Schlockmania's Favorite Episodes From POLICE STORY: SEASON 3 - Part 2
PoliceStory's third season offered a number of standout episodesthat explore police work from unique angles, showing off both the flaws andpositive elements of the way things work for officers at different levels of thedepartment. The plotlines also reveal a couple of key themes that the show gota lot of mileage out of: the tension between two warring impulses in anofficer, often duty to self versus duty to the force, and how hard it is toovercome different unspoken prejudices that exist within department.
CompanyMan:Detective Dave Hansen (Christopher Connelly) is trying to track down a savvycar thief (Bernie Casey) and also dealing with a marriage that has goneloveless. When he begins to see a free-thinking teacher (Janet Margolin) on thesly, his wife denies him a divorce and goes to the Internal Affairs department- and he finds himself having to choose between personal happiness and career. Police Story often tried to find thegood in Internal Affairs but this episode explores how it could have anegative, domineering impact on a cop's life. Connelly anchors the show with aquietly soulful performance and Margolin makes a compelling love interest,making their scenes together something special. Elsewhere, Casey steals a fewscenes and Bruce Glover gets to successfully play against type as Hansen'slow-key, caring partner.
SpanishClass: Officer Taylor (Desi Arnaz, Jr.) takes on anopportunity to get better pay and more interesting work by transferring to theHispanic district. He is assigned to work with Fernandez (Joe Santos), aveteran officer who knows the area well, and learns the challenges unique tothe area. This episode really captures the vibe of a Joseph Wambaugh novel withits episodic plot and a final setpiece that mixes danger and dark humor. ArnazJr. is likeable as the new officer but it's Santos, a reliable utility playerbest known for The Rockford Files,who really carries this episode with a mix of charm and street-savvy gravitas.
Firebird: D.J. Perkins (Tony Lo Bianco) is a cop with areputation for thrill seeking. He suffers severe burns during a trainingexercise and finds himself facing many struggles: to regain his health, toreintegrate himself into the life of his family and to reestablish his careeras a police officer. Police Storyvet E. Arthur Kean wrote the script for this episode and it's a smart,heartfelt piece of work that covers a lot of territory in a disciplined manner.It also benefits from sharply paced direction by episodic t.v. vet Lee H.Katzin but the key element here is the strong performance from another Police Story regular, Lo Bianco. Hemixes wit, pathos and determination in a way that carries the viewer throughthe complex narrative and gives it the right inspirational energy.
TheLong Ball: Sergeant R.C. Pickett (Claude Akins) is a cop who isvery good at his job. Unfortunately, he's also an alcoholic who can't admit hehas a problem and it puts both his marriage and career in danger. The script byt.v. vet Eric Bercovici handles the alcoholism theme with skill, bringing us into why Pickett drinks too muchand avoiding a pat ending with a miraculous recovery. Instead, the script issimply built around the character finding the strength to admit he has aproblem. Akins gives a great performance, showing both vulnerability and scaryintensity at key points. T.V. moviefans, take note: Nora Heflin, who plays Pickett's top informant here, plays akey part in the most controversial scene of the juvie-themed classic Born Innocent.
EamonKinsella Royce: Jackie Cooper gets a worthwhile showcasehere as the title character in a directing gig for erstwhile actor Tony LoBianco. Royce is a veteran cop who tries to balance his career with amoonlighting gig as an insurance investigator. He comes to discover the twojobs endanger each other and is forced to make some hard choices. The themes oflackluster pay for cops and conflicting loyalty between police work and sidegigs give this episode unique material to explore - the rich,character-intensive scripting gives it depth. Cooper carries the episode with aspirited, heartfelt turn and he gets ace support from Harold Gould as hisretirement-minded partner and Cathy Burns as his daughter (look out also forDabney Coleman, Dean Stockwell, Antony Carbone and Luke Askew). Bonus pointsfor a unique final scene that finds laughter in difficult circumstances.
Officer Dooly: David Birney had done memorable work in Police Story's season 2 highlight "Captain Hook" and returns for another, similarly memorable character portrait in this episode. Andrew "Dooly" Doolittle is the police equivalent of a back-bencher, a likeable misfit who tries to prove he is worthy of being a patrolman as he deals with an uncompromising captain (Paul Burke) and a tough-guy partner (Alex Cord) who dislikes his gentle ways. This episode nails a challenging tone that blends satire, particularly in the scenes between Birney and Burke, with a thoughtful drama about how hard it is to be a cop who doesn't fit the conventional mold. It's a tour de force for E. Arthur Kean, who both writes and directs here. He handles both comedy and tension well, also crafting a car chase scene that is one of the series' all-time biggest action moments.