Lately I've been watching episodes of Barnaby Jones on MeTV, they come on during the overnight when I'm usually not awake so I DVR the shows and watch them the next day. I've watched several of these now and I've noticed that many of them follow the same formula and pattern. The people are put in different situations but otherwise the episodes play the same. A murder takes place early in the episode, then about mid way into the episode another person is murdered, this is usually someone who knows about the first murder and threatens to tell the police about it, so that person is murdered so they can't talk, then the rest of the episode focuses on Barnaby Jones zeroing in on the killer. The episodes are good but after you watch a few of these they get predictable and you can guess what's going to happen. :lol: I haven't noticed this with other Quinn Martin detective shows like Cannon and Streets Of San Francisco, those episodes seem to have a looser structure and are more unique from each other, while Barnaby Jones seems to follow a more rigid structure with a sameness quality to many episodes.

Lately I've been watching episodes of Barnaby Jones on MeTV, they come on during the overnight when I'm usually not awake so I DVR the shows and watch them the next day. I've watched several of these now and I've noticed that many of them follow the same formula and pattern. The people are put in different situations but otherwise the episodes play the same. A murder takes place early in the episode, then about mid way into the episode another person is murdered, this is usually someone who knows about the first murder and threatens to tell the police about it, so that person is murdered so they can't talk, then the rest of the episode focuses on Barnaby Jones zeroing in on the killer. The episodes are good but after you watch a few of these they get predictable and you can guess what's going to happen. :lol: I haven't noticed this with other Quinn Martin detective shows like Cannon and Streets Of San Francisco, those episodes seem to have a looser structure and are more unique from each other, while Barnaby Jones seems to follow a more rigid structure with a sameness quality to many episodes.

I've been doing exactly the same thing, DVR and watching it the next day. Last evening I watched the episode "Theater of Fear", season 4 episode 2, this episode a couple of twists and turns aside was very close to season 3, episode 24, it even had a similar title, "Bond of Fear". I was wondering if anyone would write a piece on it.

I've been doing exactly the same thing, DVR and watching it the next day. Last evening I watched the episode "Theater of Fear", season 4 episode 2, this episode a couple of twists and turns aside was very close to season 3, episode 24, it even had a similar title, "Bond of Fear". I was wondering if anyone would write a piece on it.

So you've been DVR'ing and watching the episodes too, very cool. I was thinking of buying the DVD's but I found out seasons 2-8 have edited episodes and I didn't want to waste my money on that, so I figured I might as well just DVR the shows from MeTV and watch them that way.

This was the mid 1970's and all three of these QM shows were on during that time, Cannon, Streets Of SF and Barnaby Jones, so I figure there were probably only so many scripts to go around and the Barnaby Jones team ended up recycling the same basic formula for many of those episodes.

SWAT was cancelled after the 75-76 season, leaving actor Mark Shera a free agent and he joined the Barnaby Jones cast for season 5 in 1976-77. So I figure or at least hope that when Shera joined the cast there was some more diversity in the way the episodes were written and produced.

[QUOTE=retroTVfan4ever;5637779]So you've been DVR'ing and watching the episodes too, very cool. I was thinking of buying the DVD's but I found out seasons 2-8 have edited episodes and I didn't want to waste my money on that, so I figured I might as well just DVR the shows from MeTV and watch them that way.

This was the mid 1970's and all three of these QM shows were on during that time, Cannon, Streets Of SF and Barnaby Jones, so I figure there were probably only so many scripts to go around and the Barnaby Jones team ended up recycling the same basic formula for many of those episodes.

SWAT was cancelled after the 75-76 season, leaving actor Mark Shera a free agent and he joined the Barnaby Jones cast for season 5 in 1976-77. So I figure or at least hope that when Shera joined the cast there was some more diversity in the way the episodes were written and produced.[/QUOT

You're right, I purchased the season 2 set, I was stunned at the poor quality and edits (I owned season 1 which was excellent quality), buying any of the other seasons didn't make sense.

Buddy Ebsen was 68 years old as season 5 began, he and wanted to cut down on his workload so Mark Shera was added to the cast.

You're right, I purchased the season 2 set, I was stunned at the poor quality and edits (I owned season 1 which was excellent quality), buying any of the other seasons didn't make sense.

Buddy Ebsen was 68 years old as season 5 began, he and wanted to cut down on his workload so Mark Shera was added to the cast.

