The Lawless Years: Season 02 (1959) Reviews

Although the Prohibition-era crime drama The Lawless Years hardly set the world afire during its first season, NBC greenlighted an additional eight episodes for the series' second season, mainly so that there would be a total of 27 for syndicated-rerun purposes. Based on the actual exploits of New York City police detective Barney Ruditsky (who served as technical advisor), the series stars James Gregory as Ruditsky and Robert Karnes as Max. The incredible popularity of the like-vintage The Untouchables tended to overshadow The Lawless Years during its second season. Ironically, Untouchables star Robert Stack shows up in one of Lawless Years' best Season Two episodes, "The Billy Boy 'Rockabye' Creel Story". Other prominent names taking part this year are Jack Weston, John Beradino, and Edward C. Platt, the latter best known as "The Chief" on the spy-spoof sitcom Get Smart. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi