The F.B.I.is an Americanpolice proceduraltelevision series created byQuinn MartinandPhilip SaltzmanforABCand co-produced withWarner Bros. Television,with sponsorship from theFord Motor Company,AlcoaandAmerican Tobacco Company(TareytonandPall Mallbrands) in the first season. Ford sponsored the show alone for subsequent seasons. The series was broadcast on ABC from 1965 until its end in 1974. StarringEfrem Zimbalist Jr.,Philip AbbottandWilliam Reynolds,the series, consisting of nine seasons and 241 episodes, chronicles a group of FBI agents trying to defend the US government from unidentified threats. For the entirety of its run, it was broadcast on Sunday nights.
| The F.B.I. | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Police procedural |
| Starring | Efrem Zimbalist Jr. Philip Abbott William Reynolds |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No.of seasons | 9 |
| No.of episodes | 241(list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Quinn Martin Philip Saltzman[1] |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production companies | QM Productions (1965–1974) Warner Bros. Television (1965–1967; 1970–1974) Warner Bros.- Seven Arts Television (1967–1970) |
| Original release | |
| Network | ABC |
| Release | September 19, 1965– April 28, 1974 |
| Related | |
| Today's FBI(1981–1982) | |
Synopsis
editProduced byQuinn Martinand based in part on concepts from the 1959Warner Bros.theatrical filmThe FBI Story,the series was based on actualFBIcases, with fictitious main characters carrying the stories.Efrem Zimbalist Jr.playedInspectorLewis Erskine, a widower whose wife had been killed in an ambush meant for him.Philip Abbottplayed Arthur Ward, assistant director to FBI DirectorJ. Edgar Hoover.Although Hoover served as series consultant until his death in 1972, he never appeared in the series.
Stephen Brooksplayed Inspector Erskine's assistant,Special AgentJim Rhodes, for the first two seasons.Lynn Loringplayed Inspector Erskine's daughter and Rhodes' love interest, Barbara, in the twelve episodes of the show's first season. Although the couple were soon engaged on the show, that romantic angle was soon dropped.
In 1967, Brooks was replaced byWilliam Reynolds,who played Special Agent Tom Colby until 1973. The series would enjoy its highest ratings during this time, peaking at No. 10 in the 1970–1971 season. For the final season,Shelly Novackplayed Special Agent Chris Daniels.
Some episodes ended with a "most wanted" segment hosted by Zimbalist, noting the FBI's most wanted criminals of the day, decades before theFox NetworkairedAmerica's Most Wanted.The most famous instance was in the April 21, 1968, episode, when Zimbalist asked for information about fugitiveJames Earl Ray,who was being hunted for the assassination ofMartin Luther King Jr.
The series aired on ABC at 8 p.m. Sunday from 1965 to 1973, when it was moved up to 7:30 p.m. for the final season. The series was a co-production ofQuinn MartinProductions andWarner Bros. Television,as Warner Bros. held the television and theatrical rights to any project based onThe FBI Story.It was the longest-running of all of Quinn Martin's television series, airing nine seasons.[citation needed]
Background
editEvery detail of every episode of the series was carefully vetted by F.B.I. second-in-commandClyde Tolson.[2]Actors playing F.B.I. agents, and other participants, were given background checks to guarantee that no "criminals, subversives, or Communists" were associated with the show.[3]The premiere episode of the first season, "The Monster," about a handsome serial killer who strangled women with their own hair, so shocked Tolson that he recommended the show be cancelled.[4]J. Edgar Hoover attempted to cancel the show on at least seven other occasions.[5]Upon Tolson's direction, the violence in the show was severely curtailed in the final three seasons.[6]
Cast
edit- Efrem Zimbalist Jr.as Inspector Lewis Erskine
- Philip Abbottas Arthur Ward
- William Reynoldsas Special Agent Tom Colby
- Lynn Loringas Barbara Erskine (season 1)
