im a tree!

The premiere episode of Dragnet 67, . . . entitled The Big LSD, . . . drew on recent news reports about the hallucinogen (which remained legal until October 1966), as well as stories about the Sunset Strip scene. . . .

Friday and partner Gannon were called to the scene of a weirdly painted juvenile chewing the bark off a tree. The scene opened with the cops finding the young man lying on the ground with his head buried under leaves. As they pulled him up, there was a cut to a shocker close-up of the young mans facepainted blue on one side, gold on the other. Wide-eyed, he exclaimed, Reality, man, reality. I could see the center of the earth! As Friday attempted to read him his rights, the boy declared that he wasnt here, but thereand had green hair: Im a tree! Flipping out, he tore at Gannons suit, then started calling out various colors: I can hear them all!

Aniko Bodroghkozy, from Groove Tube: Sixties Television and the Youth Rebellion, 2001.

Most recent