Starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr. as a straight-laced FBI agent, "The F.B.I." (ABC) cast the agency in a glowing light, not surprising since it was endorsed by J. Edgar Hoover himself and the FBI had vetting power over scripts. A precursor of sorts to today's true crime shows, "The F.B.I." claimed to be based on actual FBI cases. During its long run from 1965 to 1974, episodes dealt with such Cold War hot buttons as communist spies and Vietnam radicals.