What a great show this truly was! And based on real FBI case files too! Couldn't ask for better than that! Efrem Zimbalist Jr. was perfect for the lead! Quinn Martin produced this show along with that other great TV show "The Fugitive"! Down through the years there have been many detective and cop shows and this one was one of the best! Along with 77 SUNSET STRIP, DRAGNET '67, IRONSIDE and BURKE'S LAW, these shows were great to watch and a lot of fun too! 77 SUNSET STRIP starred the aforementioned Efrem Zimbalist Jr.! DRAGNET '67 starred Jack Webb and Harry Morgan ("M.A.S.H."). IRONSIDE starred the great Raymond Burr ("Perry Mason")! BURKE'S LAW starred Gene Barry! I have but one question: why isn't this show on DVD yet!!!!!!!!! In fact, why aren't all the shows I mentioned in this comment on DVD yet!!!!!! Come on, guys! Get with it! Get a move on! These are all great shows! And they all deserve to be on DVD! Start getting these shows on DVD NOW puh-leeze!

Quinn Martin became a successful producer with The Fugitive, but this series started just before that one ended. It really shows all the same trademarks that the David Jansen series showed. In fact, some of the same actors made appearances in both shows.While the stories are all fiction, they are drawn from the files of the FBI with their cooperation. One of the real drawbacks of the series is it always tells you in the beginning what crimes the bad guys will commit. Evne though it is presented as a detective type series, this is what makes the show unique. In a way, Martin did this style with the Fugitive for 5 years too. Actually, the formula for this wore pretty well for a nine season run.The show also seemed to draw big name guest stars like a magnet. William Shatner even did a show in 1970. When you go through a list of who guested on it, you will find a large number of names who did lots of other roles in their career. Men & even a fair number of well known women pop into episodes.Of the principal players, the regulars, the star, Efrim Zimbelist Jr. is the only one still alive out of all the male leads (and this show's regulars were pretty much all male). That is because the FBI back then did not have many women agents which explains why J E Hoover wore all those dresses in the office. It also explains Hoover obsession of always getting his man.The shows are well produced & always staged in acts with an epilogue. Erskine (Zimbelist) always gets the bad guy. One annoying thing is that every time he shoots his gun, he almost never misses. It became a running joke, just get Erskine in range with his gun & the bad guy has had it. If that were based upon reality, all the criminals in the US would have been shot down by the 5th season. While this was Quinn Martins most long term success, The Fugitive was better drama to me & a bit above this series. Still, this is solid entertainment. This is one of the few long term shows that were never bought back in a bunch of reunion specials. Even TV Land never tried anything with this one.

The FBI was a very influential in my professional career. Like most of the TV cop shows, Dragnet, Highway patrol, I saw through the Hollywood part, into the possibilities of reality. I saw in all of them a theme running through and each of those theme reaffirmed my belief in an ideal system. One is always advancing, towards professionalism. There is nothing wrong with that. Its not the movie itself, but what it inspires in people who are watching. Can there be an FBI like that portrayed? Yes, of course, and there has been in the past. The structure is there. But you know what, one never reaches perfection because this is an imperfect world. Subjected to all the factors of life.The late Director of the FBI was a great administrator - he developed the FBI into one of the worlds most prestigious law enforcement organizations. He was a stern man, regardless of what has been said about his personal life in many books. He had the respect of his men and that cannot be said for many agencies today. The people of the United States should be proud of a man like Hoover, who made the image felt even in a show like The FBI.QM and the host of people who put that show together should be commended for the professional image that it portrayed. For those out there I say to you"...yes, it can be achieved. It is within the realm of possibilities"

This is one of those series that raised the "Lost" generation, and that was my generation. I was watching this program when I was 5 years old and I swore I was going to grow up to work for the F.B.I. -- that's how wonderful and influential this program was. I learned what kidnapping, extortion, drug traffic etc., all of it was...and I knew what the consequences were if you did it..and I wanted to be a part of the team of folks to put these guys/gals out of business.Not a lot of special effects, this Quinn Martin series relied on story..and told the story well. If I remember my "Media 101" from college, I believe the FBI was part of the "Ben Brady" programming touch...Ben Brady brought A LOT of ground breaking stories to television including the first prime time soap opera, "Peyton Place"..which we all knew made stars out of many. This is what made this series, the FBI, captivating..and dare I say..."Patrotic".This was Washington, DC, the Nation's Capitol back in the day....where the FBI was respected and looked upon to perform duties we the layman knew nothing about. But hey, I'm only 5 years old watching this...so besides that, what got me hooked was how "cool" Det. Erskin was!He had a convertible RED Mustang!!! He would travel the world, take out the criminals...and then at the end cruise Washington, DC in a RED CONVERTABLE MUSTANG!!! And...end up at his Washington, DC Brownstone!! I mean, how cool of a job was THAT?!?!?! Erskin had a lot of cool American made cars (well, back then they were American made), and let me just say, the theme music was one of the best themes there was. I dare anyone out there to say that that orchestration does not make your heart swell with American pride. Well...it did make mine. Still does, when I hear it.This IS still one of the great series and even today, TV shows with the FBI cannot touch the stories of this one. As a fellow poster wrote: Hawaii 5-0 is just as classic as this..and when I think of the better crime series for my generation (and with the best theme songs ever written for TV!!!) : The Mod Squad, Hawaii 5-0, Mission Impossible, The FBI is one of the bests as well.