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* WhyDoYouKeepswitchingJobs
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* WhyDoYouKeepswitchingJobsWhyDoYouKeepSwitchingJobs
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* In TheBeatles song ''She Came In Though The Bathroom Window'', "Sunday's on the phone to Monday/Tuesday's on the phone to me."
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* An early episode of ''SesameStreet'' featured a segment with [[http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Sergeant_Thursday Sergeant Thursday]] and [[http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Ben his partner Ben]] (a parody of [[TheDanza Ben Romano]]) questioning a letter M is it had seen their suspect - a letter W.
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** Another episode had Kramer channel a Joe Fridayish Inspector in order to get a stolen statue back from a Cleaning Man.
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* One ''TonightShow'' clip features Jack Webb parodying himself as he and Johnny Carson talk in a ''Dragnet'' style tongue twister.
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* One ''TonightShow'' clip features Jack Webb parodying himself as he and Johnny Carson talk in a ''Dragnet'' style tongue twister.twister - The Case of the Copped Copper Clappers.
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** In one episode a policeman is accused of robbing a liquor store. He says that whether or not he's found guilty he'll leave the force. Friday gives him an ''epic'' six minute rant about how tough police officers have it.
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** In one episode a policeman is (Kent Mccord, pre-''{{Adam-12}}'' )is accused of robbing a liquor store. He says that whether or not he's found guilty he'll leave the force. Friday gives him an ''epic'' six minute rant about how tough police officers have it.
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* YouLookFamiliar: Tim Donnelly qualifies both in terms of the ''{{Dragnet}}'' series itself (5 different roles), as well as the ''{{Dragnet}}''/''{{Adam-12}}''/''{{Emergency}}'' shared universe (2 roles in ''Adam'' and his regular role as Firefighter Chet Kelly in ''{{Emergency}}''). There were [[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061248/fullcredits#cast many of these]], actually. Virginia Gregg was a recognizable recurring actress.
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* YouLookFamiliar: Tim Donnelly qualifies both in terms of the ''{{Dragnet}}'' series itself (5 different roles), as well as the ''{{Dragnet}}''/''{{Adam-12}}''/''{{Emergency}}'' shared universe (2 roles in ''Adam'' and his regular role as Firefighter Chet Kelly in ''{{Emergency}}''). There were [[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061248/fullcredits#cast many of these]], actually. Virginia Gregg was a recognizable recurring actress.actress at 13 roles. There were many actors who played many roles, but apparently according to IMDB, Don Ross holds the record at 31sodes.
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* DidNotDoTheResearch: In the episode centering on the stolen dog reward scam, Gannon is trying to guess dog breeds from a book, and getting them all wrong. Friday IDs one of Gannon's mistakes as a Wirehaired Pointing Griffon Hound and says it's extinct. The Wirehaired Pointing Griffon is in the Sporting group, not the Hound group, and it's not extinct.
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* DidNotDoTheResearch: Jack Webb may have been a stickler for research most of the time, but he did make at least one mistake.In the episode centering on the stolen dog reward scam, Gannon is trying to guess dog breeds from a book, and getting them all wrong. Friday IDs one of Gannon's mistakes as a Wirehaired Pointing Griffon Hound and says it's extinct. The Wirehaired Pointing Griffon is in the Sporting group, not the Hound group, and it's not extinct.
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* MommasBoy: Middle-aged bachelor Friday still lives with his mother.
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* MommasBoy: Middle-aged bachelor Friday still lives with his mother.mother, at least in the older version. In the color version, he's got his own apartment.
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* DidNotDoTheResearch: In the episode centering on the stolen dog reward scam, Gannon is trying to guess dog breeds from a book, and getting them all wrong. Friday IDs one of Gannon's mistakes as a Wirehaired Pointing Griffon Hound and says it's extinct. The Wirehaired Pointing Griffon is in the Sporting group, not the Hound group, and it's not extinct.
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* An episode of ''TheMonkees'' features Peter say, "Hey, its time for ''Dragnet''! Anyone got a tv?" This shot is currently (May 2012) being used in an Antenna TV ad, which shows both programs in their line-up.
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* MadMagazine once featured ''Dumbnet'' - A What VI Production
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* MadMagazine once featured ''Dumbnet'' - A What VI IV Production
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* One ''TonightShow'' clip features Jack Webb parodying himself as he and Johnny Carson talk in a ''Dragnet'' style tongue twister.
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[[folder:Dragnet Parodies]]
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[[folder:Dragnet Parodies]]Parodies / Shout Outs]]
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* In an episode of ''TheHoneymooners'' Ed Norton says "Dum da Dum Dum".
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* In an episode of ''TheHoneymooners'' Ed Norton says "Dum da Dum Dum".
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* MadMagazine once featured ''Dumbnet'' - A What VI Production
* ''{{Seinfeld}}'' featured a character called Mr Bookman, a library official who behaved like Joe Friday.
* ''{{Seinfeld}}'' featured a character called Mr Bookman, a library official who behaved like Joe Friday.
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* AffectionateParody: Many many many. One of these was an episode of ''ItTakesAThief'' titled "The Scorpio Drop" in which star Robert Wagner starts the ColdOpen with "This is the city, Washington D.C. My name is Mundy...I'm a thief." Oddly enough on May 5, 2012 this episode aired on Digital station AntennaTV directly after an actual episode of ''Dragnet'', without even a commercial between the Universal logo and the start of the parody.
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[[folder:Dragnet Parodies]]
* An episode of ''ItTakesAThief'' titled "The Scorpio Drop" in which star Robert Wagner starts the ColdOpen with "This is the city, Washington D.C. My name is Mundy...I'm a thief." Oddly enough on May 5, 2012 this episode aired on Digital station AntennaTV directly after an actual episode of ''Dragnet'', without even a commercial between the Universal logo and the start of the parody.
* In an episode of ''TheHoneymooners'' Ed Norton says "Dum da Dum Dum".
* The PBS series ''SquareOneTV'' [[OnceAnEpisode would end every episode]] with ''Mathnet'' a complete parody of the show.
-->The story you are about to see is a fib. But it's short. The situations are made up, but the problems are real.
[[/folder]]
* An episode of ''ItTakesAThief'' titled "The Scorpio Drop" in which star Robert Wagner starts the ColdOpen with "This is the city, Washington D.C. My name is Mundy...I'm a thief." Oddly enough on May 5, 2012 this episode aired on Digital station AntennaTV directly after an actual episode of ''Dragnet'', without even a commercial between the Universal logo and the start of the parody.
* In an episode of ''TheHoneymooners'' Ed Norton says "Dum da Dum Dum".
* The PBS series ''SquareOneTV'' [[OnceAnEpisode would end every episode]] with ''Mathnet'' a complete parody of the show.
-->The story you are about to see is a fib. But it's short. The situations are made up, but the problems are real.
[[/folder]]
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** A photo of Jack Webb sits on Joe's desk.
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* YouLookFamiliar: Dabney Coleman was a background extra on one of the final episodes of the 70's version of the TV Show.
