The opening of the episode where we get introduced to the characters.
The episode involves various stories. For one thing, there's the issue of civilian patrols trying to stop crime, and the kinds of problems they have. The main plot of the story is the argument that Cagney and Lacey have over what they saw, or thought they saw, at a shooting.
It gets complicated since Christine is sure she saw a guy with a gun, and Mary Beth did not see a gun in the guy's hand. Cagney is quite sure of what she saw and is worried that her partner did not see the same thing and might miss seeing a gun in the future. Lacey is angry when Cagney questions what she says she saw.
A pharmacy is held up and the perp shoots the druggist. When he runs away, two of the citizen's patrol men run after him. The first guy catches him and fights briefly with him. Meanwhile, Cagney, Lacey and one other policeman become involved in the chase. The actual crook escapes. The citizen's patrol guy is shot by the policeman.
Cagney and the policeman are sure the guy had a gun in his hand, while Lacey says he didn't, and this sparks the argument between the two. It gets bad enough that Samuels seems to have some concern over whether the two can continue to work together as a team.
The situation gets worse when the group stages a protest at the police headquarters. Cagney does some work on her own and ends up in danger, saved by Lacey and another policeman. They are able to catch the original perp who reveals that the citizen patrol man did have a gun on him.
Their task then is to find the gun and they are able to do that. In a way both women were right; Cagney saw the gun in the guy's hand, and Lacey didn't, but he might not yet have drawn the weapon, or he might have dropped it.
The strength of the show is revealed in the relationship between Cagney and Lacey, and the fact that they have arguments is, I think, really good, in that it shows a really human relationship rather than some kind of “perfect” relationship between the two.
A few caps of Sharon Gless, who I personally think is really, really beautiful. Also, I love her sweaters.
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