Retro Television Review: Crime Story 2.5 “Shockwaves”

Posted on November 2, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Mondays, I will be reviewing Crime Story, which ran on NBC from 1986 to 1988. The entire show can be found on Tubi!

Ray Luca is back!

Episode 2.5 “Shockwaves”

(Dir by Bill Duke, originally aired on November 3rd, 1987)

With Ray Luca apparently dead, Las Vegas appears to have settled down. Max and Steve Kordo are running what’s left of Luca’s criminal empire. David Abrams is happily playing his saxophone. Ray’s ex-wife has a new blonde stud in her bed. Torello and Danny are spending their days drinking at their favorite club. The only problem is that Luca isn’t dead. As we’ve seen over the past few episodes, he and Pauli somehow survived getting caught in the middle of an atomic bomb test. After spending a few months in Mexico, Ray decides to come back to Vegas.

And because Ray and Pauli did some work for the government while they were hiding out, they’re now considered to be assets. Torello and David Abrams are informed that Ray has immunity for his previous crimes and that the Crime Task Force is to stay away from him. When Torello and his men fail to do this, they’re slapped with a restraining order. David resigns in anger.

As for the rest of Vegas, they each react in their own way to Luca’s return. Luca’s wife kicks her current boytoy out of the house and welcomes back Ray. Manny orders Max to set aside his anger and to work with Luca because Luca brings in a lot of money. Steve Kordo pretends to be happy about Luca’s return and then promptly calls Kansas City and requests that a “hitter” be sent to Vegas.

And David—well, David goes nuts (again) and breaks into Luca’s house with the intent of killing him. Fortunately, Torello and his men show up in time to grab David. David gets off one shot but takes out a lamp instead of Luca. Luca smugly thanks Torello for saving his life. Torello replies that he only did it to protect Abrams.

This was a busy episode but it was a necessary one. The heart of this series has always been Luca and Torello’s private war, so Luca was going to have to return to Vegas at some point. There are only so many episodes the show can do about Torello dealing with random villains-of-the-week. Luca has returned and, in this episode, Tony Denison did a great job of playing Luca as someone who knows that he’s untouchable and is pretty smug about it.

While it may deny reality to suggest that Luca and Pauli could survive an atomic blast, it’s not too far-fetched that they would become government assets. This show is set in the early 60s, at roughly the same time that the CIA was teaming up with the Mafia to try to take out Fidel Castro. If they had succeeded, the world would have been spared a lot of misery. But, at the same time, the world wouldn’t have gotten Brian De Palma’s version of Scarface.

You have to take the good with the bad.

Retro Television Review: Crime Story 2.4 “Atomic Fallout”

Posted on October 26, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, a major player returns! Actually, two major players….

Episode 2.4 “Atomic Fallout”

(Dir by Bill Duke, originally aired on October 27th, 1987)

Two new members of the Task Force, who were assigned to keep an eye on Max Goldman, are discovered dead and burned to a crisp at a landing strip in the desert. At the same time, a scientist who is suspected of being a serial killer disappears from Las Vegas just as Torello is on the verge of arresting him.

Torello immediately assumes that the two things are connected. Unfortunately, the Atomic Energy Commission wants Torello to back off on his investigation of Dr. Gantman (George Bartenieff), the scientist-turned-serial killer. Gantman is working on a special project for the government. Torello and the Task Force head to Mexico to capture him anyway.

Torello isn’t the only Vegas resident in Mexico. Manny Weisbord is visiting Mexican crime boss Jorge Senterro (Ismael “East” Carlo). Two old friends of Manny’s are currently living with Senterro, and I bet you can already guess who they are.

That’s right! LUCA AND PAULI LIVE!

Despite having found themselves on a nuclear testing site at exactly the wrong time, Pauli and Luca survived. Pauli appears to be no worse for the experience. Luca, meanwhile, has only recently had his bandages removed. His back is scarred. Weisbord watches as Luca receives a shot from a very large hypodermic needle held by a chain-smoking doctor. Luca has survived, but he’s changed. He’s no longer content with building a national crime syndicate. Luca tells Manny that he’s planning on going international.

