Dragnet
was a
long-running and very popular procedural police drama. Episodes were
based on actual cases from Los Angeles Police Department files and were
presented with stark realism. Although the show featured fictional
sergeant Joe Friday (played by Jack Webb, pictured, who was also the show's
creator), its cast included the names of several real-life LAPD
officials.
Authentic in every detail, the stories described all aspects of real police work-the drudgery as well as the danger-even including such realistic touches as the use of the LAPD's radio call signal KMA-367.
The landmark show kept fans spellbound from 1949 through 1957 on NBC, in the end being supplanted by its equally-popular TV counterpart.
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