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* AffectionateParody: Many many many. One of these was an episode of ''ItTakesAThief'' titled "The Scorpio Drop" in which star Robert Wagner starts the ColdOpen with "This is the city, Washington D.C. My name is Mundy...I'm a thief." Oddly enough on May 5, 2012 this episode aired on Digital station AntennaTV directly after an actual episode of ''Dragnet'', without even a commercial between the Universal logo and the start of the parody.
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* HeyItsThatSound: The animation production company Williams Street (''Sealab2021'', ''AquaTeenHungerForce'', ''SpaceGhostCoastToCoast'' and many other AdultSwim productions) uses the audio from Jack Webb's Mark VII Productions VanityPlate for their own VanityPlate.
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* VanityPlate: According to the other Wiki, those sweaty hands banging out Mark VII are none other than Jack Webb's himself.
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-->Capt. Gannon: "I'm afraid Frank won't be coming in today, Joe."
-->Joe Friday: "24 hour flu?"
-->Capt. Gannon: "It's a bit more serious than that."
-->Joe Friday: "48?"
-->Joe Friday: "24 hour flu?"
-->Capt. Gannon: "It's a bit more serious than that."
-->Joe Friday: "48?"
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* CrankyLandlord: Enid Borden.
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* JerkAss: Jane Kirkpatrick, Jerry Caesar (who narrowly escapes becoming an AssholeVictim later on) and Emil's landlady.
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* JerkAss: Jane Kirkpatrick, Jerry Caesar (who narrowly escapes becoming an AssholeVictim later on) and Emil's [[CrankyLandlord landlady.]]
* PsychoForHire: Emil Muzz.
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* SirSwearsALot: Emil Muzz's foul-tempered landlady.
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* SirSwearsALot: Emil Muzz's foul-tempered landlady.Enid Borden.
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* RemakeCameo / ContinuityNod: Harry Morgan as Captain Gannon.
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* RemakeCameo / ContinuityNod: Harry Morgan as Captain Gannon.Gannon, having been promoted a few times since the original series' run.
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* SmugSnake: Whirley.
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* SmugSnake: Whirley.Reverend Whirley and Jerry Caesar.
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* AlwaysOnDuty: Webb did his best to avert this. It is made clear that our main characters are one team out of many working one shift out of many and that just as much happens off-camera as on.
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* SeinfeldianConversation: Usually instigated by Ben Romero (in the radio series) or Bill Gannon (in the television series).
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* SeinfeldianConversation: Usually instigated by Ben Romero (in the radio series) series), Frank Smith or Bill Gannon (in the television series).
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* RequiredSpinoffCrossover: Kent McCord and occasionally Martin Milner appearing as their ''{{Adam-12}}'' characters Reid and Malloy
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* RequiredSpinoffCrossover: Kent McCord [=McCord=] and occasionally Martin Milner appearing as their ''{{Adam-12}}'' characters Reid Reed and Malloy
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* YouLookFamiliar: Tim Donnelly qualifies both in terms of the ''{{Dragnet}}'' series itself (5 different roles), as well as the ''{{Dragnet}}''/''{{Adam-12}}''/''{{Emergency}}'' shared universe (2 roles in ''Adam'' and his regular role as Firefighter Chet Kelly in ''{{Emergency}}'').
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* YouLookFamiliar: Tim Donnelly qualifies both in terms of the ''{{Dragnet}}'' series itself (5 different roles), as well as the ''{{Dragnet}}''/''{{Adam-12}}''/''{{Emergency}}'' shared universe (2 roles in ''Adam'' and his regular role as Firefighter Chet Kelly in ''{{Emergency}}''). There were [[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061248/fullcredits#cast many of these]], actually. Virginia Gregg was a recognizable recurring actress.
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* RequiredSpinoffCrossover: Kent McCord and occasionally Martin Milner appearing as their ''{{Adam-12}}'' characters Reid and Malloy
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[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dragnet-2.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:"Their job... to enforce the laws, and preserve the safety of decent citizens."]]
-->''"The story you are about to hear/see is true. Only the names have been changed, to protect the innocent."''
Archetype of the PoliceProcedural, ''Dragnet'' followed the exploits of Sgt. Joe Friday (badge number 714) and his partner, Bill Gannon, as they investigated crime in Los Angeles.
[[quoteright:150:~~RadioDrama,DramaticHalfHour,DramaticHourLong PoliceProcedural~~]]
''Dragnet'' was the brainchild of its star and writer, Jack Webb, who brought to the screen a level of realism in the PoliceProcedural that had never been seen before and has only rarely been seen since. This was accomplished via contacts he had in the LAPD, who provided him with both anonymized versions of actual cases and details on contemporary police procedure.
Unqualified, the title ''Dragnet'' usually refers to an entire franchise of series which ran intermittently from 1949 to 1971:
* ''Dragnet'', the original radio series, which ran from 1949-1957.
* ''Dragnet'' (Also called ''Badge 714''), a black and white TV series running from 1951-1959, along with a theatrical film adaptation in 1954. Many (perhaps all) of the episodes in this incarnation have lapsed into the public domain.
* ''Dragnet 1967'', a {{Revival}} of the original series, which ran (under a different title each year) from 1967 to 1971. (This series was launched by a movie, unsurprisingly titled ''Dragnet 1966''.) While sometimes considered the show's weakest incarnation, and prone to unintentional self-parody, this series is the most familiar one to modern audiences. Being filmed in color, it was more attractive to syndicators, and still being under copyright, it's the only incarnation that has received an official DVD release.
Officer Bill Gannon, played in the revival series by Harry Morgan (as Henry Morgan), was actually a SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute, the last and best known of at least four partners Friday had in the course of the show. Barton Yarborough portrayed Friday's original partner, Sgt. Ben Romero, from the start of the radio show until his death in December 1951, just three episodes into the first TV version. He was briefly succeeded by Barney Phillips as Detective Sgt. Ed Jacobs, then by Ben Alexander as Officer Frank Smith from late 1952 to the end of the TV show's original run in 1959.
Unlike just about every other police show in history, the focus of ''Dragnet'' was not always on homicide: Friday and his partners rotated through the various departments from week to week, allowing them to solve not only murders, but also fraud, arson, and drug-smuggling.
Each episode ended with a [[WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue mugshot of the perp]] as a {{Narrator}} related the results of their trial.
The show spawned a number of {{CatchPhrase}}s, such as "The story you are about to hear is true"; "This is the city: Los Angeles, California"; and "My name's Friday. I'm a cop" (alternately, "My name is Friday; I carry a badge"). But the most famous phrase identified with the show - "Just the facts, Ma'am" - is actually a BeamMeUpScotty born from a series of ''Dragnet'' parodies created by StanFreberg.
''Dragnet'' also spawned a 1987 feature film, a combination homage and AffectionateParody featuring DanAykroyd as a new Joe Friday, the nephew of Webb's character, and TomHanks as his partner. Harry Morgan reprised his role as Bill Gannon, now a captain. The film follows Friday as he continues his uncle's legacy of straight-laced crime-fighting, teaming with undercover detective Pep Streebek. The duo are assigned to investigate a series of bizarre and (seemingly) unrelated robberies and vandalisms, eventually uncovering a dastardly plot by an underground pagan group of undermine all authority in Los Angeles.
