Saturday, February 8, 2014

Internal Affairs - DR-20 or The Adam-12 Crossover Episode!

Tonight's episode makes Top Twenty, again- because of weirdness - dramatizing a banal investigation and a James Doherty snoozer of an episode - No offense - I think he did the best he could. Police brutality was huge on people's minds when this episode aired, 12-12-68.

Maybe he knew it would take a back seat to the fact that this episode is a crossover and uses the set and even the stars of Jack Webb's Other Show.

In real life, I am just slightly past the jarring 'Elegy for a Pig' episode, so this one fits in along with what one would expect from Officer Jim Reed and Officer Pete Malloy. Prior to 2014, I thought they were just terribly interesting background characters. We knew Kent McCord, of course, but who's this freckled Martin Milner guy? He's never been in Dragnet before in color. This is his first time! He previously appeared in a black and white episode called The Big Producer.

So, yes, lots of special things about this episode mark it as a great season three effort by everyone.

We just re-watched it, and nearly went back to sleep. Hang in there, people!

"This is the city-- Los Angeles, California. I work here. I carry a badge."


One zoom shot and we are in.

(I still really can't stand the Dragnet theme song.)

This is the same as where all the black and white units park as an establishing shot for Adam-12:


They are calling it Sunset Divison; but I think in real life the location is Rampart. I'm sure one of you knows.

There's another Adam-12 detail: the fallout shelter sign (right) along with the textured concrete masonry wall to the left.




The direction takes cues from Adam-12 as Joe and Bill tour nearly every inch of the Adam-12 station set by way of brisk walking and cameras dollying everywhere!


Let's do this.


Everything is so lovely and organized. Jail is here, Watch Commander is here, Exit, right over there, Detectives? Put them down there behind that door. 


The silver bullet-can-thing in the far left of frame is an ash tray. I bumped my head on them when I was a little kid sometimes.


Surprise! Art Gilmore is running the station!

Check out these paper mailboxes in this universe what existed before E-anything or i-Anything.
That phone he's holding  - has a CORD.


HOLD THE PHONE

It's a cute production detail that they had to leave the glass panes out of all of the windows at camera-level. Too much light reflecting.


THIS IS A REALLY COOL SET


YES THE MARK VII TEAM DID A GREAT JOB CROSSING IT OVER, TOO


Well, it's obvious we're never leaving the station until it's all over.



We stroll by some Adam-12 style background acting.

At last, we are using Art's office for our *many* interviews.



First up: Peter Duryea, also known as Bully Boy.

This time around, he wants you to know that's he's "no kook."
"I work for a living," he says, "I don't burn draft cards, picket politicians, or smoke pot. I pay my bills and I pay my taxes. I just want to get the record straight, understood?"


Now he lives at 221 Garland Street.

(And it turns out, he was a huge asshole the whole time.)

A likely story. I'm not sure that Dragnet's ever going to give us any more real places.


Oh yeah, They have a made up department store called Cliveden's where four of these characters work.
They have mentioned it in previous season three episodes.


JOE WE ALREADY DID "HOLD THE PHONE"


Ol' Stone-face.
 I think Gannon calls him that or Ol' Stony in S3e4/Joe's Apartment.


They cover every square meter of this police station set! I've spotted two pencil sharpeners already.


Assembly room!


WOW THAT IS ONE BIG ASSEMBLY ROOM SET:


Congratulations to you, Kent; Martin. Suzy Dragnet has learned how to put the images together with no more black surround unless it's defaulted into the setting for the UI render. All applaud.


It's too bad that her beloved version of Photoshop is pretty much dead. I don't think it will run on Yosemite.


Martin Milner.

Computers! The future! What is he up to, Wikipedia?

Holy Crapping Crap. Martin is 82 years old.

If somebody sees him, tell him that I'm a fan and I'm trying to help keep the love for Adam-12 and Dragnet with my blogs and twitter and stuff. Hopefully he's okay and everything.


Kent McCord.

What does Wikipedia say about you?

Kent was seriously around 22 when this was shot. Gannon actually gets a line about his youth.

We even get to go to the coffee room to chat with the other red haired guy. Not the one from Georgia Juvenile; the other one… Cliff Sales! Ha! I figured out which one you are!


More interviews in the office piece of the set.



Let's welcome back that lovable Dragnet scamp Jack Sheldon!


"I am a lovable scamp!"

Time for John McCook.



"Look, Man, this coat is cool and my hair looks totally awesome."

Anne Whitfield's Dragnet debut:


The stripes don't really work; her hair looks nice.

Hal England:


"I just got here from hosting a fake game show I made up."

Penny Gaston is back:


Vincent Dee really dolled her up, this time! Shocking purple with a gold, black, and white scarf!
Très chic!

Tracy Vance:


Lace and a big bow? Ok, I guess I'll take it.

Linda Weeks:


She is wearing the "good witch" version of another Vincent Dee outfit - the one he made for the child abuse mom in the episode with that lady with the kinda cool, way out bizarre accent.

