Video: 'Dragnet S01E01 The Human Bomb'

(Sunday, December 16, 1951, 7:00 p.m. EST) — Dragnet, an American television series, based on the Jack Webb-created crime drama radio series of the same name that follows Sgt. Joe Friday as he and his partners methodically investigate crimes in Los Angeles, debuted tonight on NBC.

The two familiar lead actors on radio, Webb and Barton Yarborough, settled in for the first season, disrupted when Yarborough suffered a fatal heart attack.

Under Webb’s authority, the writing staff worked his partner’s demise into the storyline, and Sgt. Friday rode with various partners until settling on Ben Alexander as detective Frank Smith, providing some sporadic comic relief.