Greetings,
I am never certain if I take change well. Sometimes I do; sometimes I don't. But if there is one thing, or one person I should say, who makes me think that I fall more on the side of the "don't", it is Michael Chiklis.
Let me start by saying that I absolutely love Michael Chiklis and have for over twenty years. That should be your first clue as to where I discovered him. That's right - The Commish. The Commish was and still is one of my all time favorite shows. It was fantastic. The stories were great, so were the characters. Although, some people would always point out that commissioners never went out to crime scenes like detectives or beat cops. They may have been right, but The Commish was not just any commissioner. He was Anthony J. Scali. His friends call him Tony, so I'm going to call him Tony, because, in my world, we are friends. Problem? Anyway, Tony Scali was the commissioner of Eastbridge, New York, a place that may or may not have been real. I never really looked into that. He was a wonderful, loving, cuddly - yes, cuddly - family man with a wife and two kids. Tony was just an all around nice guy, and that included his life as a cop. Oh, sure, he may have gotten angry at a suspect or two, but nothing too crazy. You could always tell how much he cared about the people he was helping.
Unfortunately, that wonderful show ended much too soon in my opinion. So after several years of waiting, I heard that my man Chiklis was going to be doing a new show called The Shield. He was going to play a guy named Vic Mackey who was a cop. Yay, a cop! Just like he was on The Commish. Yeah, I think everyone knows I kind of jumped the gun on that assumption.
In case you don't know, Vic Mackey of The Shield is nothing, NOTHING, like Tony Scali of The Commish. For really reals. If I could sum it up easily, he was just not a nice guy. And I figured that out with just one episode. Yes, I'll admit it. I only watched one episode of The Shield. I just couldn't handle it. I certainly couldn't handle my sweet, little Chiklis acting like such a meanie. So, therefore, I came to the conclusion that, perhaps, I do not take change very well. I certainly didn't in this case.
Now as I say these things about The Shield, I am not attacking the merit of the show. Though I never became a dedicated watcher, I'm sure it was well-done. It was certainly successful and critically acclaimed, including an Emmy for the star. And, by the way, when Chiklis won that Emmy, I was extremely happy for him because I knew he deserved it. I never doubted the talent of that man, and I never will.
So as time has passed and the resume of Mr. Chiklis has lengthened, many more people have gotten to see him in many more ways. They can all decide how they like him best. But for me, I still have a soft spot for Tony Scali and his gang. No matter what Michael Chiklis does, that is how I will think of him. I pray he thinks fondly on that time as well, because I am holding out hope for a The Commish reunion someday.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
