M Squad
Ten Minutes to Doomsday
TV Flash files “Ten Minutes to Doomsday” as a desk essential hour — M Squad (1957–1960) on NBC, season 3, episode 1, aired 1959-09-18, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S03E01: listed hour 79 of 117 in the M Squad guide, first listed hour of season 3. It aired 1959-09-18 (30 min). The listed hour before it is “Death Is a Clock” (S02E40). Next is “The European Plan” (S03E02).
Essential hour: “Ten Minutes to Doomsday”. Ten Minutes to Doomsday: last-season ignition on a ticking title, jazz and alleys still the franchise.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Ten Minutes to Doomsday sit in the M Squad guide?
S03E01 is listed hour 79 of 117 — first listed hour of season 3, season 3 episode 1.
When did M Squad S03E01 air?
Ten Minutes to Doomsday aired 1959-09-18 and is listed at 30 minutes.
Where should I start?
Start with Marvin's Ballinger on the Chicago squad. Minimal smiles, noir half-hours; the jazz bite is the extra.
In the series
Why this series still plays
M Squad is Lee Marvin's hard cop in a hard Chicago: noir procedural with a jazz bite, later meaner when Count Basie got a theme. Tough urban police drama before Marvin's film cool peaked. Watch it now as badge television with bruise — jazz, alleys, and a star practicing lethality in half-hour form.
The bruise is already on the badge. Lee Marvin as Detective Lieutenant Frank Ballinger, NBC 1957–1960, a special plainclothes squad cleaning up Chicago crime with minimal smiles: M Squad, noir procedural with a jazz bite, 117 episodes, three seasons, Latimer Productions and Revue Studios. Paul Newlan as Capt. Grey holding the office while Marvin walked the alleys. Tougher than earlier badge shows. Later meaner in memory when Count Basie recorded a well-known version of the theme. Marvin practicing lethality in…
Filed against
- Lee Marvin as Det. Lt. Frank Ballinger
Lee Marvin's Det. Lt. Frank Ballinger made M Squad a hard cop in a hard Chicago — noir procedural with a jazz bite, later meaner when Count Basie got a theme, badge television with bruise. Tough urban police drama before film cool peaked.…
- Paul Newlan as Capt. Grey
Paul Newlan played Capt. Grey on M Squad, Lee Marvin’s 1950s hard cop in a hard Chicago — noir procedural with a jazz bite, later meaner when Count Basie got a theme. Tough urban police drama before Marvin’s film cool peaked. TV Flash…