A drug sniffing turkey?! Wow! Buntz pushes the envelope again and again. It's Christmas time and there is a kind of Olympics against the fire department. Renko needs to get that hernia looked at. Frank and Joyce go to Frank's childhood home where they are met with some hostility and a lack of appreciation. Frank's drinking is was never brought up as a cause of his divorce from Fay. She is the darling, as is Frank Junior. This is a very realistic portrayal of a somewhat damaged family. Joyce is the innocent victim and Frank has much responsibility for what this has become.
2 Reviews
Nice Christmas episode
Woodyanders5 March 2021
Warning: Spoilers
It's Christmastime. The officers on the Hill exorcise for the upcoming fireman versus cops Olympics. Furillo (a typically excellent Daniel J. Travanti) and Davenport (well played by Veronica Hamel) visit Furillo's family, which doesn't go over too well. Buntz (the terrific Dennis Frantz) uses a drug-sniffing turkey to bust a dope dealer. An apartment dweller claims that there's a vision of the Virgin Mary on the wall of his apartment.
The Olympics provide some good laughs, with Hunter (a deliciously droll James Sikking) not surprisingly making for a gung-ho coach. The business with the turkey is likewise very funny, although it does land Buntz in hot water with Goldblume (sturdy Joe Spano) over his questionable methods that he uses for arresting perps. The religious vision subplot neatly captures the warmth and pathos of the yuletide season. But it's Furillo's visit to his family that gives this particular episode lots of additional poignant dramatic punch: Davenport has lovely talks with both Furillo's brother Joe (likeable Michael Durrell) and his mother Barbara (an appealing portrayal by Peggy Santon), plus Furillo has an especially moving scene in which he says goodbye to his stubborn dad (a sound turn by Richard Bull) and tells his father that he loves him.
The Olympics provide some good laughs, with Hunter (a deliciously droll James Sikking) not surprisingly making for a gung-ho coach. The business with the turkey is likewise very funny, although it does land Buntz in hot water with Goldblume (sturdy Joe Spano) over his questionable methods that he uses for arresting perps. The religious vision subplot neatly captures the warmth and pathos of the yuletide season. But it's Furillo's visit to his family that gives this particular episode lots of additional poignant dramatic punch: Davenport has lovely talks with both Furillo's brother Joe (likeable Michael Durrell) and his mother Barbara (an appealing portrayal by Peggy Santon), plus Furillo has an especially moving scene in which he says goodbye to his stubborn dad (a sound turn by Richard Bull) and tells his father that he loves him.
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