Silk Stalkings
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Silk Stalkings | |
|---|---|
 Silk Stalkings logo |
|
| Genre | Action / Drama |
| Creator(s) | Stephen J. Cannell |
| Starring | Rob Estes Mitzi Kapture William Anton Chris Potter Janet Gunn |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| No. of episodes | 176 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 48 minutes per episode |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | CBS / USA Network |
| Original run | November 7, 1991 – April 18, 1999 |
| Links | |
| IMDb profile | |
Silk Stalkings was a 1990s TV crime drama originally shown on CBS in 1991 as part of the network's late-night Crimetime After Primetime programming package, and rebroadcast on the USA Network. After CBS ended the Crimetime experiment in 1993, the series ran exclusively on USA. The show was created by the prolific crime-show producer Stephen J. Cannell, perhaps best known for The Rockford Files and The A-Team. On the DVD extras, Cannell pointed out that of the 40 or more TV shows he has created, this one had the longest run, eight seasons.
Portraying the daily lives of two detectives who solved sexually-based crimes of passion ("silk stalkings") among the ultra-rich people of Palm Beach, Florida, the tightly-budgeted Silk Stalkings was not actually filmed in Florida. Most episodes were shot in San Diego, California. Some shows were filmed in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Contents |
[edit] Chris and Rita
From 1991 to 1995, the lead characters were played by Rob Estes and Mitzi Kapture, as detectives Christopher Lorenzo and Rita Lee Lance, respectively. Early in the series, Ben Vereen played a strong supporting character as Chris and Rita's boss Captain Hutchinson ("Hutch"). Vereen was compelled to retire from the show during the second season due to an off-screen accident. Chris and Rita's new boss, who would stay with the show for its duration, was Charlie Brill as Captain Harry Lipschitz. Brill's real-life wife Mitzi McCall played Lipschitz's free-spirited wife Frannie on the series, and the two provided some occasional comic relief amidst the dramatic tension of the storylines. Various recurring characters came and went, notably Dennis Paladino as a mob boss named Donnie "Dogs" DiBarto, who maintained an unlikely friendship with Rita; and John Byner as Cotton Dunn, a mostly-harmless con artist.
The on-again, off-again flirtation between Chris and Rita, who nicknamed one another "Sam" (an homage to their favorite golfer, Sam Snead, golf itself being a euphemism for sex) reminded viewers of the series Moonlighting and helped grow a cult following that the show maintained during its first few seasons and which continued after its two stars left the series.
The two stars were truly equal co-stars. The opening credits would alternate, one week showing Estes first and then Kapture, the following week showing Kapture first and then Estes. The opening montage of quick cuts were "teasers" that suggested the sexy and violent subject matter of the show, but were not taken from any of the show's actual episodes. According to Stephen Cannell, in a DVD extra, they were developed initially as a promo, filmed and assembled by Ralph Hemecker in a single day of filming, and featuring a leggy blonde actress/model whom Cannell said was named Avalon Jones.1 In the very first episode of the series, Estes was shown first, and then Kapture; they alternated after that, except for Kapture's final episode, in which she (and not Estes) appeared in the opening montage, followed by the two new co-stars.
Two off-screen events in the summer of 1995 were pivotal to the show and were worked into the storyline. Both actors were ready to leave the series; Estes (to pursue other acting opportunities) and Kapture (to take time off for her first child).
Estes had first flirted with departure at the end of the third season (spring of 1994). The season ended in a cliffhanger episode, "Dark Heart", with Chris being shot by an obsessed woman. Chris was sped to the hospital in an ambulance as the closing credits rolled. After negotiations, Estes decided to renew his contract, and the fourth season (fall 1994) began with Chris' recovery from his near-fatal wounds in a harrowing two-part episode, "Natural Selection", that was later released on VHS as a 2-hour film.
The fifth season (fall 1995) took fans of the series to unprecedented highs and lows. Chris and Rita's mutual attraction finally moved from friendship to love in a two-part episode in November, called "Partners". Nick Kokotakis, as detective Michael Price, was introduced during that episode. Rita was soon confirmed to be pregnant (as was Kapture in reality), and Chris and Rita were married in an early December episode titled, with purposeful irony, "Till Death Do Us Part". The very next week's episode, "The Last Kiss Goodnight", ended with Chris again wounded by a gunshot, this time fatally. Kapture appeared in one more episode, "Dead Asleep". This episode's credits featured Kapture but not Estes, for the only time in the series; and also Kokotakis, along with Tyler Layton, who was introduced in the episode as detective Holly Rawlins. Most of the episode was spent focusing on Michael and Holly's first case. At the end of the show, the distraught Rita spent one final scene talking to Chris at his gravesite, said goodbye to Captain Lipschitz, and left the force for parts unknown.
[edit] Tom and Cass
With Estes and Kapture gone from the show, Kokotakis and Layton took over the lead roles. Fans of the show did not embrace the new characters, and they were replaced after that half-season by television veterans Chris Potter and Janet Gunn. Unlike the transition that was played out between Chris and Rita and Michael and Holly, no on-screen explanation was given for Michael and Holly's departure.
Coincidentally, Gunn starred on another CBS Crimetime after Primetime show, Dark Justice, as Kelly Cochrane, prior to Silk Stalkings. Gunn's arrival on the Silk Stalkings set came well after CBS' late-night crime dramas had been replaced by the Late Show with David Letterman.
The romantic chemistry between Potter and Gunn's characters, Tom Ryan and Cassandra St. John respectively (who, according to the story line, had been married to and divorced from one another before their arrival on the series), revived interest in the show and it rebounded in the ratings. After three additional successful seasons, USA canceled the series in 1999. The final episode of the final season, in spring 1999, placing Tom's career and relationship with Cassie on the rocks, was a cliffhanger with no resolution.
[edit] DVD releases
Anchor Bay Entertainment is releasing Silk Stalkings on DVD in Region 1. The first 5 seasons have been released, with the remaining 3 seasons to be released in the future.
|
DVD Name
|
Release dates
|
||
|
Region 1
|
Region 2
|
Region 4
|
|
| The Complete First Season | September 28, 2004 | TBD | TBD |
| The Complete Second Season | March 22, 2005 | TBD | TBD |
| The Complete Third Season | July 26, 2005 | TBD | TBD |
| The Complete Fourth Season | January 3, 2006 | TBD | TBD |
| The Complete Fifth Season | September 5, 2006 | TBD | TBD |
[edit] Notes
The series was notably adult-themed, but being on cable late at night, it seemed to be "under the radar", not drawing the kind of notoriety of prime time network series such as NYPD Blue. However, Silk Stalkings only ever showed actors in their underwear, including during sex scenes, unlike the groundbreaking NYPD Blue which included some nudity.
The theme music for Silk Stalkings was written by composer Mike Post, who also wrote the themes to cop shows such as The Rockford Files, Renegade, NYPD Blue and the Law & Order family.
As of late summer 2006, DVDs of the first five seasons (encompassing all the Estes-Kapture episodes) have been released.
[edit] International
- In Finland, the show was originally shown on MTV3, later on Nelonen, and titled "Silkkiä ja luoteja".
- In Greece, the show was shown on Mega Channel and titled "Φονικό Μετάξι" (Lethal Silk).
- In Norway, the show was shown on TV 2 (Norway) and titled "Silke".
- In Latin America, the show was known as Crímenes de seda ("Silk crimes"). In Colombia it was Medias de seda (Silk stockings).
[edit] Footnote
1This may be a pseudonym. Cannell indicated some uncertainty about it on the DVD. In fact, he had a character with that same name in one of his episodes of Renegade.
