DRAGNET {2003 SERIES}: THE LITTLE GUY {FIRST SEASON FINALE} (TV)
Summary
The first season finale in another update of this popular radio and television drama based on logs from the Los Angeles Police Department, narrated by the laconic Joe Friday. This episode begins on a warm Wednesday in Los Angeles as Friday and detective Frank Smith respond to a clumsy and reckless robbery at a butcher shop in Boyle Heights. Friday talks about how this would become a case that would put his entire career on the line. On the scene, Friday and Smith find two dead bodies. In the present, Friday, represented by Assistant District Attorney Sandy Chang, is grilled by the County Civilian Review Board over his actions in the case. Flashing back, Friday and Smith find a husband and wife, Henry and Anna Polk, tied up in the back room of the butcher shop. They reveal that three people robbed the store, but a teenager told to kill them -- later identified as Tommy Lee Martinez -- couldn't go through with it, instead firing into the ceiling. Friday realizes that the other two killers -- later identified as brothers Brian and Daryl Sanchez -- must assume that the Polks are dead and thus there were no witnesses to their crime. Back in the present, Friday explains to the review board why he did what he did, thinking he needed to find the Sanchezes before they found out the Polks were alive. Thus, Friday had to create a ruse that the Polks were killed, misleading the press and forcing the coroner's office to play along with him. Later, Friday and Smith manipulate a reporter, giving her an exclusive in order to stop her from revealing that only two people were killed. Later, Friday gets the Polks to identify the Sanchezes as the robbers and killers. Then, Friday and Smith speak with the Sanchezes' cousin, Estella Denoen, who calls her relatives "garbage." She tells Friday and Smith to visit a local crackhouse for some information on where the Sanchezes could be hiding. There, Friday and Smith speak with crackheads who claim that the Sanchezes are at the Sleepy Glen Motel in Cordera with a friend. Being outside their jurisdiction, Friday and Smith are forced to ask for backup from the Cordera police and Sergeant Gil Thorn, who seem to intentionally take two hours to arrive on scene. Busting into the motel room, the police find the suspects have escaped. Friday believes the men got away due to a tip that someone in the Cordera police gave to the media. Afterward, Friday realizes that Detective Jack Quinn knows Martinez and for some reason won't admit it. Friday and Smith pursue Martinez, speaking with his parole counselor, Roy Wingate, to learn more about him. The counselor reveals that he hasn't seen Tommy in at least a year, but gets spooked when Friday mentions the name Quinn. However, he points Friday and Smith toward a retired Cordera cop named Sal Licati. Licati calls Quinn a "piece of work," one that habitually shakes down dope dealers, then set up Martinez for not working with him to get more drugs. Friday and Smith meet with the mother of Tommy's girlfriend, who claims that her daughter, Denise Blondine, was taken away to Chino for booking. Driving to get her, Friday, Smith, and Thorn find Quinn on the side of the road. Thorn is angered by Quinn, telling him to return to the station. Back in the present, Smith reveals that Thorn had a right to be fearful of Quinn, as he is now dead. Flashing back, Friday, Smith, and Thorn spring Blondine from the Chino police station. She points them to feed-lot worker Horacio Garcia, who takes them to Martinez. They take Martinez into the station, interrogating him about the robbery. He agrees to testify against the Sanchezes for a future plea bargain. Martinez tips Friday and Smith off that the Sanchezes are holed up in a junkyard in Cordera. Surrounding the shack they believe the Sanchezes to be in, Friday tries to get them to come out. Eventually, the Sanchezes emerge and, despite not receiving orders from Friday, Quinn and the Cordera police begin firing. Afterward, Quinn seems happy by the massacre. In the present, at his review, Friday claims that Quinn fired first, clearly wanting the Sanchezes dead. Friday was furious to see that the Cordera police exonerated Quinn. Friday meets with Thorn, trying to find out what really happened to a Cordera officer, Rick Moran, that was killed recently. Thorn speculates that Quinn set up Moran's death at the hands of the Sanchez brothers. Thorn continues that the Sanchezes were probably blackmailing Quinn over tapes they possessed of his plotting, explaining why Quinn wanted them dead, too. Thorn also believes that Martinez could get a dangerous visitor in prison. Friday then learns that Martinez was visited by one of Quinn's snitches, asking about the tapes' location. Martinez told the snitch that the tapes were in Denoen's apartment. This leads to Friday and Thorn paying a visit to Denoen, where they find Quinn holding her hostage. Quinn fires, hitting and killing Thorn, but Friday is able to shoot and kill the rogue cop. Ultimately, Friday is found to have acted appropriately and allowed to return to active duty. Includes commercials.
