"You call this plain clothes…?" (Re)watching Cagney & Lacey

[Mel O'Drama]

OLD FLAMES

The procedural is slightly quirky by nature (a crime of passion in an old folks' home), but it's also refreshing for a show to acknowledge that septuagenarians can have active sex lives and all the emotion that goes with it. Novelty aside, it was pretty forgettable.

A couple of milestones in the Lacey household: Harv Jr. turns eighteen and leaves home to join the military. The show's been building to this all season, yet it still feels very sudden. The show - though the voices of Mary Beth and especially Harv Sr. - gets to make some observations about the military ("It's about men sending boys to blow each other up", bawls Harv, himself ex-military). The final scene of the episode - a small scene between Mary Beth and her eldest son feels very final for Tony La Torre. It's a shame to break up the Lacey household this way, but c'est la vie.

Christmas is in the air this episode. Once again, it's nice to watch a seasonally appropriate episode. There's lots of talk of family, which is making the thought of a Christmas without Charlie more difficult for Chris. She visits a church once again and has a moving little monologue to a sympathetic-but-silent priest about lighting a candle in Charlie's honour. But there are two other meaningful places where Chris is now really able to get her grounding.

First she shares a memory at an AA meeting about watching Charlie's freckled hands on the steering wheel when she was young and feeling safe.


The Ladies' Room continues to be the heartbeat of the show, with the women sharing their problems with each other:

MARY BETH (crying): "Oh, it's crazy. It's crazy. My firstborn child is marching off to war, maybe. And all I can think about is that he's not gonna be there for Christmas dinner."
CHRISTINE: "I don't think it's crazy."
MARY BETH: "He likes to help me make the stuffing. He's probably gonna be eating those fake potatoes. You know, the kind that they make using those lousy flakes. He'll hate them."
(they both laugh)
CHRISTINE: "The other day I was passing by Macy's. And er, I looked in the window and they had these gloves in there. The deerskin ones, you know, with the fur lining. And I thought, those would be perfect for Charlie. And was halfway through the door... before it hit me. I bought 'em anyway. There's a big, empty hole that nobody else will ever fill. But I have to believe that it will get easier."


Even though there are some significant events, this is really an episode about the small things. Mary Beth and Harv getting excited about giving Harv Jr. his presents. Chris reflecting on little rituals she had with Charlie. It all feels very relatable and endearing.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

TRADING PLACES

A kind of "crossover" story where Harv wants to wear a wire to flush out someone who is running a racket among his colleagues and who has murdered someone who tried to turn him in. Mary Beth is strongly opposed to the idea, leading to conflict not only with Harv but with her colleagues who feel this is the only way.

Appropriately it's Chris who eventually convinces Mary Beth by pointing out that Harv doesn't stop Mary Beth from acting on her convictions or doing her job even though it worries him.

We don't see the operation, nor any other aspect of this case apart from the preparations to sting. Instead we stay with Mary Beth who watches the clock frantically. The Ladies' Room is where we get a really nice piece of Mary Beth and Harv's backstory, with Tyne dewy eyed as she speaks:

MARY BETH: "Harvey and I were in this little pizza place when it hit me for the first time that I was in love with him. He looked at me over the candlelight and said 'Another slice, babe?'. I know it doesn't sound like much, but the way he said it... I knew he loved me too. It was the first time he ever called me 'Babe'. And there was in his voice, this gentleness and passion. They had a juke box, and you would not believe what started playing right then and there. 'I Got You, Babe'."
CHRISTINE: "Sonny and Cher?"
MARY BETH: "Yeah, and so that became our song. You know, we used to play it on the hi-fi and dance to it on our anniversary and stuff. Until Sonny and Cher broke up. That kind of took the romance out of it. When we first got married, we celebrated our anniversary every month. And we would dance to that song."

It's a really sweet story. And I say that as someone who can't stand the term "babe" as a term of endearment.


The personal story also features our leads, as Mary Beth gets excited about hosting a dinner party for Chris and David Keeler to thank him for representing her in Loves Me Not earlier this season. Once again, Mary Beth's excitement over little luxuries such as her new dimming dining room lights is extremely endearing. As the episode progresses Mary Beth gets upset that not everyone is as enthused about the party as she is. Harvey bemoans the cost:

MARY BETH: "David Keeler saved us five thousand dollars."
HARVEY: "I didn't think you were gonna spend it all on dinner!"

Then Chris questions the timing:

CHRISTINE: "You know, Mary Beth, I've been thinking, maybe tonight isn't the right time for this little dinner party thing. What with trouble in paradise and all, it seems..."
MARY BETH: "Christine. Fair warning. The next person that says one negative thing about my dinner party in honour of David Keeler, I'll..."
CHRISTINE: We'll be there at seven-thirty."
MARY BETH: "I'm bowled over by your boundless enthusiasm."

When Chris makes a similar comment later on, Mary Beth will not brook any negativity:

"Christine, it has been a long and difficult day, but not for one moment would I allow myself to be robbed of the happy, festive evening that Harvey and I ...are so eagerly anticipating. We'll be waiting for you."

This turned out to be the show's funniest scene due to Tyne's level delivery which made that final line sound like a threat. But by that evening Mary Beth is the glam and gracious host, wearing a very Eighties green frock which gave me a yen for a noisette whirl. This little seen formal wear moment actually served to remind me how grounded this show is to the prime time soaps of this era where this kind of attire was worn at breakfast.

There's a sub-plot within this sub-plot which has David dropping very unsubtle hints about a future with Chris with talk of setting up a home like the Laceys' and having a backyard and cooking crown roasts. Eventually he resorts to picking up young Alice Christine and taking her over to Chris, which naturally gets Mary Beth marvelling about the pretty family picture while Chris inwardly dies a little.

Trading Places feels like one of the episodes with the most running stories. In addition to Harv's sting and Mary Beth's dinner party we learn that Samuels is on assignment and Chris - who naturally assumed she would take his office - is put out when Lt. Thornton is put in his place instead, leading to resentment over this episode (and into the next).

There's also a rather strange turn of events when Isbecki learns his father was Jewish and had fled Poland posing as a Catholic when the Nazis invaded. It felt almost like a sitcom b-story as Isbecki was told off for eating ham by Coleman and by episode's end was embracing bagels and gefilte fish. The plot didn't really work for me because I didn't believe it. I expected the reset button to be hit by episode's end. It wasn't.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

SHADOW OF A DOUBT

Chris's professionalism comes into question once again. It's usually the mark of a good episode, and this proves no exception. Here a urine-based drug test comes back positive. She's re-tested and that also comes back positive. In addition both she and Mary Beth are accused of corruption by someone they arrested, leading to an investigation by Internal Affairs who research thoroughly and waste no time in going low:


SUPERVISING OFFICER: "Did you know your partner was a drunk?"
MARY BETH: "My partner is an alcoholic."
SUPERVISING OFFICER: "I see. How do you feel?"
MARY BETH: "I'm proud of her."
SUPERVISING OFFICER: "Have you ever caught her drinking on the job?"
MARY BETH: "No sir."
SUPERVISING OFFICER: "Now there's something I don't understand."
CHRISTINE: "It's not surprising."
SUPERVISING OFFICER: "You like to strike back, don't you?"
CHRISTINE: "I know how to defend myself."
SUPERVISING OFFICER: "Really, how is it you got raped?! It seems a contradiction."
CHRISTINE: "Have you ever been raped?"
SUPERVISING OFFICER: "I was wondering about your tests."
CHRISTINE: "They're wrong."
SUPERVISING OFFICER: "So, you have no faith in those tests?"
CHRISTINE: "They're unreliable."
SUPERVISING OFFICER: "Yet you relied on your tests to indict your rapist. Isn't that correct?"


SUPERVISING OFFICER: "Detective Second-grade is very good. So, what is the pay increase on that?"
MARY BETH: "Seven thousand dollars, sir."
SUPERVISING OFFICER: "Yeah. Could easier still use more, couldn't you?"
MARY BETH: "We're OK with what we have."
SUPERVISING OFFICER: "And you do have a lot. Quite a lot. The last year you had a bonanza. Stereo, washer-drier, microwave, dining room table, vibrating lounge chair. And a new house."
MARY BETH: "My husband also works, sir."
SUPERVISING OFFICER: "Eight months. For three months he didn't. And five months before that... What about your son? He joined the Marines because there was trouble at home. What was it? Drugs?"


