Band of Evil

Back in the 1970s, Citizens Band Radios (CB radios) were very popular...and they even had a brief popularity in movies and TV shows of the time. So, it's not surprising that "Barnaby Jones" would have an episode that uses them extensively....and Barnaby tries his hand at sounding hip and with-it!

The episode begins with an innocent man accidentally driving up as males of pot are being dropped from an airplane. The crooks see the man and give chase...killing him in the process. However, the man was using his CB radio...and the girl on the other end contacts Barnaby with her concerns about his safety.

This is a pretty funny episode...unintentionally so as Buddy Ebsen and the rest try out their CB skills. But despite this silliness, it's an otherwise interesting show...made more so by Andrew Robinson's excellent performance as the sociopathic leader of the pot smugglers. If you remember, he also played the bigger than life psychopath in "Dirty Harry" and was also a regular on "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine".

Writer Robert W. Lenski did some research on this one, all about clever pot smugglers. Around the time this episode was filmed, marijuana was being shipped into the US from Colombia at a rapid pace. The story broke everywhere.

Lenski changes the transportation a bit, having pot being flown in instead. In this case, a ranch employee spots the marijuana drop from the air and is chased down and killed. The catch here is the man is using a CB radio, which connects Barnaby to the case. I agree with the last reviewer, this was at a time when CB radios were a national fad. Barnaby also gets to do his thing on the air.

The notable cast, especially an appearance by Andrew Robinson (as Sonny), best known as the insane killer in DIRTY HARRY. Pretty Devon Ericson plays Lois, who would appear several more times on the series. Annette O'Toole guest stars, later to play Martha Kent on SMALLVILLE.

Kenneth Tobey returns playing a sheriff. Yes, famous bit actor Bob Harks appears with him.

Interesting stuff, and the CB angle brings back lots of memories for all us kids back in the day. SEASON 5 EPISODE 6 remastered color CBS/Paramount dvd box set. Three classic cover pix of Barnaby.