The 1st season from CBS DVD is the only one with all uncut episodes. Too bad season 1 is an abbreviated season with only 13 episodes as Barnaby Jones was a mid season replacement debuting on the schedule in January 1973.

I wonder if the uncut episodes would have been on the DVD's if CBS had continued releasing them. When VEI entered the picture and issued the DVD's, suddenly edited episodes showed up.

VEI also released the complete series DVD of Cannon and that set is good with uncut episodes.

"Honeymoon With Death" is a good episode, I just got through watching this one, good story and it breaks away from that repetitive formula some episodes have. I'm not recording every episode, I'll record a few then skip a few, I try to record the ones that sound the most interesting.

Another episode I enjoyed is "Dead Heat", good story although it follows the same familiar pattern: a murder takes place early in the episode, then another murder occurs about mid way into the episode, and the rest of the episode focuses on Barnaby Jones zeroing in on the killer. Will have to see what the 5th season episodes look like when Mark Shera joins the cast.

Another episode I enjoyed is "Dead Heat", good story although it follows the same familiar pattern: a murder takes place early in the episode, then another murder occurs about mid way into the episode, and the rest of the episode focuses on Barnaby Jones zeroing in on the killer. Will have to see what the 5th season episodes look like when Mark Shera joins the cast.

It's interesting you mentioned that episode, I enjoyed it too, but there was an issue I had with the murder of Gwen (Jacqueline Scott) by Ray Dixon (Pat Hingle). Gwen was his alibi, the last thing the Dixon character needed was anything suspicious happening to her.

With respect to season 5, Mark Shera was added because Ebsen wanted to reduce his workload. I'm not a big fan of the of the final four seasons, I'll probably do what you now, tape some to watch and skip some.

It's interesting you mentioned that episode, I enjoyed it too, but there was an issue I had with the murder of Gwen (Jacqueline Scott) by Ray Dixon (Pat Hingle). Gwen was his alibi, the last thing the Dixon character needed was anything suspicious happening to her.

I agree, maybe the Dixon character was out of his mind, he seemed pretty obsessed with his son becoming a successful swimmer. I'm recording tonight's episode, "Hostage", sounds like a good one. I recorded the episode "The Lonely Victims" and watched it tonight, it was OK but I liked "Dead Heat" better. "The Lonely Victims" is another episode with that same familiar pattern, a murder early in the episode then another murder mid way into the episode. It is amazing how many episodes follow this pattern. :lol:

With respect to season 5, Mark Shera was added because Ebsen wanted to reduce his workload. I'm not a big fan of the of the final four seasons, I'll probably do what you now, tape some to watch and skip some.

Ebsen wanted to reduce his workload and also maybe a younger actor (Shera) was brought in to handle some of the action scenes that Ebsen was not able to do. I plan to record some of the season 5 episodes and watch those, not sure yet about seasons 6-8.

Since I've now seen several of these Barnaby Jones episodes and noticed how similar in structure many of them are, when I watched the "Dead Heat" episode recently and the middle part came along when the man and woman got into a dispute, I said to myself, uh oh here it comes, he's going to kill her! :lol:

I enjoyed the "Hostage" episode, suspenseful story and it broke away from that familiar predictable pattern many of these episodes have. I thought it was funny at the end though how easy it was for Barnaby Jones to get that Cory guy to spill the beans and confess to everything. :lol:

I enjoyed the "Hostage" episode, suspenseful story and it broke away from that familiar predictable pattern many of these episodes have. I thought it was funny at the end though how easy it was for Barnaby Jones to get that Cory guy to spill the beans and confess to everything. :lol:

Hostage was one of the best episodes of season 4, Lee Meriwether had a lot to do, one thing I am appreciating watching the show for the first time since the original airing (and many of these episodes I do not remember seeing) is how important she was to the flow of the show. She brings a lot of enthusiasm to the part whether she has a big part or small part in the episode.

The Cory spilling the beans felt like they were running a little over timewise and needed to wrap the episode up.

Hostage was one of the best episodes of season 4, Lee Meriwether had a lot to do, one thing I am appreciating watching the show for the first time since the original airing (and many of these episodes I do not remember seeing) is how important she was to the flow of the show. She brings a lot of enthusiasm to the part whether she has a big part or small part in the episode.

The Cory spilling the beans felt like they were running a little over timewise and needed to wrap the episode up.

