Pilot

I'm going back to a show I watched thirty years ago. I had never seen the Pilot episode. We are introduced to all the characters here with a smidgen of character development. I always liked Tom Skerrit, he the Sheriff in the small town of Rome. His wife is a family doctor. He has a couple deputies. He has two boys and a daughter. In this opening, the boys are a bit harde to accept as real. I won't go on. A man performing as the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz drops dead during the performance. This leads to a sophisticated murder investigation which has a very satisfying conclusion. Good start, even though it is a little off balance.

A strong start to the series -- which is what a pilot should be. I'd seen a couple episodes of this show: one strong, one not. I am glad to see that the strong one was not an exception.

This episode does abound with weaknesses -- little moments which don't quite convince -- but they are always in the service of offering some further perspective, rather than simply devices to move plot. Where other shows would simply occupy themselves with things happening, this pilot episode shows that Picket Fences is going to be more about responses -- especially the tension between how people would like to be, vs how they find themselves being.

A big thumbs up is deserved by guest star Fyvush Finkel; he gets great lines, and he knows how to deliver them. But it's Tom Skerritt's solidly convincing sheriff (and Baker as his wife) that really sets the tone for this show, and makes this episode sing.

Picket Fences doesn't seem like the kind of thing that would make it onto network TV, or last more than a season -- too uncomfortable, and asking too many questions. But it did, and we see it was already showing its colors in this first episode.

Revisiting this show, and the pilot episode after all these years, was such a delight. I'm so glad I get to rewatch some of it now... It's weird how things work, and how your whole personality is shaped by things you barely remember about your childhood. Picket Fences was the highlight of my week when I was a kid, and now I see why. It introduced me to the irreverent style and compelling characterizations I always look for in what I decide to watch. For a 1992 show, the pilot episode was very bold, and even at such a young age, I could appreciate the nuances. The main case and subplots, even some of the dialogues, were handled with such spontaneity, it is still as refreshing as it was back then... Going into the first minutes of it, you'd expect a corny family drama, or procedural even, but the way the investigation developed and how some of the characters were introduced, showed it wasn't just your typical small town shenanigans. It had edge, sharp writing and a joyful taste for polemics, topped with flawless acting. Everything you'd expect from a modern soap opera that (in spite of the old technology) feels even more modern today. Which is probably why it is available on so few platforms...