CAGNEY & LACEY {CAGNEY AND LACEY}: HAPPILY EVER AFTER (TV)
Summary
One in this series of dramas about two policewomen, Chris Cagney and Mary Beth Lacey.
Dory meets Cagney at her apartment for a date, apologizing for his tardiness due to a long stakeout. He surprises her by proposing marriage to her, and the next day Cagney breaks the news to Lacey, who reacts ecstatically. However, Cagney is unsure whether she wants to marry Dory or not. Before they can discuss it further they are called away on in investigation, as a woman, Cece Wentworth, claims that her jealous ex-husband attempted to shoot her. Their investigation reveals that the woman’s current fiancée may have lied about his previous place of employment. They question the woman’s fiancée, Robert, who admits that he lied to Cece about his former job to make himself sound more impressive, and Cagney and Lacey convince him to give his full and honest cooperation in exchange for dropping the charge of falsifying his police report. Cagney suspects that Robert is putting on an act and hired a hitman to dispose of Cece. Lacey’s excitement about Cagney’s potential wedding increases, insisting that she try on wedding attire and such. She discusses it with Harvey, who is not as confident, believing that Dory will dump Cagney.
Cagney and Lacey question Cece, who reveals that Robert is not in her will. They begin to suspect embezzlement at the department store where Robert works in the credit department, although they still have no leads as to the shooting. That night, Dory comes in and starts talking about moving out to the suburbs together, distressing Cagney somewhat, as she still has reservations about getting married. He plans to get married in June, and wants to take their honeymoon at the Grand Canyon, although Cagney was hoping to go to a ski resort in the Alps. Despite her trepidation, she and Dory maintain a great deal of love and affection for each other. The next day, Cagney and Lacey question Mr. Wilcox, the department store’s security manager, who claims that there is no employee theft taking place. He points to the efficiency of his computerized inventory system in order to properly catalog all goods, but they discover that Robert was the one who set up and maintains the computer system. When they go to see Robert, he believes that he is being arrested and asks to be taken away, apparently being guilty of manipulating the computer system for the purpose of embezzlement.
Cagney and Lacey report back to Lieutenant Samuels, explaining that Robert programmed the computer to increase his account by miniscule amounts each time a customer made a return. He did this in order to be able to afford expensive gifts for Cece. He leaves the case entirely in their hands, unwilling to file the immense amount of paperwork that would be involved. Dory and Cagney have lunch, and he talks about making her a beneficiary of his insurance policy. When Dory starts talking about her accounts and financial planning, Cagney becomes a bit uncomfortable, and later speaks to Lacey about it. Cagney and Lacey advise Mr. Wilcox that the case against Robert shouldn’t go to trial since he has already been fired and punished, but Mr. Wilcox is insistent that the case go to trial and Robert be jailed for his crime. Cagney and Lacey try to compile witnesses from the thousands of victims for Robert’s crime, although their efforts are largely unsuccessful.
That night, Cagney goes out to dinner with her father, where she breaks the news about his proposal. Despite his apparent gruff behavior, he is happy for her, and she remarks that she’s regretted that she’s never given him any grandchildren. The next day she and Lacey meet with an assistant D.A., Todd Felberg, although Cagney is still hung over from the night before. Felberg is furious about the nature of this case and its thousands of victims. He asks them to convince the store not to press charges and in return they will charge Robert with a theft misdemeanor and put him on probation. They manage to convince Mr. Wilcox not to pursue a trial, but Robert does not wish to make restitution, as he still has not informed Cece of any of this, fearing that it will jeopardize their marriage. Lacey believes that Cece will understand, but Robert still refuses, so Cagney and Lacey decide to tell Cece in person. However, Cece reveals that she knew Robert wasn’t wealthy the entire time; she understands why he concocted this deception and realizes the social implications of their relationship. She agrees to make restitution for Robert since she loves him regardless of his wealth.
By accident, Cagney and Lacey discover that the building superintendent was the true culprit behind the attempted murder. He claims that his gun accidentally went off while he was cleaning it and ricocheted into Cece’s apartment. Back at the station, Cagney reveals to Lacey that she has decided not to marry Dory. She is unhappy at how her personality has changed since meeting Dory; she feels that she is falling back into the stereotypes of a housewife because she subconsciously feels that is what she must do, and that she very much prefers an unmarried life. However, Lacey doesn’t really hear what she’s saying, instead insisting that Dory simply isn’t “the right man” for her. Cagney tries to convince Lacey that she’s better off without marriage, but Lacey keeps concocting excuses as to why she has decided not to, much to Cagney’s frustration. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: CBS
- DATE: January 14, 1985 10:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:48:52
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:60769
- GENRE: Drama, police/private detective
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, police/private detective
- SERIES RUN: CBS - TV series, 1981-1988
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Barney Rosenzweig … Executive Producer
- Steve Brown … Producer
- Peter Lefcourt … Producer
- Terry Louise Fisher … Producer, Writer
- P.K. Knelman … Associate Producer
- Alexander Singer … Director
- Barbara Avedon … Created by
- Barbara Corday … Created by
- Dana Kaproff … Music by
- Bill Conti … Theme Music by
- Tyne Daly … Cast, Det. Mary Beth Lacey
- Sharon Gless … Cast, Det. Chris Cagney
- Al Waxman … Cast, Lt. Bert Samuels
- Carl Lumbly … Cast, Det. Marcus Petrie
- Martin Kove … Cast, Det. Victor Isbecki
- Sidney Clute … Cast, Det. Paul LaGuardia
- Barry Primus … Cast, Sgt. Dory McKenna
- John Karlen … Cast, Harvey Lacey
- Harvey Atkin … Cast, Sgt. Coleman
- Dick O'Neill … Cast, Charlie Cagney
- Paul Sand … Cast, Robert Wolitzer
- John O'Leary … Cast, Arnold Wilcox
- David Paymer … Cast, Todd Feldberg
- Barbara Rhoades … Cast, Cece Wentworth
- Sam Vincent … Cast, Building Super
- Magda Harout … Cast
- Loyda Ramos … Cast