Yes it was good to see a different type of episode for a change and Meriwether was more of a focus point this time as she was the one taken as Hostage. You might be right about the ending, maybe they needed to wrap it up fairly quickly because it seemed just a little too easy for Barnaby to get the confession out of Cory. :lol:

I've skipped the last few episodes but will record the one tonight and see how I like it.

"Final Ransom" is an excellent Barnaby Jones episode, the story is about a kidnapping case that's been dormant for ten years, but the case becomes active again when the man who was involved in the kidnapping is released from prison after doing ten years time for an unrelated charge. A really good episode with a rather emotional ending, well worth seeing.

I wanted to comment on a season 7 episode, and also mention the overall future of the of the series at this stage of its history. The show was now in its 7th season, Buddy was closing in on 71, and had already reduced his participation in the series. The show was like a wheel series with a Barnaby led episode, followed by a JR led episode, followed by a Betty led episode. It was still doing well in the ratings, but Quinn Martin was probably concerned with the possibility that Buddy might throw in the towel at season's end. With that in mind, it looked to me like one of the episodes was a back door pilot for a new series. "The Medium" episode 13 of season 7, had the feel of a potential spinoff. The episode featured Sarah Kennedy as a reluctant crime solving medium assisting JR. Her character was very detailed, a hippie type, animal lover, very eccentric with a gift, and JR trying to anchor her in the real world while dealing with her far out personality. At the end of the episode she shows up at Barnaby's office with a title board featuring a new business idea she had come up with, Jones and Cleo (name of her character) finder of missing persons.

I wanted to comment on a season 7 episode, and also mention the overall future of the of the series at this stage of its history. The show was now in its 7th season, Buddy was closing in on 71, and had already reduced his participation in the series. The show was like a wheel series with a Barnaby led episode, followed by a JR led episode, followed by a Betty led episode. It was still doing well in the ratings, but Quinn Martin was probably concerned with the possibility that Buddy might throw in the towel at season's end. With that in mind, it looked to me like one of the episodes was a back door pilot for a new series. "The Medium" episode 13 of season 7, had the feel of a potential spinoff. The episode featured Sarah Kennedy as a reluctant crime solving medium assisting JR. Her character was very detailed, a hippie type, animal lover, very eccentric with a gift, and JR trying to anchor her in the real world while dealing with her far out personality. At the end of the episode she shows up at Barnaby's office with a title board featuring a new business idea she had come up with, Jones and Cleo (name of her character) finder of missing persons.

The series final episode, titled The Killin' Cousin, was a back door pilot episode for a possible new spin off series but the series wasn't greenlighted by CBS.

I don't watch the episodes on MeTV anymore, I changed my mind and decided to buy the DVD set. I found it on Amazon for $68 and figured it's a fair enough price. I don't like that the majority of episodes are edited, but it is what it is. MeTV shows the same edited episodes. The good thing about having the DVD's is the episodes can be watched without commercial interruption.

Last evening I watched the episode "Theater of Fear", season 4 episode 2, this episode a couple of twists and turns aside was very close to season 3, episode 24, it even had a similar title, "Bond of Fear". I was wondering if anyone would write a piece on it.


I'm a fan fiction writer so I found what you said interesting. Is that what you meant by wondering if someone would write a piece on it? I watch Barnaby Jones when it comes on b/c I'm usually awake at 4am Seattle time. I love the theme song (no idea why, it's just catchy) and the show is pretty good. A thousand times better than Beverly Hillbillies (although I know that's a COMPLETELY different show!). Anyway speaking of writing, I could probably come up with something after seeing the episode unless you had an idea. I'm stuck at home as all of us are so writing would be a great thing to get back into.

I don't watch the episodes on MeTV anymore, I changed my mind and decided to buy the DVD set. I found it on Amazon for $68 and figured it's a fair enough price. I don't like that the majority of episodes are edited, but it is what it is. MeTV shows the same edited episodes. The good thing about having the DVD's is the episodes can be watched without commercial interruption.

It's a very fair price. I think I paid about $35 dollars for the first season (which actually was a half season) and $29 dollars for the second season. I didn't go any further because I was so disappointed with the edited second season episodes. That said, I have seen all the episodes METV has broadcast and although not anywhere near the visual quality of the first season, they have been entertaining. The original price for the entire eight season box set was $189 so you indeed made a good purchase.

