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

[Seaviewer]

EXIT: STAGE CENTRE

I couldn't help feeling this was a deliberate pastiche rather than a derivative rip-off.

Oh, definitely.

Tyne Daly is pure Peter Falk. She gets everyone's names wrong, and then gets distracted:

A spot-on caricature.

Then we see Chris swinging back and forth behind Mary Beth, holding onto a rope. It's completely OTT and almost pushes credibility, but it was so much fun it's my favourite moment of the entire episode.

final conclusion about the actress's fate

It was Murder on the Orient Express in reverse. Not everyone ... no one did it.

Gless and Rosenzweig's later relationship

Interesting observation.

 

[Seaviewer]

CAPITALISM

Ironically a more conventional whodunnit than the previous episode's Agatha Christie/Columbo homage, a close-call for the Lacey's dream house, and the sub-plot about Cagney's Corvette showed her battling some inconvenient scruples when she couldn't quite stretch the truth far enough to make a sale. Some nice scenes as the squad reacts in various ways to Lacey's irritability, too.

 

[Seaviewer]

EXTRADITION

The trip means that there are examples galore of Mary Beth's lack of worldliness,

It's interesting, though, that their positions change during the episode. Mary Beth becomes more comfortable while Christine becomes decidedly less so.

Just as Exit: Stage Centre saw them commenting how weird actors are, some of the dialogue in this episode feels a little tongue-in-cheek and knowing.

Best was when someone asked her which series she was a detective on. \

And the two detectives were name Johnson and Masters. Nothing was made of it; the two names were even revealed in separate scenes.

In a nice touch, Mary Beth persuades Chris to contact Brian, so we get more David Ackroyd and we see Brian in his natural environment. There's also an introduction to Brian's wife Anne and their daughters Bridgit and Lisa. It feels good to have the show's canvas broadened a little in this way and shows good attention to detail.

I had completely forgotten there was a second daughter. We don't see much of her or her mother.

A SAFE PLACE

It seems as relevant today as it was then. In many ways even more so:

That's been true of a lot of the issues covered. Good for the show but sad that we've made so little progress in real life.

For some reason, throughout this scene I kept seeing Meg Foster's Chris

She came into my mind, too. I was by no means sure why.

 

[Seaviewer]

MODEL CITIZEN

I recognised Frechette's name and face, but can't place exactly where I know him from

I had the exact same experience.

As someone keeping on top of Knots Landing connections this blew my mind a little. Here's Karen Fairgate's brother discussing the daughter of the man who dated Karen Fairgate - the man who also originated the role of Karen's good neighbour. And it's all happening in the same episode which prominently features the woman who shot Karen.

Chris's interactions with her niece

When Bridget first mentions her grandfather, Chris doesn't know who she means, then says, "Oh, Charlie". After that, Bridget calls him Charlie, too.

, had they pronounced "scones" the traditional British way here, instead of rhyming it with "stones".

I suspected that their was something off about the nanny from then on. A real Brit would never have taught them to say it like that.

 

[Seaviewer]

Sadly, I was unable to watch "Parting Shots" due to a bad scratch on the disc. It had already caused sticking during the previous three episodes but this time it froze at the 7 minute mark and just wouldn't play any further.

I was already planning a hiatus at this point, with the hot weather coming up here, so in the meantime I'll look into getting a replacement disc before I resume.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Sadly, I was unable to watch "Parting Shots" due to a bad scratch on the disc. It had already caused sticking during the previous three episodes but this time it froze at the 7 minute mark and just wouldn't play any further.

I was already planning a hiatus at this point, with the hot weather coming up here, so in the meantime I'll look into getting a replacement disc before I resume.

Oh - that’s a shame. But at least the timing has worked out, even if the break is an episode early. There’s still lots of goodness to look forward to in a few months. Enjoy the balmy weather.

 

[Seaviewer]

Okay, let's try that again...

PARTING SHOTS

This is of course the episode which we were trying not to spoil earlier with a bad taste pun for a title

The unexpected nature is thwarted somewhat by the heavy-handedness of the preview scenes which leave out only the identity of the victim.

My memory was that it occurred earlier in the season, an impression which was abetted by the inclusion of Robert Hegyes in the cast photo on the back of the DVD case. A strange mistake to make.

And so the only death of a series regular character plays out wordlessly and with understatement.

I still have the feeling that this was to be his arc all along. I've already remarked on the name Newman. His first name of Jonah also implies a feeling of foreboding.

