L.A. Times Article by Howard Rosenberg, 3/25/82

NEW COPS-AND-CROOKS CAPER

Is a woman's work never done? "Cagney and Lacey" premiering at 9 tonight on CBS is a routine cops-and-crooks adventure, the only difference being that cops are female.

Two of them anyway. Mary Beth Lacey (Tyne Daly) is a cop who also is a wife and mother. Her partner, Chris Cagney (Meg Foster), is a cop who thinks only about being a cop. One plays it by the book, the other does things her way. And so on.

The problem is that their boss, Lt. Samuels (Al Waxman), doesn't take them seriously as cops because they are women. Boy, do they show him.

In tonight's episode, while relegated to being prostitute decoys on the "john detail," they grab a drug pusher and Cagney collars (that's cop talk) your basic "weirdo killer" who inevitably shows up in series like this.

Meanwhile, Lacey does manage to spend some time at home with her househusband. "I know I'm a cop, but I'm also a woman," she says. And Cagney hoards evidence like a miser. "We're hugging this to our sweet little bosoms," she says.

Daly and Foster (Loretta Swit was Cagney in the pilot) are competent actresses, which helps, but not a lot.

***This article was sent to me by Scott. Thanks, Scott!

(Cast from the 1986-1987 show, picture also contributed by Scott)


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