by Hal Erickson
synopsis
$60,000 worth of phony checks, all obviously signed by the same person, have been cashed in various LA supermarkets. Friday (Jack Webb) and Smith (Ben Alexander) realize that they're dealing with pros when even the forensic lab can't come up with any palpable clues as to the forgery gang's identity. Fortunately, a hardened female ex-convict provides a vital third-act clue. Popular 1950s starlet Eve Brent (who later played the mother of teenage dope fiend "Blue Boy" in the 1960s Dragnet TV revival) appears in this episode billed as Jean Ann Lewis. "The Big Help" is based on the Dragnet radio broadcast of May 14, 1954.
