Decoy:TV Series

Rating:
Summary: An important, often overlooked classic!
Review: Kudos goes to Alpha Media/Oldies.com for bringing to DVD four episodes of this excellent series, arguably the most obscure television program in their catalog of titles.

Not only does Beverly Garland predate Angie Dickinson in "Police Woman" but also "Cagney & Lacey," "Prime Suspect" and so many others. And she and her character of Casey Jones can stand toe-to-toe with any of them. The grit, professionalism, and intelligence which is constantly shown in this character flies in the face of so many of the assumptions we have about how women were depicted on TV during the medium's "golden age."

But besides being a great pre-feminism feminist image, "Decoy" is very entertaining with really well-constructed plots each of them anchored by Garland's masterful, timeless performance.

"Decoy" is an extraordinary series that deserves to be rediscovered and celebrated.


Rating:
Summary: Television's first "Police Woman"
Review: Pre-dating the Angie Dickinson series "Police Woman" by nearly two decades, "Decoy" starred Beverly Garland as Patricia "Casey" Jones, an undercover police officer with the New York Police Department. The series had a total of 39 episodes and was broadcast in the 1957-1958 season. The series had its interiors filmed at the Production Center in New York City and there are usually several exterior scenes of New York City locales in each episode, including one episode that's set at Coney Island. Beverly Garland is great as the no-nonsense cop.

Alpha Video's DVD release is a mixed bag. The first episode on the disc, "First Arrest" looks very good and is of near-broadcast quality. From there, however, things go down hill. The next two episodes, "High Swing" and "Saturday Lost," are of considerably less visual quality, yet are still watchable. Things rebound a bit with the final episode "To Trap a Thief." Given the relative rarity of this series on video/DVD, Alpha's release is certainly acceptable, though one wishes that Alpha had used better source materials. This series is highly recommended for fans of classic/vintage police dramas like "Dragnet" and "The Naked City." Look for guest stars like Larry Hagman, William Hickey and Simon Oakland, among others, in these episodes.

The episodes included are:

First Arrest (Episode #38)
High Swing (Episode #25)
Saturday Lost (Episode #24)
To Trap a Thief (Episode #4)

***** for the "Decoy" series; *** for Alpha's DVD presentation.