There's no doubt that familiar ground is trodden. We've seen Internal Affairs in action before, and we've seen one of our leads handing in her shield and gun. It's an engrossing story nonetheless and all involved are committed enough to make this another hugely watchable thread.


Another episode; another life-changing event for Isbecki. This time he announces his engagement to Ginger. And then marries her.

It feels like Victor has had two season's worth of storyline crammed into these last two episodes. But this one I bought. Marrying suddenly does seem a very Victor thing to. There's no way he'd marry if he were given time to think about it.

There was a scene with Isbecki rehearsing some Hebrew script which again felt jarring. Victor's sudden conversion feels forced and his easy acceptance of this major change unconvincing. It feels more plot-driven than anything to do with character and seems to somewhat trivialise the importance of the Jewish faith.

There's some really nice banter peppered throughout this episode, most of it related to Isbecki's batchelor party and nuptials. While we didn't see the wedding, it's a really nice touch to hear that Marcus was best man. I would have been unhappy with anything else.

The episode ends with another nice, small scene of the two leads walking down the street discussing the wedding, Chris having fought off the competition to catch the bouquet. It's a warm and charming picture and the freeze frame of both women smiling captures the wonderful chemistry that makes this series what it is.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

HELLO GOODBYE

It's a rare TV show that can consistently cast child actors that convince in their roles and do so with the cutesy meter dialled as low as possible. This episode features a pair that manage not only to show a complete lack of precociousness but also manage to give a fairly rounded performance, being unpleasant, annoying and endearing as the script demands. The direction helps, as does the way the characters and tenement sets are dressed, giving off a convincingly scuzzy vibe.

As with all story-of-the-week guests, the performances of the young actors are elevated by working with the leads. As ever, it also brings out an interesting side to the women. I always appreciate that there's no faltering from them working with children. The show doesn't soften its edges or lose its reality. Instead the reality is enhanced by showing the characters staying true in their interactions.

Once again, preconceptions are toyed with. The older boy's motive for making hoax 911 phone calls staying unclear until towards the very end of the show when the reveal that the mother is being coerced into trading sexual favours with the landlord to keep a roof over their head takes things to a whole new and satisfying level of sleaze.

Things are returning to normal at the squad room with Samuels back at the reigns. There's a nice running thread which has Chris pissed off at him about not leaving her in charge, and Mary Beth trying to cover up all of Chris's angry little outbursts. They do eventually confront things head-on, with Chris saying it was an example of the "Old Boy" network in action, Samuels observing that Chris made Sergeant and Chris throwing back at him that she's Sergeant because she passed a test and nobody could have stopped her achieving that. Things were left nicely unresolved, with some tension still lingering between them.

Isbecki is absent this episode, his contribution to this episode being a postcard from The Alamo where he is enjoying his honeymoon. But not one for half measures, this episode features another proposal as David Keeler asks Chris to marry him. I love how happy Chris is in the aftermath. The scene of she and Mary Beth excitedly talking about it in the squad car while grinning is perhaps as girly as things have got. But not jarringly so.

Chris saying she was going to the beach to think was a nice touch. Again, we're told about it and not shown. We're trusted to know how it's going to go. Charlie looms large this episode. Chris is sorting through his things and she and David dance to one of his records on their romantic evening the night before the proposal. Chris also reflects on a comment he made to her in an earlier season:"Chrissie, you're just like your old man. You travel light, you keep on moving." All of which contributes to Chris turning David down. Appropriately, it's at Coney Island: a place filled with memories for Chris. Indeed, I instantly thought of Chris's visit here with Charlie on her fortieth birthday in Season Five's A Safe Place. We're right there with Chris when she acknowledges:

I kept thinking, you know, if I could surround myself with all the colours and the smells and the tastes that maybe it would all come back. Look at this place, David. Even Coney Island isn't forever.

It feels inevitable that Chris will turn down David. Not because of any external factor or practicality on the part of the creative team not wanting to dabble with the dynamics. There are ways round that stuff. It's inevitable because of who Chris is. The small reminders of earlier episodes all serve to allow the audience to share the journey with Chris understanding her history and who it's made her.

Even the scenario of the marriage proposal is a familiar one. There's an important symbolism there. Like Dory before him, David proposed to Chris in her loft: the physical embodiment of Chris's spirit of independence.

It's another example of Season Seven's recurring motif of history repeating itself. Scenarios that are familiar but not. The same but different. I get the feeling this is deliberate. Life has a way of putting us in certain situations more than once. Each time that happens, our previous experience colours our response to it. If we regret a former decision, we might take the opportunity to make changes. If it's previously worked out for the best, we may subconsciously repeat our choices. Even if it hasn't worked out, we may still opt for what is familiar and comfortable. Or we might take the opposite approach and face up to it. Several times this season we've seen those opportunities arise and what enthrals is how the character's response to it deepens our understanding of them.

In this case, there are elements at work that David can't begin to get. Chris might not be consciously aware of them. Perhaps not even the audience recognises what's happening at first. But the unavoidable consequence is that layers are added to a present story by referencing - even implicitly - a past one. That's exactly what happens here.

Like the situation, the outcome is the same but different. With both David and Dory, the marriage proposal strengthened Chris's recognition that she likes her life just the way it is. She voiced that both times. With Dory, the show exercised the "tell, don't show" policy. Chris told Mary Beth she was planning to turn Dory down. This time round we experience that situation with Chris. We watch David's hurt, angry response and based on what we know we're left to interpret what Chris is feeling as he turns and walks away.

Also appropriately, the denouement takes place in the Ladies' Room, and we're left with a sense of empowerment as Chris half jokingly helps the ever-romantic Mary Beth deal with her decision, even referencing a line she said to Mary Beth regarding her house move in the Season Six premiere, Schedule One:

CHRISTINE: "Who said 'Change equals psychological loss?'."
MARY BETH: "I think it was you."

CHRISTINE: "No wedding, no baby shower. Are you gonna survive this, Mary Beth?"
MARY BETH: "Well, what do you want me to say? That there is nothing I would like better than to visit you and David and the kids in a brand new house in Jersey. OK? You're right. That's my fantasy, Chris, yours is different. This is your deal here."

CHRISTINE: "I hate goodbyes."

 

[Mel O'Drama]

SCHOOL DAZE

Another offbeat episode sees the 14th going back to school. The ever reliable Ed Nelson seems to have followed up his stint on Peyton Place with a guest-appearance on every major series of the Seventies and Eighties. Here he's the brusque Sgt Steingrove, an old nemesis of Cagney's who is leading the class.

There's a lot of comedy in this episode. It's one of a handful of "comedy with drama" episodes (à la To Sir With Love or Greed), as opposed to the usual "drama with comedy" format. It works well here coming as it does from exploration of character. Characters being paired off to show their interview techniques in front of the class brings some friction of the light variety, including a fallout between Chris and Mary Beth. This pays off well as the episode develops.

Dan Lauria is back as Mary Beth's nemesis Dupnik, also in attendance at the class. It's a nice opportunity to see a different side to him, and he's very endearing here as he's clearly smitten with Mary Beth and they're very nervous around each other. This story proves to be a nice twist on a familiar story. Up to this point, the series has mostly avoided the cliché of even the suggestion of infidelity within Mary Beth and Harv's marriage. Here, it feels like we're starting to go in that direction as Dupnik finds excuses to be alone with Mary Beth.

Mary Beth goes through the motions of being resistant, but she's also clearly enjoying the attention. She chooses her clothing more carefully, looks forward to class and has a dreamy, swoony quality to her. She even agrees to meet Dupnik in a coffee shop - ostensibly to set boundaries, but there's a sense that she's looking forward to spending time with him. It's a little like Karen Fairgate's temptation in the first season of Knots Landing. But with a twist as revealed in a funny little scene with some dialogue that shows they're at odds in more ways than one:


DUPNIK: "Would you like a cup of coffee?"
MARY BETH: "I'm married."
DUPNIK: "Cream and sugar?"
MARY BETH: "Very married."
DUPNIK: "How about a piece of pie?"
MARY BETH: "Would you wanna see a picture of my family? I have three lovely children and ...the smartest sexiest, husband that I have ever met."
DUPNIK: "They make a very nice sponge cake. Maybe a tuna fish sandwich."
MARY BETH: "He's a very good provider. And we have this wonderful relationship."
DUPNIK: "Are you also married to your partner?"
MARY BETH: "Our house is on this wonderful... Pardon me?"
DUPNIK: "I've been watching you, Mrs Lacey, and you are a terrific cop. And you obviously don't get along with..."
MARY BETH: "Say what?!"
DUPNIK: "Well... How would you like to dump the blonde bigmouth and partner up with me at the One-One-Nine?"
MARY BETH: "Are you serious?"
DUPNIK: "Think of all the commute time you'll save."
MARY BETH: "You mean you had... the unmitigated nerve... to lure me here..."
DUPNIK: "Lure you?"
MARY BETH: "...against my will. In the middle of the night..."
DUPNIK: "It's six o'clock in the evening!"
MARY BETH: "What kind of a woman do you think I am?"
DUPNIK: "What, are you nuts?"
MARY BETH [getting up]: "How dare you! [turning as she leaves] How dare you!"


