List of Dragnet episodes (1951 series)

This is an episode list for the 1951 television crime drama series Dragnet. The series pilot premiered on NBC on December 16, 1951. A total of 276 episodes aired between December 1951 and August 1959.Dragnet was on both radio and television from December 1951 through February 1957. When the first Dragnet movie came out in September 1954, it was available on radio, TV and in the theatres for a while. Jack Webb directed all the episodes. James E. Moser and John Robinson (Jack Webb's pen name) wrote the majority of the screenplays during the 8 season run of the show.Barton Yarborough portrayed partner Sgt. Ben Romero in episodes 1 & 2. In episode 3, although announced as Sgt. Friday's partner, Romero does not appear, and Friday works with Sgt. Bill Cummings (portrayed by Ken Peters). After Yarborough's death on December 19, 1951, Friday's partner became Sgt. Ed Jacobs, portrayed by Barney Phillips, effective from episode #4 until the end of season one. For season two, Kenneth Patterson portrayed Officer Bill Lockwood in episode #15, after which Herb Ellis took the role of Officer Frank Smith. Ellis was replaced by Ben Alexander after five episodes, but because the shows didn't air in production order, Alexander's debut was episode #20, and Ellis' final appearance as Smith was episode #21. Alexander continued as Smith until the program's cancellation in 1959.

Friday and Romero deal with man threatening to blow up city hall if he doesn't get his demands.

Friday and Romero track down a drug ring through a small-time television actor who is hooked on heroin.

A newborn baby is stolen from a hospital nursery and the trail leads the police to a deranged mother.

Friday and Jacobs track down a serial killer and get a confession over a meal with the suspect.

Someone murdered a secretary late at night in her office. She was beaten to death with a metal pipe wrapped in newspaper. Could it be the drunk found three blocks away beating his head against a wall?

Friday and Jacobs interrogate a jewelry store owner about the theft of $20,000 worth of precious gems. The suspect repeatedly tries calling his wife but keeps getting a busy signal because his wife is constantly talking on the phone.

Friday and Jacobs are called to the apartment of a man who phoned in the fatal shooting of his wife. The husband claims it was suicide, but upon looking at the crime scene and talking to neighbors Friday and Jacobs begin to wonder if it was murder.

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