Just the Facts

By Jeff Little

My name isn't Friday. I don't carry a badge. But like millions, I love watching those who do…on television.

Since the early days of the medium, the police/detective genre has been a staple of every major network's programming scheme. It has proven to be immensely popular in the past and still draws big audiences today.

As of 2005, 8 of the top 20 shows in The United States were of the police/detective genre. But the groundwork for such popularity was laid over 50 years before.

One of the earliest examples of television's fictionalized war on crime came in the form of a program called Martin Kane, Private Eye (1949-1954). Though dealing with many mysteries, the biggest had to be why producers couldn't decide on a star. The series used 3 different actors in the title role over its 5-year television run.

From the same era came Man Against Crime (1949-1956). This drama featured a hero who didn't carry a gun and helped pave the way for several other shows that would later feature unarmed protagonists.

Some of the most popular characters who favored brains over brawn were TV's lawyers. Somewhat unrealistic by today's standards due to their intelligence and integrity, television litigators such as The Amazing Mr. Malone (1951-1952) and Perry Mason (1957-1966) did double duty as both courtroom representatives and skillful sleuths.

Also known more for gray matter than cold blue steel were master detectives like Ellery Queen (1950-1952) and justice-seeking newsman Steve Wilson, the hero of Big Town (1950-1956). Crime fighters like these emphasized a mind over mayhem approach that most of us value in real life, but what does TV drama have to do with real life?

The most successful television crime dramas of the past featured tough cops, tough crooks and tough cases. Hard as nails detectives protected society as we watched their exploits from the comfort of our living rooms and cheered for more. More Naked City (1957-1963), more Boston Blackie (1951-1953), more Richard Diamond, Private Detective (1957-60), and more of The Untouchables (1959-1963).

TV detectives have been plentiful since television's early days, and the number of fictional gumshoes on the tube has only grown larger over the years. But above them all reigns a show that screams "classic" from its very opening.

"The story you are about to see is true. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent."

Most would agree that Dragnet (1951-59, 1967-70) was and is the definitive television cop show. Watched and loved by millions for years, its success can be summed-up in 2 words: Jack Webb.

Webb would tell us weekly, "My name is Friday," "I carry a badge," "Just the facts," etc. and then set the scene for the drama that would ensue. Delivering dialogue as LAPD Detective Sergeant Joe Friday, Webb (also the show's producer) would become a legend.

Still emulating Dragnet today, producers routinely churn-out programs in the genre that has come to be known as "police procedural". In addition, plenty of other approaches to crime dramas (both original and stolen) are constantly being tried with no end in sight for TV detectives.

And those are "just the facts."

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