Silk Stalkings: The Complete Third Season

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 (Season 3) DVD features a number of dramatic episodes including the season premiere "Crime of Love" in which Rita becomes disillusioned when the parole board grants an early release to Tony Fielding, a convicted criminal apprehended by Rita several years earlier... Other notable episodes from Season 3 include "Love Never Dies" in which the Palm Beach fashion community is rocked when a young model dies from a drug overdose, and "The Scarlet Shadow" in which Rita becomes the subject of an internal investigation when she's the last person to see one of her friends before that friend turns up murdered...

Below is a list of episodes included on the Silk Stalkings (Season 3) DVD:

Episode 44 (Crime of Love)

Episode 45 (Team Spirit)

Episode 46 (The Perfect Alibi)

Episode 47 (To Serve and Protect)

Episode 48 (Tough Love)

Episode 49 (Sex, Lies, and Yellow Tape)

Episode 50 (Schemes Like Old Times)

Episode 51 (Love Never Dies)

Episode 52 (Daddy Dearest)

Episode 53 (Ladies Night Out)

Episode 54 (The Party's Over)

Episode 55 (Killer Cop)

Episode 56 (T.K.O.)

Episode 57 (Judas Kiss)

Episode 58 (Love Bandit)

Episode 59 (Whore Wars)

Episode 60 (The Scarlet Shadow)

Episode 61 (Head 'N' Tail)

Episode 62 (Freudian Slip)

Episode 63 (The Last Campaign)

Episode 64 (The Deep End)

Episode 65 (Mother Love)

Episode 66 (Dark Heart)

The DVD Report

Season 3 was the 2nd best season (after season 2), the plusses being the continued chemistry of Estes and Kapture, some cute medical examiners, and the introduction of the comic Captain Lipschitz, well played by Charlie Brill. The show continued with the somewhat lighter tone introduced in season 2, but does have several rather serious episodes, which, while not high drama, work due to the leads' efforts. The flaws of the season would be signs of the beginning of the end; John Byner, who played a likeable hustler who had a love/hate relationship with our heroes, left suddenly midseason and we're introduced to his brother "Atticus", not as well-played and a somewhat sleazier character (I suspect these scripts were written for Byner, and he declined, as Atticus acts more like a pervert than a good-natured con-artist).

Also, as this was the 1st season the show was cable-only, it does appear to have slightly cheaper production values (as if that was possible) than seasons 1 & 2, although that was always part of the show's charm; it had no right to really work, and yet it does.

So if you like charismatic leads, over-the-top plots, and Cinemax-after-dark love scenes w/o nudity (featuring Carrie-Ann Moss and Robert Forster, among others, during the season), then Silk Stalkings seasons 1-3 are for you. Season 4 was a lot more "serious," with lame love relationships for the cops, and might be for die-hards only. But seasons 2 & 3, especially, are a lot of fun.

Silk stalkings was a hit on USA during its run it had everything you would want in a miami beach dective show.