The twist works not only because it's been so well set up, but mostly because the response to it underlines the importance of the primary relationship in this show - that between Mary Beth and Chris. As well as wounded pride, there's an implication from her response that she values her partnership with Chris even more than that with Harv. There's no dalliance with the idea once she learns which partnership is under threat.



This, sadly, is Dupnik's last episode. He's only appeared in four episodes and been name-checked in one or two others, but he's proven to be consistently enjoyable. Each time he comes onto the scene, he's made it special. As I commented before, it's been good to see Mary Beth getting an adversary of sorts. In each appearance, he's managed to push her buttons in the best possible way.

Appropriately, this episode gives some real closure to the character that acknowledges his journey on the show. In his first scene in last season's Ahead Of The Game, the topic of conversation was Mary Beth's stolen property. She had been especially sad about the loss of a candlestick that belonged to her mother and Dupnik wasn't particularly helpful or understanding about it. When Mary Beth refused to take out a favour with an informant to find the candlestick, Dupnik had commented:

DUPNIK: "Ah. So you're one of those. I should have known."
MARY BETH: "One of what?"
DUPNIK: "Nun. A nun-cop."


Dupnik's follow-up episode, Special Treatment, saw him putting Mary Beth in a cell for protesting.

MARY BETH: "You want trouble, I'm gonna give you trouble. I'm gonna carry the truth about you all over the Department."
DUPNIK: "Consider the source! A crazed, hippy cop."


At the end of School Daze, Mary Beth receives a package from Dupnik. It's a gold candlestick. Mary Beth reads the card aloud:

'To the hippy nun cop. Long may she reign'

There aren't many TV shows that would go to this effort to round off the story for a character that has appeared in only three previous episodes. Here we get references to key Dupnik scenes which serve as the perfect bookend for a character who has greatly endeared himself to me.


Chris's arc with Steingrove is not without its twists when he asks her out for dinner where he reveals she was his favourite student. Though we later find out he had other plans for her, to which Chris was smart enough to say no.

In addition to the school stuff, Chris has a nice little subplot that sees her helping Tony prepare a turkey for his visiting father who wants him to go into the family's olive oil business. Here we go full-on sitcom with said turkey getting dropped on the floor and Chris throwing it under the tap to clean it up. None of this stuff is really important, and the episode would run fine without it. All the same, I enjoy Chris's relationship with Tony so much that these two short scenes proved to be more enjoyable than the Chris/Steingrove material. The icing on the cake is a wonderful little physical moment from Sharon Gless after Chris pushes Tony out of her door to go and deal with his father. Once he's gone, she collapses against the closed door, exhausted. It's a tiny little moment, but again, very appreciated.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

LAND OF THE FREE

The plot about an El Salvadoran death squad operating on the women's beat seems ambitious. It's difficult to know how this could possibly be wrapped up neatly, and it wasn't. Which proved quite satisfying. This has the feel of the early episodes that would make a hidden subculture visible.

Chris and Mary Beth's personal stories are what proved most interesting to me in this episode.

Mary Beth's challenge is Michael wanting to move into Harv Jr.'s room, which forces Mary Beth to start to accept that her eldest son has really left home for good.

Chris, meanwhile, gets involved with Nick Amatucci: a guy from AA. Their first scene together is appropriately spiky. Sharing in a meeting, Chris complains about being ripped off and let down by plumbers. Then Nick shares and deliberately announces that he's a plumber who is fed up of dealing with ungrateful customers. He takes on the plumbing job at her loft and he eventually asks her on a date.

This is quite an interesting scenario. Chris now has a relationship with Nick on three levels. He's a fellow member of AA; he's her plumber and they're becoming involved romantically. Any two of those combinations seem to be playing with fire slightly, so there's some definite dramatic potential here.

The chemistry between these two is excellent. Nick feels like a real match for Chris in a number of ways. Also of interest here: while David Keeler doesn't appear at all, this episode was directed by Stephen Macht. So in a way it feels like that torch is being passed (Chris would hate me putting it that way, I'm sure).

Chris is at an interesting stage of her journey in recovery. Her Catholic upbringing is making it difficult for her to come to grips with the spiritual aspect of her AA programme. Her bias is evident in her interactions with a nun as part of her investigations into the murder. She talks about her concerns with Nick:

CHRISTINE: "So what do you about the God bit?"
NICK AMATUCCI: "What?"
CHRISTINE: "Step Three: 'Made a decision to turn my will and my life over to the care of God.'"
NICK AMATUCCI: "'As you understand him.'"
CHRISTINE: "OK. As I understand him, he's the main reason for the mess that I'm in today. It makes me nervous. I spent my entire childhood trying to be perfect so I wouldn't burn in Hell."
NICK AMATUCCI: "Did God want you to be perfect? Is he sitting up there with a beard and a checklist. You've got him confused with Santa Claus. So the nuns wanted you to be perfect, but you got kicked off the stage and kissed off God. Not exactly a bullseye. You're not a kid anymore. So forget the nuns. Forget your mother. Forget anybody you can blame... Because if you're gonna get through this thing, you're gonna need his help. ...Or hers. ...Or it."


Timing has it that Chris is forced to face Catholicism almost immediately when dealing with a nun who has her own variation of Nick's comments:


SISTER ELIZABETH: "I'll pray for you. I'll pray for you both."
CHRISTINE: "Fine! While you're at it, why don't you ask him to keep the streets safe?"
SISTER ELIZABETH: "You must miss him very much ...to be so bitter."


Chris's journey in AA is proving to be one interesting journey this season.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

A CLASS ACT

Mary Beth's occasional New York attitude is a highlight of this series for me. Her loud mouth towards other motorists while driving, for example, is always great fun. This episode kicks off with Mary Beth in full flight, returning to the squad room:

MARY BETH: "First I stop to interview Dolores Templeman who was stuffing her face in her kitchen. Then I break the heel off my best comfortable pumps but this is nothing, Christine, compared to my visit to Mort's Deli for our lunch."
CHRISTINE: "Was he out of the diet-special?"
MARY BETH: "The place is wall-to wall with cavemen. You know the type? Nasty when they're hungry. So eventually it's my turn to order when some guy, with his knuckles scraping on the floor, pushes in front of me."
CHRISTINE: "Did they take him out on a stretcher?"
MARY BETH: "Christine, I am a courteous person."
CHRISTINE: "They pronounced him dead on the spot."
MARY BETH: "I very calmly turned to him and I say 'Sir, you got a fire to get to or what? Wait your turn'. And then I order you a Napoleon. At which this guy hits the roof. Right in my face. 'That's my Napoleon. That's the last one' and he snatches it right out of Mort's hands! And then I give him the bows and arrows, Christine. 'It's mine, muscle-head. If you'd been here first, maybe you'd have got it' and I snatched it right back. And then this jerk starts yelling 'You're lucky you're a lady, lady'. Back and forth goes the Napoleon."
CHRISTINE: "Uneven contest. Even better."
MARY BETH: "How do you know I won?"
CHRISTINE: "Never a doubt."
MARY BETH: "I'll have to change my shoes. You better eat every crumb of this."

This choice proves to be a genius move on a number of levels: First we get Tyne Daly getting stuck into the nuances. The anger; the wordy dialogue; hobbling on the uneven shoes. Tyne taps into the comedic potential of all of these. Then we have the amused/horrified reactions of those within earshot.