When you started this thread you indicated some of the episodes are exactly the same, well you are so right with respect to the episodes that feature Betty as the lead character. So far in season 7, Betty went undercover as a school teacher, a patient at a sanitarium, and an actress in a regional theater.

I still enjoy DVRing the episodes and have started watching Highway Patrol, I'm going to do a post on the series.

I'm a fan fiction writer so I found what you said interesting. Is that what you meant by wondering if someone would write a piece on it? I watch Barnaby Jones when it comes on b/c I'm usually awake at 4am Seattle time. I love the theme song (no idea why, it's just catchy) and the show is pretty good. A thousand times better than Beverly Hillbillies (although I know that's a COMPLETELY different show!). Anyway speaking of writing, I could probably come up with something after seeing the episode unless you had an idea. I'm stuck at home as all of us are so writing would be a great thing to get back into.

I'm going to jump around a bit with respect to your post.

You mentioned the opening theme, I couldn't agree with you more. I think it is one of the best series theme songs of all times. I wish you could see the episode (again season 7 episode 13), it may be available on YouTube. I think it is the best episode featuring Mark Shera (that I have seen so far), he works the story elements very well and has good chemistry with the actress that plays Cleo (Sarah Kennedy). Cleo has a kind of boyfriend in the episode which would have given the series an interesting rivalry, she is an extreme animal lover (she has an Owl in her house!). She lives by the beach and I said she is a bit spacy making a good contrast with the much more anchored JR character. The premise of the partnership Cleo wanted to set up with JR was a business that would focus on searching for missing persons. I would imagine such a series would not be as intense as Barnaby Jones having some comedic elements mixed in.

It's a very fair price. I think I paid about $35 dollars for the first season (which actually was a half season) and $29 dollars for the second season. I didn't go any further because I was so disappointed with the edited second season episodes. That said, I have seen all the episodes METV has broadcast and although not anywhere near the visual quality of the first season, they have been entertaining. The original price for the entire eight season box set was $189 so you indeed made a good purchase.

When you started this thread you indicated some of the episodes are exactly the same, well you are so right with respect to the episodes that feature Betty as the lead character. So far in season 7, Betty went undercover as a school teacher, a patient at a sanitarium, and an actress in a regional theater.

I still enjoy DVRing the episodes and have started watching Highway Patrol, I'm going to do a post on the series.

Sometimes it's a good idea to wait for a price decrease on some DVD sets. In the case of Barnaby Jones, $68 is a much fairer price considering most of the episodes are the edited/syndicated versions.

When I began the thread, what I meant by some episodes being exactly the same was in reference to the earlier seasons where several episodes have the same similar pattern, a murder occurring early in the episode, then another murder occurs about mid way into the episode, and the rest of the episode focuses on Barnaby Jones zeroing in on the killer. By season 7, I believe Buddy Ebsen had reduced his role somewhat in the episodes and Betty's character had an increased role.

I haven't watched any Highway Patrol episodes but maybe I'll record some and see what I think.

I enjoy watching Barnaby. It's always been one of my favorites.

The series final episode, titled The Killin' Cousin, was a back door pilot episode for a possible new spin off series but the series wasn't greenlighted by CBS.

This week METV completed the loop with the season 8 episode 22 (The Killin' Cousin episode). One episode of the series was skipped, a Cannon crossover episode. It's clear the production company was hoping to do something with the Tarkington and Son characters introduced in the episode, I'm not convinced the plan was to spin them off into their own standalone series. Kenneth Mars (Tarkington) is too over the top to be the lead character without a much stronger balancing character than Thomas Havens (Tarkington the son). I guess they could have recast the son or moved Lee Meriwether over to this series (she was excellent in the episode). I think the production company may have hoped to get Barnaby renewed and was working new characters into the mix that might be used to carry episodes in conjunction with or in addition to the original set of characters. Episode 170 of the series, "The Killing Point" introduces a roguish detective named Wally Gannus (Geoffrey Lewis) that did some type of work for Barnaby in the past. This character along with Tarkington and Son may have been folded into Barnaby Jones Investigations with episodes built around Barnaby Jones, Wally Gannus and Tarkington and Son (Lee Meriwether would probably play a prominent role in the Tarkington episodes as the Mars character has to be counterbalanced). I'm not sure the reimagined series would have room for the JR character and the additional expense in adding three new characters might be offset by dropping the JR character.

