Season 3 (Spring 1984)

Episodes are not necessarily listed in the order in which they were filmed or exhibited, but rather (in some cases) in the order the scripts were commissioned.

Note: this abbreviated season, when the series was brought back by “popular demand,” is only seven episodes. They were to serve as an “audition” for any subsequent season(s).

At a glance:

Synopses:

A KILLER’S DOZEN

Director: John Patterson

Written by: Peter Lefcourt

Cagney and Lacey don their police uniforms when the Patrolman’s Association goes on strike. While “walking a beat,” they attempt to solve the murder of twelve women. The solution hinges on using Cagney as bait. Subplot: Petrie’s refusal to cross the picket line jeopardizes his job, while Cagney augments her income in a precinct poker game.

PARTNERS

Director: Joel Oliansky

Written by: Patricia Green

Cagney lands in the hospital after being shot by a fleeing liquor store hold-up suspect. Lacey must try to find him with the help of her new partner,-- a man who’d rather be dining at fine restaurants than chasing crazed killers in deserted alleyways.

Subplot: Cagney’s father finds himself unable to visit his daughter in the hospital.

THE BABY BROKER

Note: Emmy winner for Tyne Daly, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.

Director: John Patterson

Written by: Terry Louise Fisher

When Cagney and Lacey investigate a case of child abandonment; Lacey decides to offer temporary housing for the abandoned child. She finds herself unable to pursue the case without emotional attachment, however, as the baby becomes more and more a part of her life.

Subplot: Cagney’s boyfriend, whose career is in theatre, cannot adjust to the violence of Cagney’s career in law enforcement.

MATINÉE

Director: Karen Arthur

Written by: Chris Abbott-Fish

Three bored suburban housewives have found a way to put some excitement into their country club lives: They go into the city for matinees -— and not just the kind that take place on stage. The sexual liaisons continue— until one of them is murdered; Cagney and Lacey arrest her lover, a male stripper, using the name The Marquis de Sade, but can’t make the charges stick. Re-examining the evidence, in a Columbo-like finish, Cagney and Lacey set a trap for the victim’s husband, who confesses to the murder of his wife.

Subplot: Samuels’ son, David, is arrested for stealing a car, and Samuels refuses to get him out of jail. He wants David to understand the consequences of his actions, but, spurred on by Cagney’s shared regret over her lack of communication with Brian, her brother in California, the Lieutenant rushes off to his son’s arraignment and Cagney, taking a deep breath, makes a long—overdue phone call to her brother.

THE BOUNTY HUNTER

Note: features Tony Award and Golden Globe award-winning actor, Brian Dennehy, in the episode’s title role

Director: Bill Duke

Written by: Steve Brown

On the trail of an armed robber, Cagney and Lacey encounter a bounty hunter named MacGruder. He’s rude, crude, macho, and charming in his own way. Always one step ahead of Cagney and Lacey, he especially gets under Cagney’s skin. MacGruder gets to the perp just as he’s about to board a bus to Atlantic City. Cagney chases them both through a bus terminal. As they’re about to get away, Lacey accosts them. MacGruder tries to bribe her with a percentage of his bounty money, but she refuses. The perp is arrested, and MacGruder heads home, to Cagney’s delight and regret.

Subplot: Michael Lacey has reached the fourth grade without knowing how to read. Lacey and Harvey decide to teach him themselves.

VICTIMLESS CRIME

Director: James Frawley

Written by: Peter Lefcourt

Lacey discovers there are actually many victims involved in the making of a pornographic movie, as she and Cagney try to bring some of the perpetrators to justice.

Subplot: A visiting French detective makes Lacey a romantic offer which she must refuse.

CHOICES

Director: Karen Arthur

Written by: Terry Louise Fisher

A false pregnancy forces Cagney to face her biological clock and to realize that her options in life, as to when to marry and when to have a family, have diminished.

Subplot: The detectives try to bring a reluctant witness in to testify against a slum landlord.

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