But most importantly, this scene proves to be another gem in terms of the series' "tell, don't show" policy. Not only is this secondhand account from an angry woman far funnier than viewing the actual encounter would have been, it leaves room to take things to the next level when Nick surprises Chris at the squad room by bringing lunch which - seeing Chris already eating he gives to Corassa:

CORASSA: "Mort's Deli. I mean, those guys really know pastrami."
NICK AMATUCCI: "Yeah, he creates the best Napoleons too. I almost had one until this pushy broad cut right in front of me."
CHRISTINE [with a look of horrified realisation] "Pushy broad?"
NICK AMATUCCI: "Ah, yeah! What a mouth on it. I very politely pointed out to her that I was there first. But she was so stuck on herself. You know the type, probably a cheerleader in high school."
MARY BETH [returning from the locker room] "You! What is it with you?! You wanna file a formal complaint now?"
NICK AMATUCCI: "What, did you follow me down here?"
CHRISTINE: "This is my partner, Mary Beth Lacey. Mary Beth, this is my friend, Nick Amatucci."


And so another of Chris's lovers gets off to a bad start with Mary Beth. And I love it!


Like their visit to Westchester at the beginning of Season Three, Chris and Mary Beth's case sees them going grandiose and triggering Chris's rejection of her mother's affluent lifestyle in the process. Here, she and Mary Beth are undercover at art galleries to investigate a missing piece.

The contrast between Chris and Mary Beth in terms of easing into playing uptown women keeps things buoyant. Mary Beth has her own ideas of who she wants to become for the role, involving a hat with feathers ("Stay away from the park", warns Harvey on seeing it. "That thing may have friends out there").

Chris effortlessly slips into her role, dressing well, pouffing up her hair and saying the right things while Mary Beth joins in where she can. Chris later reveals that she's playing her mother, a woman she heartily resents. There's a nice bit of back story where Chris talks to Mary Beth about how her mother met Charlie when her purse was snatched.

The class divide and personal histories seep into Chris and Nick's relationship when she buys him a silk shirt as a birthday present. Nick is uncomfortable and Chris fails to understand until she walks into an AA meeting and hears him sharing about his ex-wife - a social climber who left him because of his social status. Chris makes her amends by going out for pizza with Nick and presenting him with tickets to a Rangers game after returning the shirt. It's a nice moment that reminds the viewer that these two have a lot in common. Which could bode well for their relationship.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

BUTTON, BUTTON

Ok, firstly: the episode name is apparently too clever for me. I didn't get it. Google tells me it's a children's game that involves some physical contact. Which does make perfect sense for the themes in the episode.

AIDS is the hot topic of conversation pervading both characters' personal stories. Specifically, the fear of contracting it and the stigma of living with it are addressed. For the first part, there are different levels of fear. Mary Beth and Michael fall into the category of hysteria that was prevalent in the Eighties, while Chris and Harv's responses to their situations are more pragmatic.

Mary Beth taking Alice out of nursery on learning that a little girl at the nursery has AIDS summed up the panicked response. This being Cagney & Lacey, the emphasis here is on human relationships. Mary Beth hasn't only indulged a primal response, she's let down someone who asked for her help: the child's mother, Carol Terry, had approached Mary Beth asking for her support. Mary Beth is torn between the guilt of not supporting someone who is at the centre of a witch hunt or the guilt of placing her daughter into what she sees as a dangerous situation.

Carol, by the way, is played by the actress who played BonBon in a couple of earlier episodes. The difference between the two characters is quite stark. I wouldn't have known if not for IMDb.

Chris, meanwhile, is dealing with her relationship with Nick becoming sexual and bringing up the subject of testing. This scenario could have read as inconsistent and a little contrived. For the entire run of the show, Chris has always been comfortable with every aspect of sexual relationships, including - I've always assumed - bringing up the subject of safer sex (somewhere in my memory banks is the image of a scene with Chris producing a condom). As the episode played out, it never felt that way though. This is Chris's first significant new relationship since becoming sober - a major life change which would presumably bring a "newness" to the table, adding to her nerves (not to mention she's still recovering from her rape ordeal). It felt true to her character that her issue wasn't with sex itself, but with having "that" conversation with Nick.

Then I also considered that this episode took place in 1988, a time when awareness of the disease was perhaps at its peak. Not only was it a relatively new thing, it was also just coming out of the misconception that it affected only gay men.

Perhaps with this in mind, Chris takes counsel from Tony (who sardonically refers to it as "God's solution to homos. The big A."). Considering the time, I'd say this move was groundbreaking. Homophobia was a major issue in the Eighties, in no small part due to the misconception that all gay men were the problem. But here is an episode discussing that topic in which a gay man is shown to offer a solution to someone's dilemma around it.

After their little turkey drama in School Daze, the food theme continues during Tony and Chris's conversation. They're in a supermarket preparing for Chris's dinner with Nick. Whether the irony of them both inspecting fresh meat intentional or not, who knows. What is for sure is that it's a great example of a potentially cliché scene filled with factual information for the viewer becoming something three dimensional and relatable because of the staging. We even had a little "Golden Girls" moment at the supermarket checkout when the cashier asked for a price check on the "High Horse" condoms Chris was buying.

Chris did eventually tackle the subject with Nick who revealed he has had both the necessary tests. Chris tells that she's had the first and is waiting to have the second. This confused me a little, as I recall she was tested for HIV in the aftermath of her rape, but I trusted that perhaps she's still within a danger window or something. Regardless, Nick ended up making Chris's night using a condom. I liked the continuity that she was in a reeeeeeeally good mood the next morning.

The procedural had them trying to find someone in the Witness Protection Programme to prevent a hit (someone else had already been killed). It didn't engage me all that much until it got to the end and had a really nice twist that the woman helping them was actually the killer and was out to kill the person Chris and Mary Beth were trying to protect. It would be interesting to re-watch the episode with this information to see if I can pick up the clues that I clearly missed the first time.

The freeze frame had a "to be continued" vibe, with Chris and Mary Beth opening fire on the hit-woman, killing her. I suspect it may not have any further mentions in the next four or five episodes, but it would be nice if it did.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

AMENDS

A nice procedural plot here. Thornton being on a task force with the women picked up Chris's thread of resentment from Trading Places and Shadow Of A Doubt. The show nicely laid some pipe by showing Thornton to be twitchy and somewhat inept when he came to the van in which they were staking out without considering that he could be drawing attention to them. He went in ahead and a shot can be heard. Chris and Mary Beth run inside to discover one of their own officers - Sergeant Marrin - shot dead. It quickly becomes evident that it was Thornton who'd shot him, thinking someone was coming at him. Nobody else was present. Thornton is still holding a gun, this time at Chris and Mary Beth and has to be gently talked into putting it down.

James Stephens again does a nice job as Thornton. In his first two appearances he'd blended in nicely as the ineffectual, milquetoast type. This episode takes it a step further and shows him falling apart in the aftermath of killing an officer. It's also quite painful to watch his former colleagues giving him the big freeze. The only person who treats him like a human being is Mary Beth. As ever, Corassa is quick to judge and Esposito is along for the ride this time.

Stephens' actions reinforce Chris's belief that he's pretty useless, and she repeatedly refers to him as a "desk jockey" who has no idea when it comes to going into the field. Stephens' painstaking research is dismissed as a waste of time.

Once again, there was a nice little twist to the story: Marrin actually had been coming at Thornton. He'd been involved in gun running over a decade earlier as a uniform and was doing all he could to cover up and sabotage the task force's work by staying close to Thornton. It's a vindication that Chris takes a while to come round to, but the collar is eventually shared with Thornton - a decision that Thornton's former naysayers have clearly given a lot of thought to. It's a nice moment.

Smoothing things over is a theme that carries over into Chris's recovery programme. A newcomer to AA asks Chris to be her sponsor, but Chris's sponsor feels she is not ready, having not worked her amends yet. Chris feels she knows better and takes on the sponsee but when the newcomer fires Chris as a sponsor because of her neglect, she quickly realises her sponsor is right.

Ironically, Chris's amends process shows as many of Chris's flaws as it does her growth. The amends she makes to Donna LaMarr are grudging and perfunctory, though graciously accepted. She quickly turns the meeting into a snub when she mumbles an apology and leaves Donna to eat alone. When Donna asks if she can call Chris, the response is that Chris will call Donna. The implication being that she won't.