Weisbord is impressed with Luca’s ambition. However, he’s considerably less happy to learn that Luca and Senterro have teamed up to smuggle heroin into the United States. Weisbord has always been opposed to getting involved in the drug trade. Luca used to be opposed as well, but, as he explains it, drugs are where the money is going to be in the future. When Weisbord says that dealing drugs will cause the Justice Department to come after him, Luca says that he’s being protected by the U.S. government. The implication is obvious. The time of honorable crime bosses like Manny Weisbord has come to an end. Luca is the future.

While Luca is talking to Weisbord, Torello and his men are tracking down Dr. Gantman. They find him in a small safehouse, protected by Mexican soldiers. After a gunfight with the soldiers (and one has to wonder how that’s not going to become a diplomatic incident), Torello bursts in on Gantman just as he’s about to murder another woman. Torello guns the scientist down, and whatever information Gantman may have had about what the U.S. government is doing in Mexico dies with him.

In the episode’s final scene, Lt. Col. Milton Dance (Richard Zobel) meets with Luca and Pauli. Luca mentions that he heard about Gantman’s death and asks who was responsible. Dance replies that it was no one that Luca would know. Dance then hands Luca and Pauli their passports so that they can return to the United States.

This episode was a true treat for those of us who are interested in conspiracy theories. Dr. Gantman brought to mind the Nazi rocket scientists who were recruited by the CIA after World War II and who eventually ended up working for NASA. Luca working for the government would be implausible if not for the fact that the CIA and the Mafia actually did work together in the early ’60s to try to assassinate Fidel Castro. This episode was full of atomic imagery. When Luca talked about surviving the nuclear test, there was a quick flashback to a mushroom cloud rising over the desert. Torello and his men enjoy hanging out at a bar decorated with neon signs of mushroom clouds. A picture of a mushroom cloud was prominently displayed in Gantman’s house. This episode was all about atomic-age paranoia.

Best of all, Luca and Pauli are back. The first few episodes of the second season suffered because Torello himself seemed directionless without Luca to pursue. With this episode, we know that Luca is returning. Torello might not know it, but we know it.

And I can’t wait to see what happens!

Retro Television Review: Crime Story 2.1 “The Senator, The Movie Star, and the Mob”

Posted on October 5, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today, we start the second season of Crime Story!

Episode 2.1 “The Senator, The Movie Star, and the Mob”

(Dir by John Nicolella, originally aired on September 22nd, 1987)

The second season of Crime Story opens with Torello, Abrams, and the Task Force still in Las Vegas. With Luca and Pauli apparently dead as a result of that nuclear blast at the end of the first season, various gangsters are trying to position themselves as Manny Weisbord’s new man in Vegas. Carlo Mastrangelo (Stephen McHattie) is the latest contender.

(And yet, it’s hard not to notice that, during the opening credits, both Tony Denison and John Santucci are listed. Neither appears in this episode other than in the pictures displayed at their funeral. But the credits don’t seem quite convinced that Luca and Pauli are dead.)

Crusading Senator Rourke (Kevin Spacey, in his first major television role) comes to Vegas. Rourke—the son of a former bootlegger and a presidential contender who speaks with a slightly abrasive Boston accent—is holding hearings on the Mob. Also arriving in Vegas is Pamela Palmer (Jenny Wright), a platinum-blonde movie star known for her glamorous sex appeal but who spends almost the entire episode hiding a black eye behind her sunglasses. As Torello discovers, Pamela is Mastrangelo’s occasional girlfriend, but she’s also having an affair with Senator Rourke.

