Flinch and you'll be chasing your head down Main Street!

Woke up this morning to the thought that I was late for work. How messed up is that? It was obvious to my brain that I had been working enough days in a row that it was unable to distinguish days off anymore.

Today was pleasantly peaceful if you exclude the time frame when Willis discovered that our Internet had been disconnected. The weather presented itself as almost uncomfortably chilly and soup was suggested to me when I was planning a lunch date. I had a fantastic bowl of chicken tortilla soup and a grilled cheese sandwich at McAlister's and then spent another hour at Hasting's (a place where us "media whores" like to hang out), buying time in hopes that the dust had settled by the time I got home.

Not so much.

Still rather hazy as I walked through the front door, Willis soon left to prevent the evils of our cable company from coming out and "snipping the wire" for good. I planted myself in front of my pc, unable to check my email, surf the web or play anything that required an internet connection.

I decided to crank out some Boston and play some solitaire. But not just any kind of solitaire, Pyramid Solitaire. Regular solitaire will make me want to put a bullet through my brains (most of the time). Pyramid Solitaire was taught to my at a very young age by my Great Aunt Pattie. If you're curious what kind of solitaire I speak of, please click here.

After winning several games (something I can't seem to do with regular solitaire), I retired to the living room and watched some television. Willis had discovered a while back that the new Sleuth Channel was broadcasting the old school Dragnet series a couple times a week (along with a bunch of other shows that reek of 1980's TV Crime/Action/Drama cheese).

Dragnet was THE SHOW when it came to police procedural dramas. I think that's why I loved watching it so much. It cut through the melodramatic bull crap that existed with almost every other crime drama and just followed protocol.

Not every episode was a gem. In fact, some oozed Grade-A Velveeta® depending on the storyline. However, because it always followed a strict guideline, many episodes broke the mold as being completely original and setting a new standard for police dramas throughout the next 50 years. Another reason why Homicide: Life on the Streets is one of my all-time favorite television programs.

Dragnet first existed as a radio show from 1949 to 1957. Then, when television became all the new craze, it first broadcast from 1951 to 1959. It was then brought back to the air in 1967 and ran until 1970. A theatrical film was also released in 1954 as well as a 1966 made-for-TV movie (which inspired Jack Webb to bring the show back).

A few interesting trivial facts about the show and it's creator, Jack Webb:

• The show's cultural impact is demonstrated by the fact that even after five decades, elements of Dragnet are known to those who've never seen or heard the program.




• At the height of Dragnet's popularity, people would actually call the LAPD wanting to speak to Webb's character, Sgt. Joe Friday. The Department eventually came up with a stock answer to the large volume of calls: "Sorry, it's Joe's day off."




• Episodes from this series were used as training tools by the real-life LAPD.




• Jack Webb would pay $25 to any officer who submitted a story that was used for an episode plot. (That may not amount to much now, but imagine how much that was back in 1967.)




• Upon his death, the badge number 714, used by his character Joe Friday in the "Dragnet" TV shows, was officially retired by the Los Angeles Police Department displayed at the Academy's Museum. (Badge 714 belonged to Sgt. Dan Cooke, the technical advisor.)

The show was revived back in 2003 by Dick Wolfe (Law & Order series) starring Ed O'Neil as Sgt. Joe Friday and Ethan Embry as Frank Smith. After a 12-episode season that rather closely followed the traditional formula (where O'Neil perfectly portrayed the straight-edged no-nonsense Friday), the format of the series was changed to an ensemble crime drama including a group of younger and ethnically-diverse detectives. Now titled L.A. Dragnet, Friday was promoted to Lieutenant but received less screen time and the new re-vamped series tanked and was pulled from broadcast after 5 episodes into it's second season (I'm surprised it lasted that long). This is just a proven fact that you don't mess with a tried and true formula.

Anyways, I've bent your ear enough about a television show. That's just happen to be what was skipping around in my head this evening. Now it's been removed and ever-so-gently placed on this blog site to be remembered forever (or until the server crashes). And as you can see, our connection is back up and running... so have no fears.

Until next time, dear readers.