Silk Stalkings: The Complete First Season

Silk Stalkings was yet another show from the fertive mind and studio of Stephen J. Cannell, and was one of (if not the) longest running of his hour long shows. Silk Stalkings originally debuted on CBS as part of the late Friday night Crime Time After Primetime slot but that was soon cancelled and it became a cable only show airing on USA Network as they had entered into a co-production deal with CBS originally.

The show lasted eight years in all and, as so many shows do, ended on a never resolved cliffhanger. But that's a long way into the future and with the ex-husband and wife team of Tom and Cassie. This first season is pure gold as we are introduced to Rita Lee Lance and Chris Lorenzo of the Palm Beach Police Department's Homicide division.

In the first few episodes Rita is a much harder character than she is for most of the rest of her run. It seems that she has an inoperable brain tumour that makes her take risks no normal cop would take. This little character trait is swiftly forgotten and never ever mentioned again. Chris and Rita have the usual male/female cop partner dynamic for the first couple of years and are Best friends in every sense of the word with no hint of sexual tension or any underlying romance. Initially they had the usual one night stands but this would later be replaced by long term relationships later on.

Calling one another Sam most of the time (and not a reference to Sam Spade but rather Slammin' Sammy Sneed, who they both considered the greatest ever golf player. The first few episodes also used golfing references in voice overs by Rita but that was also dropped although the "Sam" nickname remained throughout their time in the show.

As all good things must, eventually both Rob Estes (Chris) and Mitzi Kapture wanted to move on to pastures new and so halfway through the fourth season and after finally giving into viewers obvious wish, they became romantically involved and married. Almost instantlly Chris is killed and Rita, pregnant with Chris child, leaves Palm Beach for good. In the run up to this two new characters are slowly introduced as replacements, Michael and Holly, and dubbed "The Tupperware Twins" by fans of the show that know there is no replacing Chris and Rita, fill out the rest of season five before being totally forgotten and never mentioned again when Tom and Cassie take over at the start of season six for the shows final three seasons.

Tom and Cassie are fine replacements but there really is only one Top Detective duo in Palm Beach and that is Chris Lorenzo and Rita Lance. A magic combination that make every episode shine. They truly were an amazing pair on screen and although Mitzi Kapture was originally going to stay with the show after Rob Estes departure, only did the characters justice as it really seems like a logical end to the saga of these two wonderful characters. Estes was sick of filming in San Diego when wife, Josie Bissett, was filming Melrose Place up in LA and then Kapture became pregnant. The storyline in season four built to the marriage of Chris and Rita and then Chris's untimely death and as heart wrenching and horrible as it always seems, no matter how many times you watch it, if Rita had stayed it would have almost driven home the fact that only one actor wanted to quit instead of this end of the road for these two great characters.

But this DVD boxed set is all about Season One and the introduction of two of Cannell's greatest characters and their crime solving amongst the wealthy and famous of Palm Beach. Taking their first teetering steps and jettisoning the elements that didn't work, this show is soon hitting a stride that doesn't let up over the four and a half years we are lucky to meet up with Chris and Rita.

I was hopeful of DVD boxed sets of other Cannell shows after Wiseguy debuted, but to say that I was both thrilled and delighted that Silk Stalkings would be the first of Cannell's shows to recieve the season by season boxed set treatment would be a major understatement. My two personal favorite Cannell shows are both this and 21 Jump Street (next for release) and to see both of them starting the long list of Cannell box sets (with Greatest American Hero promised for next year as another treat, and can I please put in my vote for the short lived but amazing show Profit) was a dream come true. I'd heard rumours of Jump Street and that seemed only natural with Johnny Depp's selling power (not to mention that Jump Street was a superb Cannell show with another cast of great characters) but Silk Stalkings as the first boxed set? I can only thank the powers that be at Anchor Bay Entertainment, for making this Cannell Fans dream come true. I am literally counting the days until the release of this DVD boxed set and although we've had a slew of excellent releases this year (both old and new)THIS is the boxed set of the year for me.

There seems to be no news on special features but I'm hopeful for at least one or two audio commentaries and some cast/crew interviews, particuarly Estes and Kapture.

