In many ways, "The Big War" is much like an episode from the later 1960s version of "Dragnet". In "Blue Boy", a teen is strung out of hard-core drugs--yet his parents are convinced it's all harmless fun and that 'boys will be boys'! Ultimately, the teen overdosed and died in this show. Here in "The Big War", Detective Friday and his partner once again are dealing with an out of control teen and parents who simply won't believe anything negative about their little monster. In this case, Bob Barson is apparently the leader of a gang--and the detectives try an intervention with the parents and Bob but to no effect. Eventually, the boy ends up pretty much how you'd expect--and the boy's mother blames the detectives! However, being true professionals, they don't deck the woman or tell her it's all her fault, but much of it is! All in all, while the message might seem a little simplistic and obvious, it still is enjoyable and packs a nice emotional punch. Not the best of the series, but quite good.
By the way, if you see this on the Alpha Video DVD, of the four episodes on the disc, this one still has the original commercials for L&M Cigarettes and Post Cereals.