Chris is unhappy about some of the things Samuels is asking her to do, such as breaking the news to Newman's mother and searching Newman's apartment to make sure he was clean. When Samuels will get pressed no further and lets her have it, it's a sight to behold. And it happens twice in this episode where he reminds Chris of her new rank and the responsibilities that come with it.

It seemed fairly obvious to me that the reason Samuels was pushing the responsibilities onto her was that he was emotionally unable to do them. She really should have been able to see that. Too self-absorbed perhaps. The surprise was more that he admitted it later.

 

[Seaviewer]

Season Six - Quality Control

Into the home stretch now.

The biggest revelation about his character came back in Season Two's Internal Affairs

I was immediately reminded of that episode. It came as a shock that it really was one of the gang this time.

Samuels visit the apartment for (I think) the very first time. He comments how nice it is and frowns at her crushed Corvette which after its demise in Capitalism is still prominently displayed and flashing an indicator.

A nice throwback to the earlier episode.

But it's already established that Isbecki had his trust fund and was independently wealthy. So why would he need to sell drugs to cover his mother's expenses. I had wondered if this was going to be a continuity error, but the writers had covered that one earlier by mentioning that his mother's hospital bills were covered by medicare.

They never mentioned the trust fund - I thought they had forgotten about it, too. The better explanation came when he said that heroin was the only thing that helped her pain, but it was not available legally in the US.

The closed door at the freeze frame, with Mary Beth's footsteps heard over it feel like the perfect ending to a chapter.

I don't suppose Mary Tyler Moore was the first to do a light-dousing, door-closing scene but I always think of her series finale when I see something like that.

 

[Seaviewer]

themes in Culture Clash are still very relevant today. Indeed, those themes have never been more in the public eye than it is in late 2016. So an episode that sympathetically shows a struggle to balance the values of two different cultures could be said to have been light years ahead of its time.

I thought the same thing and, sadly, it's even more relevant in 2019.

 

[Seaviewer]

SORRY, RIGHT NUMBER

A movie parody title, which is fairly unusual for this show. It took me a beat after watching to even figure out what it meant in context of the episode - the answering service connection.

a nicely upbeat episode offering a welcome change of pace.

Yes. it reminded of the Knots episode "Birds Do It, Bees Do It".

these are two characters that don't interact on a one to one basis very often. B

Lacey and Isbecki having a real conversation is not something I'd even really thought about before. Even at this stage the characters can still surprise us.

This episode also sees Robert Hegyes first appearance - a low key affair although he goes straight into the opening credits. I notice that the guest cast are now credited at the beginning of the episode but no such luck for the long-serving Paul Mantee as Corassa.

 

[Seaviewer]

DISENFRANCHISED

Another social issue that still resonates disturbingly with present-day headlines.

I know Barsi from Jaws The Revenge. She's also very convincing as someone who has suffered a trauma - unnervingly so for an eight year old. It's especially poignant watching her in this knowing that the young actor was suffering abuse at the hands of her own father who would murder her a year and a half after this episode aired.

I had no idea about this. It's sad to think that maybe she was not acting at all.

The Incy Wincy Spider.

Incy Wincy Spider is what we called it here as well. In this and other American shows they call it The Itsy-bitsy Spider, a descriptive term rather than the name I understood it to be as child.

Michael is not settling into his new school and has psychosomatic stomach pains.

If this was being made now I think Michael would have been diagnosed with Anxiety and treated much more seriously.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Another social issue that still resonates disturbingly with present-day headlines.

Yes, sadly.

I had no idea about this. It's sad to think that maybe she was not acting at all.

Yes it is. Knowing this, it's impossible for me to watch her in anything now without it affecting the way I view.

Incy Wincy Spider is what we called it here as well. In this and other American shows they call it The Itsy-bitsy Spider, a descriptive term rather than the name I understood it to be as child.

Yes, I associate the "Itsy-Bitsy" variation with the U.S.

Growing up in the UK I only ever heard "Incy Wincy". I'm not sure if this is still the case here. Stealing from American culture at the expense of our own has increasingly become something of a British pastime.

 

[Seaviewer]

ROLE CALL

This episode is a good example of Christine Cagney being a "flawed" character. She brings a determinedly prejudiced outlook to the situation which she refuses to back down on (until the very end) becoming quite unlikeable in the process - quite unusual for a TV cop hero.

the term "jiggle TV", bringing to mind Rosenzweig's Charlie's Angels connection

The Charlie's Angels connection crossed my mind as well.

Dee Dee's gun-toting pose while reeling off her catchphrase: "Hold it, big boy".

