| Mardaddy | 07 Nov 2014 8:55 a.m. PST |
Related to this (a little) TMP link I have started re-watching this show on Netflix (into Episode 19 of season 1) and I am LOVING IT. Seeing with new eyes what was considered, "mainstream late-60's, early-70's values," on display for good or ill. The cultural changes over the years. Being called, "gestapo," "fuzz," "pigs," "oink oink," even by middle-age people while doing nothing more than trying to gather info from witnesses. The legal changes we've made in the passing years/decades. Admonishing a wife beater to promise his wife, "not to do it again," despite physical bruises instead of taking him in (because the laws in place at that time were waaaaaay different.) A protesting student that puts a bomb in the college admin office, and because it is his first offense, they mention to his parents he'll most likely get probation! The lack of equipment patrol cops had at the time (they had to call in the Sgt from HQ to bring them vests while handling a sniper. ALSO – no SWAT, so patrol had to handle everything with only support from fellow patrol.) The credits – recognizing names of support role actors and actresses that since then made a name for themselves. Did not recognize Tim Matheson as a teenage, drugged-out, Texan-accent runaway. Or Cloris Leachman as a speeder. |
| ming31 | 07 Nov 2014 9:03 a.m. PST |
Was a favorite when I was a kid. Dragnet too |
 enfant perdus  | 07 Nov 2014 9:27 a.m. PST |
On the recent thread about TV shows that haven't aged well, someone made the comment about watching Barney Miller as a period piece. I really enjoy that aspect of old shows, especially if it's a period I experienced. Bonus trivia: Tim Matheson is the key to winning "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon". He was the oldest son in the original (1968) version of Yours, Mine and Ours with Henry Fonda and Lucille Ball, who link you to the Golden Age of Hollywood. He was over 30 when he played Otter in Animal House! |
| 79thPA | 07 Nov 2014 9:27 a.m. PST |
One Adam 12, see the man … |
| tberry7403 | 07 Nov 2014 9:40 a.m. PST |
Between "Adam-12" and "Dragnet" it gives you a good overview of how futile the "War on Drugs" has been. |
| Bravo Six | 07 Nov 2014 10:42 a.m. PST |
"One Adam 12, see the man …" Loved that radio traffic! Especially "..chains and knives". Classic tv show and was a favourite of mine also as a boy. That and EMERGENCY! -B6 |
| Tgerritsen | 07 Nov 2014 11:13 a.m. PST |
As a kid I was a huge fan of this and Emergency 51. |
| Dynaman8789 | 07 Nov 2014 12:03 p.m. PST |
Loved Adam 12 even though I felt it was stilted back then (feels practically like watching a piece of wood now) |
| skinkmasterreturns | 07 Nov 2014 12:15 p.m. PST |
Who can ever forget the ping!ping! as the dude hammers the numbers into the wall at the end.That most of all stems from my early childhood memories of these show. |
| Mardaddy | 07 Nov 2014 12:55 p.m. PST |
The very first episode of (color) Dragnet focused on LSD, and the fact that at that time (1967) it was not illegal. They took a kid in for a charge that the definition mentioned, "…in danger of leading a wanton life." Which I guess was a thing back then you COULD get arrested for as a juvenile. How many recall the original Cape Fear (1962) and Max Cady having to prove to the police he had $3,000 USD in the bank and/or an address to stay in or he'd be under arrest for Vagrancy? That was the way communities prevented homelessness under the culture then; arrest 'em, when they are done with their sentence, drop 'em off at the edge of town and tell 'em don't come back or they'd be arrested again. |
| skinkmasterreturns | 07 Nov 2014 4:38 p.m. PST |
Well if they didnt do such things,we never would have had the plot for Rambo. |
| Dynaman8789 | 07 Nov 2014 6:22 p.m. PST |
> The very first episode of (color) Dragnet focused on LSD, and the fact that at that time (1967) it was not illegal. The black and white one had them breaking and entering a suspect's house without a warrant too. |
| Zephyr1 | 07 Nov 2014 8:48 p.m. PST |
Sometimes the "radio traffic" shows up in the closed captioning/subtitles. It's fun to listen to if you can catch it. ;-) |
combatpainter  | 08 Nov 2014 9:43 a.m. PST |
There is such a great sense of nobility and right and wrong in those shows. Compare to something like CSI in which the life is complicated and criminals are always using the system to get away with it. The world seemed so simple back then. Today the world seems set-up for failure and filled with laws over-reaching into every aspect of our life-from what we eat to what we wear. Scary and sad… |
| Dynaman8789 | 08 Nov 2014 11:55 a.m. PST |
It might have seemed less intrusive but laws for what you could say or wear were much more common (and enforced) back then. For the most part eating was up to you though, although cannibalism was probably a no no. |
| enfant perdus | 08 Nov 2014 12:42 p.m. PST |
Today the world seems set-up for failure and filled with laws over-reaching into every aspect of our life-from what we eat to what we wear. In 1962, the government regulated the price and route of every airplane, every freight train, every truck and every merchant ship in the United States. The government regulated the price of natural gas. It regulated the interest on every checking account and the commission on every purchase or sale of stock. Owning a gold bar was a serious crime that could be prosecuted under the Trading with the Enemy Act. The top rate of income tax was 91%.
It was illegal to own a telephone. Phones had to be rented from the giant government-regulated monopoly that controlled all telecommunications in the United States. The above from a column by conservative columnist David Frum. Most of these remained unchanged during the 60s and 70s. It also doesn't touch on the laws that restricted or violated personal freedoms. |
