Crime Television (the Praeger Television Collection)

Crime Television DOUGLAS SNAUFFER PRAEGER Crime Television Recent Titles in The Praeger Television Collection David Bianculli, Series Editor Spy Television Wesley Britton Science Fiction Television M. Keith Booker Christmas on Television Diane Werts Reality Television Richard M. Huff Drawn to Television: Prime-Time Animation from The Flintstones to Family Guy M. Keith Booker Crime Television D OUGLAS S NAUFFER The Praeger Television Collection David Bianculli, Series Editor Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Snauffer, Douglas. Crime television/Douglas Snauffer. p. cm. — (The Praeger television collection, ISSN 1549–2257) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0–275–98807–4 1. Detective and mystery television programs—United States—History and criticism. 2. Crime on television. I. Title. PN1992.8.D48S63 2006 791.45'655—dc22 2006018108 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available. Copyright © 2006 by Douglas Snauffer All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, by any process or technique, without the express written consent of the publisher. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2006018108 ISBN: 0–275–98807–4 ISSN: 1549–2257 First published in 2006 Praeger Publishers, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881 An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. www.praeger.com Printed in the United States of America The paper used in this book complies with the Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National Information Standards Organization (Z39.48–1984). 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 For Richard J. Snauffer My dad and viewing companion With special appreciation to Bob Shayne, for his insights into the entertainment industry and the craft of writing, and his willingness to share both. I’d also like to acknowledge the following individuals for their invaluable support: Mark Dawidziak, Television Critic; The Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio); David Bianculli, Television Critic; The New York Daily News Gabriel Scott, Press Liaison; Writer’s Guild of America West Contents Preface ix 1 Crime Television—The 1950s 1 2 Crime Television—The 1960s 31 3 Crime Television—The 1970s 65 4 Crime Television—The 1980s 113 5 Crime Television—The 1990s 159 6 Crime Television—The 2000s 199 Index 239 Preface Much of the enjoyment of writing Crime Television has come in reviewing so many classic television programs from so many eras—eras not only in TV history but from different periods of my own life as well. I am thankful that the entertainment industry in this day and age has been accommodating. There are a myriad of cable channels now available that are rerunning series that would otherwise be lost, including black-and-white gems from the Golden Age of television, engaging yet short-lived ventures that have too few episodes for general syndication, and other shows that may have just become lost in the vacuum of time. Then there is the DVD—an invention that those of us who hail from the TV generation rank right up there with the creation of the wheel. Thanks to my local cable provider, a well-used membership to Netflix, and numerous private collectors found on the Internet, I was able to spend 12 months studiously reliving 60 years of television. I was also fortunate enough to have spoken to many of the talented writers and producers responsible for some of the most influential programs in TV history, such as Stephen J. Cannell, creator of The Rockford Files and Wiseguy, and Glenn Gordon Caron, whose credits include Moonlighting and Medium. Their an