Two years later, another ''Dragnet'' (sometimes ''The New Dragnet'') revival (InNameOnly) aired in syndication. It featured an LAPD cop named Vic Daniels, and the only connection to its namesake was the FramingDevice of the opening narration.
DickWolf attempted another {{Revival}} in 2003 with a series which was eventually retitled ''LA Dragnet'', staring Ed O'Neil as Joe Friday. The show failed to distinguish itself from the dozens of other cop shows on at the time (''{{CSI}}'', ''Series/LawAndOrder'', ''NYPDBlue'', etc.), and lasted only a season and a half. This may have been largely due to a lot of people being unable to get past the idea of "Al Bundy as a cop," despite the fact that O'Neil, a highly accomplished actor, created a wonderfully cynical, seen-it-all characterization that was both distinct from Jack Webb's portrayal and nothing like his ''MarriedWithChildren'' role.
''Mathnet'', a math-themed parody of ''Dragnet'', was the central sketch of the educational program ''SquareOneTV''.
The four note {{Sting}} used as a ThemeTune and at commercial breaks is one of the most recognizable musical cues in the history of television and radio. Even today, the sting signifies the forces of law and order as a calm, methodical and relentless force hounding criminals. [[http://www.badge714.com/images/DRAG.WAV Listen here]] (.wav file).
Joe Friday's badge, number 714, which appears during the opening titles, is a real LAPD badge, not a reproduction. Joe Friday is the only fictional character ever to be issued an official badge number by a US police department.
When Jack Webb died in 1982 he was given full police honors at his funeral although he had never actually served in the force. The chief of police also announced that badge number 714 would be retired and would never be assigned to anyone else.
----
!!''{{Dragnet}}'' provides examples of:
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:The (various) Series]]
* {{Abandonware}}: Much of the radio series dropped into the public domain. As a consequence, several hundred episodes are available for download from miscellaneous sources -- for example, at archive.org in both [[http://www.archive.org/details/OTRR_Certified_Dragnet ZIP-archive]] and [[http://www.archive.org/details/OTRR_Dragnet_Singles single-episode]] formats.
* AuthorFilibuster: The 1967 series was quite fond of this as Joe Friday has had his fair share of long-winded lectures about the moral of the episode.
** In one episode a policeman is accused of robbing a liquor store. He says that whether or not he's found guilty he'll leave the force. Friday gives him an ''epic'' six minute rant about how tough police officers have it.
* {{Badass}}: Joe Friday could be one when the situation called for it. There is an early episode when Joe and Bill track down a couple thugs who shot another cop with a shotgun. Joe kicks down the door, shoves a shotgun in the perp's face and says: "Flinch and you'll be chasing your head down Fifth Street." Later on, he tells the same guy, "I've bumped into jaywalkers tougher than you."
* BeamMeUpScotty: Joe Friday never actually said "Just the facts, ma'am."
* BottleEpisode: The aforementioned six minute rant occurs in an episode called "The Interrogation" in which the only characters are Friday, Gannon, and the guy they're questioning (a cop named Paul Culver, played by Kent McCord aka Jim Reed of {{Adam-12}} fame). It's just the three of them in a room in Internal Affairs for the half hour.
* BrokenAesop: In one episode, "A Gun for Christmas", the two investigate the shooting of a child near Christmas. They learn it was done accidentally by the boy's best friend when they were playing with the boy's Christmas gift, a rifle. The dead boy's father storms over to the friend's house, but when he sees how hurt the boy is over the loss of his friend, gives the boy all the dead child's Christmas toys. Lesson learned: kill your friend and you get all their toys.
* ByTheBookCop: Friday and his partners. This is presented as a positive trait, too -- standard procedure is standard for a ''reason'', and on this show, trying to second-guess that usually makes things worse.
* CatchPhrase: Several examples frequently used or parodied, including, "My name is Friday. I carry a badge."
* CharacterFilibuster: Mostly overlaps with AuthorFilibuster, as Joe Friday (whose views are indistinguishable from Jack Webb's) gets the vast majority of the big speeches. "The Big Prophet" is an exception. The discussion between Friday and Gannon and a Timothy Leary {{Expy}}/suspect is, almost literally, an episode-length formal debate over "Resolved: Drug use is harmless." The Leary character, while a StrawmanPolitical whose arguments are demolished by the detectives, actually gets a pretty good opportunity to state his case, and about as much time to do so as the cops get.
* ChristmasEpisode: The series did at least two. One was about a little boy borrowing a statue of the baby Jesus to give it a ride in his wagon. And then there was ".22 Rifle for Christmas", which lives up to its ominous title (see the [[Tearjerker/{{Dragnet}} TearJerker page]] for more details).
* ContractualImmortality: Even if one didn't know the series would continue, one would expect ''Joe Friday'' to survive being shot (as he was in "[[spoiler:The Big Ben]]".)
* CopShow
* EarTrumpet: Appears in one episode as Joe Friday and his partner attempt to question a hard-of-hearing witness.
* FramingDevice
* GenericCopBadges: Subverted, see above.
* HospitalityForHeroes: In one episode, Friday and Gannon bust a perp just before he can go after a restaurant owner. Immediately afterwards, a line of dialogue reveals that the cops haven't had lunch yet. The restaurant owner immediately offers a free lunch; when they refuse she tells them to sit down and order anyway, [[LoopholeAbuse there's nothing controlling the size of the portions she serves them.]]
* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: Most episodes of the original radio/TV series were titled "The Big (something)".
* IncorruptiblePurePureness: Joe Friday. His only vice is cigarettes, which can be Handwaved given the time the TV show was filmed.
* InstrumentalThemeTune: By Walter Schumann. The famous "dum-da-DUM-dum" sting was actually swiped from Miklós Rózsa's score to the 1946 film ''The Killers''. Later arranged as a [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7bwCijT_Lc swingin' big-band number]] by Ray Anthony (which became a hit single), and a rather excellent [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUTlp0ODS7s four-part fugue]] by Stephen Malinowski.
* KnightInSourArmor: Friday is a KnightInShiningArmor who sometimes slips into this, particularly in the 1967 revival when confronting egregious examples of late '60s societal decay.
* LateArrivalSpoiler: Many radio episodes in the archives are titled with the name of the person ultimately proven guilty.
* LimitedAdvancementOpportunities: Despite his years of competent service to the force, Friday is apparently never able to rise above the rank of sergeant.
** Well, actually, he ''does'' make lieutenant toward the end of the original series, but for the revival show he's knocked back down to sergeant without explanation.
** Jack Webb once explained that this was because in real life a police lieutenant would have more of a DeskJockey position and wouldn't be involved in the nuts and bolts of an investigation. That wasn't what Webb wanted for the character, and he wanted to keep the show as true-to-life as possible, so...
