John speculated that the homicidal maniac episode of Crime
Story that Todd found "unlikely" might have been from the
second, inferior season.
Actually, John, it was the third episode in the first season.
I wached it last night (watched 1-3 that I had taped). I
think Todd was generous. The part was so ridiculously
overdone, in psychology and acting. And why did he look like
a '77 New York punk (a lot like Richard Hell) instead of an
early '60s JD? This was the worst of the three episodes I've
watched, but its faults were just exaggerations of what left
me cold in the other two.
There are good things. I really like that the cops are at
least as vicious as the crooks. The scenes of violence are
well handled, both disturbing and chaotic. And I like the
glimpses of downtime, like the party scene where the cops and
their wives dance and singalong with the Impressions.
However, the presentation is so overblown, it seems
pretentious. This can even be seen in the set. Crime Story
shouts its time period at you, never lets you settle in,
wants you to notice every stick of furniture, every car,
every piece of clothing. Chinatown, on the other hand, was
accurate in its details, but was more confident, let the
background be background.
I, too, am coming to understand why I never got very far with
the series the first time around. I'm going to stick with it
a bit further, but I've got my doubts.
Mark
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