Crime Story
The Last Great Ride
December 07, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
Brandon Tartikoff saw the best of times and the worst of times during his reign as NBC’s uberprogrammer.
The best of times -- Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law, Night Court, Cheers, The Cosby Show, St. Elsewhere, Family Ties, Miami Vice, Crime Story, Hunter, Late Night with David Letterman.
The worst of times -- Manimal, Misfits of Science, Supertrain, Lewis & Clark, Hull High, Pink Lady, Gavilan, Nightingales, The Nutt House, Partners in Crime.
Tartikoff was a rare television executive in that the general public knew his name. He was a guest host on Saturday Night Live. He appeared as himself in an episode of Night Court.
Tartikoff passed away in 1997. Fortunately, he recorded his life story in his 1992 autobiography, The Last Great Ride with Charles Leerhsen.
Tartikoff explains the television business as if he was talking to you informally at the kitchen table, the corner bar, or the airport terminal. And he’s fiercely honest about the realities of ratings, missed opportunities, and severe pressure in television’s executive suites.
The Last Great Ride unveils terrific television stories through the eyes of a baby boomer who possessed extraordinary passion, talent, and drive.
Tartikoff tells the details of how NBC cast Michael J. Fox instead of Matthew Broderick for the role of Alex P. Keaton in Family Ties, how William Devane lost the role of Sam Malone during his audition for Cheers, and how The Cosby Show helped rebuild NBC.
We also learn the turning points in Tartikoff’s career and personal life, including his battle with Hodgkins Disease. Ultimately, he lost the battle. But his constant strive to win under pressure in his personal life matched the same desire in his professional life.
Consequently, NBC’s peacock rose like a phoenix with newfound success in the 1980’s.
Indeed, when Brandon Tartikoff was at the helm, NBC’s shows, stations, and viewers enjoyed a great ride.
david@davidkrell.com
Brandon Tartikoff saw the best of times and the worst of times during his reign as NBC’s uberprogrammer.
The best of times -- Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law, Night Court, Cheers, The Cosby Show, St. Elsewhere, Family Ties, Miami Vice, Crime Story, Hunter, Late Night with David Letterman.
The worst of times -- Manimal, Misfits of Science, Supertrain, Lewis & Clark, Hull High, Pink Lady, Gavilan, Nightingales, The Nutt House, Partners in Crime.
Tartikoff was a rare television executive in that the general public knew his name. He was a guest host on Saturday Night Live. He appeared as himself in an episode of Night Court.
Tartikoff passed away in 1997. Fortunately, he recorded his life story in his 1992 autobiography, The Last Great Ride with Charles Leerhsen.
Tartikoff explains the television business as if he was talking to you informally at the kitchen table, the corner bar, or the airport terminal. And he’s fiercely honest about the realities of ratings, missed opportunities, and severe pressure in television’s executive suites.
The Last Great Ride unveils terrific television stories through the eyes of a baby boomer who possessed extraordinary passion, talent, and drive.
Tartikoff tells the details of how NBC cast Michael J. Fox instead of Matthew Broderick for the role of Alex P. Keaton in Family Ties, how William Devane lost the role of Sam Malone during his audition for Cheers, and how The Cosby Show helped rebuild NBC.
We also learn the turning points in Tartikoff’s career and personal life, including his battle with Hodgkins Disease. Ultimately, he lost the battle. But his constant strive to win under pressure in his personal life matched the same desire in his professional life.
Consequently, NBC’s peacock rose like a phoenix with newfound success in the 1980’s.
Indeed, when Brandon Tartikoff was at the helm, NBC’s shows, stations, and viewers enjoyed a great ride.
Crime Story
October 01, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
In the 1980’s, an NBC show about cops had it all.
A new look.
Story arcs that existed over several episodes.
And the elevation of lesser known actors into household name status.
Hill Street Blues? No.
Miami Vice? No.
Crime Story.
Michael Mann’s production of a Chicago cop and his mobster prey only lasted two seasons from 1986-1988.
But it was a terrific two years.
Set in the early 1960’s, Crime Story followed the exploits of Chicago Police Department Lt. Mike Torello and his squad at MCU or Major Crimes Unit. Their mission is to take down mobster Ray Luca.
When Luca moves his base of operations to Las Vegas, Torello and team follows, only to trade in their Chicago police badges to work for the feds.
At the end of the first season, Ray Luca and his addlebrained sidekick, Paulie Taglia, escape to the desert where they find themselves in the middle of nuclear testing. Because they survive, the federal government gives them immunity from prosecution and increases the difficulty of Torello’s job.
The medical information learned from their survival is simply invaluable during the Cold War and immunity from prosecution is the government’s compensation.
Crime Story was created by Gustave Reininger and Chuck Adamson. It starred Dennis Farina as Mike Torello. In a perfect example of art imitating life, Adamson and Farina worked for the Chicago Police Department before their show business careers. John Santucci played Paulie Taglia. Santucci was a thief in Chicago in his previous career. Adamson and Farina knew Santucci from their Chicago days. They arrested him!
