Created by:
Barbara Avedon & Barbara Corday
Cast:
Tyne Daly….Det. Mary Beth Lacey
Sharon Gless….Det. Sgt. Christine Cagney
Al Waxman…Lt.. Bert Samuels
Martin Kove….Det. Victor Isbecki
John Karlen….Harvey Lacey
Carl Lumbly….Det. Mark Petrie
Sidney Clute….Det. Paul La Guardia
MGM Home Video presents Cagney & Lacey: The True Beginning. Twenty two episodes on 4 flipper DVDs. Episodes aired from Oct. 25, 1982 to May 9 , 1983. DVD released April 24, 2007.
The Show
There was a time on TV when being a female cop meant sex appeal behind the badge. Angie Dickinson was over 40 when she starred in Police Woman. But her Sgt. “Pepper” Anderson looked like she was going to lure a confession from the punks using her showgirl legs. The ladies that made up Charlie’s Angels were ex-cops that looked like super models during their time at the Academy. When Cagney & Lacey hit the air in the fall of 1982, America was treated to two police women who shopped off the rack at Sears.
You might have a little curiosity about why this boxset is called True Beginnings rather than Season One. That’s because this isn’t the first season. Nor does it have the movie of the week that served as the pilot. Why? Because the movie of the week featured Loretta Swit as Cagney. She was still doing Hot Lips Houlihan on M*A*S*H and didn’t take the role when the movie became a series. The first season consisted of six episodes with Meg Foster as Cagney. The chemistry between Foster and Tyne Daly didn’t work. Sharon Gless took the role of Cagney for the second season which is featured in this boxset. For a majority of fans, this was the real start of the show.
What makes Cagney & Lacey work is the simple fact that this was a show written for two female cop characters. They didn’t merely change genders on a buddy cop show. The episodes balance their caseload with home life. Lacey is a working mom whose husband also holds down a job. She juggles her caseload with child care. Cagney is single and wants to be in a relationship where the man doesn’t mind that she’s packing heat.
The first episode shows that these two aren’t of the same mindset. “Witness to An Incident” has a cop accidentally shoot a neighborhood watch citizen that was chasing a crook. Lacey can’t give a home team report to clear the cop. “Mr. Lonelyhearts” has an elderly man discover that his ailing wife is in fact a hooker grafting him. “Beauty Burglars” has felons knocking off ritzy beauty salons. The ladies learn the emotional lesson of befriending a victim.
“Conduct Unbecoming” has to be the first cop show to focus several minutes on a precinct playing scratch and win lottery tickets. It is good to see cops supplementing their income without taking bribes from crooks. They top the episode by having old modeling pics of a fellow cop appear in a gay porn magazine. You never saw Sgt. Friday dealing with these issues on Dragnet. “Recreational Use” has Cagney finally find a boyfriend that’s a fellow cop. Things however go bad when she discovers he’s hooked on cocaine.
Cagney & Lacey always seemed like mom’s version of Adam-12. This is a more adult police show than I remembered when watching it 25 years ago. There are no completely cheesy plots like you’d find on Charlie’s Angels. The relationship between Cagney and Lacey pushes the stories as much as their caseload; these are two women with different approaches, but as rarities on the force, they need to have each others’ backs. This duo didn’t last six seasons by merely relying on their looks.
The Episodes
This season included “Witness to An Incident,” “One of Our Own,” “Beauty Burglars,” “High Steel,” “Hot Line,” “Internal Affairs,” “Mr. Lonelyhearts,” “Conduct Unbecoming,” “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” “Recreational Use,” “Hopes and Dreams,” “The Grandest Jewel Thief of Them All,” “Affirmative Action,” “Open and Shut Case,” “Jane Doe #37,” “Date Rape,” “Burn Out,” “Chop Shop,” “Let Them Eat Pretzels,” “The Gang’s All Here,” “A Cry for Help,” and “The Informant.”
The DVD
VIDEO:
The picture is 1.33:1 full frame. The transfers are clean for their age. Martin Kove’s chest looks sharp when he removes his shirt in the locker room.
AUDIO:
The soundtrack is Dolby Digital Mono. The sound is free of pops and hiss. The captions are in English and French.
EXTRAS:
Breaking the Laws of TV: The Making of Cagney & Lacey (37:22) is a two-part documentary about the series featuring the most of the cast and crew. They discuss how tough it was to get the movie of the week on the air. Ms. magazine was vital in getting fans for the movie that led to the network picking it up as a series. A letter writing campaign and improved summer ratings helped bring the series back after it’s first season with Sharon Gless.
Cagney & Lacey: The True Beginning |
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