While we were getting some clothes sorted upstairs, Doyce called. He knew I was a classic Dragnet fan, and he mentioned that the New, Improved version was on ABC, even as we spoke.
Got downstairs at the bottom of the hour.
Huh.
Not a bad show, as such things go. Basic contemporary police show, with a definite Law & Order feel, complete with jiggly hand-cam. No surprise there, I guess, since it’s a Dick Wolf production.
Ed O’Neill does a fine job as Joe Friday by way of, well, Lenny Briscoe. There are worse things, of course. The voice-over narration by Friday is — a bit melodramatic. Granted, Jack Webb was the original stick-up-the-rear sort of guy, emoting not being his forte. But O’Neill is a bit more sensitive, maybe too much so. It felt forced.
Classic Dragnet‘s charm was that it was a true police procedural. It really tried to incorporate as much realism as was possible and still keep the story entertaining. “The story you are about to see is true,” as it used to go. We saw how police departments interacted, how technology, talent, and dedication, not to mention luck, combined to make a successful arrest. There was drama, but the drama played second place to the mechanics. Maybe that’s old hat now, but it worked then.
The new show is the police half of Law & Order. As such, it’s a lot better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.
But it’s not Dragnet.
I wish it well, and I might flip to it on occasion. But I won’t go out of my way to see it again.