Donna and Chris's relationship has been a really fascinating journey. I feel quite invested in it, and really wanted them to work it out. As far as I know, this is Donna's last episode of the show, and it's a bitter ending. I'm curious to know if Chris will learn anything from it in the final few episodes of the series.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

FRIENDLY FIRE

Season Seven, while still definitely quality, has seen a slight drop in the consistency of excellence. This is only apparent when comparing Cagney & Lacey with its own earlier episodes. The episodes put out during this final year have been at least as good as anything else on TV at this time. In most cases better.

But then comes along an episode like Friendly Fire, which not only blows its contemporaries out of the water, but compares very favourably with anything that's come before in this series' run.

The three main stories here are all closely tied to the two leads and sees them both in crisis. All the stories, too, have their roots in earlier episodes. It's reasonable to think that each could potentially have been paired with a workaday procedural plot and some office hi-jinx and made into three separate episodes. The fact that this hasn't happened makes this feel very special and even important. There's almost too much going on to be able to process, which helps the audience get on board with the characters' feelings.

The procedural in this episode takes the form of a courtroom drama: an area that has always been a strength of this show. The fact that the trial in question is that of Brad Potter for raping Chris means that the investment is already there. So the show can get down to brass tacks. As expected the fight is a dirty one, with aspersions cast on Chris's character. Something that really stood out to me was how level the courtroom scenes played out. Ugly as the words of the lawyers got, there weren't any major outbursts or histrionics from Chris or Potter. Rather, this was shown as something Chris needed to get through. It was almost like watching a game of chess, where the opposing player moved as anticipated and although it caused some frustration, Chris calmly sat with it while levelly matching her opponent. There was an unspoken recognition that Chris is used to taking the stand in the line of duty and a spoken recognition that she knew what this trial would mean for her. Sharon Gless gave a very beautiful performance, with Chris's determination, anger and grace all subtly radiating out to the viewer.

In addition to supporting her friend, Mary Beth is faced with two sudden and interwoven crises. Harv Jr. was missing during a training mission on board a helicopter, giving both Mary Beth and Harv's fears of losing their son to the military a stark reality. Then Mary Beth's father Martin Zzbiske shows up on her doorstep on hearing the news.

Tyne Daly's performance in this episode could be described as a tour de force. There is a hell of a lot of material for her to work with here, particularly considering the amount of backstory that is brought back into the spotlight. She gets to go big at times - though it never feels inappropriately so. What comes across clearly is the emotional burden she is carrying. Mary Beth has a disturbed look in her eyes throughout the episode that begins to really get to the viewer. It's troubling to watch, with the sort of intensity that one doesn't shake easily (it's a look that makes me think of Sheila Grant at her most troubled).

What I most appreciated is how ugly Mary Beth gets this episode. There are moments when she is downright unlikeable. The prime example - and the episode's most shocking moment - comes when she slaps Michael's face and screams at him for asking if she thinks Harv Jr. is dead. It's a scene that instantly conjures up Season Four's Out Of Control where she slapped Harv Jr. That moment pulled the rug out from under me, but the scene with Michael feels even more shocking. In Out Of Control, she'd just found her 15 year old son playing with her gun and he was talking back to her. Her response was certainly not by the good parents' handbook, but there was a degree of justification there. Here, she meets Michael's need of reassurance with a whack in the face and follows it up with a verbal assault. It's an even more effective moment because Troy Slaten is just twelve or thirteen years old here and - as commented in the next episode - small for his age. The moments following Mary Beth's assault on her son sees the characters at their most primal. John Karlen - consistently excellent through this entire episode - shows Harvey's barely concealed rage as he tells his wife to shut up and warns her not to lay a hand on his son again, his shaking voice rising in volume and intensity. Then he leaves her alone.

In their next scene together, Harv finds her on the rooftop of their old apartment block - a really nice little touch. This is where your average drama would have a scene of redemption for their character. An explanation. Mary Beth does start going into a monologue where she says she's never hit Michael before. It's a moment that I thought would lead to her recollection of the handgun incident. Instead - and this is where this show is completely masterful - the more she reveals, the more unattractive she becomes:

I can't remember ever hitting Michael before tonight. But somehow... it was OK for me to give Harv Jr. a smack. You know, push him around. One time, when he was three, I was working a double shift on a murder and... and I came home. You were still at work and Muriel had to go, and I was gone. Beat. And he wouldn't go to sleep. And he wouldn't go to sleep. And I went in his room - right downstairs there - and I hit him real hard. I didn't mean to. I didn't want to. And... And I didn't know what else to do. I said I was sorry a hundred times, but the look in his eyes. I'll never forget it. God is punishing me for that.

It's such a brave move on the part of the writers and Daly for allowing this. Chris is generally acknowledged to be a very flawed character - which she is. But Mary Beth's flaws, though hidden much of the time, run deep.

Her line about God punishing her runs into a scene where she blames herself for murdering her son, leading Harv to become upset at the thought. It's a cracker of a scene for both of them and plays completely against expectations. At first it seems to move towards a reconciliation and this couple moving closer, but then Harv calls out Mary Beth's self-centred maternal martyrdom. And once again he leaves her alone.

HARVEY: "You! You! You! What am I? Invisible?! How about the rest of the family?! Do you think you're the only one scared here? I will not let you make him die."
MARY BETH: "Go home, Harvey. Because you're OK. You're alive. I could kill you too, Harv. It's me. There's something sour about me. I did it! And I smell of death."
HARVEY: "I don't know what to say to you, Mary Beth. I'm going back to Michael and Alice. I don't need this talk about death. All my kids are still alive."


Throughout the episode, Mary Beth is seen to subtly put a wall up between herself and the people closest to her. Not just in what she says, but also her placement in relation to the others. We see her in the kitchen, listening as Martin and Harv speak to each other. The relationship that is least difficult for her, appropriately, is with Christine.

In scenes at the Laceys', always at the back of my mind is an awareness that Chris is dealing with something huge in court. And vice versa. Scenes that feature both women have a strange vibe to them as a result. A feeling of "what now?"

Mary Beth's storyline brings out yet more great colours in Chris. There's a tender little moment where Mary Beth asks Chris not to speak to her and Chris gently asks if she can sit with Mary Beth for a while. There's so much in what's not said at that moment that helped my connection to both characters. Later on, alone on the patio, Chris challenges Mary Beth for not acknowledging Martin when Mary Beth keeps calling him Mr. Zzbiske.

The episode's final couple of scenes brings all three stories together in the most satisfying way possible. Richard Bradford has been wonderful in all his appearances as Martin. He's like a walking contradiction: this imposing, large-framed, deep voiced character has as much vulnerability and hurt as any character that's appeared on the show. I keep willing Mary Beth to see reason with him. Mary Beth using her father's first name leads to another beautiful scene in the kitchen where she admits she's afraid of being left again. There are so many layers to this backstory that continue to influence the characters actions in the present - as shown by some of Mary Beth's actions this episode. Like Chris's relationship with Donna, the most strained relationships somehow speak to me on a level that goes beyond the ease of other relationships. They challenge me as a viewer, daring me to remain objective if I can and to like these very flawed, very human characters warts and all.

The phone is an important character in this episode. Its ringing jangles the nerves of characters who are all waiting for it to ring with news. Mary Beth is so terrified that when she picks up the phone throughout the episode she says nothing. Chris gets the call she's been waiting for from Samuels and we experience it from the subjective viewpoint of Mary Beth and Harv. Chris's back is to them - and us - as she thanks Samuels and says goodbye. Then she shares that Potter has been found guilty.

A call at the very close of the episode brings closure to the question of Harv Jr.'s fate too. Once again, we don't hear both ends of the conversation. Mary Beth picks up the phone, and mutely passes it to Harv who speaks his son's name in relief.

It's no coincidence that these two significant developments aren't shown. This isn't about Potter, nor the judges and lawyers. It's not even about Harv Jr. It's about three people in a kitchen trying to go about the business of life.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

YUP

This episode title has intrigued me for a while. I'd assumed it had to do with someone agreeing to something - as in an alternative term for "yes" - but I was wrong. It's related to the main plot concerning that most Eighties of commodities: the yuppie. Wall Street and a stolen Rolls Royce Corniche with Berber carpets and a cherry wood dash are all part of the puzzle ("That cost half as much again as my house?" boggles Mary Beth on seeing the car. "It looks like a red shoe box").