This review probably sounds like a paid advertisement for this DVD but if you enjoy Cannell's mix of action, humour and great characters you owe it to yourself to pick up this first boxed set. I am paitently waiting for the day that I have all four and a half years worth of Chris and Rita episodes on DVD to enjoy forever as this is one of THE best shows out there (in my humble opion obviously) and will be one of the highlights of my DVD collection.

Thanks Anchor Bay. You've done right by me.

1991 represented a unique opportunity for U.S. TV show creators. Unlike today, when cable networks make up much of the original programming, there were few markets for new shows. The fledgling Fox network was only four years old, and the triumvirate of broadcasting giants (ABC, CBS, and NBC) had the power of dinosaurs. But there was a hiccup in late-night scheduling: David Letterman had signed a new contract to host a talk show on CBS, but his NBC contract still had two years to run. So CBS decided to run a slate of dramatic fare -- five new shows to keep the seat warm for Letterman -- which they called "Crime Time After Primetime". Stephen J. Cannell, creator of literally dozens of TV shows, had something called "Silk Stalkings" that he'd been working on for a few years; he pitched it, got the go-ahead, and quickly went into production.

This was a cop show featuring a pair of Palm Beach (Florida) police detectives who specialized in crimes of passion in that enclave of the wealthy, said crimes being referred to as "silk stalkings". A first for television, they were a mixed-sex pair who were friends and partners on an equal footing (both Sergeants) -- but NOT romantically involved. The headliners were Rob Estes (whom Cannell had been attempting to fit into a series for a while) as Chris Lorenzo, and newcomer Mitzi Kapture as Rita Lee Lance. Longtime Cannell friend Ben Vereen completed the short list of headliners as Captain Hutchinson. But the important element of "Silk Stalkings" was the dynamic duo of Rob & Mitzi as Chris & Rita, with a natural screen chemistry that shone over such dialog as "That woman would leave skidmarks on your libido."

From the first episode of "Silk Stalkings" it's easy to see that this show is long on style and short on budget. The low advertising rates for late-night TV meant that the show had to be shot on a relative shoestring, so Cannell and company decided to emphasize stylistic elements, such as vivid colors in both sets and wardrobe. Chris and Rita both refer affectionately to each other as "Sam". This isn't the expected reference to Dashiell Hammett's detective, but rather to "Slammin' Sammy Sneed, the greatest golfer of all time". Golf is VERY important in the first season of "Silk Stalkings", because it's used mostly as a metaphor for sex. When you're specializing in crimes of passion sex takes center stage, and the riveting opening credits featuring many quick cuts of attractive bodies capably sets the tone for the show.

Two years before "NYPD Blue" brought "partial nudity" to prime time TV, "Silk Stalkings" established it as a late-night mainstay. In the very first episode there are topless women jumping into a pool. The bare breasts here happen to be moving quickly and in dim lighting, but this was just a start. With the limited budget they couldn't afford to re-shoot accidental exposures any more than they could redo the frequent poor acting of an episode's bimbo of the week, so there are several nipple exposures that would have caused fits with the prime time censors. To be fair these only show up for a second or two each, but DVD sets mean never having to say "I missed that". (There are also a couple of actresses who wore flesh-tone pasties for modesty.)

The first season tried a bunch of experiments toward achieving a workable series formula, and many failures were quickly discarded. Rita is introduced with an inoperable brain aneurism; a questionable life expectancy is supposed to make her wring the most out of every day. After a few episodes the aneurism is never mentioned again. In the first season women's hosiery is worn ubiquitously (silk stockings for the "silk stalkings" crowd, of course) after bare legs had been the fashion norm for the beach crowd a couple years already. Plus there was lots of 1980's big hair to go with the hosiery (perhaps an attempt at copying some of the feel of "Miami Vice", which had been airing while Cannell was developing "Silk Stalkings"). The golfing metaphors dropped off quite a bit after this season, too. And there were a couple too many hillside homes used from the San Diego shooting locations than made sense for Florida, where a 20-story Miami Beach hotel towers over the highest spot in that very flat state.

