User Reviews

This is an episode that takes place entirely in one room. As a result, it seems a bit claustrophobic and talky. However, it is still well worth seeing as it shows something that only is shown very briefly in most cop shows--the interrogation.

For almost 20 minutes straight, Friday and Gannon interview George Fox (John Sebastian). Fox has a long history of violence--extortion and other strong-arm tactics are his specialty. As for Sebastian's characterization, it was quite humorous--sounding a bit like Joe Pesci or perhaps a dumber version of an Edward G. Robinson hood. Again and again, this slob acts like an innocent little lamb--though this act is impossible to believe based on his shady past.

The reason they are interrogating Fox is that recently a business owner came to the police and filed a complaint about Fox trying to extort money from him--wanting a piece of the man's legitimate business. However, after the complaint was lodged and the police began monitoring the businessman's phone calls and office, the man disappeared--and Friday and Gannon assume Fox killed him to prevent from testifying.

The show is a verbal game of tennis. At first, Fox seems very self-assured and hard to pin down, but later, as the evidence stacks up, the odds are tilted significantly in the cops' favor.

Well acted, interesting and well written. While it's not a typical show, it's worth seeing.

John Sebastian is a rich extortionist named Fox who shows up late for an appointment with Friday and Gannon. It's raining outside and the entire show takes place in the interrogation room. I wanted to throw open a window and get some air.

At first, Fox is puffed up and derisive towards the two officers. He's wearing a colorful stiff suit with a boutonniere and he makes pronouncements like, "You guys ain't got nothing on me. Why I make in an hour what it takes you cops ten years to make, get me?" The wily cops let him spout off for ten minutes or so before they begin to play a tape-recorded conversation in which one of Fox's minions is frightened out of his wits and begs the mark to fork over the dough, otherwise they'll both be spanked. "Part One," says Friday.

Fox is a little shaken but he blusters on, getting angrier and more desperate. "Part Two," says Friday, playing back the portion of the tape on which Fox himself threatens to off the victim. "That ain't my voice!", Fox protests. Then Friday and Gannon whip out a voice print and tell him that no two voices are alike and they can be matched just like fingerprints. That's not exactly true but it's enough of a lie to make Fox slump in his chair and give it up.

What makes the series interesting is the variety of odd balls and straight people that Friday and Gannon bump into as they follow the villain's spoor. Here, with only one villain -- and him a stereotype and not doing a good job of enacting the role -- there's not much to go on, and the show winds up looking like a game of ping pong with the heavy's score getting lower and lower for half an hour.