STANDING IN FOR CAGNEY & LACEY

In the pilot episode of 'New Tricks', one of Gerry Standing's ex-wives compared him to "Cagney and Lacey".

Within the "reality" of Toobworld, she wasn't referring to the TV show; we can't allow that since both shows should be sharing the same universe.

But she could have been referring to the characters as real people. For their time (which in my perspective, wasn't that long ago), NYPD detectives Chris Cagney and Mary Beth Lacey could be seen as pioneers, ground-breakers, giving the women who came after them on the force the opportunity to break their own glass ceilings. And in a world where everybody will have their own TV show eventually, that stance most likely garnered them notice from some TV producer.

That's the simplest splainin possible. Probably the only one. It's not like we can claim that the mention of "Cagney and Lacey" was about two totally different people. After all, too many shows have mentioned the series in the past.

Among them:

'Mayo'
'Dempsey & Makepeace'
'Burn Notice'
'Angel'
'Married... With Children'
'Veronica Mars'
'Growing Pains'
'The Nanny'
'Red Dwarf'
and
'Mystery Science Theater 3000'

As a matter of fact, a character in an episode of 'Mayo' used it as her alibi in an investigation.....

BCnU!