There's a definite sense of the series tying up loose ends in recent episodes. Donna; Dupnik; Martin Zzbiske; Potter. Threads that form the show's heritage are being acknowledged and honoured. There are two more in this episode.

Firstly, Harv Jr. comes home for a visit, hot on the heels of the previous episode. This gives some scope for some good old-fashioned Lacey dysfunction. There are a number of angles this episode could have taken. The path it chose was a little unexpected for me: it focussed on Michael's feeling of being in his brother's shadow and not being noticed. Which led to a plot where he stole Harv's keys and took his car. Once again, this met the series' "tell, don't show" remit, being less about the actual event than it is the response to it. I must confess that the mental image of this tiny little person driving a car is an amusing one, though As was Chris's suggestion that Michael might have taken the missing Rolls too.

The most fun here was Mick Solomon came into contact with the women again. There's some closure for this storyline too when he breaks some "bad" news to Chris:

SOLOMON: "I've met someone else. It's real, not just a physical thing like us."
CHRISTINE: "I'm crushed."

I always look forward to Stanley Kamel's return visits. Solomon's sleazy suggestions to Chris have kept me amused since Season Two, and it's hard to believe he's only been in half a dozen episodes, and I'm glad to see this sleaze bowing out in style.

In other news, Nick wanted Chris to meet Mama Amatucci, freaking her out. But all's well as he admits he's not after a commitment. He's definitely her type.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Next up: the two-part series finale!!

I hope to watch this tonight.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

A FAIR SHAKE - Parts I and II


MARY BETH: "If I'm killed in the line of duty, Harvey gets eighty percent of second grade money for life."
CHRISTINE: I want a full-dress funeral. Twenty-one gun salute. The works."


Right to the end this series has played with my expectations. This series finale is no exception. After half a season of winding things down and neatly wrapping stories up, A Fair Shake goes on its own trajectory, starting a new storyline from scratch and taking its time to add layers over the course of the episodes.

What starts as a very ordinary-feeling episode takes the characters on an unexpected journey: both metaphorically and literally. As the story takes on its own life, the episode evolves tonally: a standard procedural; a road trip; a "dark and stormy night" atmosphere piece; a forbidden romance; a conspiracy theory piece; a spy thriller; a Western shootout.

Just as Season Five's Extradition, this episode sees the two sent to accompany someone back for a trial. This time it's a bank president, testifying in the case of a white collar crime which has seen $100m go missing. This time, the venue is Upstate New York. And the mission is top secret, given to them by Marquette himself at a meeting in a warehouse.

Paranoia is a recurring theme here, as are things not being what they seem. The small-town law enforcement is keeping a very close eye on the women. They pick up the bank president - Robert Wright - and Mary Beth is instantly smitten ("I haven't seen so much drool since Alice's first birthday party" Chris wryly observes). Wright, by the way, is played by Falcon Crest's Robert Foxworth.

On the road, Wright explains that what's going down has to do with a U.S./Argentinian arms deal during the Falkland War (I had springs coming out of my ears trying to keep up with this one). When the three are forced to huddle down in a motel for the night, an attempt is made on Wright's life. And when he produces an automatic gun, killing the sniper, that's when we learn that Wright isn't Wright, but F.B.I. Agent Duggan. Who is also a target for the C.I.A.

When - after discovering a transmitter on their car - they're pursued by mysterious men in a BMW with blacked-out windows is when things got genuinely exciting. For a cop show, Cagney & Lacey effortlessly handles detours into other genres effortlessly. The car chase and their attempts to hide by going up a dirt road took a cliché and made it genuinely suspenseful. It worked because it was played intelligently and for truth. Within minutes, the BMW had backtracked and was coming up the same dirt road onto the farm. And the excitement kept going when the occupants of the BMW emerged dressed for battle, each of them packing automatic guns. Held off by Chris and Mary Beth, alone in a barn with no backup - nobody even knowing where they are - and armed with standard issue hand guns. The stakes felt high and the obstacle fairly insurmountable. If I hadn't known about the reunion movies this is the point where I would have assumed it all ends here with the death of one or both of them.

Even so, the way things played out, I completely bought them walking away from it. Partly because the relief was palpable. Duggan did get killed, which felt quite expected considering his guest-star status. But all credit to this series for following that to its conclusion, firstly with Chris, Mary Beth and Harv attending his funeral and letting his family know that he saved their lives, and secondly with them vowing to shed light on the corruption they were convinced existed in the force - particularly after the suspicious death of the real Wright. Which gave us some satisfying tension with authority:

SAMUELS: "Come on, Sergeant. We've known each other a long time. I usually can count on a straight answer from the both of yous. What's doing here?"
CHRISTINE: "Detective Lacey and I have some unfinished business on the bank case, Lieutenant. We wanna finish it. If you can't see your way to allowing it, we'll simply do it on personal time."
SAMUELS: "Is that it? Making up our own assignments now, are we?"
MARY BETH: "Our lives were put in jeopardy by this Department. And we don't know why. We're in agreement, Sergeant Cagney and I, that we need to find out about that before we can go on working for this Department."


MARY BETH: "He "jumped" out of the Criminal Court building."
CHRISTINE: "From a window on the tenth floor. Right now they're picking him up with a blotter! And within minutes we, your co-conspirators, are transferred to a better assignment."
MARQUETTE: "The one has nothing to do with the other. You were following orders. So was I. We were all used."
CHRISTINE: "By whom?"
MARQUETTE: "It isn't often that an inspector of police ...gets a request from Washington. I didn't know the man was a decoy any more than you did. That's all, ladies. If you go any further with this... you better hope I lose my job."


The show takes time from all the goings on to stay small and acknowledge what it is that makes this show so special. In Wright's kitchen, during part one, Chris observed that it's been a year since Mary Beth called Chris a drunk in her kitchen.

Isbecki was conspicuous by his absence in these episodes. He got a name check in Part II, and that was about it. That's a shame, with him being one of the longest-serving members of the cast. I've also enjoyed his series of awkward questions to Mary Beth since marrying Ginger. I'd secretly hoped we might somehow get to see Petrie too, and that didn't happen either. Both these absences highlighted how ineffectual most of the newer members have been. Esposito and Verna Dee in particular both feel like glorified extras. Neither has had a scene that has resonated with me in any way. Corassa has been quite an interesting watch, I've enjoyed how unpleasant he can be at times.

The final scene was notable for feeling so ordinary. The stakes may have been a little higher, but the ending felt so familiar that there was a sense that this wasn't really the end. Life would go on for these two - we just won't get to watch it any more. The final scene featured the three key players at the Fourteenth: Chris, Mary Beth and Samuels. And appropriately enough the final conversation was about painting Cagney & Lacey's very own heart: the Jane.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Reunion Movies - The Menopause Years

THE RETURN

Ah - reunion TV movies of the nineties. It's safe to say I went into this one with my expectations lowered.

I appreciated - and at the same time struggled with - the change of tone. It's essentially a new concept with the characters transplanted. In fact, this felt more like a Pilot for a new series rather than a reunion.

Mary Beth being retired from the force I could accept. But Chris (now Chris Cagney-Burton) as the big-haired wife of a politician? Now that was a shock. I really like James Naughton as Chris's husband, James. The chemistry is good and I believe these two as a couple.

The "origin" nature of the storyline - and particularly the two leads existing independently of one another for what felt like the longest time - meant that this took a while to get going, and felt very flat to begin with (something it shares with just about all its Nineties reunion stablemates). One thing that really cushioned that blow was Samuels' retirement party with all those familiar faces from the series: Samuels, Isbecki. Even Esposito and Verna Dee. And Petrie is back too. This makes up for his non-appearance in the finale.

Harvey's heart attack: for a few moments, I thought they were really going to change the dynamics by killing him off. As it was, his inability to work - and hospital bills - giving Mary Beth a reason to need to take employment again added some authenticity, as well as a new set of struggles.

Once Chris and Mary Beth were connected again, things started firing on all cylinders. It's still quite a different animal to the series, but with this chemistry running through it any shortcomings are forgotten. All this and menopause banter: it's a winner.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

TOGETHER AGAIN

A "previously on Cagney & Lacey" résumé at the beginning, showing events from The Return? This was unexpected. I was expecting each of the four movies to avoid all but the loosest of continuity so they could play independently (and six months apart, as originally broadcast). Instead, this builds on the groundwork laid in The Return. The balance is actually perfect. It does work as its own entity, but there are plenty of threads carried over that mean the viewing experience is enriched by having watched what came before. In other words, it has the same appeal as Cagney & Lacey: The Series.

