After a long successful career as a private investigator, Barnaby Jones (Buddy Ebsen) had retired, leaving the business to his son Hal. When Hal was murdered while on a case, Barnaby came out of retirement to help track down his son's killer. Hal's widow, Betty (Lee Meriweather), worked with her father-in-law to solve the case and remained with him, as his assistant, when he decided to keep his Los Angeles-based firm in operation. His keen analytic skills were often masked by a homespun exterior, drawing guilty parties into a false sense of security that led to their downfall. Until Cannon -- another Los Angeles detective series -- went off the air in the fall of 1975, there was occasional interplay between it and Barnaby Jones.

In the fall of 1976 Barnaby's young cousin J.R. (Mark Shera) joined the firm, initially to track down the murderer of his father, but eventually as a permanent partner. One of the things that most fascinated him was Barnaby's home crime laboratory, something rarely seen in other detective series. It was in the lab that various clues were analyzed and possible bits of evidence evaluated. J.R., in addition to his work with Barnaby, was also studying to pass the bar exam and become a lawyer.

1. Barnaby Jones (Buddy Ebsen) 2. Jedidiah (Mark Shera) 3. Lt. Biddle (John Carter) 4. Betty Jones (Lee Meriweather)

Quinn Martin, Producer

text taken from Super Seventies site