That is reminiscent of Christie Love's "You under arrest, sugah!" although as I remember it Get Christie Love! was actually a fairly gritty show for its time.

The name Dee Dee may be a reference to Dee Dee McCall, Stepfanie Kramer's character on Hunter, which, without wanting to draw too long a bow, was effectively the TV series version of Tyne Daly's own The Enforcer, i.e. "Dirty Harry with a female partner".

 

[Mel O'Drama]

That is reminiscent of Christie Love's "You under arrest, sugah!" although as I remember it Get Christie Love! was actually a fairly gritty show for its time.

That's a new one to me. The background of the show (based on a novel but with the race of the lead character changed to cash in on the Blaxploitation trend; low budget and the lead actress's Jehovah's Witnesses faith restricting what she would film leading to its demise) is a great story in itself.

The name Dee Dee may be a reference to Dee Dee McCall, Stepfanie Kramer's character on Hunter, which, without wanting to draw too long a bow, was effectively the TV series version of Tyne Daly's own The Enforcer, i.e. "Dirty Harry with a female partner".

This one I do remember, but I hadn't made the connection with The Enforcer.

 

[Seaviewer]

the lead actress's Jehovah's Witnesses faith restricting what she would film

Yes, I had heard about that. I understand her conversion came after the pilot was filmed, and the series was somewhat toned down by comparison.

 

[Seaviewer]

THE ZEALOT

This episode focusing on child pornography is almost a continuation of the child abuse case of two weeks earlier.

I do enjoy those courtroom scenes shown from the perspective of another function of police work. It's an aspect that I haven't seen very much in other police shows. Usually, once the bad guys are caught the credits role and that's it.

Yes, I hadn't thought of that. The Law & Order franchise is perhaps the only similar example in recent times.

 

[Seaviewer]

MARATHON

Apartheid comes under the C&L microscope as a white South African marathon runner chooses to run despite coming under threat, meaning she needs police protection. In a way this episode is now a time capsule, but the theme of institutionalised racism is - sadly - timeless.

My thoughts exactly.

An episode which, unusually, seems dated because the central issue of apartheid has since been resolved. But the larger issue of racism remains.

 

[Seaviewer]

RITES OF PASSAGE

Mary Beth and Harv Sr.'s arc in this episode is uncannily similar to The Zealot, two episodes ago. Here, as there, Mary Beth sees a concern around her son's preoccupation with sex,

Children and sex seems to have become a consistent theme so far this season.

A couple of casting notes:

Faith Ford as one of the sorority girls. Like Ron Howard and Ed Begley, Jr. (at least until relatively recently), Faith Ford doesn't seem to age. She still looks much the same in the new Murphy Brown episodes.

Robert Hegyes's fellow former Sweathog Ron Palillo - but sadly not in the same scene.

 

[Seaviewer]

REVENGE

It's good to see Carl Lumbly get the chance to delve deeper. He can handle any material he's given

Coincidentally, I've also been watching Supergirl season 3. Lumbly has a recurring role in that. Very different to Petrie but again showing his range.

Kathy Bates's name made me sit up and pay attention. And she was great.

I saw her name in the credits but wouldn't have recognised her otherwise. Much younger than I'm used to seeing her.

Also interesting to see Harris Yulin who I remember from a short-lived drama series about a cash-strapped TV station WIOU (I.O.U., get it?) as yet another disappointing romantic subject for Cagney.

A nice touch was Cagney playing back her answering machine messages with her father and David's uncredited voices showing that their lives continue beyond the confines of what we see on screen.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Coincidentally, I've also been watching Supergirl season 3. Lumbly has a recurring role in that. Very different to Petrie but again showing his range.

I had no idea. Great to see he's still working. He's quite a busy man according to IMDb.

Seems he has a bit of a history with DC on TV. And if I remember my comics, he's now playing the father of the character he voiced in the DCAU back in the Nineties, which is a nice touch (from the little I've seen, the Arrowverse is very good at these little nods to DC's TV and film history).

I saw her name in the credits but wouldn't have recognised her otherwise. Much younger than I'm used to seeing her.

Yes. It's only around four years pre-Misery, but it makes all the difference.

A nice touch was Cagney playing back her answering machine messages with her father and David's uncredited voices showing that their lives continue beyond the confines of what we see on screen.

Well spotted. It's a while since I watched it, but I don't know if that even registered with me. I think I just accepted it as part of Chris's reality and didn't consider the work that had gone into that small moment.