Crime Story (American TV series)

Plot

The first season follows Chicago Police Detective Lieutenant Mike Torello and his pursuit of organized crime from Chicago to Las Vegas, circa 1963–64. Torello heads the Major Crimes Unit (MCU), a squad that includes Detective Sgt. Danny Krychek, Det. Walter Clemmons, Det. Nate Grossman, and Det.

Joey Indelli. His target is rising young Italian-American mobster Ray Luca, initially an independent thief and killer whose crew includes Pauli Taglia and Frank Holman. Through his connection to Chicago crime boss Phil Bartoli, Luca attracts the attention of national crime figure Manny Weisbord, head of a Jewish Mob organization inspired by Meyer Lansky. Luca proposes taking over the Las Vegas bookmaking operation of Noah Ganz, but his theft of Ganz's gambling book backfires when Torello catches Holman and the book falls into MCU hands.

To prevent a crime war, Luca massacres Ganz and his thugs. Torello obtains a murder indictment against Luca, while Holman makes a deal with federal prosecutor Harry Breitel, lying that he paid off Torello. The murders of Torello's childhood friend Ted Kehoe and his associate Marilyn Stewart lead to a trial of Luca, Taglia, and Bartoli, while Torello faces a federal corruption investigation based on Holman's testimony.

Cast

Like Miami Vice, Crime Story featured heavy use of up-and-coming actors, with many appearing in both shows. Lead actors Dennis Farina, Bill Smitrovich, and John Santucci all appeared in multiple episodes of Miami Vice. David Caruso appeared as Johnny O'Donnel in the pilot and later episodes. Julia Roberts made her first TV appearance as a juvenile rape victim in the season 1 episode 'The Survivor'.

Kevin Spacey appeared in the second-season premiere as a crusading senator, his first major television role. Deborah Harry appeared in the penultimate episode of season 1 as one of Ray Luca's girlfriends, without singing. Paul Anka appeared in the same episode as Anthony 'Tony' Dio, though his 1959 recording 'Put Your Head On My Shoulder' was heard as incidental music. Gary Sinise appeared in the season 1 episode 'For Love or Money' and also directed two episodes.

Ving Rhames appeared in the season 1 episode 'Abrams For The Defense' as Hector Lincoln, his second television appearance. William Russ was occasionally featured in the opening credits of season 1's first half despite his character being murdered in the pilot. Christian Slater, Paul Guilfoyle, Michael Rooker, Lili Taylor, Richard Edson, Pam Grier, and jazz musicians Miles Davis and Dexter Gordon also made appearances.

Production

After the success of Miami Vice's first season, Michael Mann had complete freedom from NBC to produce another show. Universal Pictures initially considered financing Crime Story but declined due to projected costs, as Miami Vice was already being produced at over $1 million per episode. New World Pictures agreed to finance the show, with Universal retaining domestic syndication rights. Mann's concept was to follow a group of police officers in a major crimes unit in 1963 and show how they change over 20 hours of television, ending in 1980 with different occupations in a different city and time.

He was influenced by the television series Police Story and based Crime Story largely on the experiences of former Chicago police detective Chuck Adamson. Mann asked Adamson and Gustave Reininger, a former Wall Street investment banker, to write the pilot and show bible. Reininger researched by winning the confidence of Detective William Hanhardt, who connected him with undercover officers and organized crime figures, though he backed off after visiting a gangland slaying crime scene. Adamson stated the stories were composites rather than actual events but would be accurate.

Reaction

The two-hour pilot debuted on September 18, 1986, with a 20.1 national Nielsen rating and a 32 percent audience share. Ratings dropped when counter-programmed against ABC's Moonlighting, and the show was moved to Friday nights after Miami Vice on December 5, 1986, where ratings improved but it still lost to Falcon Crest. NBC temporarily pulled Crime Story after the season finale on March 13, 1987, and cast members promoted the show in five U.S. cities.

The New York Times wrote that with its first-rate cast, the show might have had the authenticity of an Elmore Leonard novel but looked willing to settle for the glitz of Miami Vice. Tom Shales of The Washington Post wrote that after the smoke clears, a viewer may feel impressed yet unmoved. John Haslett Cuff of The Globe and Mail praised the characters and locales as greasy and the show's best moments as having a dangerous glitter. Time magazine's Richard Zoglin called it the most realistic TV cop show in years with emotions reaching almost baroque heights.

Time ranked Crime Story as one of the best television programs of 1986 and of the 1980s. In their 1988 book, authors Max Allan Collins and John Javna chose it as one of the top 10 best police TV series of all time.

Did You Know?

• Crime Story and Wiseguy were prototypes for later arc-driven series such as 24 and The Sopranos.
• After the first season, the show was nominated for three Emmys, all in technical categories.
• The entire series was released on VHS tapes in 1991 from Starmaker, the only official release with original music.