What Might've Been: Code 3 (1957)

In the wake of Dragnet's runaway success on radio & television, there were the inevitable imitators.

Code 3, for example, adapted cases from the files of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's office during the course of its 9 months on the air (April-December 1957). Producer Hal Roach, Jr. didn't really have the master's touch like his father did.

But because there were so many crime dramas on the air in 1957, along with Westerns and sitcoms and variety shows, Code 3 was lost in the shuffle. Roach apparently wanted to keep his production values simple, much like his father's famous comedy shorts of a past generation.

Let's check out "The Benson Case":




Rating: B.