Customer Reviews

Dragnet

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

To address the previous reviewer's concerns, here is more detailed product info
25 Episodes from 1952-1958, black and white starring Jack Webb
5 DVDs in a collectible tin box. Includes a booklet with a bio of Webb and history of the show. Bonus disc features include a trivia quiz and direct scene access
Episode titles from the back of the box:
The Big Cast
The Big hands
The Big War
The Big Trunk
the Big Break
The Big Phone call
The Big Frame
The Big Frank
The Big False Mate
The Big Little Jesus
The Big Betty
The Big Bar
The Big .22 Rifle for Christmas
The Big Boys
The Big Seventeen
The Big Crime
The Big Girls
The Big Thief
The Big Shoplift
The Big Show
The Big Bird
The Big Hit and Run Killer
The Big September Man
The Big Producer

This Dragnet set is a compilation of episodes from the original TV show that ran from 1951 to 1959. They entered the public domain due to an oversight in maintaining the copyright and now we have a sample of some of those many episodes which have never been released. The scripts in this series are nearly unmodified radio scripts and the actors were chosen more for their voices and delivery than for their looks. Each story is based on actual events, making the early Dragnet one of the first "reality" shows.

These episodes are much more noir-ish than the later shows that most of us are familiar with. The show is less pessimistic than most film noir, but still gritty and deliberately realistic. Jack Webb is outstanding, showing the passion that was robbed from him after filming hundreds of episodes and seeing his career stagnate into one role. This is a brilliant taste of the original, archetypical cop show, that, as Webb observed, "was as real as a guy pouring a cup of coffee." If you like Dragnet from any era, want to see how it became the much copied and much parodied phenomenon, know how cop shows got started, or just enjoy an outstanding bit of 50s drama, then you should drink a big gulp of Joe Friday and buy this set.

We spent this weekend watching all 25 episodes all of which are 50+ years old. There has been NO, digital cleanup & picture quality/sound varies from episode to episode. Some actors & clips are used in multiple episodes in different roles which you will see. Jack Webb is terrific with his acting, dialogue & story lines. The key factor for me is Webb's/Joe Friday is believeable. Friday comes across as the real thing, GREAT! You also get an early performance from future Oscar winner Lee Marvin as a nut killer. Dennis Weaver ("McCloud"), Frances Bavier ("Aunt Bee/Andy Griffith") & a very young Martin Milner ("Adam 12") show up. Nice package job & price make this a good set to have.

It was as it was advertised. I got it for my father when another, more expensive, gift was not going to get here in time for Christmas. It arrived within a week of ordering it and my father seemed genuinely pleased.

Amazon is really starting to annoy me. I've complained about this before, but apparently nobody cares. When you find this DVD (like many others) on Amazon, there's virtually NO information given about what the disc contains. There's no episode list or season number. I can't even tell if this is from the original TV series or the later episodes with Harry Morgan. Other classic TV shows are even more confusing! It seems odd that we had to wait 50 years for these shows to become available, but even more odd that so many different publishers seem to have the rights to these. Some offer Season One on a single DVD, while others have Volume One instead. Still others collect up what they believe are stand-out episodes and put those together on a DVD. Then you see things like Season One Part One, or where Seasons One and Two are in a single set, then Season Three comes out by itself as Volume Two. On rare occasions you can even find a box set called The Complete Series. What the heck??? Are you TRYING to confuse everyone? It seems really greedy to me, especially when you break the costs down into Price Per Episode. There's an unbelievable range when you look at it that way. Then there are the shows where the first season or two is issued, but nothing more ever comes out. What happened to these? Why not complete the entire series once you've started it? My guess is not enough people bought the first one to justify making the next one. That's greedy, folks. Then there are the quality issues. I've seen this said many times in other reviews, but it's worthy of repeating here: If you're going to release old TV shows on DVD -- make them the best possible technical quality you can! Don't EDIT them. Don't replace music (because you didn't want to pay for the rights). Don't use damaged prints or a really cheap transfer process. Clean them up digitally! And for God's sake, please don't speed them up so you can cram more onto a single disc! Have a little respect for the people who created these fine works of art -- and also for those of us who shell out our hard-earned dough to buy them!

A great buy at this price for 25 episodes. As stated, it's the early 50's shows, not in any order but still consistant. The only problem for me is that the episodes were just not that good. It was more of a transfer from the old radio program to the screen and while there was a noir look to the series, it was kind of bland after a while. The 60's episodes were much better. I found that the show became better developed later on. Still, it's one of the few "Public Domain" releases that I would recomend. Sound and picture are very watchable; surprisingly enough.

Amazons seller came through again. Fun to see the old Jack Webb police stories.

I was very pleased with the very quick service that I received from the vendor and I will definitely do business again with this vendor. I love the old Dragnet shows. I learned quite a bit from the insert that was in the box about the show itself and the actors especially Jack Webb. This was an excellent and economical purchase and I would recommend it to others.