This controversial episode (adapted from a Dragnet radio broadcast first heard on April 10 1952) finds detectives Friday (Jack Webb) and Smith (Ben Alexander) interrogating Mrs. Marjorie Lewis (Virginia Gregg), who insists that she came into possession of another woman's baby while she was sitting in a bus station. Unable to locate the woman who fits the description of the missing mother, the two detectives pay a visit to Mrs. Lewis in her hotel room. She tearfully confesses that the baby is actually hers--but that her husband, an Army sergeant who has just returned from a two-year tour of duty, is not the child's father. At a time when even the word "pregnant" could not be spoken on most TV series, this episode strikes a blow for maturity by exploring the hitherto taboo subject of illegitimacy. Ironically, according to Dragnet historian Michael Hayde, while the original radio version came and went without protest, the TV adaptation of "The Big Show" was chastized by several viewers for allegedly condoning adultery!
by Hal Erickson
synopsis
