilot of Dragnet. I have seen most of the episodes of this "new Dragnet" and it is really ingenious. I liked O'Neils representation of Joe Friday. He performed absolutely convincing and showed his range of variation. Besides Josef Bolz as Martin the "Psycho" was very convincing in his performance. I can only recommend on "Dragnet". You will enjoy great actors in unaccustomed roles. Awesome. Unpredictable. Fascinating. I bite my time during every commercial! I am big fan of the new Dragnet. It is my personal favorite appearing of O'Neil and Bolz. I hope we are going to see more of them ! I am still impressed :)

I have listened to the original. YES, listened. Dragnet was originally a radio show. Not that at 45 I'm old enough to have heard it live but I have heard tapes.

The later television show with Harry Morgan as the partner aired every night after the 6 PM news where I grew up. Joe Friday was not cynical he was a flag waving TRUE BELIEVER. There were never dirty cops in the original Dragnet, the crooks were all bad guys and Joe and his partner put as much energy into catching the thief of a Baby Jesus statue as they did in finding a murderer. They didn't worry so much about "civil rights" and TECHNICAL things like that. They were only interested in arresting the crooks. I don't think Joe Friday ever cracked a joke or took a drink. They SAID that all the cases were REAL but I have read that it was partly due to the way you could define "real" in those days.

Ed is playing Joe Friday as at 21st Century cop. There may have been a better choice for Friday but I don't know who. The chemistry between the two leads seems great to me. I love the way Mike Post has updated the theme, One of the most easily recognizable TV Themes ever! The new version sounds like L.A. to me. Frankly just because of that I was willing to give it a chance. It showed some respect for it's predecessor.

I am enjoying the show and I think it will last a while. Sometimes you can go home.

I've only seen a couple episodes of this new Dragnet, but so far it looks like the show does have promise. I'm particularly impressed with the job Ed O'Neil is doing as Joe Friday. The Friday character is the exact opposite of the Al Bundy character that O'Neil previously played on Married..,With Children, but he manages to give an convincing performance as Friday. It takes a real good actor to play an idiot, then turn around and give a serious performance. This is especially true given the fact that O'Neil has Jack Webb's shoes to fill.