Anyone who has studied history or who has an interest in conspiracy theories will be able to see the obvious real-world parallels. Rourke, with his bootlegger father and his less-than-ideal private life, is an obvious stand-in for both John and Robert F. Kennedy. (Of course, when seen today, the casting of Kevin Spacey in the role brings a whole other dimension to it. Now we instinctively distrust Rourke as soon as we see him, despite the fact that the show portrays him as sincere in his crusade against the Mob.) Pamela is Marilyn Monroe. Mastrangelo and his second-in-command Bobby Meeker (Michael Wincott) bring to mind Sam Giancana and Johnny Roselli, two of the mobsters whose names regularly turn up in JFK assassination lore.

In real life, a heartbroken Marilyn Monroe overdosed and both Kennedy brothers were assassinated. On Crime Story, Torello is able to prevent Mastrangelo from assassinating Rourke, and an emotionally strengthened Pamela is able to leave Las Vegas for what will hopefully be a brighter future than the one that awaited Marilyn. This episode feels like a work of alternative history, one in which the Kennedys lived up to their promise and one determined man like Mike Torello could prevent a nation from being traumatized.

For a history nerd like me, this episode was enjoyable. It held my interest. I liked seeing how the show reimagined history. At the same time, Luca and Pauli were definitely missed. A format in which Torello deals with a villain-a-week doesn’t carry the same emotional punch as watching Torello obsess, episode after episode, on just one particularly nasty villain. Because Luca and Torello were opposite sides of the same driven coin, not having Luca around makes it feel as if Torello is incomplete as well.

That said, this episode ended with a shot of a bandaged man sitting on a beach in Mexico. Could that man be Luca? Hopefully, we’ll find out soon!

Retro Television Review: Crime Story 1.20 “Top of the World”

Posted on September 21, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, Michael Mann directs the downfall of Luca!

Episode 1.20 “Top of the World”

(Dir by Michael Mann, originally aired on March 6th, 1987)

Luca has taken control of Vegas, and now he’s out of control. He’s gambling nonstop and cheating to win. While his wife spends all of her time watching The Price Is Right, Luca is carrying on affairs with both Bambi (Debbie Harry) and Max Goldman’s wife, Joanne (Debra Stipe). Luca has everything that he’s spent this entire season saying that he wanted: money, legitimacy, and power. But at heart, he’s still the same Chicago gangster that he’s always been. As Torello deduces, he needs the risk and the danger that come with being a criminal. Without it, he doesn’t know what to do with himself.

At the beginning of this episode, Torello tells the demoralized members of the MCU that they can do one of two things. They can either track down Luca’s parents and shoot them for having him, or they can start over with their attempt to build a case against him. (Torello, as intense as ever, doesn’t seem to be joking about tracking down Luca’s parents.) Torello’s plan is to sow dissension among Luca’s troops. When dapper courier Tony Dio (Paul Anka) is spotted leaving Luca’s casino with a suitcase full of skimmed cash for Manny Weisbord, he’s stopped by Torello and essentially kidnapped. They then let Max know that Luca has been sleeping with his wife and insinuate that Luca killed Tony and took the money for himself.

Meanwhile, Luca is temporarily barred from working at his casino by the Nevada Gaming Commission. He can’t even step into any of the places that he owns. Stuck at home with his wife, Luca starts to go stir-crazy. When Steve Kordo tells Luca that Weisbord is asking where his money is, Luca decides that Max is trying to stab him in the back. Luca has Frank Holman plant a car bomb in Max’s car. Though the bomb goes off, Max survives. At the hospital, a severely burned Max tells Torello that he has no intention of being a rat.

However, someone else is, and it’s exactly who you would least expect. Luca, high on pills and self-pity, rapes Pauli’s girlfriend, Donna (Audrey Matson). Pauli grabs a shotgun and starts wandering around Vegas, searching for Luca. Torello is able to arrest Pauli in a diner. Pauli tells Torello the details of every murder that Luca committed over the season, including the murder of David Abrams’s father.

After a shoot-out with Luca’s bodyguards at the casino, Torello, Abrams, and the MCU track Luca down to a restaurant where he’s having dinner with Bambi. (They’re celebrating because an appellate court has stayed the order keeping Luca out of his casinos.) At first, Luca is smug. But when he hears that Pauli is the one who betrayed him, his smile disappears. The episode ends as Luca is taken into custody.

