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Naked City

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TV Series

The Resume

    (September 30, 1958-June 23, 1959)
    Born in New York City, New York
    60-minute run: October 12, 1960 – May 29, 1963
    ABC
    Narrators: Herbert B. Leonard (1958–1959) and Lawrence Dobkin (1960–1963)
    Created by Stirling Silliphant
    John McIntire as Det. Jimmy Halloran (season 1)
    James Franciscus as Lt. Dan Muldoon (season 1)
    Paul Burke as Det. Adam Flint (seasons 2-4)
    Horace McMahon as Lt. Mike Parker
    Harry Bellaver as Sgt. Frank Arcaro
    A Shelle Production, in association with Screen Gems Television
    Based on ‘The Naked City’ (1948 ‘film noir’)
    Police procedural about the cases investigated by the detectives of the 65th Precinct in New York City

Why Naked City might be annoying:

    Yes, two separate runs, with the first being made up of 39 episodes of 30 minutes.
    There were three different composers (and three different themes): George Duning, Billy May, and Nelson Riddle.
    McIntire quit midway through the season for personal reasons (with his character dying in an explosive car crash).
    The narrator always delivered the absolute final exact same line of the episode (‘there are eight million stories in The Naked City; this has been one of them’).
    There were a good number of episodes with long titles (one ringing in at 12 words).

Why Naked City might not be annoying:

    The spotlight tended to be on the guest stars – some of whom played two or more different characters – rather than on the regular cast.
    The 1959 episode ‘Four Sweet Corners’ inspired Route 66, also a Silliphant creation.
    One of the sponsors, along with production staff, convinced the network to reverse its decision to cancel the series (though it would be off the air for a year in the process).
    Rare for any police procedural – before or after – stories focused on the impact of the crime rather than the crime itself.
    It was filmed entirely on location — and, rare for its time, sometimes out on the field.

Credit: Cool It All Right?


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 12 Votes: 16.67% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 16 Votes: 37.50% Annoying