Cagney & Lacey is one of those classic shows I've always meant to watch. Tyne Daly! Groundbreaking! Crimes to solve! I'm home sick, so yesterday I started watching. The first thing I noticed was that Sharon Gless was not in it. This is interesting, so a little bit of research was in order. Meg Foster played Christine Cagney for the first season, which was six episodes, eventually replaced for being a bit too butch. God, that must have pissed her off, especially with all the acclaim the show eventually went to garner. She'd not be considered butch at all by today's standards, and even if she were....We've come a long way, baby. Also, what a risky move (unless the backlash gave the producers cover), to replace the actor for an established character? I'm only on Ep. 3, but I'm very curious to see how this transition goes. Foster had great chemistry with Daly.
Something else to notice. In Ep. 3, the issue is a murdered Guatemalan teenager brought over illegally by a coyote. Cagney and Lacey have a tiny argument about illegals taking jobs. (I guess this was when Americans actually wanted those jobs?) And someone gives a statistic about 2,000 illegals entering NYC every week. If that figure was true, and held true, that's 3 million over the last 30 years.
Speaking of 30 years...wow! It is so cool to watch this time capsule. More later....
Something else to notice. In Ep. 3, the issue is a murdered Guatemalan teenager brought over illegally by a coyote. Cagney and Lacey have a tiny argument about illegals taking jobs. (I guess this was when Americans actually wanted those jobs?) And someone gives a statistic about 2,000 illegals entering NYC every week. If that figure was true, and held true, that's 3 million over the last 30 years.
Speaking of 30 years...wow! It is so cool to watch this time capsule. More later....
Back in the day, this was one of my all-time favorite shows. I had forgotten about the Meg Foster change. I don't remember any of her episodes, though I remember many of the Gless ones. I wonder if I would love this show if I were to watch it now? I'll be interested in hearing what you think. Oh, and who knew that Daly would become such a musical theater diva?!
ReplyDeleteOh, Thea! You would so love it if you watched it now. I've never seen it before and it's surprisingly relevant and so much better done than 95% of what's on tv now.
ReplyDeleteAnd, the Daly, what can you say? The lady's brill.