Dragnet [DVD]

Five years elapsed between Universal's DVD release of Dragnet 1967: Season 1. Now in the hands of Shout Factory, the presentation of the series has become a lot more ambitious -- in addition to the complete 28 episodes of the 1967-68 season (officially credited as "Dragnet 1968"), the makers have included the pilot film Dragnet 1966. The latter still makes for strong viewing more than 40 years after it was first aired, and its presence should provide a powerful incentive for buying the set -- the 97 minute pilot film, shot in 1966, was strong enough to convince NBC to revive the series, but it was considered too strong to show on television at the time, and wasn't even seen until three years later. The film-to-video transfers on the set are excellent, in full-screen (1.33-to-1), with bright, solid colors and a very strong audio track. The menus on the individual discs are easy to navigate (once one skips past a Shout Factory trailer that's too involved), and the bonus features, which are confined to the first and last discs in the package, are accessible with two touches of a button. Beyond the pilot film -- which is a grim, dark, and suspenseful piece in its own right -- the major bonus is the featurette "Jack Webb: The Man Behind Badge 714," which is made up of interviews with surviving members of Webb's stock and production company, including acting legend Peggy Webber, cast regular Herb Ellis, and actor-turned-producer Tom Williams, and Webb's former wife Jackie Loughery. Their free-ranging discussion tells us a lot about Webb as both a man and producer, though one wishes that it had been structured better, to give a more thorough account of the man's life. There isn't quite enough about the series itself, and its content, but for fans of Webb this short is a pleasure.