Release date: March 9th, 2010
MSRP: $14.97
While THE SHIELD may have made Michael Chiklis famous, it was not his first time wielding a badge on national television. From 1991 to 1996, Michael Chiklis was Tony Scali, a police commissioner of Eastbridge, an upstate New York town. Unlike many in his position, he did not stay behind the desk, choosing a more hands on approach to his job. Unlike his character in THE SHIELD, Tony often used his wits and humor to resolve problems, rather than violence.
While the job was the focal point of the show, much time on his family life. Tony was married to Rachel (Theresa Saldana) and the two had a teen-age son David (Kaj-Erik Eriksen) teen-age son and a freeloading brother-in-law (David Paymer) staying with them. The Commish did a fairly good job of balancing the two.
Chiklis was hardly the stereotypical lead man. Balding a overweight, he brought a sort of everyman feel to the show and made the character of Tony somebody that most could relate with. There are reports that the network actually fought with Michael when he lost weight and did not want him to shave his head, but rather keep the soft, middle-aged look. Quite the opposite of what we hear about these days.
The Commish was not a hard-boiled show, but it did have its darker moments. The show tackled racism, drugs, child abuse and even featured a serial killer. The show was entertaining enough and consistently delivered entertaining stories with engaging characters. Fans of Chiklis and THE SHIELD should pick this up.
Jeremy