* LocardsTheory: Possibly the earliest TV instance, in an early episode.
* LosAngeles: "This is the city..."
* TheMainCharactersDoEverything: Different episodes puts Friday and his partner in different departments -- whichever one is appropriate for the case being investigated, basically -- but within each episode jobs are delegated as normal.
* MommasBoy: Middle-aged bachelor Friday still lives with his mother.
* MotiveRant: A frequent staple.
* TheMovie: One was made in 1966 as a prospective [[PilotMovie pilot]] for the revived series; however, it didn't air until 1969.
* {{Narrator}}: Friday himself.
* OpeningNarration: By Friday. In the 1966 revival, his opening narrations often included facts and statistics about the city of Los Angeles relating somehow to that episode's case.
* OvertOperative: When Joe Friday has to go undercover and pretend to be ''anything'' other than a cop. InUniverse, he's good at it, but it can be awfully tough for the ''audience'' to buy, since everything about Jack Webb's demeanor just screams "cop."
* PerpSweating: A particular talent of Friday and his partner.
* PoliceProcedural
* PreciousPuppies: Ginger, a drug sniffing dog. The closing narration tells us she did her job so well the Underground paid her their highest complement: they put a price on her head.
-->'''Joe Friday''': (To a fellow cop belittling the dog program) "Woof"
* RadioDrama
* RealTime: "Attempted City Hall Bombing".
* RomanAClef: As it says on TheOtherWiki, "Webb was a stickler for accurate details, and Dragnet used many authentic touches, such as the LAPD's actual radio call sign ([=KMA367=]), and the names of many real department officials, such as Ray Pinker and Lee Jones of the crime lab or Chief of Detectives Thad Brown." The then-Chief of Police was always credited at the end of every episode.
* SeinfeldianConversation: Usually instigated by Ben Romero (in the radio series) or Bill Gannon (in the television series).
* ShoutOut: Friday's badge number (714) commemorated Babe Ruth's career home run total.
* ShutUpHannibal: Friday often gets off a good one, like this rejoinder to a committed neo-Nazi: "You keep harping about minorities. Well, mister, you're a psychotic, and they're a minority, too."
* SoundToScreenAdaptation
* SpiritualSuccessor: ''{{Adam-12}}'', essentially the "patrolman" version of ''Dragnet'', was also produced by Webb. Both stars had already appeared on ''Dragnet'' multiple times (indeed, Martin Milner had appeared on the ''radio'' version).
* StandardPoliceMotto: This was the TropeMaker, bringing the LAPD's now-famous motto into the public eye.
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Friday's various partners.
* SyndicationTitle: ''Badge 714''
* TheyFightCrime (obviously)
* TotallyRadical
* YouLookFamiliar: Tim Donnelly qualifies both in terms of the ''{{Dragnet}}'' series itself (5 different roles), as well as the ''{{Dragnet}}''/''{{Adam-12}}''/''{{Emergency}}'' shared universe (2 roles in ''Adam'' and his regular role as Firefighter Chet Kelly in ''{{Emergency}}'').
* YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle: In "The Big Make" (Sept. 14, 1950), for example.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:1987 AffectionateParody Movie]]
* AffablyEvil: [[spoiler:Jonathan Whirley]]
* AgonyOfTheFeet: Friday has this when a limo runs over his feet.
* AffectionateParody
* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: After Friday's car is car-bombed... "My hat was in that car."
* AscendedMeme: Friday actually gets to say [[BeamMeUpScotty "Just the facts, ma'am"]] in the film.
* BigBadDuumvirate: [[spoiler:Reverend Whirley and the police commissioner]].
* BigDamnHeroes: with a [[TankGoodness tank]]!
* BitchInSheepsClothing: Whirley, a self-proclimed MoralGuardian who is [[spoiler:secretly the BigBad in disguise.]]
* BrickJoke: The film parodies the series' opening "names have been changed" CatchPhrase by noting that "[[spoiler:George Baker will now be called Sylvia Wiss]]." A minor character [[spoiler:by the name of Sylvia Wiss]] later shows up for a brief exchange.
* [[BuddyCopShow Buddy Cop Movie]]
* CassandraTruth: During the [[FunWithAcronyms pagan]] ritual, The Virgin Connie Swail manages to snag the mask off the pagan leader and see his face. When she later identifies him as [[spoiler:the Reverend Whirley]], only Friday believes her.
** ItWasHereISwear: Friday and Streebek bring the police commissioner and their captain back to the site of the pagan ritual, only to discover that the pagans are better at cleaning up after themselves than a SlasherMovie villain. [[hottip:*:In all fairness, the pagans had plenty of forewarning, since the detectives blew their own cover during TheInfiltration.]]
* ChekhovsGun: The handful of drugs Streebek takes at the Pagan rally to blend in while undercover.
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: When Friday is nearly mugged by a gang of teenage delinquents, he laments "And on a school night too!"
* ComicallySerious: Dan Aykroyd takes Jack Webb's [[TheStoic uber-straight]] demeanor and cranks it UpToEleven.
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: The other characters (and the audience) chuckle at Friday's [[ValuesDissonance hopelessly outdated, stodgy attitudes]]. But he shows us time and time again exactly why he's considered the best cop in Los Angeles.
* DeadpanSnarker: Pep Streebek.
* {{Determinator}}: Friday, chasing a kidnapper who [[spoiler:escapes on a Lear jet]]. Cue [[spoiler:the police jet]]!
* DirtyCop: Or in this case, dirty police commissioner.
* DistressedDamsel: The Virgin Connie Swail
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything:
-->The Virgin Connie Swail: "How come his is so much bigger than yours?"
-->Officer Joe Friday: "Miss?"
-->The Virgin Connie Swail: "The gun."
-->Officer Joe Friday: "I've never needed more."
* DoItYourselfThemeTune: Not the title theme itself, but the film's other major song, "City Of Crime" which plays over the closing credits, is performed by Dan Aykroyd and Tom Hanks (in-character as Friday and Streebek).
* TheDragon / TheBrute: Emil Muzz.
* DragonInChief: [[spoiler:Police commissioner Jane Kirkpatrick]]
* DrivesLikeCrazy: "Streebek, there's no '''road''' here!"
** During Friday's and Streebek's first police chase together, Friday enumerates a LongList of traffic violations... against his own partner.
** Later [[HypocriticalHumor reversed]] when Friday is rushing to save The Virgin Connie Swail:
--->'''Streebek:''' Don't you remember those films they showed us in high school? ''Red Asphalt''? ''Blood On The Highway''?\\
'''Friday:''' Buddy, you just picked two of my favorites!
* TheFilmOfTheSeries
* {{Flanderization}}: Ackroyd's Joe Friday takes the original Friday's straight-laced, by-the-rules personality UpToEleven.
* FunWithAcronyms: '''P'''eople '''A'''gainst '''G'''oodness '''A'''nd '''N'''ormalcy. Pulls double duty as an IncrediblyLamePun.
