Tread Perilously is a podcast in which hosts Erik Amaya and author Justin Robinson watch the “worst” episodes of popular TV shows, attempting to determine if they would continue to watch the series based on the most off-key moments.
This Week: Cagney & Lacey‘s “Ahead of the Game”
Tread Perilously‘s 450th podcast continues Ampersand Month with its first ever episode of Cagney & Lacey: “Ahead of the Game.”
Cagney & Lacey are called to the scene of a teenage basketball prodigy who dropped dead during a pick-up game. The cops all assume drug use, but his father insists he took no illicit substances. Suspicion moves to the basketball coach when it turns out the teen had steroids in his system. But all of this takes a back seat when Cagney’s father gets drunk at the Emerald Ball and Lacey’s house is broken into. Can she recover the candlestick her mother gave her?
Erik and Justin cannot get over a special one-scene appearance by the great Brock Peters. Dan Lauria also drops in as a Queens-area cop. Stars Sharon Gless and Tyne Daly get high praise — even if they take second fiddle in this episode to their loud and gruff lieutenant. Other notables include the actors who play the desk sergeant, Lacey’s husband, and the suspect gym coach. Erik posits that the episode is low rated because nothing gets resolved while Justin praises that element of the script. 1980s scandals reappear and the pair once again wave the flag for The Shield as one of the best shows to ever appear on television.
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