The Commish Takes a Darker Turn in Season Three

This year, thanks to my friend Libbie, my parents and I have enjoyed reacquainting ourselves with the 1990s cop show The Commish, starring Michael Chiklis as Tony Scali, a police commissioner in the fictional New York town of Eastbridge. Tony is a personable guy in his late 30s who’s a bit out of shape and overweight but won’t let that stop him from getting down to the nitty gritty on cases. Meanwhile, despite his rigorous schedule that often involves going out on calls in the middle of the night, Tony makes time for his beloved wife Rachel (Theresa Saldana) and son David (Kaj-Erik Eriksen), and in the third season, he also has a new baby, Sarah, to occupy his attention.

Season three, which at this time is available only as part of a full-series boxed set or for download on iTunes, begins with a conflict reminding me of the recently concluded drama Friday Night Lights. Rachel is just as career-driven as Tony is, and at the end of the second season, she gets an out-of-town job offer she can’t bear to pass up. Tony, meanwhile, is unwilling to leave his job as commissioner, so they decide to try a commuter marriage, only seeing each other on the weekends. That’s how season three begins, and it’s a pretty miserable situation for them both, but in the process of trying to fix the family, Tony finds himself without a job and sleuthing on the side, much to the disapproval of the new commissioner. How will he manage a return to the job he loves so much?

Like season two, season three has two major side characters at the precinct: earnest Stan Kelly (Geoffrey Nauffts) and clever Cyd Madison (Melinda McGraw). In this season, we see how dedicated both of them are to their boss, and they both deal with major workplace challenges and unsettling romantic entanglements. While other officers move in and out of prominence, these two are always near the forefront. Curiously, street-smart Carmela’s last episode is the season two finale, and if there was a reason given for her absence, I missed it. While Cyd continues to be a strong supporting player, I miss Carmela’s no-nonsense presence.

As with previous seasons, the third includes a mix of the serious and the silly, though it seems to tip more heavily in favor of the somber this time around, particularly toward the end, which takes a major turn for the tragic. It delves into some heavy topics throughout the season. For instance, in one episode, a gay officer is forced to out himself in order to fill out a report that will provide crucial evidence on a case, and the rest of the department, particularly his longtime patrol partner, has a difficult time coming to grips with this revelation. In another, Tony tries to help an elderly Japanese restaurant owner and a shopkeeper who fought in World War II overcome their deep-seated prejudices to work together to bring down some vandals.

In this season, David’s first serious romantic relationship is tested by the revelation of the violent activities of his girlfriend’s father. Called Romeo and Juliet, this episode marks a major turning point for David, as it concludes with his bar mitzvah, an event to which the series had been building up for some time. Equally iconic are the final two episodes, which mark the conclusion of the story arc of one of the series’ longstanding characters.

Despite all the darkness in this third season, there is still room for levity as Tony works to solve the most puzzling unsolved mysteries in town. Most of these episodes can be taken out of order, but the really powerful ones will lose some of their punch if you haven’t lived with these characters for a while, so I still recommend starting with season one. If you do, you should find season three of The Commish well worth the wait.