- Stephen Brooksas Special Agent Jim Rhodes (seasons 1 and 2)
- Shelly Novackas Special Agent Chris Daniels (season 9)
- Dean Harensas Special Agent Bryan Durant
- Lew Brown as Special Agent Allen Bennett
- Anthony Eisleyas Special Agent Chet Randolph
- Hank Brandtas Special Agent William Converse (recurring role)
Guest stars
edit- Robert DuvallS1E10 The Giant Killer, S2E5 The Scourge, S2E25 The Executioners: Part 1, S4E9 The Harvest, S5E2 Nightmare Road
- Charles BronsonS1E29 The Animal
- Burt ReynoldsS1E11 All the Streets Are Silent, S3E15 Act of Violence
- Steve IhnatS2E2 The Escape, S3E20 Region of Peril, S4E The Maze, S5E13 The Prey, S6E13 Incident in the Desert, S7E6 The Mastermind: Part 1 S7E7 The Mastermind: Part 2
- Murray HamiltonS2E12 The Camel's Nose, S3E23 The Ninth Man, S4E17 A Life in the Balance, S6E12 The Witness
- Harrison FordS4E18 Caesar's Wife, S5E11 Scapegoat
- Arthur HillS1E23 Flight to Harbin, S2E6 The Plague Merchant, S3E5 By Force and Violence: Part 1, S3E6 By Force and Violence: Part 2, S4E21 The Attorney
- James CaanS4E17 A Life in the Balance
- Jessica WalterS1E23 Flight to Harbi, S2E21 Rope of Gold, S3E2 Counter-Stroke, S4E5 Death of a Fixer, S7E14 The Recruiter, S8#17 A Gathering of Sharks
- Gene HackmanS2E17 The Courier
- David HedisonS7E15 The Buyer, S8E17 A Gathering of Sharks
- Claude AkinsS1E13 How to Murder an Iron Horse, S7E25 Dark Journey
- Lloyd BochnerS5E12 The Inside Man
- Ruth RomanS2E17 The Courier
- Harry GuardinoS6E3 Escape to Terror
- Jeff BridgesS5E4 Boomerang
- Harvey KeitelS9E19 Deadly Ambition
- Telly SavalasS2E25 The Executioners: Part 1, S2E26 The Executioners: Part 2
- Dorothy GreenS2E27 The Satellite
Episodes
edit| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | |||
| 1 | 32 | September 19, 1965 | May 8, 1966 | |
| 2 | 29 | September 18, 1966 | April 16, 1967 | |
| 3 | 27 | September 17, 1967 | April 28, 1968 | |
| 4 | 26 | September 22, 1968 | March 30, 1969 | |
| 5 | 26 | September 14, 1969 | March 8, 1970 | |
| 6 | 26 | September 20, 1970 | March 21, 1971 | |
| 7 | 26 | September 12, 1971 | March 19, 1972 | |
| 8 | 26 | September 17, 1972 | April 1, 1973 | |
| 9 | 23 | September 16, 1973 | April 28, 1974 | |
Nielsen ratings
edit- Season 1: Not in Top 30
- Season 2: #29, 20.2
- Season 3: #22, 21.2
- Season 4: #18, 21.7
- Season 5: #24, 20.6
- Season 6: #10, 23.0
- Season 7: #17, 22.4
- Season 8: #29, 19.2
- Season 9: Not in Top 30
Home media
edit
Warner Bros.(under theWarner Home Videolabel) has released all nine seasons ofThe F.B.I.on DVD in region 1 via theirWarner Archive Collection.These are Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) releases and are available through Warner's online store and Amazon.com.[7][8][9][10][11][12]The ninth and final season was released on September 23, 2014.[13]
| DVD Name | Ep # | Release Date |
|---|---|---|
| The First Season, Part 1 | 16 | May 24, 2011 |
| The First Season, Part 2 | 16 | August 2, 2011 |
| The Second Season, Part 1 | 16 | February 14, 2012 |
| The Second Season, Part 2 | 13 | February 14, 2012 |
| The Third Season, Part 1 | 16 | September 11, 2012 |
| The Third Season, Part 2 | 11 | September 11, 2012 |
| The Fourth Season, Part 1 | 13 | February 26, 2013 |
| The Fourth Season, Part 2 | 13 | February 26, 2013 |
| The Fifth Season, Part 1 | 13 | June 4, 2013 |
| The Fifth Season, Part 2 | 13 | June 4, 2013 |
| The Sixth Season | 26 | October 15, 2013 |
| The Seventh Season | 26 | February 25, 2014 |
| The Eighth Season | 26 | June 10, 2014 |
| The Ninth Season | 23 | September 23, 2014 |
In December 2023,Warner Bros. Discovery,via Warner Bros, Television Studios (current rights owner of the series) launched afree ad-supported streaming television(FAST) channel dedicated to the series and made all nine seasons of the series available for streaming online onTubi.[14][15]
Similar series
edit- An updated and revamped version of the series,Today's FBI,executive produced byDavid GerberforColumbia Pictures Television,aired on ABC from October 1981 through April 1982 in the same Sunday 8 p.m. time slot as its predecessor.