(This series was renamed "L.A. Dragnet" for its second season.)
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: May 11, 2003 10:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:59:02
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:77538
- GENRE: Drama, police/private detective
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, police/private detective; Asian American Pacific Islanders Collection
- SERIES RUN: ABC - TV series, 2003-2004
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Commercials - "The Hot Chick" home video
- TV - Commercials - Acuvue contact lenses
- TV - Commercials - AdoptUSKids.Org
- TV - Commercials - Aleve pain reliever
- TV - Commercials - Alzheimer's Disease Research
- TV - Commercials - Ambien sleep aid
- TV - Commercials - America Online internet services
- TV - Commercials - Applebee's restaurants
- TV - Commercials - Bausch & Lomb opticals
- TV - Commercials - Botox cosmetic procedures
- TV - Commercials - Discover cards
- TV - Commercials - GladWare containers
- TV - Commercials - Kia automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Lincoln automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Lowe's stores
- TV - Commercials - Microsoft systems
- TV - Commercials - Mitsubishi automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Neutrogena makeup
- TV - Commercials - Nissan automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Nissan automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Philips DuraMax light bulbs
- TV - Commercials - Serenity panty liners
- TV - Commercials - Sprint cellular phones
- TV - Commercials - The Home Depot
- TV - Commercials - U.S. Air Force
- TV - Commercials - Verizon wireless
- TV - Commercials - Volunteers of America
- TV - Commercials - Wendy's restaurants
- TV - Promos - "8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter"
- TV - Promos - "ABC's 50th Anniversary Celebration"
- TV - Promos - "According to Jim"
- TV - Promos - "Extreme Makeover"
- TV - Promos - "George Lopez"
- TV - Promos - "Good Morning America"
- TV - Promos - "Less Than Perfect"
- TV - Promos - "NYPD Blue"
- TV - Promos - "The Bachelor"
- TV - Promos - "The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer"
- TV - Promos - "The Water Boy"
CREDITS
- Dick Wolf … Executive Producer
- Peter Jankowski … Executive Producer
- Walon Green … Executive Producer
- Arthur W. Forney … Co-Executive Producer
- Kevin Hooks … Co-Executive Producer
- Robert Nathan … Co-Executive Producer, Writer
- Roz Weinman … Supervising Producer
- Billy Fox … Supervising Producer
- Barry Berg … Producer
- Tyler Bensinger … Co-Producer
- Donna Deitch … Director
- Mike Post … Music by
- Walter Schumann … Theme Music by
- Miklos Rozsa … Theme Music by
- Ed O'Neill … Cast, Lt. Joe Friday
- Ethan Embry … Cast, Det. Frank Smith
- Raymond J. Barry … Cast, Sgt. Gil Thorn
- Randle Mell … Cast, Jack Quinn
- Christina Chang … Cast, Assistant D.A. Sandy Chang
- John Capodice … Cast, Sal Licati
- Spencer Garrett … Cast, Roy Wingate
- Timothy Paul Perez … Cast, Brian Sanchez
- Dohn Norwood … Cast, Daryl Sanchez
- Merecedes Colon … Cast, Estella Denoen
- Rachel S. Jacobs … Cast, Sarah Meeker
- Omar Anguiano … Cast, Tommy Lee Martinez
- Amy Benedict … Cast, Mrs. Moran
- David Chisum … Cast, Detective Ted Willis
- James Paradise … Cast, Henry Polk
- Mercado, Esther "Tita" … Cast, Anna Polk
- Sage Kirkpatrick … Cast, Denise Blondine
- Linda Eve Miller … Cast, Mrs. Blondine
- Faith Salie … Cast, Angela Todd
- Richard Cansino … Cast, John Gonzales
- Stacey Silverman … Cast, Coroner's Investigater
- Joaquin Garrido … Cast, Angel Grande
- Asanio Lara … Cast, Horacio Garcia
- David Ralphe … Cast, Elfman
- Vince Lozano … Cast, Night Clerk
- Damen Fletcher … Cast, Crackhead #1
- Amaris Dupree … Cast, Crackhead #2
- Keith Allan … Cast, Willard
- Dean Wolfe … Cast, Dooley
- Christopher Der Gregorian … Cast, Cordera Cop
- Christopher Grey … Cast, Officer Bell