Anthony Denison played Ray Luca. He went to the other side of law enforcement during a brief stint on Wiseguy when he replaced Ken Wahl. Denison played a former FBI agent drawn back into the fight against crime.
A reading of the list of guest stars on Crime Story is impressive.
Kevin Spacey. David Caruso. Julia Roberts. Ving Rhames. Gary Sinise. David Hyde-Pierce. Billy Zane. Laura San Giacomo. Dennis Haysbert.
Regular and recurring actors on Crime Story will also be familiar.
Before he was Corky’s dad on Life Goes On, Bill Smitrovich was Detective Danny Krycheck.
Before he was a single dad looking for a chance at true love on Once and Again, Billy Campbell was Detective Joey Indelli.
And before he sold out sports arenas, comedian Andrew Dice Clay was Max Goldman, a savvy partner of Ray Luca.
Del Shannon’s Runaway was the show’s theme song. It set the tone perfectly for the series. An upbeat tune balanced by somber words.
Crime Story paid great attention to style, setting, and detail. It captured the viewer. In Chicago, Torello and his squad often regrouped at a bar called the Orbit Room, a nod to the fascination inspired by the Space Age of the 1960’s.
In one episode, Torello and the guys talk about the Chicago Bears. He says that Ditka is the best player on the team. It was essentially a wink to the viewer. Mike Ditka played for the Bears in the 1960’s and coached the team during the mid-1980’s, the period of the show’s broadcast history.
Cars with fins. Suits with thin ties. Men with hats. All details of another era. But Crime Story recaptured them in an old-fashioned good guy vs. bad guy story line.
Crime Story ended with a cliffhanger. The principal characters airborne in a pilotless plane. Maybe one day, a tv-movie will tie up loose ends. And we will find out the ultimate destiny of Torello and Luca. Until then, you can create your own Crime Story ending.
david@davidkrell.com
In the 1980’s, an NBC show about cops had it all.
A new look.
Story arcs that existed over several episodes.
And the elevation of lesser known actors into household name status.
Hill Street Blues? No.
Miami Vice? No.
Crime Story.
Michael Mann’s production of a Chicago cop and his mobster prey only lasted two seasons from 1986-1988.
But it was a terrific two years.
Set in the early 1960’s, Crime Story followed the exploits of Chicago Police Department Lt. Mike Torello and his squad at MCU or Major Crimes Unit. Their mission is to take down mobster Ray Luca.
When Luca moves his base of operations to Las Vegas, Torello and team follows, only to trade in their Chicago police badges to work for the feds.
At the end of the first season, Ray Luca and his addlebrained sidekick, Paulie Taglia, escape to the desert where they find themselves in the middle of nuclear testing. Because they survive, the federal government gives them immunity from prosecution and increases the difficulty of Torello’s job.
The medical information learned from their survival is simply invaluable during the Cold War and immunity from prosecution is the government’s compensation.
Crime Story was created by Gustave Reininger and Chuck Adamson. It starred Dennis Farina as Mike Torello. In a perfect example of art imitating life, Adamson and Farina worked for the Chicago Police Department before their show business careers. John Santucci played Paulie Taglia. Santucci was a thief in Chicago in his previous career. Adamson and Farina knew Santucci from their Chicago days. They arrested him!
Anthony Denison played Ray Luca. He went to the other side of law enforcement during a brief stint on Wiseguy when he replaced Ken Wahl. Denison played a former FBI agent drawn back into the fight against crime.
A reading of the list of guest stars on Crime Story is impressive.
Kevin Spacey. David Caruso. Julia Roberts. Ving Rhames. Gary Sinise. David Hyde-Pierce. Billy Zane. Laura San Giacomo. Dennis Haysbert.
Regular and recurring actors on Crime Story will also be familiar.
Before he was Corky’s dad on Life Goes On, Bill Smitrovich was Detective Danny Krycheck.
Before he was a single dad looking for a chance at true love on Once and Again, Billy Campbell was Detective Joey Indelli.
And before he sold out sports arenas, comedian Andrew Dice Clay was Max Goldman, a savvy partner of Ray Luca.
Del Shannon’s Runaway was the show’s theme song. It set the tone perfectly for the series. An upbeat tune balanced by somber words.
Crime Story paid great attention to style, setting, and detail. It captured the viewer. In Chicago, Torello and his squad often regrouped at a bar called the Orbit Room, a nod to the fascination inspired by the Space Age of the 1960’s.
In one episode, Torello and the guys talk about the Chicago Bears. He says that Ditka is the best player on the team. It was essentially a wink to the viewer. Mike Ditka played for the Bears in the 1960’s and coached the team during the mid-1980’s, the period of the show’s broadcast history.
Cars with fins. Suits with thin ties. Men with hats. All details of another era. But Crime Story recaptured them in an old-fashioned good guy vs. bad guy story line.
Crime Story ended with a cliffhanger. The principal characters airborne in a pilotless plane. Maybe one day, a tv-movie will tie up loose ends. And we will find out the ultimate destiny of Torello and Luca. Until then, you can create your own Crime Story ending.
New York City Cops
April 17, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
The New York City cop is a staple of television programming.
