The F.B.I.

This is one of those series that raised the "Lost" generation, and that was my generation.

I was watching this program when I was 5 years old and I swore I was going to grow up to work for the F.B.I. -- that's how wonderful and influential this program was.

I learned what kidnapping, extortion, drug traffic etc., all of it was...and I knew what the consequences were if you did it..and I wanted to be a part of the team of folks to put these guys/gals out of business.

Not a lot of special effects, this Quinn Martin series relied on story..and told the story well. If I remember my "Media 101" from college, I believe the FBI was part of the "Ben Brady" programming touch...Ben Brady brought A LOT of ground breaking stories to television including the first prime time soap opera, "Peyton Place"..which we all knew made stars out of many. This is what made this series, the FBI, captivating..and dare I say..."Patrotic".

This was Washington, DC, the Nation's Capitol back in the day....where the FBI was respected and looked upon to perform duties we the layman knew nothing about. But hey, I'm only 5 years old watching this...so besides that, what got me hooked was how "cool" Det. Erskin was!

He had a convertible RED Mustang!!! He would travel the world, take out the criminals...and then at the end cruise Washington, DC in a RED CONVERTABLE MUSTANG!!! And...end up at his Washington, DC Brownstone!! I mean, how cool of a job was THAT?!?!?!

Erskin had a lot of cool American made cars (well, back then they were American made), and let me just say, the theme music was one of the best themes there was. I dare anyone out there to say that that orchestration does not make your heart swell with American pride. Well...it did make mine. Still does, when I hear it.

This IS still one of the great series and even today, TV shows with the FBI cannot touch the stories of this one. As a fellow poster wrote: Hawaii 5-0 is just as classic as this..and when I think of the better crime series for my generation (and with the best theme songs ever written for TV!!!) : The Mod Squad, Hawaii 5-0, Mission Impossible, The FBI is one of the bests as well.

Indeed, yes, I remember this series... and I don't believe I've seen it in reruns myself, although I'm aware of it being rerun on stations I could not receive. I think I tuned into this two to four years before it came to an end in 1974. I am old enough to remember that the show was produced with the cooperation of the director of the FBI, whats-his-name, um, J. Edgar Hoover. The last season or so had different names since Hoover had died.

I really liked the way they set up the episodes, showed the crimes being initiated, the charges being shown on the screen. The oft-repeated scene of showing Erskine listening on the phone at the same time as a crime victim or victim's family. Erskine going under cover, like masquerading as a blind man. The high school boys trapping a friend in an old mine shaft or whatever and discovering, just after they were arrested, that the field had been leveled and buried with fill.

This would be good to see on DVD, but I'd be happy if it was rerun on one of the cable specialty channels.

"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.

Now that the show is back in syndication, I've watched as many as I can and see some major differences between the early shows (1965 or so) and later ones (in the early 70s). The early ones SHOWED more violence and often the bad guys were "pushing up daisies" by the end of the show. Later, the FBI agents hardly ever shot the bad guys or if they did it was just in the leg or arm--hardly realistic, but an apparent bow to overly sensitive pressure groups that had grown in the early 1970s. Also, while Inspector Erskine shot a lot of crooks, they tended to be non-lethal shots in later shows.

Another difference is by the end of the series, the FBI and its abuses had come to light...such as warrantless wiretaps, warrentless breakins and the like. So, to counter this, Inspector Erskine OFTEN would ask things like "makes sure we have a warrant"!

Finally, the earlier episodes made the characters seem a little more human--often, Erskine was shown with a good looking woman or would complain about having to work too hard, while later he was pretty much a robot. Finally, the earlier episodes were occasionally more histrionic--sometimes too much and some times very juicy and exciting! In general, I prefer the earlier shows--they may have been a little campier, but they seemed more exciting. Still, despite this, it's an exceptional series and holds up very well today.

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.