This actually felt like a step up from The Return. There were several reasons for this. Firstly it hit the ground running because the pipe is already laid and we know where each character is in their journey. Secondly, I found the procedural a little more grass roots than that in The Return. Thirdly, there was a lot of personal conflict for each of the main characters that made this an engaging journey. I also very much enjoyed the smaller touches with perfect casting down to the smallest role. Ira and Mitzi Glass were hugely enjoyable characters in their brief screen-time.

The opening chase, with Chris in pursuit of a homeless man who had stolen the Chinese food she'd just collected, felt perfect in tone. It was engrossing, it was funny, it featured one of the leads, and it took a nice little twist with the homeless guy being found next to a dead body.

The soapy stuff was very absorbing too. Mary Beth's mothering of Harv about what he's eating and how little exercise he's getting and his resultant fury played out very well. A marriage imploding as a result of an illness played out very well and with complete believability. Mary Beth relapsing into smoking cigarettes and essentially choosing to damage herself just as Harvey is with butter and chicken skin was an interesting choice too. Both her Season One battle to stop smoking and her later cancer battle came to mind while watching this and - to the show's credit - both were referenced.

Chris's marriage took a far more soapy turn when she made a surprise visit to James's hotel suite in Washington and found him in bed with another woman. I had a problem with this scene. While I completely believed it could and did happen it's just too familiar a scenario. Watch a few episodes of any soap opera and you'll see this scene played out in exactly the same way by different actors. It's the a prime example of an important aspect of the series that doesn't seem as important in the movies: the "tell, don't show" rule. As a viewer, I trust Chris by now. I didn't need to see it to believe it.

That said, it could be argued that showing us gave the opportunity for Chris to internalise some stuff (it would still have worked if the discovery scene had been excised, probably even better, as there was a later confrontation between Chris and James which covered all that ground again. But I'll rest my case and stop banging on about that).

The end of the episode sees Mary Beth being told she can stay on after some hints about cutbacks. Another colleague, Bernie, is taking early retirement and the tone is celebratory. Champagne is flowing and the relieved women are handed glasses. Chris toasts Mary Beth being able to stay on and takes a sip from her glass.

Now, this is where this film really took my breath away. Literally. The emphasis was completely on the significance of Mary Beth keeping her job, so it all felt completely natural. I don't know at what point I remembered that Chris is an alcoholic. Probably when I saw the look of concern on Mary Beth's face. Again, I had a physical reaction to it. I actually gasped. Initially I wondered if Chris had taken the sip by accident, but then I saw the nonchalant expression on her face in response to Mary Beth's concern. Chris then proceeded to drain her glass and walk away, telling Mary Beth that one glass was fine.

I had a problem with Sue Ellen and Gary relapsing on NuDallas. Not because it's beyond the realms of credulity. It's a fact that recovering alcoholics pick up a drink after months, years or even decades. My biggest issue - particularly in Gary's case - was that it felt lazy, cheap and one-dimensional. It diminished the character somewhat to being a characteristic. The writers took the most sensational aspect of a character's history and replayed it for easy drama rather than finding new facets to explore (fortunately, Sue Ellen's relapse - whether through serendipity or design - ended up doing both). Echoes of that went through my mind after watching Chris take a drink. And yet I don't feel the same way about it. It felt surprising, unexpected and - even with her history - out of character in the best possible way. It was a significant moment that took me by such surprise that I didn't recognise its importance until it had almost passed. Very few TV shows have done that to me, so this deserves due credit.

Something that set this apart from anything we've seen before is that we have all three main characters putting up walls and using coping strategies that they know from experience can kill them. Harvey is recovering from a very recent heart attack. Mary Beth has had cancer. After "seven years and nine months" of sobriety in AA, Chris knows all too well that alcoholism is a terminal illness. What comes across is the ripple effect of how their choices affect the people around them in terms of stress and concern.

Even though Harvey and Mary Beth reached an understanding, all three have serious battles on their hands, and I'm feeling very invested and curious about what will happen in the next instalment.

I particularly enjoyed how unfinished and unclean the personal stories felt at the end. That took some courage for a TV movie when the next airing was still half a year away.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

THE VIEW THROUGH THE GLASS CEILING

Now, this feels like everything is firing again. Having watched all four reunion films, I'd say the middle two are the best. Perhaps because as a viewer I came into them with no opinion about what would make a good beginning or end.

The procedural really raises the stakes on a very personal level for both women, creating conflict. And that makes for some very immersive television. The police corruption being investigated by Chris and Mary Beth brought with it shades of the conflict introduced in Season Two's Internal Affairs.

The dynamic of Chris being a Lieutenant and Mary Beth an Assistant to the District Attorney - while very different to the series -is a format that feels like it has some wheels. There's something fun but also almost uncomfortable about them being the suits. One scene where they pressured a young police officer into cooperating with them was particularly indicative of this.

Any Cagney & Lacey vehicle that shows Chris's ambition at its ugliest is a winner. Her mantra this episode was that she was playing the politics game and she really did. The leaked news story, trashing every member of a squadron is one of the ugliest actions I've ever seen a 'heroic' lead character on a TV show take. And boy, was it great! I really didn't see that coming and didn't consider Chris at all. Not even after Chris was shown to be amused by going through a file on the Twenty Seventh:

CHRISTINE: Mary Beth, "These are pure gold. Gigi Cardenas is a lesbian. Her girlfriend got into big trouble because someone snitched her giving police business away. Anyway she was cleared!"
MARY BETH: "Do you think that's any of our concern?"
CHRISTINE: "Course not!! It's just fun to know."
MARY BETH: "This is everybody's nightmare, you know that don't you? People snooping around the confidential files like they're a Jackie Collins' novel. Joshing and giggling over private peoples' stuff. IRS secretaries, FBI clerks, people in doctors' offices. How would you people sniffing over your medical history?"
CHRISTINE: "Would you just lighten up. It's just dishing."

Captain Cardenas, portrayed by Lynne Thigpen, is one of two fine examples of women on the force in this episode (the other is the young officer Angela Lum, so both ends of the rank spectrum are well-represented here). Having seen Chris and Mary Beth's challenges as women the previous decade, one can only wonder at the obstacles Cardenas - a black, lesbian woman - would have needed to overcome to make Captain. What's more, all the on-screen evidence is that she has remained clean and worked hard. She's certainly very likeable indeed.

This, of course, only serves to make Chris leaking the story even more of a betrayal. The reason for Chris leaking the story was to ensure her place on the Law Enforcement Oversight Board - a position both she and Cardenas were up for. What she didn't count on, though, was that her own background would be thoroughly investigated and she, too, would not be successful. She's set up on the day of her divorce, by someone showing a romantic interest in her (they don't actually sleep together, with him claiming to have an STI). Chris finding out the truth gives her the chance to verbally stick it to those who've wronged her. But the consequence she's left with is that Mary Beth wants nothing to do with her anymore.

Chris's date with the young spy at Mucho Gusto has the dubious accolade of being the worst piece of directing in the entire run of Cagney & Lacey, and one of the worst on any show I've seen. Four characters are seated at a round table in a restaurant, and for practically the entire duration of the scene the camera moves round the table in an anti-clockwise movement, never stopping. We see the back of someone's head and then a glimpse of someone on the opposite side of the table, then the back of the next person's head and so on. It's truly dizzying and I had to avert my eyes from the TV after a couple of times round the table. I would advise anyone planning to watch this to take some Dramamine first.

On a related note, I saw the boom mic more times in the last couple of movies than I did in the entire run of the series.

That said, the overall feel of the aesthetic is of quality. There's a rich-in-contrast sepia quality to the movies that sums up what TV was getting right in the Nineties. The aesthetics are definitely different in tone to the series, and while I found it a little dark at times and favour the clarity and simplicity of the series, the movies are certainly attractive enough. The music is also good, and scenes of action have a genuine excitement to them.

I'm glad to see the "tell, don't show" policy is back and working well. Through snippets of dialogue, we learn that her drink of champagne in the previous instalment led to a relapse from which she has managed to recover.

CHRISTINE: "I did some drinking this summer."
MARY BETH: "I know."
CHRISTINE: "What do you mean 'You know'? How did you know? I only drank at ...night."
MARY BETH: "I knew when you were drinking and now I know you're not."