** Not forgetting '''M'''oral '''A'''dvance '''M'''ovement of '''A'''merica, though that one gets a bit less attention.
* GilliganCut: Not an actual cut, but in one scene where Friday is waiting to meet Streebek in a bad neighborhood, Narrator!Friday notes that it's not a good place to stand around whistling. You can guess what Friday is doing in the scene.
* GroinAttack
* HeyItsThatGuy: Emil Muzz is [[SupermanII Non]]!
** The BigBad is [[TheSoundOfMusic Captain Von Trapp]].
* HumanSacrifice: Luckily for her, they needed a virgin.
-->'''Streebek:''' You're still a virgin?\\
'''Connie:''' Yes!\\
'''Streebek:''' [prat-fall]
* HypocriticalHumor: see DrivesLikeCrazy, above.
* IHaveYouNowMyPretty: "You'll get used to me in time."
* IncorruptiblePurePureness: Friday. Spoofed, of course.
* IncrediblyLamePun: "Thank God, it's Friday!"
** Hilariously, they totally drop the ball on the "tank" jokes. But it's okay, [[TankGoodness we got that covered]].
** There's also [[FunWithAcronyms PAGAN]].
* TheInfiltration: Friday and Streebek go undercover at a pagan festival.
** DressingAsTheEnemy: Played semi-straight with the detectives; but also reversed with [[spoiler: a pair of highway patrol officers who turn out to be disguised pagans]].
* InsistentTerminology: Everyone calls her "The Virgin Connie Swail".
* IntergenerationalFriendship: Streebek puts the charm on Friday's grandmother.
* JerkAss: Jane Kirkpatrick, Jerry Caesar (who narrowly escapes becoming an AssholeVictim later on) and Emil's landlady.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Capt. Gannon is presented as a crusty, "tough love" type of guy. On the other hand, when told that one of the best officers on the entire force has [[spoiler:gone missing]] (let alone the nephew of your old partner), you'd think your reaction would be a little more than [[spoiler:"WHO CARES?"]].
* AManIsNotAVirgin: WordOfGod (Dan Aykroyd, to be precise) is that Friday averts this.
* MotorMouth: Friday.
* MythologyGag: At the start of the film, Friday's partner Frank Smith gets PutOnABus (since he never appears on camera, it's more accurate to say he never got off the bus). One of Friday's partners in the series, as detailed in the body, was also named Frank Smith.
* OfCourseImNotAVirgin: Totally averted. The virgin Connie Swail doesn't mind people introducing her as such, and Friday doesn't deny it himself.
-->Joe Friday: "Prepare the virgin [for a virgin sacrifice]?" I don't like the sound of that."
-->Pep Streebeck: "Let's just hope they're not referring to you."
* OddCouple
* PerpSweating / JackBauerInterrogationTechnique: "Well, Muzz, looks like it's just you and me... [[spoiler: your balls, and this drawer]]."
* RemakeCameo / ContinuityNod: Harry Morgan as Captain Gannon.
* [[CaptainsLog Sergeant's Log]]: Friday gives us the facts, just like Jack Webb used to.
* SexIsEvil: Friday seems to think so at first.
--> '''Friday''': [After turning down Sylvia Wiss] Now let me tell you something, Streebeck. There are two things that clearly differentiate the human species from animals. One, we use cutlery. Two, we're capable of controlling our sexual urges. Now, you might be an exception, but don't drag me down into your private Hell.
* SirSwearsALot: Emil Muzz's foul-tempered landlady.
* SmugSnake: Whirley.
* StraightMan: Dan Ackroyd portrays a very anal-retentive Joe Friday.
* SpinOffspring: Well, nephew, at any rate. Just for good measure, the nephew not only acts like his uncle, but also talks and dresses like him.
* StormingTheCastle
* TankGoodness
* TeethClenchedTeamwork: Friday invokes this when forced to work with smut king Jerry Ceasar:
-->'''Friday:''' I don't care for you or for the putrid sludge you're troweling out. But until they change the laws and put you sleaze kings out of business, my job is to help you get back your stench-ridden boxes of smut; and [[BadassBoast since I'll be doing it holding my nose, I'll be doing it with ONE HAND!]]
* ThemeNaming: Granny Mundy. Sure, [[MyNaymeIs it's spelled different]], but still...
* TurnInYourBadge: Threatened by the police commissioner, [[spoiler:mainly because she's in on the caper]].
* ValuesDissonance: InUniverse example with Friday, who doggedly clings to his uncle's [[TheFifties Fifties]]-/[[TheSixties Sixties]]-era button-down, hyper-conservative worldview in the midst of [[TheEighties the so-called Decade Of Excess]].
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: [[spoiler:Whirley and Kirkpatrick]]
* WhamLine: "Don't you mean [[spoiler:the VIRGIN Connie Swail?]]" [[CrowningMomentOfFunny Cue dramatic look from Friday and "DUN Dun DUN DUN..."]]
* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: Of course, the film dutifully trots out the series' signature closing shot describing the BigBad's ultimate (legal) fate... and then proceeds to give it a big ol' wedgie. "[The Villain] was sentenced to [[spoiler:43 consecutive 99-year prison terms]]. Which means [[spoiler:he'll be eligible for parole in seven years]]."
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: "And then I'll control '''both''' sides of the equation."
* YourApprovalFillsMeWithShame:
-->'''Ceasar:''' I'll give you money, I'll give you jewels, I'll give you women! I'll give you anything you want, just name it!\\
'''Friday:''' How about you take your hands off my suit.\\
'''Ceasar:''' Absolutely.
[[/folder]]
----
[[caption-width-right:300:"Their job... to enforce the laws, and preserve the safety of decent citizens."]]
-->''"The story you are about to hear/see is true. Only the names have been changed, to protect the innocent."''
Archetype of the PoliceProcedural, ''Dragnet'' followed the exploits of Sgt. Joe Friday (badge number 714) and his partner, Bill Gannon, as they investigated crime in Los Angeles.
[[quoteright:150:~~RadioDrama,DramaticHalfHour,DramaticHourLong PoliceProcedural~~]]
''Dragnet'' was the brainchild of its star and writer, Jack Webb, who brought to the screen a level of realism in the PoliceProcedural that had never been seen before and has only rarely been seen since. This was accomplished via contacts he had in the LAPD, who provided him with both anonymized versions of actual cases and details on contemporary police procedure.
Unqualified, the title ''Dragnet'' usually refers to an entire franchise of series which ran intermittently from 1949 to 1971:
* ''Dragnet'', the original radio series, which ran from 1949-1957.
* ''Dragnet'' (Also called ''Badge 714''), a black and white TV series running from 1951-1959, along with a theatrical film adaptation in 1954. Many (perhaps all) of the episodes in this incarnation have lapsed into the public domain.
* ''Dragnet 1967'', a {{Revival}} of the original series, which ran (under a different title each year) from 1967 to 1971. (This series was launched by a movie, unsurprisingly titled ''Dragnet 1966''.) While sometimes considered the show's weakest incarnation, and prone to unintentional self-parody, this series is the most familiar one to modern audiences. Being filmed in color, it was more attractive to syndicators, and still being under copyright, it's the only incarnation that has received an official DVD release.
