MORE “DRAGNET”? AND IN “VANITY FAIR” ? AND ANOTHER FRENCH CONNECTION?:DO I HAVE ESP?

I was concerned that I might have been taking a wrong turn by mentioning the 50’s TV show, “Dragnet” in two recent postings. After all, who but a Baby Boomer was likely to remember that show?

Well, (maybe) not to worry. The latest issue of “Vanity Fair” just arrived with an article titled “Pepe Le Perp” about the Dominique Strauss-Kahn case. The pullout quote said: “IT WAS REMARKABLE HOW RAPIDLY DSK’S ALLEGED ATTACK WAS PERCEIVED AND POPULARIZED AS INTRINSICALLY, INIMICALLY FRENCH.”

But what caught my eye was a reference to none other than Jack Webb and “Dragnet.” The article mused about DSK’s arrest: “So accustomed are we to the privileges of rank and authority conferring royal immunity that seeing the long arm of law enforcement snag a high-ranker, like an outfielder reaching over the fence to rob a home run, restored one’s faith in the virtues taught us by Jack Webb in “Dragnet.”

As I said in an earlier post, Webb was a man ahead of his time. But he is turning out to be a man for all seasons. And although their marriage didn't last, the hit song of Jack Webb's ex-wife, the sultry Julie London's  "Cry Me a River" remains the ultimate revenge song for wronged women of all seasons.