This episode was directed by the show’s executive producer, Michael Mann. Mann does a great job keeping the action moving and showing both Luca’s rapid rise and his just-as-rapid descent. Visually, Mann plays up the darkness in which all the characters live. Nearly every scene takes place at night. When we see Torello sitting in his office, the shadows are so heavy that they almost seem to be swallowing him. This episode reminds us that, just as Luca will always be a Chicago gangster, Torello will always be a Chicago cop. Luca and Torello live in the same darkness, and it’s threatening to devour them both.

Next week, the first season concludes!

Retro Television Review: Crime Story 1.19 “The Pinnacle”

Posted on September 14, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, things get dark.

Episode 1.19 “The Pinncale”

(Dir by John Nicolella, originally aired on February 27th, 1987)

When an earnest businessman named Pete Bauer (Bob Stupak) decides to open up a casino with Luca’s help, he has no idea what he’s getting himself into. Pete’s vision is a fun tourist destination where a chicken plays tic-tac-toe and the biggest loser at a table is still given $5,000 for being a good sport. Luca’s vision is to drive Pete out of business by skimming all of his profits, fixing his slot machines so that they always pay off, and sending Pauli, Holman, and Jack Claymore over to make sure everything goes off as planned.

As we learned last week, Jack is an FBI agent working undercover. Being sent over to Pete’s casino gives Jack a chance to see how Luca and his people rip off others. One night, when Pauli has a date with a showgirl, Jack is the one who gets to take the envelope containing the cash over to Luca. Jack hands it over. Luca gives him a $500 tip, little realizing that he’s also given Jack enough evidence to take back to Torello and Abrams.

Unfortunately, Pete is forced to sell his casino to Luca before Jack’s next meeting with Torello and Abrams. Pauli and Holman decide to celebrate. They stop off at Jack’s apartment complex to pick him up. Unfortunately, they arrive just in time to catch Jack in a phone booth leaving a message for Torello. They beat up Jack and then drag him off to a deserted construction site, where he’s tied crucifixion-style to a casino sign.

When Luca finds out, he leaves a meeting with Manny Weisbord so that he can personally shoot Jack in the back of the head. As Luca explains to Steve Kordo, there are some things that he simply has to do himself. Even though Luca may be recreating himself as a businessman in Las Vegas, he’s still a Chicago gangster at heart.

When Abrams and Torello find Jack’s body, Abrams says that whatever chance they had to arrest Luca was just blown out of Jack’s head. Yikes! That’s a graphic way to put it, but Abrams isn’t wrong.

This episode was a case of tonal whiplash, starting out as a comedy but ending in tragedy. For the first 30 minutes, it was hard not to be amused by how efficiently Luca and his men ruined Pete’s business. (Holman even convinced Pete to book a polka band.) However, the final few minutes reminded us that Luca, Holman, and even Pauli are all ruthless murderers. It doesn’t matter if you were a likable character like Jack Claymore. If you betray Luca, you’ll regret it.

As for Torello, this is the second cop he’s lost in his pursuit of Luca. His entire obsession with taking down Luca started with the murder of Detective Wes Connelly in the pilot. How will he react now that he’s seeking justice not just for Wes but for Jack as well?

Retro Television Review: Crime Story 1.16 “The Kingdom of Money”

Posted on August 24, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, the show changes locations. We’re going to Vegas and we’re getting new opening credits!

Episode 1.16 “The Kingdom of Money”

(Dir by James A. Contner, originally aired on January 30th, 1987)

Welcome to Las Vegas!

Ray Luca is very happy to be in Vegas. Along with Max Goldman, Pauli, and Steve Kordo (Jay O. Sanders), Ray has taken over a casino and is pushing his way into the local rackets. He gives a speech to the casino’s employees, telling them that from now on everything in the casino will be run honestly and that anyone who steals any money will be fired. He then has a meeting with Max in which they discuss all the ways to skim the profits.