It echoes a conversation between Mary Beth and Harv in Together Again where he revealed that he knew she'd been smoking in secret because she smelt like an ashtray. There's a comforting sense that the characters know each other so well they can't fool one another for long. But it's coupled with them allowing each other to follow their own path.


The return of Mary Beth's father, Martin Zzbiske was beautifully done. Mary Beth finding him in a condition where he doesn't recognise her, brings some beautiful colours to both actors. In Martin's final appearance during the series, I said:

Richard Bradford has been wonderful in all his appearances as Martin. He's like a walking contradiction: this imposing, large-framed, deep voiced character has as much vulnerability and hurt as any character that's appeared on the show. I keep willing Mary Beth to see reason with him.

In Glass Ceiling, the vulnerability is there and more prominent for the fact that he is no longer so imposing. Nearly all his scenes have him in bed, looking up at this woman he doesn't recognise. There are some sweet scenes of her feeding him dinner, with Martin giggling because the nurse "thinks" Mary Beth is his daughter.

Incidentally, Mary Beth also airbrushes an unpleasant side of herself when the hospital find bruises on Martin and imply that she might have caused them. She screams "I don't hit. Ever." Effectively retconning from her psyche her actions in Out Of Control and Friendly Fire, as well as historic events also referenced in Friendly Fire.

I felt a little sad that Mary Beth and Martin don't seem to have moved forward much from Friendly Fire. There it appeared the relationship was on the way to being mended, but here they're back to estrangement. I found myself wondering if Friendly Fire was their last encounter. The dialogue certainly suggested that. If that is the case, it stamps on the resolution brought in that episode, which was hopeful. I feel that if they were estranged once more it was Mary Beth's doing this time. Which only adds to Martin's vulnerability.

Theirs has been an interesting relationship. I can understand Mary Beth's hurt, but I also feel she's been hugely unreasonable towards him for far too many years, while he has tried over and over to connect with her and his family and to restore their relationship. She's caused far more hurt to Martin and her family than she has accused Martin of. His character is an enigma in many ways, but what I've seen I like. His is the most tragic story in Cagney & Lacey.

Martin's dementia effectively gave he and Mary Beth a blank slate. It's a slate he had offered to her several times during the series' run, but she wouldn't accept. Here, on her terms, she takes it. And Martin's eventual death brings her some kind of closure. Objectively I feel happy that she's found that peace, but having watched their interactions, I find it sad that the peace they found in Friendly Fire wasn't as significant as it appeared.

It's appropriate that the person who supported Mary Beth through her father's death was Chris. The scenario was more meaningful because of their journey up to this point. Their previous scene had been Mary Beth walking away from Chris in disgust, but here Chris shows up at Martin's deathbed and Mary Beth is clearly very glad to see her. It sums up how strong this relationship is. And the final moments, with Chris contacting Captain Cardenas shows that she is putting the action in to make amends. It's a nice, hopeful ending.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

TRUE CONVICTIONS

Once again a case hits close to home when the boyfriend of Chris's neighbour is killed - with Chris as a witness. Meanwhile, Mary Beth is in court on a case whose outcome could mean that the state could murder the offender.

There are a string of events that seem tantalising to someone who's watched a lot of cop shows, but ultimately come to nothing. The young woman whose boyfriend was killed then dies herself of a drugs overdose after a visit from one of her dodgy friends. It seems accidental but there's some suggestion it could be suicide. Her somewhat evasive father arrives and tries to keep Chris from becoming involved. An elderly woman who is a witness in the capital trial meanwhile goes into a diabetic coma after her husband had sent some visitors away. Another witness is reluctant to testify as his church is strongly opposed to capital punishment. The wife of a man who was killed is "a very big believer in the power of prayer".

For a time it seems all these are somehow going to get tied together. Or at least be more significant than they are. Perhaps my mind was working too hard on this one. It certainly went against expectations, as I thought we were moving towards some kind of cult cover up or something. But then the actual outcome seemed something of an anti-climax.

Not for the first time, Chris gets inappropriately involved with someone. This time it's the Matt Wily, father of Chris's now-dead neighbour. Matt, by the way, is played by Michael Moriarty who was just wonderful in Season Five's Act Of Conscience. For me Chris getting it on with Matt had echoes of The Gimp, where Chris was rather too willing to go along with someone who made what seemed a very inappropriate pass at her. The same happened here. As Matt made his move, things went into slow motion. To me, this highlighted the inappropriateness of the situation. In fact it looked like we were moving into an attempted rape scenario. To say I was surprised when Chris went along with him is an understatement. I found the guy and the situation a little creepy, made more so by his hobby of photography using a camera that has a lens on the side to take "candid" snaps of people without them knowing. Even in his last scene, where he came to say goodbye, I expected him to produce a knife and start chasing Chris round her apartment.

The personal angle to the plot felt a little too contrived, but did lead to a great scene for Chris in - where else - a Ladies' Room, where she tearfully confesses to Chris that she's been withholding information to protect Matt. It's a nice moment for both women.

The capital case gives much scope for discussion around capital punishment. As it goes, the exploration was quite low key, but the approach - that of reverse racism - a fascinating one.

Mary Beth's gut leads her to recognise that evidence in the case was planted by a colleague, Mike Foy (played by Beau Starr). While she has no evidence, she takes a Columbo-esque approach to making her case with Chris in one of the movie's best scenes:

CHRISTINE: "Mary Beth, you found the evidence."
MARY BETH: "Mike Foy led me to it. I think he planned the whole thing."
CHRISTINE: "Hold it. ...Hold it! ...Did he enter the room before you?"
MARY BETH: "I went first."
CHRISTINE: "Was there ever a time that he was alone with the shoeboxes?"
MARY BETH: "I was there the whole time."
CHRISTINE: "Did you see him drop anything into the box?"
MARY BETH: "No."
CHRISTINE: "Well then, cut it out."
MARY BETH: "Where's the key to the file cabinet?"
CHRISTINE: "I gave it to you two seconds ago."
MARY BETH: "I don't have it. Check your drawer."
CHRISTINE: "It's not in my drawer. I just remember I gave it to you." [she opens her drawer] "How did that get in my drawer?"
MARY BETH: "Was there ever a time that I was alone with that drawer?"


The final scene was very disappointing. I can only tolerate it by assuming the powers that be hoped to make some more Cagney & Lacey at some point. To say the least, Chris swooning because an inappropriate shag sent her a photo of herself taken without her knowledge or consent certainly doesn't sum up the magic of the previous fifteen years. Not by a long chalk.

 

[Seaviewer]

The final scene was very disappointing. I can only tolerate it by assuming the powers that be hoped to make some more Cagney & Lacey at some point.

I think there were plans at one point for a Columbo-style series of monthly 90-minute instalments but I agree - the first two movies were more self-contained. The last two leave us with a more open ending which is less satisfying. I still think it's not too late for one more visit focussing on their retirement and maybe a glimpse of Alice now in the force.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

I think there were plans at one point for a Columbo-style series of monthly 90-minute instalments

I watched the Archive of American Television interviews last night, and that was mentioned in those. Tyne said something about it going out four times a year, and Sharon said they planned two episodes per year for five years. A little aside: the term "wheel series" was new to me.

The last two leave us with a more open ending which is less satisfying.

I was a little surprised the ending of the regular series was as open as it was, but I feel it had more of a sense of closure than the movies. Perhaps because everyone knew it was the final episode and the episodes leading up to it had tied up lots of loose ends.

I still think it's not too late for one more visit focussing on their retirement and maybe a glimpse of Alice now in the force.

That sounds interesting. It could be fun to see where they are in their lives now. From seeing recent appearances of theirs the chemistry is still there.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

When I started the car this morning Radio 4 came on, which isn't too unusual. But what made my ears prick up were two of the first words I heard coming from it: "Sharon Gless".

It turned out to be the tail end of a Tyne Daly interview, notable for very little mention of C&L outside of the part I heard. It's a conversation about Tyne's feelings about turning 70 last year:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08bynz0

I was surprised to learn at the end that Tyne is going to be in the new Spider-Man film. I've done a little search to see who she was playing (my immediate thought was Aunt May. Or even Madame Web). Apparently they're keeping her role under wraps, but rumour has it she's going to be a gender-swapped J. Jonah Jameson.