Dragnet is considered a classic program for several reasons. One of the best aspects of Dragnet and the reason for the show’s existence was its star Jack Webb and his role as Joe Friday. Webb made sure that Friday was a policeman that other policemen could relate to and that listeners enjoyed. Played almost to understated perfection, Friday walks listeners through every episode, unfurling the case as he sees it in stark detail. While most of his fictional peers were cracking wise on other shows, Webb took a different approach with Friday. Stripped down, essential dialogue in a tone that oftentimes bubbled with an emotional undercurrent was Friday’s trademark. In essence, Joe Friday was as real a cop as a fictional one could be, as heard on Dragnet, Volume 9.
