The Prophet

1968 debate. Police VS. Timothy Leary. Topic: Drugs.

One of the most boring episodes with the pros and cons of drug use from both sides.

But in 1968,compared to today, they didn't know all about LSD and the effects. So I can see why they would have a debate episode back then.

I would think that the police had better things to do. I don't believe this is what the captain wanted from them when they visited the dealer. A debate lasting almost a half hour with zero results. Once they were invited inside, they didn't have a warrant but, if anything illegal was in plain sight...they could make an arrest. But that never happened.

The end of the show, cops break the law by littering.

You could have a drinking game with this show.... Spot anything orange, your friends have to do a shot.

Dragnet 1967: Season 2, Episode 18 The Big Prophet (11 Jan. 1968) I thought this did a pretty darn good job depicting effects of mind altering drugs versus the mindset of those who push them. I've been cleaning up after them for decades in my world. The argument that it was boring is so shallow. It was only a half hour! Taking a break from the nonsense on most shows, especially now, to ground oneself in the realities that have spoiled so much for so long is no great sacrifice. How can you call it fictionalized planktonrules? Most everything else you had to say was inspired. I just wish you hadn't cheapened it with your boring fiction declaration. The message was excellent then as it still is now and it needs repeating any way possible until gullible souls allow it to penetrate.

While I agree wholeheartedly with Sgt. Friday and Detective Gannon in this episode, the overall effect was terribly preachy and sort of like having a debate with a proxy Timothy Leary. I would have really appreciated if it simply had been Jack Webb and Leary recorded having such a debate.

Friday and Gannon visit a local 'church' that is run by a con-man. This church's message? Drugs, drugs and more drugs. Drugs (particularly LSD) are their gods and the man has come to police attention because he's been reportedly selling to minors. However, they have no direct proof and the men visit to have a talk with the guy. Probably not unintentionally, the drug guru looks almost exactly like Timothy Leary and his message is much the same--drugs are safe and cool. The problem for me is that instead of showing any sort of investigation, almost the entire show consists of Friday and Gannon verbally sparring with the drug guru. And so, they talk and talk and talk...and the overall effort is very dull and after about five or ten minutes, I was ready for something else--not just a fictionalized debate.

I have worked in drug rehab as well as with addicted mothers, so Friday and Gannon's message worked for me--just not in this long and boring episode. By the way, unexpectedly, Gannon has more than his usual share of good biting comments. Also, I think that the drug guru's comments about his followers one day being the leaders of our country is true to a degree.

This was my personal favorite of the entire series. The LAPD's Dynamic Duo engages in an episode-long debate with a Timothy Leary knockoff (beautifully played by Star Trek vet Liam Sullivan, surrounded by great 60s drug props) about the pros and cons of drugs and the laws that deal with them. What makes this episode unusual was that both sides score points ("No law that tells me what to do with my body on my land is a good law!") and Gannon actually scores several of them himself instead of playing his usual Tontoesque role. David Vowell's scripts were always among the best of the lot, but he outdoes himself with this one. Check it out.

I give this ten stars as a time capsule for what >50 crowd must have believed about the sixties. While the script focuses on drugs, the show essentially indicts the entire counterculture. However, thanks to that force of gravity known as reality, the program betrays its pro-establishment stance when you think through what's actually going on. Let me get this straight: the guru is a world celebrity who's making filthy lucre from his records, books and speeches, but sells penny ante drugs to the local school kids. The guru has an advanced education, but gets caught in the simplest logical errors made by Friday and Gannon. Finally, would beat cops and a Timothy Leary character waste twenty-three minutes arguing about LSD? Doubtful.