(S01E05) "Have you died and gone to moron heaven?" - Gene Hunt
What we had here, my friends, was a real theological episode. There were lots of references to angels, miracles, prayer and the question of whether or not Sam is dead. If so, is he in purgatory or hell or heaven? Does that explain his predicament? And is the old gray beard a vagrant or a heavenly messenger?
Overall, what I really thought made the show percolate was the teaming up of Sam and Clams. "Clams" we learn is Fletcher Bellow, Sam's mentor, and he pops up in the middle of a potentially explosive riot, with African-Americans going after Puerto Ricans when a little girl plummets from a rooftop at the hands -- or so it seems -- of Angel Ramirez.
Clams is from another precinct, the 86th, and before you can say, "They call me Mr. Tibbs," he and Sam are working the case. For the first time, it seemed that Sam enjoyed being on the job. He wasn't fighting Gene and company as usual. The chemistry between Sam and Clams was reminiscent of 1970s TV shows, Starsky and Hutch or Streets of San Francisco or Kojak.
There was a big guest star in the episode -- Whoopi Goldberg guesting as Brother Lovebutter, a deejay who was like the Wizard, talking over the radio and manipulating the black community. Whoopi was good, if not as memorable as her appearances on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Of course, they left the door open for her to return for future episodes.
Funniest scene was when the BLA, Black Liberation Army, captured Clams and Sam and held them for hostage. When Sam picked up that the leader was into rhyme, Sam was forced to prove how cool he was. Thinking of any rap, he pulled out of his memory Vanilla Ice's "Ice, Ice Baby." In 2008, he would have been mocked. In 1973, he achieved a relative level of cool. At least enough not to get shot.
The rooftop showdown reminded me of a John Woo movie, everyone holding a gun on each other. When Gene said they had to have justice, then shot two times -- but they didn't show it -- you kind of knew it was a set up. Gene's a hard ass, but he's not a killer. He gave the order to draw first, saying, "It's not assassination; it's an option." Hunt is a complicated character, but, like I said, not a killer.
I loved how Ray refers to priests as "penguinis," and Father Tim came full circle. When Sam appeared at the funeral, it did seem for a minute that it could have been Sam in the coffin, especially since he saw that newspaper clipping. The funeral, including the encounter with the gray beard -- who was holding Keisha's hand as if taking her to heaven -- was enough to get Sam to try prayer again. Cutting from his prayer now as a man to his prayer as a boy asking God to bring his father back home, was a nice touch.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-07-2008 @ 2:57AM
Brent Schmidt said...
The ending seriously brought chills up my spine with the Angel or whoever he was...
I absolutely love this show, and tonight's episode has to be my favorite one so far. Just loved it.
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11-07-2008 @ 3:24AM
Kate said...
This was my first time watching the show and I am so glad I did. I definitely will be coming back for more and trying to catch up on all of the episodes I missed. I was happy when characters from the Wire kept popping up. Lester Freamon, Cutty and Frank Sobotka. If this is where they all wound up after the end of that show, it only entices me even more to come back next week.
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11-09-2008 @ 12:12AM
StillBash said...
They also do pop up on "Fringe" and "Lost" you now (ok one guy does) :-)
11-07-2008 @ 5:19AM
BobbyBuz said...
"And is the old gray beard a vagrant or a heavenly messenger?"
My take is that this character is Sam's real father.
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11-07-2008 @ 8:38AM
laura said...
Best show yet, even with whoopi in it ( i cant stand her) I hope brother fake afro doesnt come back in the future, all i see is whoopi not the character.
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11-07-2008 @ 11:33AM
Spooky said...
I thought this was the best episode so far. I hope this show doesn't get canceled. It's too great!
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11-07-2008 @ 12:53PM
RetUSMCGunny said...
I'm really warming to this show - I love the period it's set in and the stark contrast between then and now and how Sam deals with his dilema. Like Laura said, I can't stand Whoopi, but I could tolerate her with this kind or material - very good show and can't wait to see next week's episode!
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11-07-2008 @ 1:55PM
Glenn said...
A small Bowie-esque point - the title of the show is a David Bowie song and "Ice Ice Baby" samples a riff from the Bowie/Queen song "Under Pressure".
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11-07-2008 @ 1:56PM
Glenn said...
And one more thing - is the funeral supposed to say that Lisa Bonet's father was Clams? Was he going to be Sam's future father-in-law?
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11-07-2008 @ 7:44PM
JennieO said...
Gawd, I love this series, and this episode was awesome for all the reasons mentioned above. The Sam/Clams teamup was wonderful, and when Sam's "father" died, it was so fitting to see Clams in the coffin.
Angel's story was heartbreaking, amid the standoff on the roof.
I hope the network gives this awesome show time to get a real foothold. It's the only "must-see" tv I have right now.
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11-07-2008 @ 10:39PM
Sonya said...
The "Angel Messenger" told Sam that they promised that he would be able to say goodbye to his father they just decided which one. I believe 'they' brought Sam back to present day to allow him to say goodbye to Clam who probably died in the line of duty.
I love the direction the show's going - allowing Sam to piece together parts of his young life with his present day adult life. It's like he's solving some type of puzzle to get back to the present or at least to rest in peace.
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11-08-2008 @ 3:36PM
Ian said...
Good show, but the ending had significant reilgious undertones...... I am unsure of mixing entertainment with overt religious suggestions.
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11-09-2008 @ 12:15AM
StillBash said...
It's part of this type of story. If it's not clear cut Sci-Fi timetravel then you have to expect religions undertones or at least questions. "Lost" has it too and to be honest it's not always purely about religion. Religion itself deals with human conciousness, the afterlife and the meaning of life and seeks answers to these questions in a non-scientific way. If you don't incorporate this side of alternate realities then you leave out a big part of people's lives, peoples believes and of course people who might tune in to the show :-)
I'm in no way religious but as long as they keep it to the basics and don't shove answers which in reality aren't answers into my face (e.g. "God did it") I'm totally fine with it. Hinting at things is always fair game in this type of show.
11-10-2008 @ 1:05PM
Edie said...
Best new show since I don't know when! It's not silly, stupid, demeaning or just plain dumb! It's GREAT! I love it!
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