Luca’s wife, Cori (Johann Carlo), isn’t happy about the move. She misses Chicago, so instead of hanging out around the house, Luca goes out and hires a prostitute named Jackie (Debra Feuer). Luca tells Jackie that she will be working exclusively for him from now on. Jackie points out that she already has a “manager.” Luca smirks.

The only problem for Luca is that Mike Torello is in Vegas, and now he’s working for the Justice Department. Luca and his team are headquartered in a small Vegas motel. When David Abrams sees that someone has brought a bowl of Justice Department matchbooks into the motel, he tells Torello’s men to throw them out. “We’re not a recruiting station,” Abrams says.

Torello decides that the best way to get Luca is to go after one of Luca’s Vegas associates, a loan shark named Al (Mike Starr). They visit a diner owner (Graham Beckel) who owes Al money. They convince him to call Al and say that he has Al’s money. When Al comes to collect, Torello will arrest him. Sound like a good plan, right?

Unfortunately, someone is dumb enough to leave behind the bowl of Justice Department matchbooks in the diner. Additionally, it doesn’t occur to Torello to have someone watching the diner 24/7. When Al shows up early and discovers the matchbooks, he guns down not only the owner of the diner but also his wife and 5-year-old son.

Torello’s angry. Well, Torello should be angry. He should also be feeling guilty, seeing as how he and his men basically got the diner owner killed through their own incompetence. Torello decides to go undercover as someone who needs a loan. He and his men even set up a fake strip club where Torello and Al can meet to discuss the terms of the loan. Torello’s attempt to arrest Al falls apart when one of Al’s men pulls a gun and starts firing. Danny takes a bullet in the arm before killing the gunman. As for Al, he runs through the streets of Vegas before Torello guns him down.

Abrams looks down at Al’s body and says that he doesn’t think Al is going to be testifying.

This was a good episode. If the previous Chicago-based episodes emphasized the professionalism of Torello and the impulsivity of Luca, the roles are reversed in Vegas. Luca is in his element, and Torello and his men are the ones who are now having to adjust to a new city. If the previous Chicago-based episodes tended to be cold and gray, this Vegas episode is visually defined by neon and excess. The sallow, grim-faced Torello looks out of place here. This is Luca’s world.

I’m looking forward to seeing how the rest of season one plays out.

Retro Television Review: Crime Story 1.14 “Fatal Crossroads”

Posted on August 10, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, guess who screws up?

Episode 1.14 “Fatal Crossroads”

(Dir by Gary Sinise, originally aired on January 9th, 1987)

As much as I want to like David Abrams — and I did like him for the first few episodes — he’s just dumb. Offended by the fact that Luca is using his legal advice to try to beat his indictment, David starts this episode out by approaching Luca in public and announcing that he’s not only quit the public defenders office but that he’s also decided to join the D.A.’s office, specifically so he can take guys like Luca down. Then, later on in the episode, David approaches Luca again and, this time, he brings along his father (Nathan Davis). David’s father, a former low-level gangster, brags about how smart David is and how he’s going to take Luca down.

So, of course, Luca has someone put a bomb underneath David’s car.

And, of course, it’s David’s father who decides to borrow the car to go to the store and who ends up getting blown up.

And yes, it’s a terrible thing that David’s father got blown up. BUT WHAT DID DAVID THINK WAS GOING TO HAPPEN!? He knows who Luca is! He knows that Luca will kill people without a second thought. So why the Hell is David walking up to Luca and basically daring him to try to kill him? I mean, David’s father was in the rackets! David should have known better and, for that matter, David’s father should have known better.

I’m sorry but David Abrams is a moron.

For some reason, Luca also tries to take a hit out on Torello, despite the fact that Luca’s entire legal strategy depends on Torello denying Homan’s claims that Torello is crooked. Fortunately, Torello is somehow brilliant enough to realize that Luca is going to take a hit out on him and the members of the Crime Squad are smart enough to take a look at a building and somehow figure out exactly which room a sniper would be hiding in. If only David Abrams was as smart!