Officer Bill Gannon, played in the revival series by Harry Morgan (as Henry Morgan), was actually a SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute, the last and best known of at least four partners Friday had in the course of the show. Barton Yarborough portrayed Friday's original partner, Sgt. Ben Romero, from the start of the radio show until his death in December 1951, just three episodes into the first TV version. He was briefly succeeded by Barney Phillips as Detective Sgt. Ed Jacobs, then by Ben Alexander as Officer Frank Smith from late 1952 to the end of the TV show's original run in 1959.
Unlike just about every other police show in history, the focus of ''Dragnet'' was not always on homicide: Friday and his partners rotated through the various departments from week to week, allowing them to solve not only murders, but also fraud, arson, and drug-smuggling.
Each episode ended with a [[WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue mugshot of the perp]] as a {{Narrator}} related the results of their trial.
The show spawned a number of {{CatchPhrase}}s, such as "The story you are about to hear is true"; "This is the city: Los Angeles, California"; and "My name's Friday. I'm a cop" (alternately, "My name is Friday; I carry a badge"). But the most famous phrase identified with the show - "Just the facts, Ma'am" - is actually a BeamMeUpScotty born from a series of ''Dragnet'' parodies created by StanFreberg.
''Dragnet'' also spawned a 1987 feature film, a combination homage and AffectionateParody featuring DanAykroyd as a new Joe Friday, the nephew of Webb's character, and TomHanks as his partner. Harry Morgan reprised his role as Bill Gannon, now a captain. The film follows Friday as he continues his uncle's legacy of straight-laced crime-fighting, teaming with undercover detective Pep Streebek. The duo are assigned to investigate a series of bizarre and (seemingly) unrelated robberies and vandalisms, eventually uncovering a dastardly plot by an underground pagan group of undermine all authority in Los Angeles.
Two years later, another ''Dragnet'' (sometimes ''The New Dragnet'') revival (InNameOnly) aired in syndication. It featured an LAPD cop named Vic Daniels, and the only connection to its namesake was the FramingDevice of the opening narration.
DickWolf attempted another {{Revival}} in 2003 with a series which was eventually retitled ''LA Dragnet'', staring Ed O'Neil as Joe Friday. The show failed to distinguish itself from the dozens of other cop shows on at the time (''{{CSI}}'', ''Series/LawAndOrder'', ''NYPDBlue'', etc.), and lasted only a season and a half. This may have been largely due to a lot of people being unable to get past the idea of "Al Bundy as a cop," despite the fact that O'Neil, a highly accomplished actor, created a wonderfully cynical, seen-it-all characterization that was both distinct from Jack Webb's portrayal and nothing like his ''MarriedWithChildren'' role.
''Mathnet'', a math-themed parody of ''Dragnet'', was the central sketch of the educational program ''SquareOneTV''.
The four note {{Sting}} used as a ThemeTune and at commercial breaks is one of the most recognizable musical cues in the history of television and radio. Even today, the sting signifies the forces of law and order as a calm, methodical and relentless force hounding criminals. [[http://www.badge714.com/images/DRAG.WAV Listen here]] (.wav file).
Joe Friday's badge, number 714, which appears during the opening titles, is a real LAPD badge, not a reproduction. Joe Friday is the only fictional character ever to be issued an official badge number by a US police department.
When Jack Webb died in 1982 he was given full police honors at his funeral although he had never actually served in the force. The chief of police also announced that badge number 714 would be retired and would never be assigned to anyone else.
----
!!''{{Dragnet}}'' provides examples of:
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:The (various) Series]]
* {{Abandonware}}: Much of the radio series dropped into the public domain. As a consequence, several hundred episodes are available for download from miscellaneous sources -- for example, at archive.org in both [[http://www.archive.org/details/OTRR_Certified_Dragnet ZIP-archive]] and [[http://www.archive.org/details/OTRR_Dragnet_Singles single-episode]] formats.
* AuthorFilibuster: The 1967 series was quite fond of this as Joe Friday has had his fair share of long-winded lectures about the moral of the episode.
** In one episode a policeman is accused of robbing a liquor store. He says that whether or not he's found guilty he'll leave the force. Friday gives him an ''epic'' six minute rant about how tough police officers have it.
* {{Badass}}: Joe Friday could be one when the situation called for it. There is an early episode when Joe and Bill track down a couple thugs who shot another cop with a shotgun. Joe kicks down the door, shoves a shotgun in the perp's face and says: "Flinch and you'll be chasing your head down Fifth Street." Later on, he tells the same guy, "I've bumped into jaywalkers tougher than you."
* BeamMeUpScotty: Joe Friday never actually said "Just the facts, ma'am."
* BottleEpisode: The aforementioned six minute rant occurs in an episode called "The Interrogation" in which the only characters are Friday, Gannon, and the guy they're questioning (a cop named Paul Culver, played by Kent McCord aka Jim Reed of {{Adam-12}} fame). It's just the three of them in a room in Internal Affairs for the half hour.
* BrokenAesop: In one episode, "A Gun for Christmas", the two investigate the shooting of a child near Christmas. They learn it was done accidentally by the boy's best friend when they were playing with the boy's Christmas gift, a rifle. The dead boy's father storms over to the friend's house, but when he sees how hurt the boy is over the loss of his friend, gives the boy all the dead child's Christmas toys. Lesson learned: kill your friend and you get all their toys.
* ByTheBookCop: Friday and his partners. This is presented as a positive trait, too -- standard procedure is standard for a ''reason'', and on this show, trying to second-guess that usually makes things worse.
* CatchPhrase: Several examples frequently used or parodied, including, "My name is Friday. I carry a badge."
* CharacterFilibuster: Mostly overlaps with AuthorFilibuster, as Joe Friday (whose views are indistinguishable from Jack Webb's) gets the vast majority of the big speeches. "The Big Prophet" is an exception. The discussion between Friday and Gannon and a Timothy Leary {{Expy}}/suspect is, almost literally, an episode-length formal debate over "Resolved: Drug use is harmless." The Leary character, while a StrawmanPolitical whose arguments are demolished by the detectives, actually gets a pretty good opportunity to state his case, and about as much time to do so as the cops get.
* ChristmasEpisode: The series did at least two. One was about a little boy borrowing a statue of the baby Jesus to give it a ride in his wagon. And then there was ".22 Rifle for Christmas", which lives up to its ominous title (see the [[Tearjerker/{{Dragnet}} TearJerker page]] for more details).
* ContractualImmortality: Even if one didn't know the series would continue, one would expect ''Joe Friday'' to survive being shot (as he was in "[[spoiler:The Big Ben]]".)
* CopShow
* EarTrumpet: Appears in one episode as Joe Friday and his partner attempt to question a hard-of-hearing witness.
* FramingDevice
* GenericCopBadges: Subverted, see above.