Naked City.
NYPD.
NYPD Blue.
Just three examples of the Big Apple’s representation on the television landscape.
While early visual evidence shows Hill Street Blues with a setting in Chicago, later dialogue used phrases to indicate a New York City locale. For example, upstate is a phrase frequently used by New Yorkers. An early episode uses the geographic phrase, East River.
Generally, though, the producers did not state a particular setting for Hill Street Blues.
Third Watch used cops and fireman as the major characters.
CSI: New York is the third version of CSI.
New York Undercover was a FOX offering in the 1990’s, geared to a younger audience with younger detectives answering to Patti D’Arbanville as the seasoned boss.
Law & Order debuted in 1990 and it’s still on the air with two other shows in the family: Law & Order: SVU and Law & Order: Criminal Intent.
Lennie Briscoe, Mike Logan, Elliot Stabler, Olivia Benson, Don Cragen, Ed Green, Anita Van Buren, Rey Curtis, and John Munch are some of the detectives in the Law & Order universe.
Richard Belzer originally played John Munch on Homicide and moved to SVU when Homicide ended.
NYPD Blue is another cop show with a long history. A breakthrough show in 1993, NYPD Blue launched David Caruso into the celebrity stratosphere. He landed with a thud when he left the show less than two years later. His comeback on CSI: Miami seems to make up for the prior lost opportunity.
Caruso’s departure opened the door for Jimmy Smits, Rick Schroeder, and Mark-Paul Gosselear to work alongside Dennis Franz, the actor who embodied perhaps the most dysfunctional cop in television history, Andy Sipowicz.
Frequently, the source of Andy’s strength was his relationship with his partners, allowing him to put self-destructive actions to rest: excessive drinking, sex with hookers, overtly acting defiant to his Lieutenant, Arthur Fancy because of racial attitudes.
Dennis Farina, the Chicago cop turned actor who made his big debut on Crime Story in the 1980’s, said that the most realistic depiction of police work was on Barney Miller.
Set in a Greenwich Village precinct, Barney Miller was a mixture of racial diversity, wry humor, and depth of characters -- detectives and perpetrators.
Barney Miller rarely went beyond the squad room during its run from 1974-1982.
In the last episode, Barney got his long-awaited and well-deserved promotion to Deputy Inspector.
The representation of New York’s Finest on television will surely continue in the 21st century.
But one thing remains the same, whether they use high-technology on CSI: NY or old-fashioned detective work on Law & Order, New York’s Finest have the tremendous task of catching the bad guys and making the streets safe.
david@davidkrell.com
The New York City cop is a staple of television programming.
Naked City.
NYPD.
NYPD Blue.
Just three examples of the Big Apple’s representation on the television landscape.
While early visual evidence shows Hill Street Blues with a setting in Chicago, later dialogue used phrases to indicate a New York City locale. For example, upstate is a phrase frequently used by New Yorkers. An early episode uses the geographic phrase, East River.
Generally, though, the producers did not state a particular setting for Hill Street Blues.
Third Watch used cops and fireman as the major characters.
CSI: New York is the third version of CSI.
New York Undercover was a FOX offering in the 1990’s, geared to a younger audience with younger detectives answering to Patti D’Arbanville as the seasoned boss.
Law & Order debuted in 1990 and it’s still on the air with two other shows in the family: Law & Order: SVU and Law & Order: Criminal Intent.
Lennie Briscoe, Mike Logan, Elliot Stabler, Olivia Benson, Don Cragen, Ed Green, Anita Van Buren, Rey Curtis, and John Munch are some of the detectives in the Law & Order universe.
Richard Belzer originally played John Munch on Homicide and moved to SVU when Homicide ended.
NYPD Blue is another cop show with a long history. A breakthrough show in 1993, NYPD Blue launched David Caruso into the celebrity stratosphere. He landed with a thud when he left the show less than two years later. His comeback on CSI: Miami seems to make up for the prior lost opportunity.
Caruso’s departure opened the door for Jimmy Smits, Rick Schroeder, and Mark-Paul Gosselear to work alongside Dennis Franz, the actor who embodied perhaps the most dysfunctional cop in television history, Andy Sipowicz.
Frequently, the source of Andy’s strength was his relationship with his partners, allowing him to put self-destructive actions to rest: excessive drinking, sex with hookers, overtly acting defiant to his Lieutenant, Arthur Fancy because of racial attitudes.
Dennis Farina, the Chicago cop turned actor who made his big debut on Crime Story in the 1980’s, said that the most realistic depiction of police work was on Barney Miller.
Set in a Greenwich Village precinct, Barney Miller was a mixture of racial diversity, wry humor, and depth of characters -- detectives and perpetrators.
Barney Miller rarely went beyond the squad room during its run from 1974-1982.
In the last episode, Barney got his long-awaited and well-deserved promotion to Deputy Inspector.
The representation of New York’s Finest on television will surely continue in the 21st century.
But one thing remains the same, whether they use high-technology on CSI: NY or old-fashioned detective work on Law & Order, New York’s Finest have the tremendous task of catching the bad guys and making the streets safe.