"Barnaby Jones" (1973) TV series 1973-1980

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Writers:

Larry Alexander (writer)
Albert Aley (writer)

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

Release Date:

28 January 1973 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Crime

Plot:

The exploits of milk-swilling, geriatric private eye Barnaby Jones.

Plot Keywords:

Widow | Daughter In Law | Detective | Elderly | Beautiful Woman

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 2 nominations

Cast

Buddy Ebsen	...	Barnaby Jones (178 episodes, 1973-1980)
Lee Meriwether	...	Betty Jones (177 episodes, 1973-1980)
John Carter	...	Lt. John Biddle / ... (94 episodes, 1973-1980)
Mark Shera	...	Jedediah Romano "J.R." Jones (93 episodes, 1976-1980)

Runtime:

60 min (178 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Quinn Martin Productions (QM)

Trivia:

J.R.'s initials stood for Jedidiah Romano.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in The Beverly Hillbillies (1993)

Good Show

Buddy Epson & Lee Merriwether- very good acting & put together with Quinn Martin another winning combo. Actually, this show was CBS payback to Buddy who was extremely upset with CBS for canceling the Beverly Hillbillies while they were still a hit show. He kind of felt like he lost his family there & felt the execs at the network were a little nuts.

Buddy was right about that. This show is well done & CBS had raided ABC to get Quinn Martin to do this & Cannon. CBS wanted to change it's country image & these shows became a moderately successful way to do that. Trouble is CBS execs wasted more of the number 1 networks success & by the 1908's after they forced Walter Cronkrite to retire & dumbed down & tarted up their news with Dan Rather, they had pretty much become a second rated network.

This show's success along with MASH & a few others kept them on top through the 1970's. Buddy Ebsen was so talented that he could play almost anybody & make them believable. He comes off here as a fine detective & Lee Merriwether came into her own during this show.

Ebsen is one of the few TV actors to be part of successful shows in the 1950's, 60's, & 70's. It is a fitting tribute to such a unique talent who made his first splash in movies in the 1930's. He has an enduring legacy and this show is the last piece of it.