PlatinumRead Just so...so bad

Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

TaryBiggBall It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

DKosty123 Quinn Martin became a successful producer with The Fugitive, but this series started just before that one ended. It really shows all the same trademarks that the David Jansen series showed. In fact, some of the same actors made appearances in both shows.While the stories are all fiction, they are drawn from the files of the FBI with their cooperation. One of the real drawbacks of the series is it always tells you in the beginning what crimes the bad guys will commit. Evne though it is presented as a detective type series, this is what makes the show unique. In a way, Martin did this style with the Fugitive for 5 years too. Actually, the formula for this wore pretty well for a nine season run.The show also seemed to draw big name guest stars like a magnet. William Shatner even did a show in 1970. When you go through a list of who guested on it, you will find a large number of names who did lots of other roles in their career. Men & even a fair number of well known women pop into episodes.Of the principal players, the regulars, the star, Efrim Zimbelist Jr. is the only one still alive out of all the male leads (and this show's regulars were pretty much all male). That is because the FBI back then did not have many women agents which explains why J E Hoover wore all those dresses in the office. It also explains Hoover obsession of always getting his man.The shows are well produced & always staged in acts with an epilogue. Erskine (Zimbelist) always gets the bad guy. One annoying thing is that every time he shoots his gun, he almost never misses. It became a running joke, just get Erskine in range with his gun & the bad guy has had it. If that were based upon reality, all the criminals in the US would have been shot down by the 5th season. While this was Quinn Martins most long term success, The Fugitive was better drama to me & a bit above this series. Still, this is solid entertainment. This is one of the few long term shows that were never bought back in a bunch of reunion specials. Even TV Land never tried anything with this one.

Gary M. James As a young kid, I remember watching The F.B.I. on Sunday nights at 8:00pm eastern time on ABC. No matter which episode I saw, it was always clear who were the good guys and who were the bad guys.As of this posting, I am having some fun watching various episodes of The F.B.I. on AOL's IN2TV website. Even though the show lasted for 9 seasons (1965-1974) and the actual F.B.I. did play a part in the production of the TV series, I have to admit that the show is nothing more than a typical crime drama. When it came to crimes and crime solving, there were no gray areas. The lead characters were rather robotic with no personal lives whatsoever. There was an attempt in the first season to humanize Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.) whose partner was dating his daughter but that clumsy story line was dropped very quickly. Just like with many television shows from past decades, I am always amazed seeing actors who paid their dues acting in TV shows before becoming famous or infamous. From the shows I viewed, I noticed future Academy Award winners including Diane Keaton, Gene Hackman, Jessica Tandy, Robert Duvall, Michael Douglas and Ron Howard (as Ronny Howard).Some actors who became famous in other TV shows including Hal Linden (Barney Miller), Nicholas Colasanto (Cheers), William Shatner (Star Trek, TJ Hooker and Boston Legal among others) and Donna Mills (Knots Landing).In the infamous category, there are appearances by Robert Blake and Claudine Longet. Then again, the ultimate infamous person indirectly associated with the show was the late F.B.I. director J. Edgar Hoover. Check out their IMDb biography pages for more information.Since the Ford Motor Company sponsored the show, all you tended to see were cars by Ford. The Ford logo was prominent during the opening credits from seasons 1-5. I still find the abrupt edit rather humorous. Is Ford unwilling to put up the cash to show off their now classic cars? When I look at past and present crime shows like Hill Street Blues, Law and Order and CSI (all editions), it reminds me how The F.B.I. (the show) was more of a dinosaur. Despite changing cultural and creative values, the program did not change with the times. It was a rather bland and sometimes not very challenging show, despite a few episodes that did kept my interest. And although it's always nice to see future stars, overall, The F.B.I. was just a standard crime drama. Competent but not a classic.

lambiepie-2 This is one of those series that raised the "Lost" generation, and that was my generation. I was watching this program when I was 5 years old and I swore I was going to grow up to work for the F.B.I. -- that's how wonderful and influential this program was. I learned what kidnapping, extortion, drug traffic etc., all of it was...and I knew what the consequences were if you did it..and I wanted to be a part of the team of folks to put these guys/gals out of business.Not a lot of special effects, this Quinn Martin series relied on story..and told the story well. If I remember my "Media 101" from college, I believe the FBI was part of the "Ben Brady" programming touch...Ben Brady brought A LOT of ground breaking stories to television including the first prime time soap opera, "Peyton Place"..which we all knew made stars out of many. This is what made this series, the FBI, captivating..and dare I say..."Patrotic".This was Washington, DC, the Nation's Capitol back in the day....where the FBI was respected and looked upon to perform duties we the layman knew nothing about. But hey, I'm only 5 years old watching this...so besides that, what got me hooked was how "cool" Det. Erskin was!He had a convertible RED Mustang!!! He would travel the world, take out the criminals...and then at the end cruise Washington, DC in a RED CONVERTABLE MUSTANG!!! And...end up at his Washington, DC Brownstone!! I mean, how cool of a job was THAT?!?!?! Erskin had a lot of cool American made cars (well, back then they were American made), and let me just say, the theme music was one of the best themes there was. I dare anyone out there to say that that orchestration does not make your heart swell with American pride. Well...it did make mine. Still does, when I hear it.This IS still one of the great series and even today, TV shows with the FBI cannot touch the stories of this one. As a fellow poster wrote: Hawaii 5-0 is just as classic as this..and when I think of the better crime series for my generation (and with the best theme songs ever written for TV!!!) : The Mod Squad, Hawaii 5-0, Mission Impossible, The FBI is one of the bests as well.

raysond One day I was changing channels on the remote and could you believe that the seldom seen Quinn Martin series was part of an History of Television and Radio special? Indeed,it was ahead of its time and when I was a kid growing up it was a Sunday night staple in the house opposite whatever came on that night either 60 minutes or some James Bond movie afterwards. Efrem Zimbalist,Jr. was the John Walsh of his day,taking down all types of criminals,rapists,terrorists,and serial killers who were breaking the law,and brought to justice with the help of special agents who worked under him in the FBI. An interesting part about the show is at the end,Efrem would stepped out of his character and give you a report of criminals and fugitives who were wanted by the FBI and would tell you that these people were extremely armed and dangerous. Could you believe that Lex Barker (who played in the Tarzan movies of the 1950's) was the head of security for the FBI as a special agent? Yes,he was for the entire shows' nine year run which was on ABC from 1965-1974,and was of the longest running crime shows ever on television. I had a friend who was asking me if they have any of these episodes on videocassettes,and if they do,you do not want to miss one single episode of The FBI. A Quinn Martin Production.