Alone In The Neon Jungle takes place in a Pittsburgh police precinct that is supposedly so crime-ridden that it is called The Sewer.  After two cops are arrested while committing a burglary, the Chief of Police (Danny Aiello) sends tough Captain Jane Hamilton (Suzanne Pleshette) to take over the precinct.  Her mission?  To enforce discipline and root out police corruption!

There’s a lot of corruption to root out.  Crime boss Nahid (Tony Shalhoub) has half the precinct on his payroll and corrupt cops like Brad Stafowski (Jon Polito) are quick to to drag new transfers, like Todd Hansen (Jon Tennery), into the rackets.  Along with enforcing the dress code and cleaning up the streets, Jane also has to figure out who is responsible for the murder of one of her sergeants.

This made for TV movie was probably meant to be a pilot for a weekly television series.  It just has the sort of feel to it.  It features just about every cop cliche imaginable, from the weary detective who comes to respect the new boss to the crime lord who claims to be a respectable businessman.  The main problem is that the precinct never seems as bad as its described.  For a place called The Sewer, the streets are surprisingly clean.  The majority of the crimes committed seem to be burglary and prostitution.  If you’re a cop and that’s all you have to deal with in a big city like Pittsburgh, count yourself lucky.  The precinct never lives up to the title “Neon Jungle” and no one’s ever alone in it.

Suzanne Pleshette does a good enough job in the lead role.  By this point in her career, Pleshette’s voice was as deep as the voice of the toughest patrolman around.  It worked for her.