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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mel O&#039;Drama" data-source="post: 6802" data-attributes="member: 23">Season Two - The True Beginning<img src="https://67.media.tumblr.com/84b5a1e05f2e4dba461f22b60832dcca/tumblr_nby554Cdt61thjzcdo1_400.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />WITNESS TO AN INCIDENTBoo. Season Two has previews. It's nice that they're included for completion but really - I find these such a pain. Why would anyone want to watch a summary of the story they're about to watch? Even when watching on TV with an endless number of commercial breaks? I suppose they serve the same purpose as film trailers: alluring little teasers. But then when did you last watch a film that had a trailer stuck on at the beginning of it? If you're already sitting down to watch it, isn't that preaching to the converted?But that's just one petty little nitpick. Now that it's over with, it's on to the good news. The first piece of which comes in the rather spendid style of Bill Conti's iconic theme, heard for the first time here. Ray Pizzi and Ernie Watts riffing for their lives on saxes.[MEDIA=youtube]FJ-RDj_50oI[/MEDIA]This has to be one of THE best TV themes. Ever (though I suppose we'll soon find out the definitive answer, eh [USER=8]@Willie Oleson[/USER]?). And finally the sound and look of the opening titles completely encapsulates what's good about the show itself. Just look at how strongly the chemistry between the actors comes across (Chris thumping Mary Beth for distracting her while she's on the phone is so cute); the little character moments; the humour (Chris taking a good look at the flasher as they pass); a bit of gun-toting action; the warm, natural looking outdoors feel (the shot of the two women laughing in the car is a favourite of mine). Oh - and who doesn't love that middle aged couple top right of screen that turns to blatantly stare at the actors just as the "boxes" start at about 8 seconds in? They can be seen even more clearly in the still that accompanies the end titles. They're just brilliant.As the show itself starts, the story begins almost right away. But first there's a nice bit of business that tells the audience to expect the unexpected. Cagney and Lacey slow down their car to ask a sex worker to move along (her initial response on spotting them: "Sorry - no sisters"). She gives them some stick and they show her their badges. Except she isn't convinced, telling them a badge can be bought "for a dollar fifty nine". They threaten to take her downtown, and she reaches into her bag to show her own badge. She's a cop just having a bit of fun with them. Except Cagney and Lacey cuff her anyway, reminding her that a badge can be bought for a dollar fifty nine. So she's a streetwalker, then she's a cop, then she's a streetwalker again. We cut away to a pharmacist getting shot by a junkie, and when we cut back to Cagney and Lacey, they're casually leaning on their car chatting casually to their new friend when the call comes in, suggesting (though not definitively) that she's a cop after all. Nothing more is said. To the show's credit the audience is credited with being able to read between the lines without lengthy scenes or ADR.The main plot is incredibly tightly woven, and once again the audience sees things as the characters would. The aforementioned shooting attracts the attention of two Neighbourhood Watch types who call it in and give chase. Cagney and Lacey arrive and join the chase, and so does a young male officer. Mary Beth drives to the other end of the alley, while Chris joins the male cop on foot. Not clear on who is who, they shout warnings. One guy stops and turns. Believing he has a gun, the male cop shoots. Only to find out that he's just shot a pursuing Neighbourhood Watch guy.Now the immediate aftermath of the shooting gives the one moment in the episode I had a problem with, and it's purely down to the way it was filmed. Because things briefly go into Eighties slo-mo (I'm thinking there was probably some kind of heartbeat effect for good measure too, but maybe I'm misremembering). It's a fairly subtle version of slo-mo so I can mostly forgive it. Unfortunately, the second Neighbourhood Watch guy (that's the one who hasn't been shot) hams it up with a great big slo-mo "N-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-ooooooo". It's a little embarrassing to watch, and for a few moments I'm wondering if there will be a twist and we'll find out this is some kind of spoof moment. But no - it's real.All is quickly forgiven though. Because we immediately move onto some major conflict between the leads as they go over their recollection of events. Chris says that she could see the man holding a gun before he was shot. Mary Beth is asked if she saw it. She saw the guy, but no gun. As it starts to dawn on them what this could mean, there are some wonderful moments for both actors. It's clear that Mary Beth is trying to support her partner as she expands with some plausible reasons why she didn't see the gun - the shadows; the different angles. She never says she doesn't believe her partner. Just that she didn't see what Chris did.There's an unsettling moment where a senior officer says he'll leave the two women alone to talk, telling them - in as many words - to collude on getting their story straight. But next morning Mary Beth refuses to sign the statement provided by D.I. Marquette (in his first appearance here. He's played by Ronald Jason who also provided post-shooting drama on Knots Landing as the doctor who told Karen Mackenzie she was dying). Marquette and Samuels aren't pleased. And neither is Chris. And things are complicated further when the Neighbourhood Watch man dies.Now, a few words about Sharon Gless. I've barely mentioned her debut so far. The main reason being she is Christine Cagney for so many. As I've said in previous posts, I thought Swit was great in the Pilot and I grew to really enjoy Meg Foster in the first season - to the point where I was sorry her run was ending so soon. The most noteworthy thing about Gless is that even though she is very different to the previous Cagneys (especially her direct predecessor), there's nothing jarring about her presence here. It just feels like she's been there all the time. I 100% believe that she's got a long history with Mary Beth and that she's been sharing banter with the guys in the office for aeons. The chemistry is that good. By the end of the first act the two women are in conflict. It could have been perceived as Tyne Daly arguing with some unknown actress playing a bitchy version of Chris Cagney. The safe thing to do would be to hold off on this episode for a few weeks until the relationship is more established. And yet within the space of those first ten minutes, I was so convinced by this relationship between colleagues and friends that I'm completely invested in the schism that comes with the fallout. I can't think of any other recast that has been this immediately convincing.So Gless gets some really meaty scenes in her first appearance, and the heart of Cagney beats strong. She clashes wonderfully with her colleague and remains fully in character thanks to some great writing. It's all in there - how important her career is to her, how she needs to have a partner she can trust (she tells Mary Beth that if she missed the gun this time, there's a chance she'll miss it again). And she eventually goes solo to try to resolve things in her own way.The ambiguity throughout the episode is especially pleasing. We're presented with the women's viewpoints, and left to try to read them. As the episode went on, the more Chris determinedly said she saw the gun, the more Mary Beth reasonably tried to resolve things between them. I found myself waiting for that moment where Chris realised she'd almost risked her career because she couldn't admit that she'd been wrong, and was curious about how she was going to make it up to Mary Beth. Until the reveal came…Talk about leading with strength. This is the best-constructed episode yet. The perfect balance of professional and personal. The conflict feels very real and powerful. And the story so carefully woven it's incredible to think it was packed into just 50 minutes.One note… Chris is asked if she's ever shot anyone and replies that she hasn't. Back in the Pilot, she fired two shots into someone who was attacking her. Either the Pilot is considered non-canon or the powers that be have forgotten a pretty significant fact. My feeling is that it's probably deliberately been forgotten and retconned out so that Gless gets to have that moment where Chris shoots someone for the first time. But that's for another episode…</blockquote>

Verification: What month follows July?