Dragnet

Dragnet originated as a radio series before being adapted for television, both created by star Jack Webb, with the title referencing the police term for a coordinated system of measures to catch criminals.

The show's famous four-note theme, titled 'Danger Ahead' and composed by Walter Schumann, was derived from Miklós Rózsa's score for the 1946 film The Killers.

Jack Webb was actually reluctant to play Joe Friday on camera and reportedly wanted Hollywood actor Lloyd Nolan for the TV role, but the network insisted Webb continue as the lead since he was already established as Friday on radio.

Actor Barton Yarborough, who played Friday's original partner Sgt. Ben Romero, died of a fatal heart attack after filming only two episodes, prompting the writers to work his character's death into the storyline.

Raymond Burr appeared in the series' pilot episode as Friday's superior, at a time when he was mostly cast against type playing villains; Martin Milner and Lee Marvin also made some of their earliest TV appearances on the show.

Jack Webb formed a friendship with LAPD chief William Parker and agreed to let the police department censor scripts in exchange for real story ideas, police vehicles, equipment, and officers as extras; scripts had to be formally approved by the LAPD's Public Information Division before filming.

Many recurring characters, such as Ray Pinker, Harry Didion, Thad Brown, and R. A. Lohrman, were based on real LAPD officers of the same names.

Over 200 of the 276 episodes of Dragnet have not been broadcast since the late 1960s and remain unreleased on home video, with their preservation status unclear, though about 64 episodes are known to survive, some held by The Paley Center for Media.