Guest stars for this season included Gary Hudson, Cindy Ambuehl, William Anton, Ann Turkel, R.G. Armstrong, Kim Morgan Greene, Jay Acovone, Terri Treas, Dennis Paladino, Judith Chapman, William McNamara, Elizabeth Barondes, Denice Duff, Marta DuBois, Kristen Cloke, Vanity, and Bobbie Phillips.

The DVD collection doesn't have any audio commentaries, and lacks closed captions. The audio and video are of very good quality, though. The bonus material features a few minutes each of reflections on the show and the people they worked with from Rob Estes, Mitzi Kapture, Steven J. Cannell, and Ben Vereen.

Summary: If you can overlook frequents signs of a low-budget show, "Silk Stalkings" has a lot to offer. Highly recommended.

Nominated for only one Emmy, the entertainment quality of Silk Stalkings is nevertheless evidenced by its nine season run which is one of the most enduring ever for an original cable TV series. Partly responsible for this lack of critical acclaim is that Silk Stalkings was a trailblazer in the cable genre, and handing out Emmys to original cable series didn't become fashionable until the late-1990s when Sex And The City and The Sopranos broke the cable barrier for good. Another contributing factor to the lack of peer recognition is that Silk Stalkings lasted about four seasons longer than it should have, given that nearly the entire cast and crew were replaced after the first five seasons. Regardless, this hour-long drama series set in Palm Beach, Florida contains all the necessary ingredients for a hit show - beautiful people in a beautiful setting with lots of murder, violence, and intrigue. Silk Stalkings offers everything one could ask for in a TV drama, and the show's success helped pave the way for additional original cable series such as Monk and The Shield...

Silk Stalkings follows the exploits of two Palm Beach, Florida detectives who investigate murders and other high profile crimes in an elite community which is no stranger to fame and fortune. Sgt. Chris Lorenzo (Rob Estes) and Sgt. Rita Lee Lance (Mitzi Kapture) are partners on the local Palm Beach Police Department, and each episode they must investigate one or more high-profile crimes. The dynamic relationship between Chris and Rita is a focal point of the show, and the two will overturn every stone and use every tactic at their disposal to bring justice to those who, either due to fame and/or wealth, believe they are above the laws that governor average people... Veteran entertainer Ben Vereen plays their boss, Capt. Hutchinson, in seasons one through three before being replaced by Charlie Brill (Capt. Harry Lipschitz) for the remainder of the series... Overall, Silk Stalkings is a finely scripted investigative drama cut from the same mold as Law & Order SVU...

The Silk Stalkings DVD (Season 1) features a number of dramatic episodes including the series premiere in which Chris and Rita investigate the case of model murdered in her townhouse. The main focus of the investigation centers around the model's husband, and the couple's impending divorce proceedings only serve to place him under greater suspicion. Digging further, Chris and Rita link a cold case file to the murder, but a wrench is thrown in their investigation when the ex-cop who investigated the case is himself murdered... Other notable episodes from Season 1 include "Dirty Laundry" in which Chris and Rita investigate the mysterious death of a congressmen found on the beach near his home, and "Internal Affair" in which Chris becomes embroiled in police brutality controversy when he shoots and kills a suspect during a burglary in progress...

Below is a list of episodes included on the Silk Stalkings DVD (Season 1):

Episode 1 (Pilot)

Episode 2 (Going to Babylon)

Episode 3 (S.O.B.)

Episode 4 (In the Name of Love)

Episode 5 (Men Seeking Women)

Episode 6 (Dirty Laundry)

Episode 7 (Hard Copy)

Episode 8 (Curtain Call)

Episode 9 (The Brotherhood)

Episode 10 (Blo-Dri)

Episode 11 (Intensive Care)

Episode 12 (Squeeze Play)

Episode 13 (Shock Jock)

Episode 14 (The Sock Drawer)

Episode 15 (Internal Affair)

Episode 16 (Witness)

Episode 17 (Domestic Agenda)

Episode 18 (Lady Luck)

Episode 19 (Working Girl)

Episode 20 (Powder Burn)

The DVD Report