In this classic Dragnet case, Friday and Smith are handed a mystery that begins with a single, bitter complaint — a man who insists the police aren't doing enough to help him. What starts as a routine interview quickly turns into something far stranger. The complainant is angry, unpredictable, and convinced he's being wronged, but nothing he says seems to add up. As Friday digs deeper, the case shifts from annoyance to danger, revealing a man whose bitterness has curdled into something explosive. "The Big Sour" is a sharp reminder of Dragnet's strength: the way ordinary people, ordinary grievances, and ordinary days can suddenly turn into something deadly when the wrong mind snaps at the wrong moment.

A quiet neighborhood is shaken when a young girl reports that a strange man approached her on her way home from school. Friday and Smith take the call, expecting a simple interview — but the details are unsettling, and the man's behavior suggests something far more serious. As they canvass the area, they uncover a pattern: similar incidents, similar descriptions, all pointing to a predator who has been slipping through the cracks. The investigation becomes a race against time as the detectives work to identify the suspect before he escalates. "The Big September Man" is Dragnet at its most gripping, capturing the tension of a case where every minute matters and every detail could be the one that stops a tragedy.

Summary: Los Angeles is dealing with a strange epidemic — not of illness, but of crooked television repairmen. Complaints are pouring in from honest citizens who brought in perfectly fixable sets and walked away with outrageous bills, unnecessary parts, or TVs returned in worse shape than before. Some repair shops are honest. Others are running a racket. And Friday and Smith are tasked with sorting out which is which.

When an elderly woman loses nearly a month's pension to a repairman who "diagnosed" a nonexistent problem, the detectives launch a sting operation. Working undercover, they carry a perfectly functioning television into a series of shops to see who will tell the truth… and who will try to make a quick buck. What they uncover is a pattern of fraud, intimidation, and a few repairmen who are far too comfortable lying to vulnerable customers.

Inside the Episode:

• A wave of complaints that exposes a citywide consumer scam

• Friday and Smith's undercover work — posing as confused customers

• Honest repairmen who help the investigation, and dishonest ones who dig themselves deeper

• A shop owner whose greed finally catches up with him

• A satisfying takedown that restores trust for the victims

Why This Episode Works: The Big Screen is Dragnet at its socially conscious best — a reminder that crime isn't always violent, but it's always harmful. It's a story of everyday people being taken advantage of, and the detectives who step in to protect them.

Summary: An elderly man is found dead in his home, a rifle nearby, the scene suggesting suicide. It looks straightforward — tragic, but straightforward. But Friday and Smith have seen enough "suicides" to know when something feels off. And something about this one does.

The position of the body. The angle of the shot. The lack of powder burns. The detectives begin to suspect that the old man didn't take his own life — someone helped him. As they interview neighbors, family members, and the people who knew him best, a picture emerges of a man who was lonely, vulnerable, and possibly targeted. The investigation shifts from a routine death report to a full‑scale homicide case.

Inside the Episode:

• A suspicious "suicide" scene that doesn't match the evidence

• Forensic details that quietly contradict the initial assumption

• A family member whose story changes under pressure

• A motive rooted in greed, resentment, or long‑buried conflict

• A final reveal that turns the case from tragedy to betrayal

Why This Episode Stands Out: The Big Winchester is a classic Dragnet slow‑burn mystery — a case that begins with a simple explanation and unravels into something far more sinister. It's a study in patience, detail, and the quiet clues that separate suicide from murder

The Adventures of Philip Marlowe was a radio series featuring Raymond Chandler's private eye, Philip Marlowe. Robert C. Reinehr and Jon D. Swartz, in their book, The A to Z of Old Time Radio, noted that the program differed from most others in its genre: "It was a more hard-boiled program than many of the other private detective shows of the time, containing few quips or quaint characters."

"The Tail of the Mermaid" & "The Open Window"

Philip Marlowe is pulled into a strange case involving a nightclub dancer known as "The Mermaid," whose shimmering act hides a dangerous secret. When a valuable item disappears and bodies begin to fall, Marlowe must navigate a world of backstage rivalries, jealous lovers, and a killer who uses misdirection as skillfully as any performer. The deeper Marlowe digs, the clearer it becomes that the Mermaid's "tail" is only the beginning of a much darker story.

• Marlowe is hired to recover a missing item tied to a nightclub performer.

• Backstage tensions reveal grudges, hidden relationships, and a motive for murder.

• A suspicious "accident" pushes Marlowe to dig deeper into the dancer's past.

• Clues point to a setup involving jealousy, greed, and a carefully planned double‑cross.

• Marlowe confronts the killer in a tense showdown that exposes the truth behind the Mermaid's glittering façade.

• The danger behind glamour and performance

• How jealousy can twist into violence

• Marlowe's ability to see through illusion and uncover the truth

A quiet evening turns deadly when Marlowe witnesses a murder through an open window — or so it seems. What follows is a tightly wound mystery involving a missing woman, a staged crime scene, and a cast of suspects who all have something to hide. As Marlowe pieces together the fragments of the case, he discovers that the "open window" is both a clue and a trap, designed to mislead anyone who looks too quickly. Only Marlowe's persistence and sharp instincts can reveal what really happened that night.

I 1948, the series moved to CBS, where it was called The Adventure of Philip Marlowe, with Gerald Mohr playing Marlowe. This series also began with an adaptation of "Red Wind", using a script different from the NBC adaptation. By 1949, it had the largest audience in radio. The CBS version ran for 114 episodes. That series ran 26 September 1948 – 29 September 1950..

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices