Spoilers

“Rights of Passage”

A powerful episode of Picket Fences, “Rights of Passage” featured a small band of Native Americans taking over the court house because the town of Rome decided to build a golf course that would extend over the burial grounds of their ancestors. The eventual showdown was built to exquisitely and was used, as is always the way with this show, to deal with some deep insecurities of one of its characters, in this case, Jimmy Brock, the sheriff, as Jimmy had some deep reflections on his time as the sheriff and what the job entails from him.

Jimmy really did not want to lead an attack on these Indians to reclaim the courthouse despite having the Mayor and Judge Bone making demands of him.

Seriously, Judge Henry Bone looked very much out of line through most of this episode, making demands of the police, especially Jimmy, whom he asked “What kind of sheriff are you?”

I found Henry to be really obnoxious during this episode. He seemed to be more concerned with get “his” courthouse back than dealing with the situation calmly and under control.

Chief Winnetka forced Jimmy’s hand with his demands to get rid of the golf course. It was a powerful episode with some painful moments for everybody.

The side stories included Matthew fighting a bully to protect Zach and Ginny protesting Jill’s office with other ‘little people’ because she was giving a small child HGH shots so he could grow bigger.

Either way, the standoff at the courthouse was clearly the main storyline and led to the death of the Chief. It was a sad ending.

Spoilers

“Sightings”

Picket Fences has the most well developed ensemble cast of characters of any TV show I can remember. I do believe this show is the precursor to shows like LOST or The Walking Dead where even the secondary characters are deeply developed and have real feelings and emotions. Picket Fences was truly ahead of its time as a show.

Tis episode focused on Carter Pike, played as always wonderfully by Kelly Connell. We have seen Carter through other episodes in little bits, but this time we really dive into the doubts and mind of Carter, and, because he is a morose and melancholy individual, with terrible feelings of insecurity.

They take Carter and rip everything away from him, his reputation, his job, his self-confidence.

When a missing man shows up dead with radiation burns in garbage outside the Brock house, questions about the possibility of UFOs take over Rome. A traveling group led by a woman named Wendy of UFO believers arrive and gain Carter’s support. When Carter announced to the press that he was listing exposure to radiation from a UFO as a possible cause of death of the man (after seeing something in the sky the night before), things went terribly wrong. Jimmy and Mayor Pugen fired Carter from his post as Medical Examiner because his credibility had been damaged beyond repair.

Turned out that Wendy was using Carter for publicity and her people had used a hologram projector to make Carter think he saw a UFO.

The UFO story was countered in the episode by the fact that the man they found in the garbage was a Jewish man and Carter would not release the body for burial. So the episode has some serious scenes dealing with the Jewish faith and the beliefs of Judaism. Douglas Wambaugh had some amazing scenes dealing with his own issues in connection to his religious beliefs. There was one with Doug and Miriam, his wife, in bed that again showed a deep understanding of Wambaugh and who this character was.

I really did feel for poor Carter by the end of the episode and, once again, Picket Fences showed why this show won as many Emmys as it did.

Spoilers

“Fetal Attraction”

One of the great things about Picket Fences when they went into the court room, I was never sure what the outcome would be. In particular, any of the controversial topics of the day could have gone in any direction and with Judge Henry Bone sitting on the bench, it often did.

The controversy of this episode was the use of stem cells from aborted fetuses being used to treat Parkinson Disease.

On Picket Fences, the major argument against the use of stem cells falls into the idea that it becomes an umbrella issue under abortion and that it was argued that this type of experimental procedure would only encourage abortions to be done. Obviously, this wound up involving the church as well as the community.

The other major storyline was the specialist Jill called into the case was her former fiancée before Jimmy. The attraction between the two doctors remained strong and Jill ended up kissing him.

The show used this plot point to investigate the deep ceded resentments by Jill and her choice to come to the small town to be the town doctor instead of becoming a top-line surgeon. This then was used as a conflict within the marriage of Jill and Jimmy. As always, this show uses their stories to inform their characters at a different level than most shows.

Honestly, this is a perfectly enjoyable episode of Picket Fences, but it did not stand out. It was fine. Of course, this hour was probably better than most series like this.

Spoilers

“Be My Valentine”

What a great episode this one was.

Maxine, who in the early stages of the season, killed the criminal the Green Bay Chopper, thinks she found another one.

After taking out a personal ad in the newspaper, Maxine gets a response that she believes is from a serial killer named Cupid. At the same time, Jimmy gets shot in the butt with an arrow. Maxine was sure that this was Cupid because he was known to taunt the police.

She set up a sting operation in an attempt to lure the serial killer to her.

What happens next is a beautiful set up that lands Maxine in the line of fire.

When I watched this episode originally, I remember the shock and the disbelief about the ending. It was one of the best twists of the show, and the performance of Kurtwood Smith as fired FBI agent Barry Jenkins, who was obsessed with Cupid who killed his wife was spectacular. When he turned back to Maxine revealing himself as Cupid, the look on his face was complete psychosis.

The way the show first made us think that Jenkins was Cupid, only to see the other guy, Ben Sasha (Stephen Tobolowsky) to grab the undercover Maxine was awesome. What a great twist to make us think that we had it all backwards and that Jenkins was not Cupid after all, only to reveal that Jenkins and Sasha were both Cupid.

When I watched back in the 1993, I truly thought that there was no way that Maxine was getting out of this. It was a stunning ending.

There are still little bits of character development in the series even in the episodes that are story driven like this one. There was a continuing detail to Carter, showing how lonely and sad he actually feels, which shows why he is always so desperate to be deputized, to make it appear as if he is not as impotent as he feels.

Something that I wanted to mention about Picket Fences that I really love is how they bring back specifics from previous episodes. This episode, they referred to the Green Bay Chopper several times. They have been known to bring up previous characters or storylines in conversation, just like real people would. This is not just a TV series where each episode is stand alone. There is a continuity to Picket Fences and I love that.

As of this moment, Be My Valentine is my favorite episode of the show. We’ll see if it can hold that spot. I am currently five episodes from the end of season 1 and ten days officially into the Picket Fences DailyView Rewatch.

Spoilers

“The Body Politic”

The next episode of Picket Fences brought a couple of major controversial topics to the front of the story.

One, a local dentist is fired because he would not reveal to his patients that he was HIV positive.

Two, a doctor refuses to allow his wife to be disconnected from life support despite the fact that she had been declared dead. The reason? She was pregnant and he wanted to keep her alive so she could give birth to the baby.

The first case was very much of the typical prejudicial situation that the show specialized in. The second case was a whole pro life, pro choice debate that has still be a major issue in the world.

Of course, the cases lead to a fight between Jimmy and Jill as they wound up on separate sides of the debates. Tom Skerritt and Kathy Baker are at the top of their game in these knock down verbal fights.

This was also a great episode for Douglas Wambaugh and Judge Henry Bone. Wambaugh was extremely effective in both of the cases, including a strong cross-examination of Jill. Henry Bone, once again, showed what a well-meaning judge he is. You can see the heavy toll that each decision he makes takes on himself.

Spoilers

“Nuclear Meltdowns”

Religious freedom comes front and center on Picket Fences as there are a couple of stories involving strange uses of the concept.

First, a church that uses ducks and goats as sacrifices? It is funny seeing Maxine flip out while sneaking into a funeral and arresting the entire church full of people. Judge Bone kicked that case very quickly.

The other story was the main one as one of Kimberly’s friends turns out pregnant, but Kim was confused. She had never even mentioned a boyfriend before. However, Kimberly saw her in a romantic kiss with her father and suddenly everything was hitting the fan.

Except, it turned out that it was not incest and instead was polygamy. Kimberly’s friend was not the daughter of the man, but one of his wives. They were Mormon.

There was another story happening as separated-at-birth twins reunited in Rome through a series of coincidences… including one sleeping with Kenny and the other having the orgasm, in her car in another part of the town. Both twins ended up as Kenny’s girlfriend in the weirdest part of the weirdo episode.

Spoilers

“Bad Moons Rising”

This was the ‘menopause-made-me-do-it episode.

I remember this one clearly when the show was first on the air and this might have been the first episode that I really fell in love with the show. The ridiculousness of the court case being argued by Douglas Wambaugh, and yet winning, only to discover that Alice Freeman, who had runover her husband with a steam roller (that image stuck with me), had made up everything as a way to get rid of her husband without a divorce. The last scene of the episode with Carter spying Alice with the doctor who testified against her together in her house was shocking.

Then, as I was watching, the B-story of the episode was fairly shocking in its own right. It was Matthew who was having dreams about sex and having his ‘penis explode.’ That topic has been done before, but what was wild was how the show had Matthew’s dream being Maxine coming to him in a bra and panties (holding chocolate cake and a baseball card). It made me wonder if they shot this regularly or if there was some kind of movie magic involved because it felt a little creepy having Lauren Holly, the actress, approach teenager Justin Shenkarow, barely dressed and, in another moment, undid her top.

Shenkarow had to have been… interested, yes?

It made me wonder how they got away with this.

Spoilers

“Frog Man”

The first time Kenny isn’t a great shot, he gets taken down.

A powerful episode dealing with the consequences of a police officer being shot and the ways that that can mess with someone’s head.

Kenny is shot by Frog Man at a jewelry shop. Frog Man, a person who had been committing crimes with frogs, was at the shop and wound up shooting Kenny twice. He just happened to get the drop on Kenny.

Kenny was rushed to surgery and Jill had to operate to pull the bullet out of him.

Eccentric frog lover Peter Lebeck (Michael Jeter) was an immediate suspect and Maxine overstepped procedure in her investigation, which led to Peter’s arrest and eventual dismissal of charges because of an illegal search and a confession that stemmed from the legal term, ‘poisonous fruits.’

This entire event led to a meltdown between Maxine and Kenny, because Kenny blamed her for not being there when he needed her and Maxine mad at Kenny for going behind her back to Jimmy. These two who have been very close really came to some dramatic tension.

It turned out that it was actually Peter’s son Milton (Chris Owen) who had shot Kenny, as the 11-year old was trying to find a hero, aka Frog Man.

Maxine and Kenny were able to work out their issues, as Jimmy pointed out that they were both at fault for the situation. That Kenny was not mad at Maxine, but at himself because he got shot and that he had taken the situation with such a lazy approach and that Maxine had blown the search and arrest because she was affected by what had happened.

The scenes with Peter and Milton at the police station before Milton was taken away were powerful and painful.

This was a really strong episode that, again, takes the plot and uses it to dive deep inside the characters that we love.

Spoilers

“Pageantry”

“High Tidings”

It’s Christmastime in Rome.

Rome Christmas brings all kinds of conflict.

A female teacher who used to be a male.

Statutory rape. Well, sort of…

Kris Kringle is arrested and takes the police station hostage. Kenny is still a great shot.

A pageant is not allowed because of the Nativity scene. Separation of church and state.

Unfortunately, Judge Bone has an issue with transsexuals. He warned Wambaugh not to bring the case into his court room. That warning was clearly never going to be kept.

Jimmy’s ex-wife Lydia comes to help with Kimberly.

These were two consecutive excellent episodes. The whole Santa takes the station hostage was tense and anxious. As it was mixed with the whole Kimberly drama that was ripping apart the Brock family making it all the more poignant.

Once again, holidays in Rome, Wisconsin are something else.

Spoilers

“The Snake Lady”

A dead body. Suicide or homicide? How does a snake play into it?

Another mystery in Rome, Wisconsin that the Sheriff’s Department has to solve. But can their motives be trusted?

A woman is found dead in her home and the initial appearance is that of suicide. However, her husband, Brian, is confident that she would never have killed herself. He wanted to blame her sister, K.C., who has several pet snakes and thus dubbed ‘The Snake Lady.’

Problem… Maxine started to have feelings for Brian, to empathize with him over his situation leading to Kenny to call her out on it and tell Jimmy.

The case went through several final answers, from suicide to accidental shooting to possible murder. Poor Carter had to report each change in the case to the media which mocked him horribly over the changing case and Carter’s constant comments of being ‘nearly’ deputized.

The mystery of this episode is well done and is one of the tropes of Picket fences. There are a ton of twists and turns among the show’s mystery cases and this is no exception. Everything does come out nicely done and worked as a solution.

Again, we get conflict between our characters developed by the plot. In this case, Maxine and Kenny, who had a lovely encounter with one another last episode over Thanksgiving, immediately had their partnership tossed in the grinder.

By the way, Kenny is one damn fine shot.

The only drawback of this episode is that we never got to hear, “Douglas Wambaugh for the Snake Lady!” No Wambaugh or Judge Bone this episode. Perhaps Wambaugh is taking this episode to spend more time with his wife after last episode’s issues.

One more thing, Brian had grabbed Kenny around the throat and pushed him against the wall, and I am not sure how he did not get charged with assaulting an officer. Kenny was fully in control of the situation though and wound up hitting Brian with the handle of his gun. Still, Brian should have faced charges. “Douglas Wambaugh for the police assaulter!”

Spoilers

“Thanksgiving”

Thanksgiving means family, but in Rome, Wisconsin, Thanksgiving means conflict.

This was the first of the annual Picket Fence Thanksgiving episodes that they would have every year and every year there would be a new chance for the Brock family and their circle of friends to argue, fight and eat turkey.

This first episode sees Jill’s father arrive with a brand new fiancé who just happened to be 26 years old. Jill can barely contain her opposition to the surprise that was sprung on her.

Other conflicts that were being contained within this Thanksgiving episode included Douglas Wambaugh, who had caught his wife Miriam in bed with another man, and Maxine and Kenny alone at the police station.

The master of dialogue, David E. Kelley, loved these kind of episodes that would split up the characters in different places around the Brock house (and the police station) and just had one on one conversations, dealing with the conflicts among them.

The episode laid some groundwork for a possible relationship between Maxine and Kenny, who have always been close. It started with Kenny calling Maxine “Supercop.” It ended with a passionate kiss under the “New Years’ Eve rule” which says that a kiss at New Years does not have to mean anything, just a way to satisfy curiosity.

Holiday episodes are a staple of this series and “Thanksgiving” is the first one to be seen. It is a style that this show will emphasized throughout it.

Spoilers

“Sacred Hearts”

Picket Fences was a very topic heavy show and one of the topics that David E. Kelley’s show covered a lot was that of assisted suicide/euthanasia. This was the first time the idea came up in Rome, Wisconsin as a singing nun, described by Maxine as a serial mercy killer, helped ease the pain of a leukemia patient by ending her life.

This topic is one that was extremely passionate on both sides and created a lot of uncertainty among all of the characters in Rome. This week, it was Judge Henry Bone who spoke about it on the bench as he made a shocking ruling in the case. Ray Walston was amazing in this performance.

The episode also dove deeply into religion and the questions surrounding what happens when you die, a question that was plaguing poor Zachary Brock after he had seen the leukemia patient’s dead corpse accidentally. His nightmares only confused him more with what Heaven, Hell or any kind of afterlife might contain.

As always, Jimmy is under the microscope as his own religious doubts are touched upon. I know that this is a theme that is returned to again over the life of the series. In this episode, Jimmy’s oldest son Matthew called his dad out on his own habit of breaking the 10 Commandments. This was a hilarious scene.

Picket Fences has never shied away from the controversial and this episode made that case clear. It is brilliant writing when you can take a controversy and make each side of the issue feel both right and wrong at the same time.

Another long term storyline is introduced here as Howard Buss, who made his first appearance recently, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease. Howard’s arc will continue for quite awhile and this is where he becomes a major character in the show.

Spoilers

“The Contenders”

It is election night in Rome, Wisconsin and there is a surprise write-in candidate, Jill Brock.

Jill decided to join the race for mayor initially to try and get Mayor Pugen to agree to some projects that she wanted to get done. Jill decided she really wanted it.

This was a look on the world of politics, especially how the negativity can mess with people. The press brought up the fact that Jill and Jimmy had gotten together prior to Jimmy and his first wife, Lydia, had actually been legally separated. This brought up huge scars for Kimberly and we got some specifics of how this whole thing happened.

Meanwhile, Kenny arrests a man who was on the run from tax evasion who turned out to be a former pro boxer, “The Poet” Jeff Freed, played by Henry Brown. He was a hero to young Jimmy. Jimmy challenges the former champ to an exhibition boxing match to raise money for his defense. Jimmy was a former Gold Gloves boxer and wanted to face off with him. The relationship between Freed and Jimmy was strong through the episode.

Kenny is knocked out and Pugen wins re-election. Watching Douglas Wambaugh sadly leaving the boxing match after losing the election was devastating.

This is a perfect example of Picket fences. It takes the events and plot points to inform conflict among the characters, whether or not it makes the characters look bad. This is such a wonderful character piece.

Spoilers

“Remembering Rosemary“

Picket Fences had a classic Halloween episode as they jumped int0 the history of Rome, Wisconsin and reopened a case from the past.

The case of Rosemary Bauer was unknown to all of us, but the writers did a magnificent job of making it important to the audience by placing several of our key characters at the heart of the original case.

It was believed that the beautiful Rosemary Bauer had jumped out of her window and committed suicide when she had found her husband having an affair with the maid. The maid, Karina Shaw, sunk into a mental breakdown, never to speak again… that is, until the most recent Halloween in Rome when, during the playing of “Ragtime Gal” Karina said the word, “murder.”

That was enough to get Maxine’s investigatory juices flowing and she tried to get the case reopened. The Mayor and Jimmy, who were new to their posts when the suicide happened, were insistent that it was a suicide. Rosemary had been Jill’s patient and the suicide shook Jill’s confidence.

With Maxine, Kenny and Carter leading the way, Jimmy started to wonder if he had rushed to judgement back 10 years prior to get the town past the suicide.

With an ending straight out of Psycho, Leo Bauer, the husband, was revealed to have killed Rosemary in a fit of rage when he found her in bed with Karina, and Leo had dug up the body of Rosemary and was keeping it in his house, dressing her in her wedding gown.

A very engaging and intriguing mystery and a solid pay off. Leo’s insanity did kind of come out of nowhere, but grief had truly crippled him.

The episode was also fun when they went to Carter’s Halloween party and we saw Douglas Wambaugh dressed as Dracula singing songs and Judge Bone dressed as a Martian (a throwback to actor Ray Walston’s past in My Favorite Martian).

This episode saw they debut of Howard Buss, who would become a major character over the life of the series.

Spoilers

“Frank, the Potato Man”

Frank the Potato Man was one of my favorite recurring characters on Picket Fences. He had been mentioned earlier in the first season, but had not made an actual appearance. So now, we get some good people directing their biases toward poor Frank.

There is a serial bather running around Rome, breaking into houses and taking a bath. As silly as it sounded, it planted worries about sexual deviancies and sexual predators. And Frank, who had been watching high schoolers from across the street, becomes a prime suspect.

Because Frank was strange, odd… he became an easy target and Maxine and Kenny went out of their way to prove that Frank was the serial bather. They had no evidence except some of the slightest circumstantial evidence.

Still Rome gets stirred up into a craze. Even Jill, in worry over her children’s safety, was reacting in such a bigoted manner, all because Frank was different.

Douglas Wambaugh stepped up this episode though. His confrontation with Maxine over her tactics in trying to arrest Frank was an episode highlight. Any time Wambaugh drops the clown act and speaks truth, he is powerful. His reference to his parents dying in the Holocaust and that he knows about bigotry and oppression was an amazing moment. It is why a character who is seemingly as over the top as Wambaugh is, truthfully, a compelling and complex person.

Actor David Proval does a great job as Frank, the Potato Man. The sadness in his eyes is just painful as he takes the bigotry from everyone around him.

The ending of this episode was sad as we, once again, see that our main characters are just as likely to make mistakes and be bad as anyone. This show was truly ahead of its time.