This episode featured a few too many coincidences and a bit too much of David Abrams suddenly acting like an idiot. It was directed by Gary Sinise, who is one of my favorite people. Sinise does a good job of capturing the drizzly gangster movie atmosphere but the script could have used a bit more work.

Retro Television Review: Crime Story 1.13 “Strange Bedfellows”

Posted on August 3, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, Homan sings.

Episode 1.13 “Strange Bedfellows”

(Dir by Francis Delia, originally aired on December 26th, 1986)

Homan is in federal custody and he’s telling Breitel all that he knows about Luca and Bartoli. He’s also making up a story about Torello taking a bribe. Even though Homan’s Torello story is pretty shaky, Breitel is looking forward to taking down a crooked cop and launching his political career off of of the publicity.

Bartoli is not amused when he learns that he’s being indicted. However, Luca is able to convince Manny Weisbord to provide him with a top-level defense attorney. Manny also makes it clear that Luca no longer works for Phil. Instead, Luca works with Phil. Lucas has another reason to be happy. When he runs into David Abrams at a bar, he gets some free legal advice. Luca explains that Homan is lying about Torello. Abrams tells Luca that, if they can prove that Homan is lying about Torello, it will be easier to convince a jury that Homan is lying about Luca and Bartoli as well.

Torello, meanwhile, responds to his upcoming indictment by going to Las Vegas and playing some golf. He’s in a great mood until he sees that his indictment is one the front page of the newspaper.

Not much really happened in this episode of Crime Story. That’s not really a complaint. If anything, it was a bit of a nice change-of-pace. We got to watch the characters just be themselves. Luca, who rarely shows emotion, actually smiles when he hears that Torello is about to be indicted along with “his favorite people.” Luca actually has a sense of humor and an appreciation for irony. Who would have guessed? Meanwhile, Torello continues to be just a bit too intense for his own good. Even on vacation, he seems like he’s just one frustration away from snapping.

Will Torello snap next week? We’ll find out!

Retro Television Review: Crime Story 1.12 “Hide and Go Thief”

Posted on July 27, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, Torello finally tracks down Homan.

Episode 1.12 “Hide and Go Thief”

(Dir by Francis Delia, originally aired on December 12th, 1986)

In Chicago, an unnamed gunman (Paul Guilfoyle) has taken a woman (Lorraine Bracco) hostage and has barricaded himself in a hotel room. He wants to get on television and he figures that holding a hostage and firing a machine gun out the window is the best way to do it. The members of the Major Crimes Unit are in the street, ducking behind squad cars whenever the gunman starts firing on them.

It’s definitely a major situation but Torello is more interested in going to Gary, Indiana than exchanging gunfire in Chicago. Frank Homan (Ted Levine), a former member of Luca’s crew, has been discovered working as a cook in a Gary diner. Everyone in Gary knows Frank as “Mike Torello.” The real Torello is determined to arrest Frank and hopefully use him to take down Luca. Torello abandons the hostage situation, drives down to Gary, and captures Homan at work.

Finally, some good news for the real Mike Torello, right? Well, not quite. After Homan is arrested, U.S. Attorney Harry Brietel (Ray Sharkey) takes custody of him. Brietel has political ambitions and taking down gangster Manny Weisbord would be a good way for him to make a name for himself. When Homan is interrogated by Brietel, Homan lies. He says that he’s never heard of Manny Weisbord. But, Homan says, he has information that will take down Luca, Phil Bartoli, and a crooked cop. In exchange for a light sentence and entry into the witness protection program, Homan is willing to testify that Mike Torello is on the take. Brietel is intrigued. Fighting police corruption is guaranteed to generate even better press than taking down an actual mobster.

Meanwhile, back in Chicago, Torello rejoins the MCU at the hostage situation. (Apparently, the gunman has been awake and firing out of his hotel window for two and a half days straight. One gets the feeling that perhaps it’s wise not to give too much thought to the logistics of this episode’s timeline.) In a well-shot, slow-motion scene, Torello and his men storm the hotel room and shoot the gunman dead. The hostage survives.

