Synopsis
Groundbreaking is often a word that is simply used too much. People tend to sling it around whenever they find a movie or tv show that is just simply different. However, this is not the case with the groundbreaking show: Cagney & Lacey. It was to show two women in leading roles as police officers solving crimes and getting the bad guys. The show in its first season alone would explore such controversial women’s issues as date rape and burnout (which a lot of women du…ing that time experienced when faced with both being employed and a domesticated wife). The cast was centered around Christine Cagney & Mary Beth Lacey (played by Sharon Gless & Tyne Daly respectively) and plays an important part in women’s television even today.
However, upon first look of this dvd, it sports the subtitle “The True Beginning”. As many Cagney & Lacey fans know, this is not the true beginning. The series was first a tv movie with Loretta Swit (Mash) as Cagney. Then the initial run of the show (6 episodes) had Meg Foster in the Cagney role. It was then initially canceled and brought back with Sharon Gless in the title role. Sure this is the cast that would take the show 119 more episodes up until 1988 and a few additional tv movies to boot. But to whisk the initial footage away under the carpet so to speak is a terrible injustice to the history of the show.
That aside, what Cagney & Lacey had besides strong female leads was a strong supporting cast. Lt. Bert Samuels (played by Al Waxman) had a certain presence whenever he entered a scene and your eyes couldn’t help but be focused on him until he left it. The same could be said for Det. Victor Isbecki (played by Martin Kove), the womanizing, sarcastic detective. It is actually a true delight to see Martin Kove here; long before his famous roles in the Karate Kid movies as John Kreese (“Sweep the Leg!”). The cast also had a non-stereotypical african-american male in the role of Det. Mark Petrie (played by Carl Lumbly) which was something that wasn’t really done at the time.
Video
The video is the standard tv definition 1:33 to 1. The picture has seen better days. It’s fairly well preserved but it shows a good helping of grain and splotches. Furthermore with a few sides sporting up to six episodes for a double sided single layer disk, the compression is evident and almost seems rushed.
Audio
The audio is the good ole fashioned mono. It unfortunately sounds like every other show from the time period. All in the center channel and the dialog seems to be rather low in volume. My volume hovers around 45-50 most of the time, this one required me to go up past 60 for it to be clear. Subtitles are thankfully provided in English and in Spanish.
Special Features
Breaking the Laws of TV: This two part (one part on Disc 4 Side A and the other on Disc 4 Side B) featurette with about 36 1/2 minutes of footage explores everything from women’s issues around that time period to going on about the cast & characters of the show. Interviews are provided here with the producers, creators and the cast (most of the cast has aged pretty well in a good way). They do include history about the tv-movie and initial run of the series, still it feels like an afterthought and not touched on as much as it should be.
Final Thoughts
Cagney & Lacey will always be one of those shows where it’s legacy is more important than the episodes and its content. The show had a tendency to be kinda silly at times and didn’t seem really take things such as police procedure all that seriously. However, it broke down barriers and pursued women’s issues with a vigilance. The two lead characters showed strength and had great dynamic as both police officers and women. The supporting cast was equally strong as if nothing else, it had Martin Kove right before he hit it big. However, as good as the show was; the dvd set that MGM has produced for this “first season” of the show is lackluster. The tv movie nor the first six episodes of the show are included because the marketing people would have you forget about that footage and ignore it ever happened. As such, we get no origin of Cagney and Lacey and we just get 22 episodes sprung on us. The video and the audio are substandard and little was done to polish the prints. The set is on 4 single layered, double sided disks. Flippers shouldn’t exist in this time and age. If nothing else, they should have used 4 double layered, single sided disks just so the featurette could be watched in one viewing. The packaging is even flimsy. For such a groundbreaking series, it is a shame to see MGM treat it as just another show. If you loved the show I would say pick it up for the simple fact that if you don’t, it could stall production of further dvd seasons. But I encourage those to write (like those who did when the series first got canceled) and get what needs to be done to get the first tv-movie and 6 episodes in a decent 2-disc package.
Episodes
Disc One
• “Witnesses to an Incident”
• “One of Our Own”
• “Beauty Burglars”
• “High Steel”
• “Hotline”
• “Internal Affairs”
Disc Two
• “Mr. Lonelyhearts”
• “Conduct Unbecoming”
• “I’ll be Home for Christmas”
• “Recreational Use”
• “Hopes and Dreams”
• “The Grandest Jewel Thief of them All”
Disc Three
• “Affirmative Action”
• “Open and Shut Case”
• “Jane Doe #37”
• “Date Rape”
• “Burn Out”
• “Chop Shop”
Disc Four
• “Let them Eat Pretzels”
• “The Gang’s All There”
• “A Cry for Help”
• “The Informant”
Special Features List
- Breaking the Laws of TV (2-parts)
Screenshots
