Barnaby Jones
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| Barnaby Jones | |
|---|---|
| Format | Detective series |
| Starring | Buddy Ebsen Lee Meriwether Mark Shera |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| No. of seasons | 8 |
| No. of episodes | 178 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
Quinn Martin Philip Saltzman |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | CBS |
| Original run | January 24, 1973 – September 4, 1980 |
| External links | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
Barnaby Jones is a television detective series which ran on CBS from 1973 to 1980. It starred Buddy Ebsen as a retired private investigator who worked with his widowed daughter-in-law Betty (Lee Meriwether), at first to solve the murder of his son and her husband. The two decided that they worked together so well, that they continued to keep the detective agency open. Jones was unusual, because counter to the stereotypical detective, he was a non-drinker, ordering and drinking milk in restaurants and bars. [1]
Until the cancellation of the series Cannon, the characters of both series moved back and forth between the two shows.
In 1976, the character of J. R., the son of Barnaby's cousin (Mark Shera), joined the cast. He had come to try to solve the murder of his father, but stayed around to help Barnaby and Betty while also attending law school.
During the first year of the series, a common theme would be where Jones would make an astute observation or collect a sample, such as mud on a car's tire. The criminal, in some cases, called his accomplice and had a conversation along the lines of "there's a Mr. Jones and he's asking a lot of questions," after which the criminal was assured that he (Jones) would be "taken care of" (killed). In view of the advanced age of Jones, he could not win a fistfight but used other means, such as slamming a door on the hand of a criminal carrying a gun, after which the episode concluded.
Toward the latter part of the series, as Ebsen aged and expressed an interest in slowing down a bit, Meriwether and Shera's characters became more prominent, allowing Ebsen to reduce his role; during the last two seasons, the episodes were divided evenly among the three actors, with Ebsen, Meriwether and Shera each being the focus of a third of the season's episodes.
During the mid 1990s, Meriwether and Shera expressed interest in a Barnaby Jones reunion TV movie, but could not talk Ebsen into joining the project. However, in 1993, Ebsen reprised the role of Barnaby Jones in the big-screen remake of his most famous TV series, The Beverly Hillbillies. It would be his final theatrical appearance.
Barnaby Jones was the last program produced by Quinn Martin Productions; Martin had actually sold his company in 1979 to outside interests.
[edit] References in popular culture
Barnaby Jones is mentioned in three Season 2 episodes of the cartoon South Park, namely, "Chickenlover", "Roger Ebert Should Lay Off the Fatty Foods" and "City on the Edge of Forever". A group of senior citizens is also seen watching the program in the Season 7 episode "Grey Dawn."
In the 1996 comedy film Jingle All The Way, at the scene where Howard Langston (Arnold Schwarzenegger) & Myron Larabee (Sinbad) are about to be arrested by the police for attacking a DJ (Martin Mull) at the KQRS radio station, Myron orders the policemen to drop their guns, explaining that he has a letter bomb. This includes Officer Alexander Hummell (Robert Conrad), whom Myron calls "Barnaby Jones" because of his similar looks to the detective.
Xander Crews, a main character of the Adult Swim series Frisky Dingo, used the name "Barnaby Jones" as an alias during most of the second half of the first season.
Barnaby Jones is also referred to during S01E02 of The Winner on Fox.
Barnaby Jones is referenced in the audio commentary of Heroes season one episode "How to Stop an Exploding Man".
Referenced on Everybody Loves Raymond when the television goes out Robert chants Barnaby Jones Barnaby Jones
Barnaby Jones is the only thing on television during the First Season episode of Mad About You titled "Weekend Getaway."
[edit] External links
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