I like it. Both versions. Linda's scene was very short.



Bye, Art Gilmore. It was nice to see you for an episode.


I MISS BEING ON DRAGNET ALL THE TIME TOO

"On October 20th, John Meadows pleaded guilty in Municipal Court, City of Los Angeles, to the charges of interfering with a police officer and resisting arrest, both misdemeanor offenses. On that same day, the Chief of Police of the City of Los Angeles made a decision in the matter of Officer Edward Hillier….


"John Meadows was given a thirty day sentence in the Los Angeles County Jail. 
Since it was his first offense, the sentence was suspended."


"The accused police officer Edward Hillier waived his right to a hearing by board of his superior officers. In the judgement of the chief of police, he was considered to have used excessive force in the apprehension of John Meadows. He was suspended from duty for thirty days with complete loss of pay and benefits." 

I bet that was a long thirty days at Officer Ed Hillier's house.

That was a long episode of Dragnet.

S3e12

Starred
Jack Webb as Sergeant Joe Friday
Harry Morgan as Officer Bill Gannon

From "Adam-12"
Martin Milner as Officer Pete Malloy
Kent McCord as Officer Jim Reed

With
John McCook as Ed Hillier
Anne Whitfield as Irene Hillier
Peter Duryea as John Meadows
Jack Sheldon as Ted Nichols
Art Gilmore as Lieutenant Moore
Hal England as Harry Burns
Penny Gaston as Patsy Cronin
Tracy Vance as Mary Kay Morton
Linda Weeks as Alice Jenkins
Cliff Sales as Patrolman Tom Pollack

Additional Cast (any extras sightings?)

Additional Notes
I love how flippantly Joe treats doors. He uses his magic Jack Webb touch and the door just pops right open. Barely does he even have to touch it. Does he touch it? Is he secretly a zen master or knows how to use "the force" or something? Can he teleport? Is he secretly here on a mission from another civilization? Is Joe Friday an alien? Illuminati? Stay tuned next week for Dragnet Conspiracy Theories.
Nah, just kidding. It's going to be another episode breakdown just like this, but hopefully it will have some locations and time spent in the car. Maybe a night driving sequence! I love those.

Art Direction - John E. Chilberg, II
Set Decor - John McCarthy & John Sturtevant
Costumes - Vincent Dee

Written by James Doherty - He has more to give us as 2014 rolls along and our Dragnet Time Machine takes us through 1970. But it's going to be O.K. We can watch Adam-12 together, too.

Aired 12 December 1968

See you in the comments & thanks for tuning in,
Suzy Dragnet

20 comments:

  1. Suzy: I hafta be honest. Season three is a little too talky. I haven't seen Joe kick down a door since about New Years. And remember Bill crawling under the dead Japanese lady's house. They need to do more of that. When Art Gilmore asks them how long its been since they were on the street, I was not surprised Bill said "quite a while." I will stick with it though. I am watching the whole series. But why, do you think, they went with this Public Service Announcements for the LAPD for season 3? I would be interested in your theory on that. About those bomb shelter signs, they were unnecessary by 1969, but they hung around for a long time til they got rusty. Anyway, I am really enjoying your blog. I have finally passed you on the shows. Am one ahead. Just wondering, how long does it take you to construct the blog with stills and comments from a show? Hope you are well. Kenny P.

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    1. Hi KennyP,
      My understanding is that, as Joe says in the episode, "these are tenuous times we live in" - in 1968. Jack Webb got a funeral with full police honors and badge 714 was retired. In 1968 things were going so wild that Jack Webb changed art directors, changed writers, and the result is that season three is like a public service announcement-oriented season. Plus, Adam-12 had also been on the air since September 1968 (right?) - so that would occupy those who prefer gunshots, cuffing, and door-kicks.
      Jack was always "repping for L.A." in just about every episode. There is never any dispute about where the stories take place.

      In real life, I love a good bomb shelter sign. I see them from time to time. I'm so glad you are enjoying the blog. It's good to know you are out there.

      How long to make a post? I should do a post about this!
      Cheers & Thanks,
      Suzy Dragnet

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  2. Don't forget Martin Milner played Friday's partner on the radio Dragnet for some episodes in 1951.He also was in a black and white episode!

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    1. I had no idea! Thanks, Raul.

      Hopefully we can find some stills from his BW appearance.

      Cheers,
      Suzy Dragnet

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  3. Suzy, I love this blog, and bless you for posting these screencaps - I'm a fan of John McCook, this is the youngest I've ever seen him and it's giving me so much joy. Can I ask how you're viewing these episodes i.e. on DVD or streaming online? I live outside the US so my options to watch pretty much anything are limited and I wondered if you were viewing the series through something other than Netflix or Hulu or DVD release that I could follow up? As pretty as these pictures are, I'd like to see the man in action.
    Thanks for any help!
    Steph F

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    1. Hi Steph F! Welcome to the blog!
      I stream them by way of Netflix, but I'd like to get the DVD set eventually.
      Some of them are available by way of Youtube, but the quality may be only so-so. I don't know of another way, unfortunately. Maybe some of our other commenters can help us.

