L'as de la crime

"The Commish" was one of the best shows in the early 90s. Michael Chiklis was wonderful and extremely believable in the title role. Also, the supporting cast was always very good. The writing was excellent in the beginning until perhaps the 3rd season. Then, it turned into the usual Cannell fare. Mr. Cannell always wrote/produced excellent shows in the beginning, but once he and his production company ran out of ideas, they looked to current events and/or clichés to pull them through. This is true of "The A-Team," "Hunter," "Night Rider," "Rockford Files," and, of course, the cliché-in-and-of-itself, "21 Jump Street." "The Commish" was flying high until each episode became a carbon-copy of the last one. Of course, that is the fate of many a TV show and is to be disregarded. All this aside, it was an excellent show that made Saturday nights enjoyable for a few years.

This show initially looked like another boring cop show, but proved to be exactly the opposite. I never saw this on ABC. I started watching reruns on cable. It is hard to explain why I loved this show so much. Maybe it was the small town. Maybe the irony, it was hard to predict the endings. Maybe it was Michael Chiklis? I don't know. I loved the entire cast, which is rare for me. I loved all the deputies especially Sid. I keep hoping it will be back on the air soon. Not my favorite show ever, but a GREAT one.

The Commish is definitely the best show ever produced on television. It had a perfect balance of comedy and drama. Every episode was filled with clever twists and turns that made each and ever show original. No other program on television has or will ever come close to The Commish's unique chemistry. Every single character on the show is far beyond memorable.

-PauliePentangeli@aol.com http://commishtv.homepage.com

The Commish was a slightly different cop show - the emphasis here was not on heavy violence but on "the commish" himself, played by that gifted actor, Michael Chiklis. Chiklis brought great likability to the role of Tony Scali, a good guy in a small town dedicated to family and his work as police commissioner. Teresa Saldana played his wife, and the two were totally believable together. The cop part of the show sported a fine cast including Geoffrey Nauffts, Melinda McGraw, and Gina Belafonte. The emphasis seemed to be on warmth, as you really looked forward to seeing the whole group. I never found the episodes as dark or as interesting as other police shows, but that was never the point of "The Commish." Like many Stephen Cannell shows, the series was driven by the personality of the main character and an excellent ensemble. "Wiseguy" may have had more hard-hitting scripts, and "Rockford Files" may have been more fun, but "The Commish" was comfortable and highly entertaining.

Michael Chiklis is one of those actors who can do anything. An accomplished stage performer, he did return to theater after the run of "The Commish" but came back to television as a policeman again - this one with a real dark side - on "The Shield," a big hit for F/X. "The Shield" was truly the evil brother of "The Commish," and it's the rare actor who could carry off both so perfectly. Though I'm a great admirer of "The Shield," I admit that TV isn't as bright without Tony Scali.

Couldn't take to it initially, but that was because I was impatient and didn't get it. This is easy to watch tv, but it gets better as the characters bed in. Give it a go, but give it more than 5 or 6 episodes, you won't be disappointed.