Code 3 (1957– )

Code 3 (a term signifying an emergency and that police in patrol cars should use lights and sirens) was supposedly based on actual case files of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. I saw three episodes (The Man With Many Faces, The Rookie and The Sniper) on the Matinée Classics site. In each of these, actor Richard Travis as Assistant Sheriff made opening and closing remarks and the actual Sheriff of LA County, Eugene Bisciluz, ended the program with thanking the audience and other brief remarks. Travis was the only recurring actor in every episode (a few actors and their characters had two or three appearances). Evidently, the show was developed to compete with either Dragnet or Highway Patrol (sources differ as to which but it doesn't matter – there were a number of documentary like crime dramas on TV in the 50s). The show lasted one season. The biggest problem with it for me was that the Travis character added nothing to the show and thus the show had no lead actor or recurring support characters. The shows were good but now are nice to watch mostly for historical interest. The only television show from the 50s and 60s that I regularly watch is Perry Mason and it was a hoot to recognize so many actors who had played on that show in this one including Whit Bissell, Peter Leeds, Osa Massen and Fredd Wayne.