      Best,
      Suzy Dragnet

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  4. Suzy,
    Oh my freakin' gawd, Martin Milner! Amiright!?! I finished watching Dragnet on Netflix about a month ago and then started obsessively binge-watching Adam-12. I did not think that cop shows could get any better than Dragnet in color, but then I saw A12 and I was hooked from s1e1. I am now up to s4e6 of A12. Last night I decided to go back to Dragnet and watch the Internal Affairs episode since I didn't pay much attention to Reed and Malloy when I first saw the episode. I told my husband I was doing "research", which prompted him to say, "What the hell is wrong with you?". Today I thought, "I wonder what Suzy Dragnet has to say about this episode". I must say we have similar thoughts on this episode.
    Anywho, if you want to see "Marty" Milner in a B&W Dragnet and you have a Roku, there is a channel on the Roku called Popflix, It has about 25 B&W Dragnet episodes available. Quality is inconsistent and if watch them for free, you have to sit through the same Carmax or McDonald's commercials like 15 times. Marty is on the episode titled "The Big Producer" he plays a high school student accused of selling dirty pictures and "joke books". The end of the episode is really strange. Marty really looks like a high school student, which is strange because he would have been in his mid-twenties when the episode was filmed.
    Love your blog! Keep up the good work!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much! I added the BW episode you mentioned in the post. Raul had told me Marty was in an "oldie." It'll be fun to try and find it. We don't have Roku, but I bet we can track it down some way or another.
      "What the hell is wrong with you?" Nothing! I swear! We're historians! (I got your back!)
      Actually, I wonder if Mr. Suzy secretly thinks I am nutty for doing this project. He says he's glad it makes me feel good. I'm about a week behind, but I've done the prep-work for the remaining episodes so they will be easier to roll out once I get the photos curated.
      It's my pleasure! Thanks for dropping in - see you soon -

      Suzy Dragnet

      P.S. I just posted this the other day:
      http://adam12withsuzy.blogspot.com/2014/05/martin-milner-vs-valley-of-dolls.html

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    2. I saw the Valley of the Dolls post! I was thinking of watching that movie, but didn't want to "commit" if MM was only in a few scenes. Thanks to you, I now know it is worth my time.

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  5. I watched Pete Kelly's Blues today. This movie is terribly interesting because you get to see Pete Kelly (who is really just 1950's Joe Friday in a bow-tie) play coronet, kiss Janet Leigh, punch Lee Marvin, and dance with Janet Leigh! You also get to see Martin Milner play drums and die in a hail of gunfire! You should look for it.

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    1. Hi Eve,

      PKB is still on my "to-watch" list. Definitely going to watch out for Marty's death. Now we know why he's such a good cop on A-12. He's on his second life.

      Coincidentally, over the weekend, I rented The D.I., which is 1950's Jack Webb in a "brown round" giving Don Dubbins hell. I really like Full Metal Jacket, so it was nice to see another interpretation of Parris Island. The "If'n you don't" song is cute as well.

      When you watch Valley of the Dolls, beware of the "Plant My Own Tree" song, as it is particularly hilarious. Also - nothing much at all like the book.

      I was able to stream The Big Producer on youtube and only had to deal with ads for Chesterfield cigarettes, which was oddly pleasant. I better get started smoking Chesterfields, seems like I'm missing out on some serious mellowness and/or smoothness. ;) I was pleasantly surprised that "the big prodcer" himself was played by Ralph Moody, one of our oft-recycled "oldsters" on Color Dragnet.

      Great to see you again,
      Suzy Dragnet

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  6. I'm watching this one right now. While I don't dislike any episodes of Dragnet this is one of my least favorite. Great analysis though. Loved the comments about the set.

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    1. Thank you! Once I realized it was a cross-over, I thought I really need to pay close attention to the set design details!

      Best,
      Suzy Dragnet

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  7. "Holy Crapping Crap. Martin is 82 years old."

    He was good in the 1957 film noir "The Sweet Smell of Success." He plays a jazz musician who gets accused of being a commie. Great movie with incredible dialogue.

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    1. Cool, I will add that to my 'list of films to look for' list.

      :)
      SD

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  8. Anne Whitfield—she played all the girl kid roles on the big radio shows in the late 40s, probably most famous being Phil Harris & Alice Faye's daughter on their sitcom for Rexall. Have heard her on a thousand or a hundred old radio shows but have never seen her before, or, really, I saw her long ago in this episode but didn't know it was she. She was just a kid in the radio days, and this is about 20 years after that.

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  9. Martin Sam Milner (December 28, 1931 – September 6, 2015)

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  10. Jack Sheldon pretty much plays a gay alcoholic in every episode. I don’t think he can pull off much else. He’s adorable.

    Did you know he was on Schoolhouse Rock?

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  11. Sheldon's gotta be my favorite actor on the whole series; he's like a live-action cartoon character.

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  12. Just came across this about Sheldon on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZlqQ8loLkA

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