* HospitalityForHeroes: In one episode, Friday and Gannon bust a perp just before he can go after a restaurant owner. Immediately afterwards, a line of dialogue reveals that the cops haven't had lunch yet. The restaurant owner immediately offers a free lunch; when they refuse she tells them to sit down and order anyway, [[LoopholeAbuse there's nothing controlling the size of the portions she serves them.]]
* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: Most episodes of the original radio/TV series were titled "The Big (something)".
* IncorruptiblePurePureness: Joe Friday. His only vice is cigarettes, which can be Handwaved given the time the TV show was filmed.
* InstrumentalThemeTune: By Walter Schumann. The famous "dum-da-DUM-dum" sting was actually swiped from Miklós Rózsa's score to the 1946 film ''The Killers''. Later arranged as a [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7bwCijT_Lc swingin' big-band number]] by Ray Anthony (which became a hit single), and a rather excellent [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUTlp0ODS7s four-part fugue]] by Stephen Malinowski.
* KnightInSourArmor: Friday is a KnightInShiningArmor who sometimes slips into this, particularly in the 1967 revival when confronting egregious examples of late '60s societal decay.
* LateArrivalSpoiler: Many radio episodes in the archives are titled with the name of the person ultimately proven guilty.
* LimitedAdvancementOpportunities: Despite his years of competent service to the force, Friday is apparently never able to rise above the rank of sergeant.
** Well, actually, he ''does'' make lieutenant toward the end of the original series, but for the revival show he's knocked back down to sergeant without explanation.
** Jack Webb once explained that this was because in real life a police lieutenant would have more of a DeskJockey position and wouldn't be involved in the nuts and bolts of an investigation. That wasn't what Webb wanted for the character, and he wanted to keep the show as true-to-life as possible, so...
* LocardsTheory: Possibly the earliest TV instance, in an early episode.
* LosAngeles: "This is the city..."
* TheMainCharactersDoEverything: Different episodes puts Friday and his partner in different departments -- whichever one is appropriate for the case being investigated, basically -- but within each episode jobs are delegated as normal.
* MommasBoy: Middle-aged bachelor Friday still lives with his mother.
* MotiveRant: A frequent staple.
* TheMovie: One was made in 1966 as a prospective [[PilotMovie pilot]] for the revived series; however, it didn't air until 1969.
* {{Narrator}}: Friday himself.
* OpeningNarration: By Friday. In the 1966 revival, his opening narrations often included facts and statistics about the city of Los Angeles relating somehow to that episode's case.
* OvertOperative: When Joe Friday has to go undercover and pretend to be ''anything'' other than a cop. InUniverse, he's good at it, but it can be awfully tough for the ''audience'' to buy, since everything about Jack Webb's demeanor just screams "cop."
* PerpSweating: A particular talent of Friday and his partner.
* PoliceProcedural
* PreciousPuppies: Ginger, a drug sniffing dog. The closing narration tells us she did her job so well the Underground paid her their highest complement: they put a price on her head.
-->'''Joe Friday''': (To a fellow cop belittling the dog program) "Woof"
* RadioDrama
* RealTime: "Attempted City Hall Bombing".
* RomanAClef: As it says on TheOtherWiki, "Webb was a stickler for accurate details, and Dragnet used many authentic touches, such as the LAPD's actual radio call sign ([=KMA367=]), and the names of many real department officials, such as Ray Pinker and Lee Jones of the crime lab or Chief of Detectives Thad Brown." The then-Chief of Police was always credited at the end of every episode.
* SeinfeldianConversation: Usually instigated by Ben Romero (in the radio series) or Bill Gannon (in the television series).
* ShoutOut: Friday's badge number (714) commemorated Babe Ruth's career home run total.
* ShutUpHannibal: Friday often gets off a good one, like this rejoinder to a committed neo-Nazi: "You keep harping about minorities. Well, mister, you're a psychotic, and they're a minority, too."
* SoundToScreenAdaptation
* SpiritualSuccessor: ''{{Adam-12}}'', essentially the "patrolman" version of ''Dragnet'', was also produced by Webb. Both stars had already appeared on ''Dragnet'' multiple times (indeed, Martin Milner had appeared on the ''radio'' version).
* StandardPoliceMotto: This was the TropeMaker, bringing the LAPD's now-famous motto into the public eye.
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Friday's various partners.
* SyndicationTitle: ''Badge 714''
* TheyFightCrime (obviously)
* TotallyRadical
* YouLookFamiliar: Tim Donnelly qualifies both in terms of the ''{{Dragnet}}'' series itself (5 different roles), as well as the ''{{Dragnet}}''/''{{Adam-12}}''/''{{Emergency}}'' shared universe (2 roles in ''Adam'' and his regular role as Firefighter Chet Kelly in ''{{Emergency}}'').
* YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle: In "The Big Make" (Sept. 14, 1950), for example.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:1987 AffectionateParody Movie]]
* AffablyEvil: [[spoiler:Jonathan Whirley]]
* AgonyOfTheFeet: Friday has this when a limo runs over his feet.
* AffectionateParody
* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: After Friday's car is car-bombed... "My hat was in that car."
* AscendedMeme: Friday actually gets to say [[BeamMeUpScotty "Just the facts, ma'am"]] in the film.
* BigBadDuumvirate: [[spoiler:Reverend Whirley and the police commissioner]].
* BigDamnHeroes: with a [[TankGoodness tank]]!
* BitchInSheepsClothing: Whirley, a self-proclimed MoralGuardian who is [[spoiler:secretly the BigBad in disguise.]]
* BrickJoke: The film parodies the series' opening "names have been changed" CatchPhrase by noting that "[[spoiler:George Baker will now be called Sylvia Wiss]]." A minor character [[spoiler:by the name of Sylvia Wiss]] later shows up for a brief exchange.
* [[BuddyCopShow Buddy Cop Movie]]
* CassandraTruth: During the [[FunWithAcronyms pagan]] ritual, The Virgin Connie Swail manages to snag the mask off the pagan leader and see his face. When she later identifies him as [[spoiler:the Reverend Whirley]], only Friday believes her.
** ItWasHereISwear: Friday and Streebek bring the police commissioner and their captain back to the site of the pagan ritual, only to discover that the pagans are better at cleaning up after themselves than a SlasherMovie villain. [[hottip:*:In all fairness, the pagans had plenty of forewarning, since the detectives blew their own cover during TheInfiltration.]]
* ChekhovsGun: The handful of drugs Streebek takes at the Pagan rally to blend in while undercover.
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: When Friday is nearly mugged by a gang of teenage delinquents, he laments "And on a school night too!"
* ComicallySerious: Dan Aykroyd takes Jack Webb's [[TheStoic uber-straight]] demeanor and cranks it UpToEleven.
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: The other characters (and the audience) chuckle at Friday's [[ValuesDissonance hopelessly outdated, stodgy attitudes]]. But he shows us time and time again exactly why he's considered the best cop in Los Angeles.
* DeadpanSnarker: Pep Streebek.
* {{Determinator}}: Friday, chasing a kidnapper who [[spoiler:escapes on a Lear jet]]. Cue [[spoiler:the police jet]]!
* DirtyCop: Or in this case, dirty police commissioner.