There was yet another backdoor pilot, episode 175 "The Final Victim" this one featured Harry Guardino as a grizzled newspaperman, and Allan Hunt as a young police detective who the Guardino character helped raise.

I enjoyed seasons 5-8 much more than I thought I would, the growth of the Betty Jones character was particularly interesting, she went from secretary, to novice investigator who needed to be bailed out of trouble, to an investigator very capable of resolving her cases without the help of JR or Barnaby.

This week METV completed the loop with the season 8 episode 22 (The Killin' Cousin episode). One episode of the series was skipped, a Cannon crossover episode. It's clear the production company was hoping to do something with the Tarkington and Son characters introduced in the episode, I'm not convinced the plan was to spin them off into their own standalone series. Kenneth Mars (Tarkington) is too over the top to be the lead character without a much stronger balancing character than Thomas Havens (Tarkington the son). I guess they could have recast the son or moved Lee Meriwether over to this series (she was excellent in the episode). I think the production company may have hoped to get Barnaby renewed and was working new characters into the mix that might be used to carry episodes in conjunction with or in addition to the original set of characters. Episode 170 of the series, "The Killing Point" introduces a roguish detective named Wally Gannus (Geoffrey Lewis) that did some type of work for Barnaby in the past. This character along with Tarkington and Son may have been folded into Barnaby Jones Investigations with episodes built around Barnaby Jones, Wally Gannus and Tarkington and Son (Lee Meriwether would probably play a prominent role in the Tarkington episodes as the Mars character has to be counterbalanced). I'm not sure the reimagined series would have room for the JR character and the additional expense in adding three new characters might be offset by dropping the JR character.

There was yet another backdoor pilot, episode 175 "The Final Victim" this one featured Harry Guardino as a grizzled newspaperman, and Allan Hunt as a young police detective who the Guardino character helped raise.

I enjoyed seasons 5-8 much more than I thought I would, the growth of the Betty Jones character was particularly interesting, she went from secretary, to novice investigator who needed to be bailed out of trouble, to an investigator very capable of resolving her cases without the help of JR or Barnaby.

I think the general assumption at the time was that 1979-80 would be the last season for Barnaby Jones. Ratings were dropping in the 8th season and Buddy Ebsen was aging, tiring of the role after 8 seasons so he was ready to be done with it anyway. I believe there was talk of a possible spin off series with Betty/Lee Meriwether, but it didn't pan out.

I also enjoy the later seasons, 6-8, it's just too bad that the DVD's have mostly edited/syndicated versions of the episodes, this really irritates me but it is what it is. Comparing Barnaby Jones with Cannon, both shows are good but I think overall Barnaby Jones had a better team of script writers.

When the late John Anderson was running for POTUS in 1980 against President Jimmy Carter and former California Governor Ronald Reagan, Johnny Carson commented on his late night show that the Grey-haired Mr. Anderson was having great difficulty because the American people were confusing him with the venerable, Grey-haired Barnaby Jones.

Maybe Mr. Anderson should have tried some Grecian Formula like CBS journalist Mike Wallace did?

I am like many of you. I watch many episodes on MeTv at 4 am. I was a bit young when it first aired and would not have been able to understand it. I have come to love 70s detective shows. I love that Cannon and Barnaby Jones are run back to back on MeTV. I also LOVE the theme song. Its one of the best ever. Unlike Cannon who would karate chop bad guys and be physical, Barnaby was just all brains. He was too old to get into fights. My favorite episodes is when Barnaby, Betty, or JR are helping out a friend and go undercover. It was so Charlies Angels. For example when Betty goes undercover at the theater or the girls school. The ratings went up when JR joined and I see why. He also was able to be like Charlies Angels and go undercover. Barnaby was not able to do that.
I just get a kick out of how these 70s private detectives were better than police and had respect from police. Thats a fantasy world because law enforcement does not share investigation information with private detectives. But just like their undercover roles, its fun fantasy for an hour.

It seemed like every time Barnaby needed to fire his gun, he needed only 1 shot -- and that was it, right on target. I find it funny when reviewers refer to him as the "geriatric" and / or "buttermilk swilling" PI. Western society rarely misses an opportunity to be disrespectful to elders.

If you watch Harry O, another '70s classic, you'll find that law enforcement really finds that character to be a nuisance.