Gary M. James
As a young kid, I remember watching The F.B.I. on Sunday nights at 8:00pm eastern time on ABC. No matter which episode I saw, it was always clear who were the good guys and who were the bad guys.As of this posting, I am having some fun watching various episodes of The F.B.I. on AOL's IN2TV website. Even though the show lasted for 9 seasons (1965-1974) and the actual F.B.I. did play a part in the production of the TV series, I have to admit that the show is nothing more than a typical crime drama. When it came to crimes and crime solving, there were no gray areas. The lead characters were rather robotic with no personal lives whatsoever. There was an attempt in the first season to humanize Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.) whose partner was dating his daughter but that clumsy story line was dropped very quickly. Just like with many television shows from past decades, I am always amazed seeing actors who paid their dues acting in TV shows before becoming famous or infamous. From the shows I viewed, I noticed future Academy Award winners including Diane Keaton, Gene Hackman, Jessica Tandy, Robert Duvall, Michael Douglas and Ron Howard (as Ronny Howard).Some actors who became famous in other TV shows including Hal Linden (Barney Miller), Nicholas Colasanto (Cheers), William Shatner (Star Trek, TJ Hooker and Boston Legal among others) and Donna Mills (Knots Landing).In the infamous category, there are appearances by Robert Blake and Claudine Longet. Then again, the ultimate infamous person indirectly associated with the show was the late F.B.I. director J. Edgar Hoover. Check out their IMDb biography pages for more information.Since the Ford Motor Company sponsored the show, all you tended to see were cars by Ford. The Ford logo was prominent during the opening credits from seasons 1-5. I still find the abrupt edit rather humorous. Is Ford unwilling to put up the cash to show off their now classic cars? When I look at past and present crime shows like Hill Street Blues, Law and Order and CSI (all editions), it reminds me how The F.B.I. (the show) was more of a dinosaur. Despite changing cultural and creative values, the program did not change with the times. It was a rather bland and sometimes not very challenging show, despite a few episodes that did kept my interest. And although it's always nice to see future stars, overall, The F.B.I. was just a standard crime drama. Competent but not a classic.
JeffDeWitt
"The FBI" is one of those wonderful old shows I remember from when I was a kid, and it was great finding it being rerun on the "American Life" channel.There was no question who the good guys and bad guys were, and Inspector Lewis Erskine is as straitlaced as they come, he and Sargent Friday were two of a kind.The theme music is perfect, it has a serious solidity to it, and the writing is just what it should be. I also love seeing all the new, old cars, and seeing what high technology (like their computers) was in those days helps us to appreciate what we have today.Great show, well worth watching again.
David Kerr
The FBI With Efrem Zimbalist JR Can be seen if you have cable every Friday night on the American life TV network at 7 PM. central time. Check with your local cable company about getting American life TV the have 6 episodes every Friday the say a whole evening of crime busting action. Both Steven Brooks and William Reynolds have been on in different episodes and Phillip Abbott and Efrem Zimbalist JR are in all episodes I never miss it. They call it FBI Friday. American Life is good every night Monday is the private Eyes which include 77 Sunset Strip which also has Efrem Zimbalist JR. also Harry O with David Jansson and several others. Tuesday night is the American Soldier Wednesday night is the Secret agents Thursday night is the American west Friday is FBI Friday Saturday is good comedy and Sunday is the American family. It is a good channel all around but if you turn on American life TV at 7 PM central time you will get all the reruns of the FBI with Efrem Zimbalist JR. David Kerr Minnespolis Minnesota.
ralsalongi
I remember watching this great crime drama as a child every Sunday night with my Father. He was a big fan of the show and I got to be one also. Ephrem Zimbelist Jr. was great in the part and the stories were always very believable. I think this was one of the best crime dramas ever made. (I'd rank this one up there with Dragnet.)My complaint is: Please bring back this wonderful series in reruns! I do not think I've seen it since it went off the air in 1974 and I'd love to see it again. It's hard to believe a great show like this was never shown in syndication.The great shows are the ones that are many times overlooked.
