Dragnet (1951)

Season 5

TV-PG

"The story you are about to see is true", "Just the facts, ma'am", "We were working the day watch" - phrases which became so popular as to inspire much parody - set the realistic tone of this early police drama. The show emphasized careful police work and the interweaving of policemen's professional and personal lives.

39 Episodes

The Big Pipe
E1
The Big PipeA young woman is beaten to death with a led pipe and left in an empty office.
The Big Chet
E2
The Big ChetA series of eleven grocery and jewelry store robberies seem to be connected but Sgt Friday has no leads. But a reformed thief clues in the detectives that a man named Chet may be responsible.
The Big No Rain
E3
The Big No RainJoe and Frank try to find out who badly assaulted a woman in the street. Their two suspects are her husband and a mentally ill man. The woman can't help them because she is in a coma.
The Big Lift
E4
The Big LiftSgt Joe Friday and officer Smith struggle to crack a case involving a cat burglar. With all their leads going nowhere and evidence scarce the case seems to be leading to a dead end. Then their luck changes.
The Big Confession
E5
The Big ConfessionA man walks into the station and tells Friday that he wants to confess to a murder, but the cops have a hard time varifying his story.
The Big Gap
E6
The Big GapA pawn shop owner alerts Friday and Smith when a man claimed to have purchased an expensive ring that turns out to be junk and then asked the pawn shop owner to sell him a gun.
The Big Look
E7
The Big LookA woman is dragged from her home and badly beaten by an unknown attacker.
The Big Glasses
E8
The Big GlassesA housewife, Ella Ryburn, reports to Friday and Smith that she cannot contact her mother, who is married to Alfred Rudolph Shroder. When he is questioned, Shroder claims his wife left him and that, out of shame, he sold their house and put her items in storage.
The Big Bird
E9
The Big BirdSgt. Friday investigates a robber who only targets pet stores and homes that have pet birds.
The Big Laugh
E10
The Big LaughA con man makes lonely women fall for his charms, then steals their money and disappears.
The Big Smoke
E11
The Big SmokeAn elderly couple is brutally beaten and the trail leads police to a former handy man.
The Big Bounce
E12
The Big BounceJoe Friday searches for a check forger who has been using the name of the old-time movie villain Parker Allington, who died three years ago. The search takes him to a former extra who has given up show business for crime.
The Big Shot
E13
The Big ShotA night club owner is shot down and there are no witnesses to the crime.
The Big Locker
E14
The Big LockerFriday and Smith happen to catch a man trying to sell a stolen ring at a pawn shop.
The Big Note
E15
The Big NoteAn anonymous note leads Friday and Smith to a group of teenage drug users and their neglectful parents.
The Big Genius
E16
The Big GeniusFriday and Smith investigate what seems to be the perfect crime.
The Big Reminisce
E17
The Big ReminisceDuring a quiet New Year's shift, Friday and Smith remember some of their past cases and why it is they became cops.
The Big Tour
E18
The Big Tour
The Big Sisters
E19
The Big SistersAn elderly woman fakes a burglary report so she can get attention from the police and the media.
The Big Ruling
E20
The Big Ruling
The Big Fall Guy
E21
The Big Fall GuyFriday and Smith are on the trail of a robbery suspect that has robbed two stores.
The Big Set
E22
The Big SetA city councilman is beaten and robbed by two men outside a bar. When he dies from his injuries, Friday and Smith feel pressure to find the killers.
The Big Child
E23
The Big ChildA two-year-old child after drinking bleach from under the sink. Friday and Smith are unable to locate the mother for questioning.
The Big Slug
E24
The Big SlugA liquor store owner is shot and killed during a botched robbery, but police can find no trace of the fatal bullet.
The Big Daughter
E25
The Big DaughterFriday and Smith investigate a missing persons report.
The Big No Suicide
E26
The Big No SuicideFriday gets a call from a former mental patient who is threatening to kill himself and his family.
The Big Siege
E27
The Big SiegePolice find themselves in a stand-off when an armed bank robber takes a woman hostage in her home.
The Big Mama
E28
The Big Mama
The Big Revision
E29
The Big RevisionFriday and Smith hit a blank wall when a burglary suspect refuses to admit where he hid his stash.
The Big Ex-Blonde
E30
The Big Ex-BlondeFriday goes undercover to catch brothers who steal people's money by posing as real-estate agents.
The Big Bobo
E31
The Big BoboA police officer is suspended from duty when he is accused of taking a bribe in exchange for a prisoner's release.
The Big Rush
E32
The Big RushTwo bandits turn cop killer when they gun down an off-duty policeman during a tavern hold-up.
The Big Setup
E33
The Big SetupAn informant tips off police to a shipment of heroin coming into the country. Friday goes under cover to bust open the ring.
The Big Deal
E34
The Big DealFriday and Smith are investigating a rash of car thefts. The stolen cars are being sold with forged pink slips.
The Big Wish
E35
The Big WishA teenage boy turns himself in and confesses to being an addict, but he refuses to give up the names of his friends who supplied him.
The Big Hat
E36
The Big HatA young man is found hiding in an empty train car with the strangled body of an older woman next to him.
The Big Housemaid
E37
The Big HousemaidMrs. Vesper, an old friend of detective Frank Smith, reports bring robbed and suspects a newly hired maid. The police learn of falsified references and after apprehension bizarre explanations for the thefts.
The Big Gift
E38
The Big GiftA disc jockey receives a watch - which turns out to be stolen - from a female fan. Joe and Frank must track down the thief.
The Big Salvage
E39
The Big SalvageSgt. Friday and Officer Smith solve a series of burglaries at car-rental shops around Los Angeles.