How Well Do You Remember "Barnaby Jones"?

Before he was a crime-solving PI on "Barnaby Jones," Buddy Ebsen played Jed Clampett on "The Beverly Hillbillies" from 1962 through 1971. The poor mountain man who struck it rich and moved to California was 65 when he took on the role of Jones and was in his early 70s by the time the show ended.

Hal Jones' wife Betty was left a widow by his murder. When Barnaby came back to take on new clients, Betty Jones, who was played by Lee Meriwether, joined the business as his secretary.

"Barnaby Jones" turned the image of the hard-drinking detective on his head. The title character rarely indulged in alcohol during the show and instead declared that he could "eat anything as long as I can wash it down with a cold glass of milk."

The series followed the same format as other shows produced by Quinn Martin, which included "The Fugitive" and "The Untouchables." After an epilogue narrated by Hank Simms, each episode was split into four acts, with a commercial break in between each one.

Barnaby Jones relied on his background in chemistry and toxicology to help him solve crimes. He did much of this scientific and forensic work in his very own crime lab.

"Barnaby Jones" was set in the sunny city of Los Angeles, California. Throughout his career, Jones had lectured at various California colleges on top of his detective duties.

The detective series "Cannon," featuring William Conrad in the lead role, was so popular in the early '70s that it led to the creation of "Barnaby Jones." Conrad appeared in the first episode of "Barnaby Jones" playing his role from "Cannon," and the two series also enjoyed a crossover storyline later on called "The Deadly Conspiracy."

The Cal Meridian Insurance Company gave Barnaby Jones plenty of business throughout the series. Jones worked to investigate fraud and other insurance-related cases in a way that might remind some people of the adventures of classic radio detective Johnny Dollar.

Buddy Edsen was pushing 70 by the fifth season of "Barnaby Miller," so it only made sense to bring on a new major character to share the spotlight. Enter Jedediah Romano Jones, who was played by Mark Shera and went by the nickname J.R.

J.R. grew up in the windy city of Chicago but liked the weather out west so much that he stayed in L.A. with Barnaby. He quickly joined the detective agency and began solving cases of his own.

Just as Barnaby came out of retirement to solve his son's murder, J.R. moved to California after his own father was killed. J.R.'s dad, Monroe Jones, was Barnaby's cousin and worked as a police sergeant in the Midwest.

J.R. began attending law school upon moving to L.A., but also spent plenty of time sniffing out clues with his cousin Barnaby Jones. Given Barnaby's advancing age at the time, it was a big help to have someone younger around to handle his legwork.

John Carter played Lt. John Biddle of the LAPD. He often appeared on "Barnaby Jones" to slip info to the title character ... who offered him plenty of tips of his own in return.

Barnaby's cousin Monroe Jones was determined to find out who murdered his partner on the police force. When he got wind of a possible informant in L.A., he flew to the SoCal city, only to be killed in a shooting ambush.

The season six episode "The Coronado Triangle" was inspired by tales of the Bermuda Triangle, where countless ships were rumored to have sunk. As Barnaby Jones discovered, the only thing sinking yachts in this area near Mexico and California was a group of hijackers.

A graze from a bullet knocked Barnaby out in the season seven opener. When he came to, he was temporarily blind, and forced to take on a trio of hit men to make it out of the forest alive.

After raising six kids as Mike Brady on "The Brady Bunch," actor Robert Reed was ready for a change. He appeared on "Barnaby Jones" as a stuntman named DeWitt Robinson who tries to fake his own death. Unfortunately, his plan goes wrong, and a priest is killed in the process.

"Barnaby Jones" was a family affair, with Buddy Edsen's daughter Bonnie appearing regularly in guest spots. Lee Meriwether's daughter Kyle Aletter, who later worked on "The Price Is Right," also showed up on this classic '70s detective series.

Dozens of people who appeared in minor roles or "Barnaby Jones" went on to find TV or movie fame, including Morgan Fairchild, Tommy Lee Jones, Bill Bixby and Larry Hagman. While William Shatner had a major guest spot, his "Star Trek" co-star Leonard Nimoy never showed up on the series.

In the two-part "Echo of a Distant Battle," Barnaby is hired to track down a missing Vietnam War veteran. During his investigation, Jones ends up shooting and killing someone, causing the D.A. to take away his gun while the police look into the matter.

J.R.'s trip to paradise was captured in the "Nightmare in Hawaii" storyline. It turns out the trip didn't turn out all that well. In fact, J.R. ended up getting arrested for stabbing a man while in the islands.

A season eight trip to Hawaii spelled plenty of trouble for J.R. After being arrested for stabbing a man, he escaped the prison, only to end up injured in a booby trap on his friend's illegal marijuana farm. Luckily, Barnaby Jones was able to head to the islands and save J.R. before it was too late.

Enterprise Captain James Kirk appeared in a major role on the second episode of "Barnaby Jones." Actor William Shatner starred as Phil Carlyle, a man who commits murders and disappears before turning up with a new name in a faraway town in an effort to get away with the crime.

Barnaby loves to unwind with a fishing rod in his hand, but sometimes, trouble finds him even when he's on vacation. This is what happened in the season six episode "Band of Evil," when Barnaby and J.R. ended up investigating a missing rancher while on a fishing trip.

Pearl and Ruby Conners appeared as The Starshine Sisters singing duo during season five. After tracking them down the first time, Barnaby is forced to find them again after they end up escaping and turning back up as a singing act known as The Dreammakers.

Leo Penn served as one of the directors on "Barnaby Jones." While casting the season eight episode "School of Terror," production members picked Leo's son Sean to appear in a bit part. This young actor named Sean Penn would later go on to become a huge movie star.

In an effort to prevent a major gang war, a local gang leader sends his goons to kidnap Barnaby and force him to solve the murder of a rival leader. When they can't find Barnaby, the gang members kidnap J.R. instead, leaving it up to Barnaby to rescue him.

A pair of episodes titled "Final Judgement" in season six found Barnaby swapping his usual glass of milk for something stronger. So what had this teetotaler reaching for the alcohol? The realization that a man he accused of kidnapping years ago might actually have been wrongly convicted.

Beloved sitcom "The Beverly Hillbillies" got a major movie remake in 1993. While "Barnaby Jones" star Buddy Ebsen played Jed Clampett on the original series, he was invited back to the Hillbillies movie to play lawyer Barnaby Jones, while Jim Varney took on the role of Jed.

While many classic sitcoms get reunion specials after the series ends, and some even see the cast reuniting for TV movies in future decades, the cast of "Barnaby Jones" never went this route. It turns out, Buddy Ebsen just wasn't into the idea, though he did write a fictional book based on the series that was published after his death.

The final episode of "Barnaby Jones" saw Betty accused of a double homicide in a story that was supposed to serve as a backdoor pilot for a series focused on the Tarkington Detective Agency. The series never aired because it lost its spot in the schedule to another series ... "The Waltons."

Not only did she wear the Miss America crown in 1955, but Lee Meriwether also wore a skintight black suit to play Catwoman in 1966. She appeared in the iconic role in the "Batman" film, which starred Adam West in the title role and Cesar Romero as the Joker.

The show never won a single Emmy but did earn two nominations. Lee Meriwether earned one in 1977, and the show got another nod for cinematography in 1979. The characters on "The Golden Girls" certainly liked to watch it, and President Richard Nixon was also a huge fan.

Eight seasons of "Barnaby Jones" aired on CBS between 1973 and 1980. The show lasted four years longer than "Cannon," which inspired the adventures of "Barnaby Jones" and ended in 1976.