Did You Know?
When the original show (Dragnet) ended, Joe Friday had been promoted to Lieutenant. However, Jack Webb decided to make Friday a sergeant again for the new series because "few people remember that Friday was promoted toward the end of our run. We think it's better to have Joe a sergeant again. Few detective-lieutenants get out into the field."
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Through all 100 episodes of the series, Friday is only seen wearing something other than his regular suit four times: three times for undercover work and once for a scene in his apartment.
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When Jack Webb revived the show in 1966, it was in response to the growing tide of teen-age drug use, especially LSD.
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Jack Webb would pay $25 to any officer who submitted a story that was used for an episode plot.
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During the run of this version, the title would change to reflect the year that it was broadcast in (Dragnet 1967, Dragnet 1968 and so on).
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Friday's badge number (seen at the beginning and end of each episode) is 714. Badge 714 belonged to Sgt. Dan Cooke, the technical advisor. The badge has been retired and displayed at the LAPD Academy's Museum.
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The pair of hands seen hammering the Mark VII logo at the end of every episode belong to Jack Webb.
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For the sake of continuity, Friday and Gannon always wore the same outfits in every episode. According to Harry Morgan, he and 'Jack Webb' decided to switch coats for one scene to see if anyone noticed. Since only Morgan was in the scene, no one on the set realized it until the scene had been shot. In the next scene, Morgan has on the correct coat. This is the only incident of faulty continuity in the series' run.
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According to the book Curveballs and Screwballs, the number 714 was selected to be Friday's badge number as a way to pay homage to Babe Ruth's all time home run record, which at the time was 714.
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Jack Webb had intended to do another revival of the series in 1982. However, because of Harry Morgan's commitments to both M*A*S*H and its spin-off After MASH he didn't sign on for the proposed remake. Webb then decided to cast Kent McCord in the role of Friday's new partner; either as "Jim Reed" (the character McCord played on Adam-12) or as a new character altogether. Unfortunately, those plans never came to fruition due to Webb's passing due to a massive heart attack in December 1982.
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When the revival was in the planning stages, Jack Webb had originally planned on bringing in his former co-star Ben Alexander to reprise his role as Officer Frank Smith. However, Alexander was appearing on the ABC series Felony Squad and that network would not let him out of his contract to appear on the revival. Webb then chose Harry Morgan to play the new character of Officer Bill Gannon.
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