Cagney & Lacey – Season One
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: C+ Episodes: B-
Now
available for all to enjoy on DVD is girl power infused series Cagney and Lacey – Season One. Honestly, Cagney and Lacey was never this reviewer’s cup of tea but with
seven seasons under their belt the series must have some merits. Above all else Cagney and Lacey is still held as television’s first drama series
to host two female leads and on top of that be extremely successful while
concurrently controversial. The 1982 First Season of the police drama casts
the likable Sharon Gless (Cagney) and Tyne Daly (Lacey) as fictional New York
City police detectives who make it their mission to stomp out all crime any
cost. Though the detective duo seems to
lead very different lives with Cagney being the strict career girl and Lacey
being the housewife trying to balance home and work, somehow the writers got it
right and oil and water seem to mix quite well (think Felix and Oscar).
Do not
confuse this ‘First Season’ of Cagney and Lacey, however, with the
original 1981 television film starring Loretta Swit as Cagney or the true First Season starring Meg Foster as
Cagney. Let’s just say Cagney has been
put through the ringer. Now, Loretta
Swit was still contractually obligated to M*A*S*H
so that explains her not reprising her role, but what about Foster? While the first six episodes of Cagney and Lacey were fairly popular
with Foster playing Cagney and in turn lead to the series being picked up for
22 further episodes, Foster according to CBS ‘was not right for the part.’ Apparently they felt that too much of a
homosexual or lesbian atmosphere would be created by having Foster remain on
the casting docket?! This reviewer never
saw it, but I suppose having two strong female leads always alludes to
lesbianism. [rolls eyes] I guess that
those damn Golden Girls were getting
busy with each other as well.
Nevertheless, Foster was a sad let go but Gless filled her shoes and
badge well. Foster was strong but this
reviewer feels Gless was strong and had heart; an overall effective combo.
On top of
being a nicely executed police drama, Cagney
and Lacey was never afraid of a little controversy (except lesbian
controversy apparently). Though the
controversial episodes were seen more so later on, early episodes gave a little
foreshadowing to what the future would bring.
Episodes concerning gun trafficking, drug addiction, and date rape were
all addressed in the First Season;
quite an accomplishment for 1982. Even
more surprising CBS let it slide.
Overall a Great show that got better with age. Keep an eye out for further reviews of later
seasons for such weird issues as the show being canceled then being brought
back (I thought only FOX did that?).
The
technical features on this long awaited 4 disc DVD set are quite poor. The picture is presented in its original 1.33
x 1 Full Screen that remains very grainy amongst other issues. Though the picture has been cleaned up
somewhat, the colors are off and there are definitely light/dark issues. The sound is not impressive and weak in it
Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono format. With the
sound quality seeming distant at times this reviewer found himself asking, what
is going on here? The extras are
somewhat sparse for such a nice self contained series only offering fans a 2-part
DVD featurette entitled ‘Breaking the
Laws of TV’ that goes into how the series Cagney and Lacey changed the face of television in many ways; and
whereas this reviewer thinks the featurette may have been a bit boastful and
inflated, overall it was nicely presented.
In the
end, this reviewer highly recommends this series to new comers and seasoned
vets alike, but can not in good faith recommend this DVD set on quality alone.
- Michael P Dougherty II