* DistressedDamsel: The Virgin Connie Swail
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything:
-->The Virgin Connie Swail: "How come his is so much bigger than yours?"
-->Officer Joe Friday: "Miss?"
-->The Virgin Connie Swail: "The gun."
-->Officer Joe Friday: "I've never needed more."
* DoItYourselfThemeTune: Not the title theme itself, but the film's other major song, "City Of Crime" which plays over the closing credits, is performed by Dan Aykroyd and Tom Hanks (in-character as Friday and Streebek).
* TheDragon / TheBrute: Emil Muzz.
* DragonInChief: [[spoiler:Police commissioner Jane Kirkpatrick]]
* DrivesLikeCrazy: "Streebek, there's no '''road''' here!"
** During Friday's and Streebek's first police chase together, Friday enumerates a LongList of traffic violations... against his own partner.
** Later [[HypocriticalHumor reversed]] when Friday is rushing to save The Virgin Connie Swail:
--->'''Streebek:''' Don't you remember those films they showed us in high school? ''Red Asphalt''? ''Blood On The Highway''?\\
'''Friday:''' Buddy, you just picked two of my favorites!
* TheFilmOfTheSeries
* {{Flanderization}}: Ackroyd's Joe Friday takes the original Friday's straight-laced, by-the-rules personality UpToEleven.
* FunWithAcronyms: '''P'''eople '''A'''gainst '''G'''oodness '''A'''nd '''N'''ormalcy. Pulls double duty as an IncrediblyLamePun.
** Not forgetting '''M'''oral '''A'''dvance '''M'''ovement of '''A'''merica, though that one gets a bit less attention.
* GilliganCut: Not an actual cut, but in one scene where Friday is waiting to meet Streebek in a bad neighborhood, Narrator!Friday notes that it's not a good place to stand around whistling. You can guess what Friday is doing in the scene.
* GroinAttack
* HeyItsThatGuy: Emil Muzz is [[SupermanII Non]]!
** The BigBad is [[TheSoundOfMusic Captain Von Trapp]].
* HumanSacrifice: Luckily for her, they needed a virgin.
-->'''Streebek:''' You're still a virgin?\\
'''Connie:''' Yes!\\
'''Streebek:''' [prat-fall]
* HypocriticalHumor: see DrivesLikeCrazy, above.
* IHaveYouNowMyPretty: "You'll get used to me in time."
* IncorruptiblePurePureness: Friday. Spoofed, of course.
* IncrediblyLamePun: "Thank God, it's Friday!"
** Hilariously, they totally drop the ball on the "tank" jokes. But it's okay, [[TankGoodness we got that covered]].
** There's also [[FunWithAcronyms PAGAN]].
* TheInfiltration: Friday and Streebek go undercover at a pagan festival.
** DressingAsTheEnemy: Played semi-straight with the detectives; but also reversed with [[spoiler: a pair of highway patrol officers who turn out to be disguised pagans]].
* InsistentTerminology: Everyone calls her "The Virgin Connie Swail".
* IntergenerationalFriendship: Streebek puts the charm on Friday's grandmother.
* JerkAss: Jane Kirkpatrick, Jerry Caesar (who narrowly escapes becoming an AssholeVictim later on) and Emil's landlady.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Capt. Gannon is presented as a crusty, "tough love" type of guy. On the other hand, when told that one of the best officers on the entire force has [[spoiler:gone missing]] (let alone the nephew of your old partner), you'd think your reaction would be a little more than [[spoiler:"WHO CARES?"]].
* AManIsNotAVirgin: WordOfGod (Dan Aykroyd, to be precise) is that Friday averts this.
* MotorMouth: Friday.
* MythologyGag: At the start of the film, Friday's partner Frank Smith gets PutOnABus (since he never appears on camera, it's more accurate to say he never got off the bus). One of Friday's partners in the series, as detailed in the body, was also named Frank Smith.
* OfCourseImNotAVirgin: Totally averted. The virgin Connie Swail doesn't mind people introducing her as such, and Friday doesn't deny it himself.
-->Joe Friday: "Prepare the virgin [for a virgin sacrifice]?" I don't like the sound of that."
-->Pep Streebeck: "Let's just hope they're not referring to you."
* OddCouple
* PerpSweating / JackBauerInterrogationTechnique: "Well, Muzz, looks like it's just you and me... [[spoiler: your balls, and this drawer]]."
* RemakeCameo / ContinuityNod: Harry Morgan as Captain Gannon.
* [[CaptainsLog Sergeant's Log]]: Friday gives us the facts, just like Jack Webb used to.
* SexIsEvil: Friday seems to think so at first.
--> '''Friday''': [After turning down Sylvia Wiss] Now let me tell you something, Streebeck. There are two things that clearly differentiate the human species from animals. One, we use cutlery. Two, we're capable of controlling our sexual urges. Now, you might be an exception, but don't drag me down into your private Hell.
* SirSwearsALot: Emil Muzz's foul-tempered landlady.
* SmugSnake: Whirley.
* StraightMan: Dan Ackroyd portrays a very anal-retentive Joe Friday.
* SpinOffspring: Well, nephew, at any rate. Just for good measure, the nephew not only acts like his uncle, but also talks and dresses like him.
* StormingTheCastle
* TankGoodness
* TeethClenchedTeamwork: Friday invokes this when forced to work with smut king Jerry Ceasar:
-->'''Friday:''' I don't care for you or for the putrid sludge you're troweling out. But until they change the laws and put you sleaze kings out of business, my job is to help you get back your stench-ridden boxes of smut; and [[BadassBoast since I'll be doing it holding my nose, I'll be doing it with ONE HAND!]]
* ThemeNaming: Granny Mundy. Sure, [[MyNaymeIs it's spelled different]], but still...
* TurnInYourBadge: Threatened by the police commissioner, [[spoiler:mainly because she's in on the caper]].
* ValuesDissonance: InUniverse example with Friday, who doggedly clings to his uncle's [[TheFifties Fifties]]-/[[TheSixties Sixties]]-era button-down, hyper-conservative worldview in the midst of [[TheEighties the so-called Decade Of Excess]].
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: [[spoiler:Whirley and Kirkpatrick]]
* WhamLine: "Don't you mean [[spoiler:the VIRGIN Connie Swail?]]" [[CrowningMomentOfFunny Cue dramatic look from Friday and "DUN Dun DUN DUN..."]]
* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: Of course, the film dutifully trots out the series' signature closing shot describing the BigBad's ultimate (legal) fate... and then proceeds to give it a big ol' wedgie. "[The Villain] was sentenced to [[spoiler:43 consecutive 99-year prison terms]]. Which means [[spoiler:he'll be eligible for parole in seven years]]."
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: "And then I'll control '''both''' sides of the equation."
* YourApprovalFillsMeWithShame:
-->'''Ceasar:''' I'll give you money, I'll give you jewels, I'll give you women! I'll give you anything you want, just name it!\\
'''Friday:''' How about you take your hands off my suit.\\
'''Ceasar:''' Absolutely.
[[/folder]]
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