Barnaby Jones (1973–1980)

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

Stars:

Buddy Ebsen, Lee Meriwether, John Carter

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 2 nominations.

Cast

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

Storyline

Barnaby Jones was a former private eye who temporarily came out of retirement to track down the killer of his son Hal, who had taken over the family business. After bringing Hal's murderer to justice (with the assistance of fellow CBS gumshoe Frank Cannon), Jones decided retirement just wasn't his bag after all, and rehung his shingle with the assistance of daughter-in-law Betty, who ran the office and Barnaby's personal crime laboratory, and (later) young distant cousin Jedidiah, who did the cases' legwork.

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Plot Keywords:

widow | detective | daughter in law | los angeles california | elderly | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 January 1973 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Quinn Martin Productions (QM), Woodruff Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min 60 min (178 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

4:3

Did You Know?

Trivia

After production of "Barnaby Jones" completed, producers were considering a TV-movie crossover between this show and Buddy Ebsen's previous show The Beverly Hillbillies. The storyline would open with Millionaire Jed Clampett (played by Ebsen) being kidnapped, and Barnaby Jones (also played by Ebsen) hired to locate him. That ATV-movie was never produced, although a similar storyline was created for the 1993 big screen version of "Hillbillies", with Ebsen returning in a cameo as Barnaby Jones, hired by Miss Hathaway to find the missing Granny.

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Connections

Referenced in The Simpsons: The Ziff Who Came to Dinner (2004)

User Reviews

quality television

An excellent 1970s detective show with a heart. Lee Meriwether is superb as the supportive Betty Jones. As the series progressed Betty was allowed out of the office and into the fray. Mark Shera as Jedidah Jones was an unnecessary attempt to attract younger viewers. Barnaby could always handle any young punk that he came across without any help.