Significantly, neither the gunman nor the hostage are given names in this episode. Indeed, Paul Guilfoyle is credited as playing “Deranged Gunman.” That’s because the gunman and the hostage are really only there to show just how obsessed Torello has become with Luca. When it comes to destroying Luca and his fledgling criminal empire, all else can wait, even saving an innocent woman from an armed lunatic.

I usually don’t enjoy watching anything that involves a hostage situation because it always seems to lead to the same predictable narrative beats. Fortunately, this episode avoided most of the usual cliches by making the gunman a total nutcase who never stopped firing his weapon. The scene where Torello and his men storm the hotel room was stylish enough to verge on being surreal. As for the Homan plotline, both Ted Levine and Ray Sharkey provided strong performances and I’m looking forward to seeing how Luca and Torello react to being betrayed by the same guy.

All in all, this was a good episode.

Retro Television Review: Crime Story 1.7 “Pursuit of a Wanted Felon”

Posted on June 15, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, the Torello marriage falls apart.

Episode 1.7 “Pursuit of a Wanted Felon”

(Dir by Aaron Lipstadt, originally aired on October 28th, 1986)

Last week, a recently acquitted man named Hector (Ving Rhames) was arrested after murdering his landlord. Torello, Danny, and David Abrams were all upset.

This week, they’ve all moved on. Sorry, Ving Rhames, you were only a one-episode guest star.

David is pursuing his relationship with Suzanne Terry (Pam Grier). At a cocktail party, Detective Walter Clemmons (Paul Butler), the black member of the Crime Squad, approaches Suzanne and warns her that she shouldn’t be pursuing a relationship with “that white boy.” Seriously, this is the first time that Walter’s gotten any real dialogue since the show began and it’s basically to tell Suzanne not to pursue an interracial relationship. “We’re only seven years out from integration,” Clemmons says, an awkward piece of dialogue that is meant to remind viewers that this show takes place in 1963. The show actually deserves some credit for being realistic about how many people would have viewed David and Suzanne’s budding romance in 1963. I just find it interesting that the show’s only regular black character is the one who is shown objecting while all of the white Chicago cops don’t have a problem with it. Who knew the Chicago police force was so progressive in the early 60s?

(I really want to like Stephen Lang’s performance as David but something feels off about it. It’s not a bad performance. I stand by my earlier praise. It’s just that David is such a caricature of an early 60s liberal that it is sometimes hard for me to tell if his character is supposed to be satirical or not. In episodes like this, where David is portrayed as being a cool hipster, Lang can seem a bit stiff and miscast. He’s much better when he’s giving an emotional speech in court.)

Luca continues to prove himself indispensable to Manny Weisbrod. In this episode, he blows up a union leader who doesn’t want to take orders from the mob.

Finally, Mike and Julia Torello split up in this episode. It’s not really a shock. Mike Torello is extremely intense and obsessed with his job. He’s tightly wound, to the point where he seems like he might just randomly shoot someone at any given moment. An attempt to take a relaxing vacation with Julie is a disaster. (The motel is tacky. The service is mediocre. Mike spends the entire time threatening the staff and complaining.) As soon as Torello returns to Chicago, he hops on a plane for Cleveland in an unsuccessful attempt to capture Frank Holman. When Torello returns home, he finds that Julie is preparing to go out with another man.

“You are not going to watch my TV,” Torello says, before grabbing the TV and leaving the apartment with it.

Does that scene sounds familiar? That’s probably because Michael Mann later reused the scene, almost word-for-word, in Heat. It’s a good scene. It’s certainly the most memorable moment in this episode.

Otherwise, this episode felt a bit bland. Torello’s doomed marriage isn’t really that interesting and I actually kind of got annoyed with David and Suzanne going to a cocktail party when they really should have been trying to get Hector out of prison. I laughed at Torello’s irritation at the hotel and his line about the TV. Those were the highlights. The rest of this installment was forgettable.