The Commish

"The Commish" was one of the best shows in the early 90s. Michael Chiklis was wonderful and extremely believable in the title role. Also, the supporting cast was always very good. The writing was excellent in the beginning until perhaps the 3rd season. Then, it turned into the usual Cannell fare. Mr. Cannell always wrote/produced excellent shows in the beginning, but once he and his production company ran out of ideas, they looked to current events and/or clichés to pull them through. This is true of "The A-Team," "Hunter," "Night Rider," "Rockford Files," and, of course, the cliché-in-and-of-itself, "21 Jump Street." "The Commish" was flying high until each episode became a carbon-copy of the last one. Of course, that is the fate of many a TV show and is to be disregarded. All this aside, it was an excellent show that made Saturday nights enjoyable for a few years.

The Commish is definitely the best show ever produced on television. It had a perfect balance of comedy and drama. Every episode was filled with clever twists and turns that made each and ever show original. No other program on television has or will ever come close to The Commish's unique chemistry. Every single character on the show is far beyond memorable.

-PauliePentangeli@aol.com http://commishtv.homepage.com

I called it the Andy Griffith Show for the 90s because it was set also in a small town, with goofy officers to assist the Chief, and with some silly plot lines. At the same time, it was a grown-up "Andy Griffith Show", full of the problems of the time affecting the family, both at work and at home. Many of us cannot forget the time in which the son of the Commissioner was taken...and in which the wife of the Commish was raped and almost killed. It was realistically done, and all of the actors should take a deep bow. It was good TV. I want it back.

Settummanque!

Tony Scali (Michael Chiklis of "The Shield" fame) is the police commissioner in a small town, he must deal with everyday problems and scenarios that that entails, but he does it with finesse, if with unorthodox techniques. The arch-typical nice guy and very different than the bad-ass Vic Mackey that Chiklis would later portray. The slightly offbeat show also focuses on The Commish's home life. This was a well written show and very likable in a quaint kinda way. Only plummeting downwards after Geoffrey Nauffts as Officer Stan left the show, among many others. Sadly the show went on for one season to long, plus a TV movie afterwords that didn't help either. The first 3 reasons were great, the 4th one was merely alright, and the 5th one, I would just skip.

My Grade: B-

The Commish was a slightly different cop show - the emphasis here was not on heavy violence but on "the commish" himself, played by that gifted actor, Michael Chiklis. Chiklis brought great likability to the role of Tony Scali, a good guy in a small town dedicated to family and his work as police commissioner. Teresa Saldana played his wife, and the two were totally believable together. The cop part of the show sported a fine cast including Geoffrey Nauffts, Melinda McGraw, and Gina Belafonte. The emphasis seemed to be on warmth, as you really looked forward to seeing the whole group. I never found the episodes as dark or as interesting as other police shows, but that was never the point of "The Commish." Like many Stephen Cannell shows, the series was driven by the personality of the main character and an excellent ensemble. "Wiseguy" may have had more hard-hitting scripts, and "Rockford Files" may have been more fun, but "The Commish" was comfortable and highly entertaining.

Michael Chiklis is one of those actors who can do anything. An accomplished stage performer, he did return to theater after the run of "The Commish" but came back to television as a policeman again - this one with a real dark side - on "The Shield," a big hit for F/X. "The Shield" was truly the evil brother of "The Commish," and it's the rare actor who could carry off both so perfectly. Though I'm a great admirer of "The Shield," I admit that TV isn't as bright without Tony Scali.