Barnaby Jones
- TV Series
- 1973–1980
- 1h
Private eye Barnaby Jones works with his widowed daughter-in-law to solve cases.Private eye Barnaby Jones works with his widowed daughter-in-law to solve cases.Private eye Barnaby Jones works with his widowed daughter-in-law to solve cases.
- Nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys
- 4 nominations total
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Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaOn seeing the pilot, Jerry Goldsmith tried to get out of scoring it because he thought it was horrible (a view critics shared). However, he was convinced to write the theme tune and score the pilot - ultimately this ran longer than any of his other series (with the exception of The Waltons (1972)).
- GoofsIt's never explained why Jedediah Romano "J.R." Jones does not carry a gun. He obviously knows how to handle a firearm as he does sometimes after taking one away from a bad guy. A law abiding citizen over the age of 21 as well as a military veteran working for a licensed private detective agency should certainly qualify for a gun permit.
- Crazy creditsDuring original broadcast run, the opening credits would follow the setup scene. Therefore the first victim was not listed among the guest stars since their character is already dead. Only in Deadline for Murder (1980) was initial victim, Alex Henteloff, included in the opening credits.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The 29th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1977)
Featured review
Sleuthing Isn't Just For The Young
Although the physical constraints of age limited the action somewhat in Barnaby Jones, this senior citizen had none of his mental faculties impaired when on a case.
In a pilot that was an episode of the Cannon TV series, Frank Cannon is hired to investigate the death of Hal Jones a colleague. Hal had taken over the detective agency from father Barnaby who decided to retire as senior citizens are wont to do. But his fires are banked with the homicide of his son and Buddy Ebsen and daughter-in-law Lee Meriwether take over the agency with her as Ebsen's secretary. Thus a successful television series was born.
Ebsen was a cagey old bird who a lot of bad guys thought was past his prime. They'd always trip themselves up because they thought he was not really paying attention to what they said. The Medicare set loved Barnaby Jones.
But TV is always after that youth market and after a few seasons Mark Shera was added to the cast as J.R. Jones, a nephew gone into the business with the uncle. Now the rough stuff could be dealt with in house if needed.
Buddy Ebsen as a performer reinvented himself more than Madonna. Over his 95 year life we saw him as musical dancing performer, Georgie Russell companion to Davy Crockett, Jed Clampett of the Beverly Hillbillies, Barnaby Jones, and finally Roy Houston uncle of Matt Houston. And there are a lot more single roles than that, films like Attack and Breakfast At Tiffany's which was a different Ebsen all together from the rest. Was this man ever versatile.
An inspiration to senior citizens everywhere.
In a pilot that was an episode of the Cannon TV series, Frank Cannon is hired to investigate the death of Hal Jones a colleague. Hal had taken over the detective agency from father Barnaby who decided to retire as senior citizens are wont to do. But his fires are banked with the homicide of his son and Buddy Ebsen and daughter-in-law Lee Meriwether take over the agency with her as Ebsen's secretary. Thus a successful television series was born.
Ebsen was a cagey old bird who a lot of bad guys thought was past his prime. They'd always trip themselves up because they thought he was not really paying attention to what they said. The Medicare set loved Barnaby Jones.
But TV is always after that youth market and after a few seasons Mark Shera was added to the cast as J.R. Jones, a nephew gone into the business with the uncle. Now the rough stuff could be dealt with in house if needed.
Buddy Ebsen as a performer reinvented himself more than Madonna. Over his 95 year life we saw him as musical dancing performer, Georgie Russell companion to Davy Crockett, Jed Clampett of the Beverly Hillbillies, Barnaby Jones, and finally Roy Houston uncle of Matt Houston. And there are a lot more single roles than that, films like Attack and Breakfast At Tiffany's which was a different Ebsen all together from the rest. Was this man ever versatile.
An inspiration to senior citizens everywhere.
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- bkoganbing
- Apr 13, 2012
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Барнаби Джонс
- Filming locations
- 234 E Colorado Blvd, Pasadena, California, USA(Barnaby's office)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour
- Color
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