Sitcom: Dragnet
Episode: The Christmas Story
Year: 1967
Story line: The infant disappears from the church creche at Christmas.
Details: Someone has godnapped the Baby Jesus from a church manager display, and Sgt. Friday and Officer Gannon have to track down the villain. This is a cool episode, complete with an unrelated stop to investigate a domestic dispute. Despite Friday’s efforts to bring peace to the couple, they end up fighting anyway. Then the duo gets called to the San Fernando Mission, where someone has absconded with the baby Jesus from the manager. In a cool twist, Barry Williams (Greg Brady, to Brady Bunch fans) is the altar boy who fingers the suspect. But the suspect turns out to be a dead-end and it looks as if the Mission will have to celebrate Christmas without baby Jesus. As Friday and Gannon are explaining to Father Rojas that Jesus might not be back in time for Christmas, little Paquito pulls a red wagon down the Mission’s aisle, and in the back is baby Jesus. After an exchange in Spanish between Paquito and the priest, we learn the child prayed to Jesus for the wagon and promised him the first ride if he got it. So baby Jesus got to go for a spin around the block. And all is right with the world.
Killer quote: “Paquito’s family, they’re poor,” the priest tells Friday, explaining that the toy wagon the child received was a second-hand gift from firefighters and that’s why he got it the day before Christmas.
“Are they, Father?” Friday asks in his cop staccato. No answer needed. That little Paquito is rich in Christmas spirit.
Ebenezer alert: Capt. Mack, Friday and Gannon’s shift boss, who tries to send them on another case in Bakersfield instead of back to the Mission to find baby Jesus. Crafty Friday manages to get the hard-nosed captain to let them go find baby Jesus instead.
Childhood memory: I was a fool for these corny crime dramas, and Dragnet fit the bill. I remember my father joking about Friday’s stiff demeanor. We used to watch this as a family while we ate our evening “treats” of pop and ice cream, but I have no recollection of this episode.