Davenport (sharply played by Veronica Hamel) gets assaulted by a suspect in the booking area. LaRue (a fine Kiel Martin) butts heads with brutal corrupt narc Stan Mizell (a bravura performance by a young Robert Davi) over who gets credit for an undercover bust. Fed-up old man Mr. Seligman (an outstanding performance by Peter Brocco) threatens to jump from the top of an apartment building that he's being evicted from. Belker (essayed with scruffy aplomb by Bruce Weitz) has trouble having a loan approved by the bank. The whole subplot about the tenement building being cleared out offers plenty of poignant insight into urban blight; the plight of the old black woman in particular is quite moving while both Goldblume (an excellent Joe Spano) and councilman Detweiler (solid Michael Fairman) have a strong dramatic moments with Seligman. Hunter (a nicely quirky James Sikking) overcoming his bumbling shyness by admitting to his attraction to nurse Linda Wulfawitz (a radiant Kathleen Lloyd) provides some welcome humor. Popping up in neat guest roles are Peter Jurasik as the oily Sid the Snitch and Jeffrey Tambor as pushy attorney Alan Wachtel. And this episode makes a valid point that police work is dangerous for everyone involved with it.
3 Reviews
Steeped in Sadness
Hitchcoc15 July 2021
Lots of sort of depressing stuff at work here. First of all, while standing by the desk, Joyce is grabbed and assaulted. Belker's father can no longer be on his own and his mother is too old to watch him. Belker has very little money and needs nursing help for the old guy. His trip to the bank proves interesting. A tenement is being made ready for demolition forcing all the tenants to find new places. Many are old and unwell. One of them decides to make a statement. J. D. And Washington are working on a drug bust when this nutcase detective who hates J. D. gets his nose in. This leads to some pretty serious stuff, especially at the bachelor party of one of the cops. This really shows the soft underbelly of the Hill.
Sobering and effective.
Hey_Sweden21 August 2022
Warning: Spoilers
In an intense opening teaser, Joyce is assaulted and grabbed by a knife-wielding lowlife in the holding area. Once we segue into the story proper, we get threads about such serious developments as Mick needing a nurse for his father, who can no longer function on his own. Mick, not having a LOT of money (nor a credit rating), must go to the bank to apply for a loan. Also, J. D. and a narc named Mizell (Robert Davi, "Licence to Kill") have some intense confrontations as they fight over a case. (These confrontations spill into a bachelor party where things get deadly serious.) And the citizens in an apartment building must find new places to live after the building is scheduled to be torn down; one elderly tenant, Mr. Seligman (Peter Brocco, "The Balcony") threatens to make a protest by jumping from the roof.
Future recurring characters Sid the Snitch (Peter Jurasik, "TRON") and Buck Naked (Lee Weaver, "O Brother, Where Art Thou?") make their first appearances in a solid episode that mostly plays it straight, with relatively few comedy touches. And it's riveting stuff, especially the whole antagonism between J. D. and Mizell, who's clearly strung out. Characters such as Mick (who, unsurprisingly, is in for some action while he's at the bank) and Joyce are heartbreakingly vulnerable here. There's even a nice little moment for Howard as he tells Nurse Wulfawitz (Kathleen Lloyd, "The Missouri Breaks") that he couldn't muster up the nerve to call her. It's good to see councilman Detweiler (Michael Fairman, "Mulholland Dr.") actually do his job well given the previous dubious nature of his character, as he does his part in talking Seligman down.
Making a very concise point about the sometimes dark nature of police work, the excellent 'Stan the Man' also guest stars a steady parade of familiar faces in other guest starring roles: Jeffrey Tambor ('Arrested Development') and Louis Giambalvo ("Weekend at Bernie's") in their recurring parts, as well as Bernard Behrens ("The Changeling"), Bob Larkin ("Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part VI"), Peter Hobbs ("Sleeper"), Henry G. Sanders ("Rocky Balboa"), Meshach Taylor ('Designing Women'), Marco Rodriguez ("The Crow"), Melanie Kinnaman ("Friday the 13th: A New Beginning"), and Eda Reiss Merin ("Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead").
As proof of how powerfully this series could close out an episode, 'Stan the Man' has Frank visit Joyce in the hospital, after which we learn of Mizells' fate.
Eight out of 10.
Future recurring characters Sid the Snitch (Peter Jurasik, "TRON") and Buck Naked (Lee Weaver, "O Brother, Where Art Thou?") make their first appearances in a solid episode that mostly plays it straight, with relatively few comedy touches. And it's riveting stuff, especially the whole antagonism between J. D. and Mizell, who's clearly strung out. Characters such as Mick (who, unsurprisingly, is in for some action while he's at the bank) and Joyce are heartbreakingly vulnerable here. There's even a nice little moment for Howard as he tells Nurse Wulfawitz (Kathleen Lloyd, "The Missouri Breaks") that he couldn't muster up the nerve to call her. It's good to see councilman Detweiler (Michael Fairman, "Mulholland Dr.") actually do his job well given the previous dubious nature of his character, as he does his part in talking Seligman down.
Making a very concise point about the sometimes dark nature of police work, the excellent 'Stan the Man' also guest stars a steady parade of familiar faces in other guest starring roles: Jeffrey Tambor ('Arrested Development') and Louis Giambalvo ("Weekend at Bernie's") in their recurring parts, as well as Bernard Behrens ("The Changeling"), Bob Larkin ("Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part VI"), Peter Hobbs ("Sleeper"), Henry G. Sanders ("Rocky Balboa"), Meshach Taylor ('Designing Women'), Marco Rodriguez ("The Crow"), Melanie Kinnaman ("Friday the 13th: A New Beginning"), and Eda Reiss Merin ("Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead").
As proof of how powerfully this series could close out an episode, 'Stan the Man' has Frank visit Joyce in the hospital, after which we learn of Mizells' fate.
Eight out of 10.
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