Spoilers

“Buried Alive”

A traffic stop by Maxine leads to a a special episode of Picket Fences that examines the relationships of everyone involved.

I remember this episode, but I have to say I thought it was a holiday episode. However, it was simply a visit. Jill’s father returned and this episode had the flavor of the Thanksgiving episode from season one, which is why I seemed to remember it that way.

Maxine pulled Hayden, Jill’s father, over for rolling through a stop sign (something I think about every time I do the same thing) and things get out of hand. Maxine arrests Hayden, taking him down to the station. She says she would drop the charges for an apology, but Hayden refuses to do so.

In order to try and smooth everything over, Jimmy invites Maxine to dinner with them.

This triggers all sorts of fireworks that somehow ends up with an examination of the marriage of Jimmy and Jill.

It is a classic Picket Fences episode that goes into problem after problem, all stemming from each other. Each character laid out their personal resentments and their inner most dialogue to each other in an uncomfortable and suspenseful manner.

“Buried Alive” used events from the last year worth of episodes to inform the arguments. Episodes involving Maxine’s therapist, Hayden’s girlfriend, Jill kissing her former fiancée, Thanksgiving, the under sheriff drama were all referenced. I love the use of continuity. Despite the fact that these Picket Fences episodes feel self contained for the most part, they constantly use the things that happen as part of their lives. Just like real people.

I’m not sure that real people lay out their dirty laundry like the Brocks and those in their orbit do in real life (without complete devastation to relationships), but there is no doubt that it makes for riveting drama when they do it on screen.

Spoilers

“System Down”

James Earl Jones guest stars in a dramatic episode that is as relevant today as it was back in the early 1990s.

The show is similar to the classic movie 12 Angry Men as the show features the conflicts and dialogue inside the jury room. Jimmy’s reputation as a fair man winds him up on the jury despite the fact that this case was involving the shooting of police officers.

A drug dealing black man shoots two police officers who are kicking in his door. There was a video as well.

It felt as if this should have been an open and shut case, but the defense argued that the suspect had a reasonable fear for his life at the time and that this was self-defense.

Watching the jury debate this point was fascinating. The jury spent almost an equal amount of time attacking each other in the jury room. We meet Ed Lawson, played by Richard Masur, who would become an important recurring character. He is an unlikable man who is implied to be a bigot.

There is no falling action in this story. I felt like I wanted to see how some people reacted to Jimmy on this decision, but the show does go to black with Jimmy sitting in the jury box after giving the ‘not guilty’ verdict.

A few scenes between James Earl Jones and Fyvush Finkel were epic. The show does a solid job of giving the jurors who we do not know personalities and an easy way to familiarize us with who they are as characters.

Spoilers

“Squatter’s Rights”

This was the second consecutive episode of Picket Fences that I had not seen before. It is strange that there are episodes of a show that I thought I had seen all of them keeps finding episodes that I hadn’t.

In fact, this was the introduction of the potential relationship between John and Maxine. I remember during the original run thinking that the relationship came out of nowhere, but this gives the origin of it.

There were two main stories in this episode, one I liked and one I did not. The one I did not involved the alleged murder of a husband by her grossly overweight wife. The one that I did featured Douglas Wambaugh fighting against being thrown out of his synagogue.

Good first. Wambaugh’s outlandishness finally pushed his rabbi over the edge. The rabbi told Wambaugh that he was expelled from the synagogue. Being Wambaugh, he was going to fight. He insisted on a Beth Din, which is a rabbinical court of Judaism, to state his case.

The whole Beth Din was used as a way to deconstruct the character of Douglas Wambaugh, looking at his behavior and how people react to him. An emotional response from Kimberly and a kind note from Zack saved Wambaugh and gave him a chance to show his softer side.

The second story Dealt with an overweight woman and her dead husband. She confessed to his murder, claiming that she sat on his head and smothered him. There was more to the story than that. I am never a fan of using overweight characters in this manner. It felt disrespectful. The actress was grossly overweight and I kept thinking about how she felt doing this role. They never showed her on her feet and I wondered if she was able to walk. None of this helped entertain me with the story.

Spoilers

“Terms of Estrangement”

What a treat.

Today, the Picket Fences series did indeed leave Hulu, so I had to start watching on Amazon Prime and I am so grateful that I could because this was the best episode of the show so far.

In fact, during the X-Files rewatch I have been doing, I have come across a bunch of the first season episodes that I did not remember. Kind of like a special little surprise. However, I had not come across any Picket Fences episodes that I had not seen… until this morning.

I do not remember ever seeing this episode before and, it was so great, that I cannot imagine that I had ever seen it before. As I said earlier, what a treat.

One of Jimmy’s former partners who had gone too far once in an interrogation, leading to the death of the suspect, kidnapped Kimberly.

Rick, played by Louis Gossett Jr., hid Kimberly away in a bomb shelter that was soundproofed, and then he went to see Jimmy at the police station, to “offer help” but actually to to play mind games.

The portrayal of a shattered man who had lost everything, including his wife and daughter, was done brilliantly by Gossett Jr. and his interactions with jimmy showed another level for Jimmy. Tom Skerritt was unbelievable in this performance. His internal anguish and feeling of helplessness came through as he tried to remain strong for his family.

The ending was tense and suspenseful as Jimmy was forced to attack Rick in order for Rick to give up Kimberly. Jimmy mournfully saying “Don’t make me kill you” was heart-wrenching.

I was not expecting something so amazing and unexpected. I loved Picket Fences and I love this episode so much.

It’s funny, but all three of my top favorite Picket Fences episodes as of this watching, featured FBI Agent Donald Morrell, played by Sam Anderson: this episode, The Green Bay Chopper and Be My Valentine. Sam Anderson who played Bernard on my all-time favorite show LOST.

Spoilers

“Divine Recall”

The reign of Mayor Rachel Harris is the major focus of this episode, as an old soft porn tape she made when she was 21 resurfaces, presenting the church an opportunity to call for censure against Rachel.

Rachel’s secret affair with Kenny comes out as well, leading to some conflict between Kenny and Jimmy.

Father Barrett was leading the charge against Rachel on grounds that she lacked the moral compass to be an effective leader. The show is able to present every angle of a situation so you can see where everyone’s motive was coming from.

And the episode had a surprise in store. With Rachel censured, the ranking member of the City Council would become mayor and that was Howard Buss.

Howard, who has been suffering with Alzheimer’s Disease, does not seem the type to take the reigns of the mayor’s office, but Howard was excited to fill the position until a special election for the position.

Lots of big ideas in this episode and everything fit nicely together as the storyline of Rachel Harris, mayor, takes a turn. My memory was that this story is never quite fully resolved, but maybe I am mistaken. I believe that I’ll have to move the viewing over to Amazon Prime since Picket Fences looks to be leaving Hulu as of tomorrow.