What I found appealing about this episode is that it is ahead of it's time. Back in 1970 the character despite he is considered "mentally incompetent" is exposing truths about our environment. The character had a genuine concern for the environment and acted out inappropriately not out of disrespect for the law but concern for a real issue. The movie "erin brockovich' is similar in carrying out a message that big business and society are doing harm to ourselves and our planet by greed, consumption and excesses. Also considering most of the episode was three people talking across one little police desk without fancy camera work or special effects and held my interest for a solid half hour is certainly what I would call quality TV programming.
2 Reviews
This guy is no Offidcer Dengle!
planktonrules1 December 2009
Warning: Spoilers
This episode of "Dragnet" is somewhat reminiscent of another earlier one from the show ("The Big Amateur") because the leading character is a man who is posing as a government official, but he's a phony. However, unlike the basically harmless (and very, very, very efficient) Officer Dengle in the other episode, the guy in this one is quite pathetic...but also clearly a criminal.
The show begins with a Park Ranger being brought in to explain why he has stolen checks and credit cards on him. The guy (Stacy Harris--a very, very frequent guest on the show) is adamant that he's done nothing wrong and does little but spout out textbook-like talk about the environment. So instead of sounding like a real person, he talks like he's giving a lecture--which, incidentally, he says he's supposed to be doing at that moment. His story, however, doesn't check out and the more the detectives dig, the more obvious that this guy isn't Barney Regal. But who is he? And, why is he posing as a Ranger? And, why is he stealing from the people he claims to be serving.
This is a rather sad case with strong psychiatric overtones. Interesting, yes, but not as satisfying or fun to watch as "The Big Amateur". In fact, in some ways this one is a bit hard to watch. The guy is a crook but he's also a very, very sad and pathetic loser. Worth a look.
The show begins with a Park Ranger being brought in to explain why he has stolen checks and credit cards on him. The guy (Stacy Harris--a very, very frequent guest on the show) is adamant that he's done nothing wrong and does little but spout out textbook-like talk about the environment. So instead of sounding like a real person, he talks like he's giving a lecture--which, incidentally, he says he's supposed to be doing at that moment. His story, however, doesn't check out and the more the detectives dig, the more obvious that this guy isn't Barney Regal. But who is he? And, why is he posing as a Ranger? And, why is he stealing from the people he claims to be serving.
This is a rather sad case with strong psychiatric overtones. Interesting, yes, but not as satisfying or fun to watch as "The Big Amateur". In fact, in some ways this one is a bit hard to watch. The guy is a crook but he's also a very, very sad and pathetic loser. Worth a look.
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