Show158
Wesley Lau gets to shine as Lt. Anderson today. He finally gets to show some range as an actor: anger, desperation, sorrow. He can be really strong when he wants to be! Submitted by gracep, 1/11/2011.
+ Why is Andy assigned to a case involving his cousin? Does the LAPD have only him and Tragg as the entire detective force? Submitted by vgy7ujm, 06/01/20
Mabel Albertson, playing Carrie Wilson, speaks one of my all-time favorite lines, encouraging Perry to finish sharing his thoughts: "You said facts: plural." --Submitted by 10yearoldfan, 30 August 2013.
Usually the killer blurts out a confession in the courtroom, with little prompting from Perry. Here, the killer is trapped under very different circumstances. Submitted by Bill-W2XOY on 08/31/13..
An unusual episode - the main bad guy is also our victim, and we never see him alive! Those striped sconces in the office make almost as many appearances as the Curious Coffee Set. I believe this is the only episode in which any of our police detectives is seen in uniform. DODay 11/14/17
TCOT Culinary Confusion: Norden can be either a Scandinavian or Germanic name, but the fact that "Mama" is friends with someone named Anderson suggests she is meant to be the former. But Wiener schnitzel is a German - or more precisely, Austrian - dish... one might have expected her specialty to be something more stereotypical like (Swedish) pancakes or meatballs. But it's hard to know whether to applaud the writers for avoiding cliches, or scold them for using the wrong ones. Pondered by Notcom, 030818.
+ The name Otto, though, is unmistakably German, and Jeanette Nolan seems to go for a German matron type with the "Mama" role (although the accent wasn't completely consistent). It wouldn't be necessary for Lt. Anderson and Otto Norden to be of the same national extraction to have been buddies from way back ... TriviaSleuth 8/14/19
I thought this was one of the series more touching episodes, sentimental without being maudlin (and tho the actor playing Jimmy was actually in his 30's he looked baby-faced enough for it not to be apparent). But the ending - that the villainous watchman was actually Norden's former partner - was pulled out of air thinner than Edmund Hilary ever experienced !! It seems that the writers realized too late they had painted themselves into a corner, but the resolution was such a "huh?" moment, I think this might have been an episode where loose threads were preferred. Notcom, 042220.
+ That air wasn't completely thin; at about halfway, as Perry is questioning Mama Norden, she says "He said something about his partner . ." when Perry asks her if Otto said specifically that Jimmy was who gave him the perfume. OLEF641 5/6/21
+++ You're correct, but my complaint is that the relationship is so important that it would have formed a prominent part of the investigation, and thus been mentioned...early and often. A rebuttal would be that we only see a small part of what goes on and a good writer will only highlight that which advances the mystery. How much can be withheld and still play fair ?? The answer to that is the key to a successful episode. Notcom, 050621.