"HIGH FALL" A Bad Girl Returns September 26, 1998

by
Gordon Hom

This NASH premiere and, on a larger scale, the start of the Fall TV Season, has really been overshadowed by real events which prove to be far more interesting than fictional series televison. Presidential sex scandal aside, the impending marriage of Don Johnson and then the cancellation of a specific wedding date is more interesting than Nash resisting once again the charms of real bad girl Tamara Van Zant (last seen in "Bombshell" Episode #41).

The sizzling Tamara breathily utters Barbara Stanwyck-like dialogue as if it were from the classic 1944 noir film DOUBLE INDEMNITY. Barbara Stanwyck spat out lines to lover Fred MacMurray like "I'm no good. We're both no good and we deserve each other." as they pumped lead into each other. But former Bad Boy Nash tries to remain virtuous, while resisting Tamara lines like "I know you don't believe me. But every time I think I'm over you, I see you. Then I find out I'm not." But Nash Bridges ain't no William Jefferson Clinton, so Nash does resist temptation, except for a kiss in his apartment when no one is looking. Nash asks Tamara "Why do you have to be so bad?" to which she responds "Keeps you interested, doesn't it?" It sounds like a whispered conversation in the Oval Office.

The contrast between reality and fiction is even more pointed when we find out that Nash has been bilked out of his life savings. Nash laments "I'M POOR!" when we know that Don Johnson, the multi-millionaire, about to be married, living in ritzy hotels with his lovely fiancee, searching for a new home in the swankier sections of San Francisco, looking for a downtown restaurant to invest in, is far, far away from being poor. Even Don, while memorizing his lines of dialogue for this episode, and looking ahead to the now "poor" Nash this season, has got to appreciate the startling contrast. Don's life has got Nash Bridges' private life beat.

There's a low key quality to this season opener, and even the cliff hanger of Nick's collapse last season is downplayed. It's made into a joke of overblown expectations, as we hear sounds of a breathing apparatus which turns out to be Nick trying out his scuba gear. Cassidy going off to college is all but extraneous. Don't underestimate this low keyedness, as Michelle Chan is to be killed off in a sure to be shocking episode.

NASH BRIDGES is part of a Peacock Male Friday, with new series BUDDY FARO preceding it. Remember last year's swaggering male series DELLAVENTURA? Don't get us wrong, we loved Danny Aiello's sense of living large, but as a tough guy Aiello was a little thick around the middle, and that makes it hard to tuck in a gun. Now Dennis Farina as BUDDY FARO has lots of swagger too - remember him in the wild late-1980s series CRIME STORY? All this aging retro-testosterone makes you hanker for the young stuff like BUFFY or XENA, but now we're sounding presidential again.

For more, see synopsis for Episode 55

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