- A remake of the original series, produced byRon Howard'sImagine EntertainmentforFox,was set for air in Fall 2008, but it didn't materialise.
- In September 2018, a similar series, titledFBI,debuted onCBS;this series was co-created byDick Wolfand Craig Turk forUniversal Television.UnlikeThe F.B.I.andToday's FBI,however, the cases presented are largely fictional. Would be followed by two spinoffs:FBI: Most WantedandFBI: International.
Popular culture
edit- TheLupin the Third Part IIepisode "Diamonds Shining in the Robot's Eye" parodiesThe F.B.I..
- In 1971,MADMagazine published a satire titled "The F.I.B."
- The series was featured inQuentin Tarantino's ninth filmOnce Upon a Time in Hollywood,whereinRick Dalton,the film's main character, portrayed the villain in an altered version of "All the Streets Are Silent" (air date November 28, 1965), the eleventh episode of the first season ofThe F.B.I.Rick Dalton replaced the character played byBurt Reynoldsin the original episode.
- In the bookFear and Loathing in Las Vegas,Hunter S. Thompsonimagines being chased by the FBI, picturing "Efrem Zimbalist Jr. swooping down on me in his FBI/Screaming Eagle helicopter."
References
edit- ^"Philip Saltzman, Producer of 'Barnaby Jones'".Los Angeles Times.August 21, 2009.RetrievedAugust 23,2009.
- ^Curt Gentry,J. Edgar Hoover:The Man and the Secrets(NY: W.W. Norton & Company, 1991), 581.
- ^Gentry, 581.
- ^Gentry, 581.
- ^Gentry, 582.
- ^Gentry, 582.
- ^"The F.B.I. - DVDs for 'The 1st Season, Part 1' Announced: Date, Package, Cost and More!".Archived fromthe originalon January 14, 2012.
- ^"The F.B.I. - Warner Archive Completes the Rookie Year with Today's 'The 1st Season, Part 2' on DVD".Archived fromthe originalon September 14, 2011.
- ^"The F.B.I. - Box Art, Contents and More for Today's Archive Sets of 'The 2nd Season, Part 1' and 'Part 2'".Archived fromthe originalon June 14, 2012.
- ^"The F.B.I. - 'The 3rd Season, Part 1' and 'Part 2' are BOTH Now on DVD!".Archived fromthe originalon September 13, 2012.
- ^The F.B.I. - Package Art Pics for Warner Archives DVDs of 'The 4th Season'ArchivedMarch 1, 2013, at theWayback Machine
- ^The F.B.I. – 'The 5th Season' is Now Available from the Warner ArchiveArchivedJune 19, 2013, at theWayback Machine
- ^The 9th and Final Season is Now Available on DVD!ArchivedSeptember 24, 2014, at theWayback Machine
- ^"Watch The FBI".Tubi.RetrievedApril 5,2024.
- ^"Warner Bros. Discovery Brings 37 FAST Channels to Amazon's Freevee".Stream TV Insider.December 5, 2023.RetrievedApril 5,2024.
External links
edit