Dragnet debuted inauspiciously. The early months were bumpy, as the program was sustaining (as yet unable to attract a sponsor) and the budget was limited, forcing Webb to employ relatively few radio actors per episode. The network originally stressed a shrill, strident tone as popularized on rival show Gang Busters (the earliest Dragnet episodes mimic the Gang Busters opening, with an announcer shouting "Draaaaag...net!"). Webb put a stop to this after only a few episodes, with a different announcer adopting a more neutral delivery. Webb also discovered how versatile his actors were, and kept them on hand week after week.
A total of 314 radio broadcasts aired on a weekly basis through the spring of 1957. The majority of them exist in recorded form but a small handful still remain elusive. A few months ago I was able to copy and scan into PDF the last of the radio scripts for those few "lost" episodes. Enclosed is a link for a PDF of one of those episodes. Enjoy!
