Search - Cagney & Lacey: The Return on DVD

Cagney Lacey The Return
Actors: Sharon Gless, Tyne Daly, John Karlen, Susan Anspach, Martin Kove
Director: James Frawley
Genres: Drama, Television, Mystery & Suspense

NR 2009 1hr 35min

In the mid-1990s, Jeff Sagansky was the CBS programming chief, when he asked that we revisit our successful television series via the reunion movie format. In the intervening years since the series had ended, Sharon and I ... more »had married, Tyne had been to Broadway, winning a TONY in Gypsy for best performance by an actress in a musical, and followed that by working for me and getting yet another EMMY for her work in our CBS series, Christy. . The three of us were (and remain) great pals, but coming together again to revisit our past success was something I had not wanted to do.

I wasn t at all sure that we should compromise the memories people had of our original show. We would, I theorized, revisit this terrain at our peril, for we would not only be compared with other movies then currently on TV, but with memory and a memory that had probably received enough enhancement that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to match with any new incarnation.

Secondly, making movies for television, while an OK business, was not my specialty. My forte was series television. Movies have a different structure and form. After all, movies have a beginning, middle, and end; series, the creators hope, will never end. The former are usually plot driven, while the best of the latter are motivated by character. There was also the fact that one could make a whole lot more money in the TV series arena than in the TV movie field. CBS and Sagansky prevailed and you will just have to read that book of mine (Cagney & Lacey... and Me) to find out how and why. Am I shameless, or what?

In the Spring of 1994, we prepared to make two reunion films back-to-back. Steve Brown & Terry Louise Fisher, from the original series were set to write both scripts and (also from the series days) James Frawley would direct the first while Reza Badiyi would helm the second.

Six years had passed since we had been on the air. I told Steve and Terry we should treat those six intervening years as if our fictional characters had continued to have lives during that time. Both Sharon and Tyne had aged and put on some weight and we would make no attempt to mask that, but would, instead, hang a lantern on it. It was quickly decided that, consistent with her character s oft-stated desire, Lacey would by then have taken her retirement while, in those intervening years, Cagney would garner a major promotion and (much to Sharon s dismay), gotten married. Even casting her old pal, TONY award winner James Naughton as the husband, could not get Sharon to be happy about this decision... which we defended as a device we felt would help sell the passage of time to our audience.

Despite virtually the entire series cast making an appearance in this first of the quartet of films, we make it clear in the early going that both Cagney and Lacey have moved on and that the familiar actors that are seen in those early moments will not be part of the shows going forward. The device to get Lacey back to work and, once again, in alliance with Christine Cagney not only worked well for us, but provided residual emotional material for all four films.

The Return premiered on the CBS Network in November of 1994. The overall reaction to the reunification of Sharon and Tyne and to the film itself was excellent from all quarters with outstanding reviews from the press and a rating that made our film the highest rated movie for television of the week and the top-rated show of any kind on the CBS network.

Barney Rosenzweig

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Movie Details

Actors: Sharon Gless, Tyne Daly, John Karlen, Susan Anspach, Martin Kove
Director: James Frawley
Genres: Drama, Television, Mystery & Suspense
Sub-Genres: Drama, Drama, Mystery & Suspense
Studio: S'more Entertainment
Format: DVD - Color
DVD Release Date: 09/29/2009
Original Release Date: 01/01/1994
Theatrical Release Date: 01/01/1994
Release Year: 2009
Run Time: 1hr 35min
Screens: Color
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaDVD Credits: 1
Total Copies: 0
Members Wishing: 0
MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Languages: English

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Movie Reviews

Great show

Ms. V. Monaco | Melbourne Australia | 12/29/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I loved this show when on TV, the first I remember with the ladies as the main characters, and they played so well of each other, to see them together again was great, the years that had passed were explained so well, almost as if in real life things hadn't changed for them. The friction was still there, as was the humour; and the little details were not forgotten, like Lacey's dislike of carrying a gun, and Cagney's wanting to help out financially, only now in an even better position to do so, and Lacey still insisting on being an independant woman. (my kind of lady). Thanks for the re-run of an old favourite, look forward to more."

Careful

MH CT | Connecticut, USA | 02/01/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Be careful - this might also be included in other versions. Ended up giving as a gift"