September 12, 1966 (1966-09-12) – January 31, 1969 (1969-01-31)
The Felony Squad is a half-hour television crime drama originally broadcast on the ABC network from September 12, 1966, to January 31, 1969.[1]
Overview
Sergeant Sam Stone and Detective Jim Briggs are investigators in a major crimes unit in an unidentified West Coast city.[2] (L.A. City Hall is shown at dusk in the final scene of the opening credits). Duff's character was the veteran who was teaching his younger partner the nuances of life in this new facet of police work.[citation needed] Another main character was desk sergeant Dan Briggs, the father of Cole's character.[2]
Originally titled Men Against Evil,[3] the show was set to be a soap opera-type program that would have been broadcast two nights per week. By March 1966 Stone's alcoholic wife and other "main female characters" were removed, with the focus of the program changed from personal lives of policemen to the work of the police.[4] In addition, following primary sponsor Liggett & Myers' objection about being associated with the word "evil," the show's title was changed.[citation needed]
From the show's debut until September 1968, it was broadcast on Monday nights from 9 to 9:30 Eastern Time. In the Fall of 1968 it was switched to Fridays from 8:30 to 9 E.T.[2] The program was cancelled at midseason after just thirteen aired episodes. The final episode of the series was part of a crossover with the ABC legal drama Judd, for the Defense, starring Carl Betz, which was cancelled at the end of its season after a two-year run.
Alexander's role in the series was not only onscreen but also offscreen as a technical adviser. His earlier work with Jack Webb in Dragnet was the basis for this added position,[citation needed] but resulted in his inability to reprise his role of Officer Frank Smith when Webb revived Dragnet in late 1966.[4] He died of a heart attack less than six months after The Felony Squad left the air.[citation needed]
The Felony Squad was sponsored by L&M cigarettes, as seen on the 1967 episode "The Day of the Shark Part 1".
20th-Century Fox supplied the series.[1]Pete Rugolo composed Felony Squad Theme.[2]
Critical response
Jack Gould wrote in The New York Times that the debut episode was "a very old-fashioned and conventional yarn about tight-lipped detectives doing a day's work."[5]
References
^ abcdefgMcNeil, Alex (1996). Total Television: the Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present (4th ed.). New York, New York: Penguin Books USA, Inc. p. 283. ISBN0-14-02-4916-8.
^ abcdefBrooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle (1999). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946-Present (7th ed.). New York: The Ballentine Publishing Group. p. 341. ISBN0-345-42923-0.
