Lady Blue (TV series)

due to her frequent use of violence. Lady Blue revolves around Chicago investigator Katy Mahoney (Jamie Rose), her violent means of dealing with criminals and tension with her co-workers. The New York Observer Bryan Reesman described Mahoney as "the fiery red head" with a "trigger happy" personality and "violent excesses". Mahoney's reliance on violence is emphasized in the opening scene of the pilot; she sees a bank robbery while she is in a beauty parlor, shoots and kills three of the perpetrators, and returns to the salon for a pedicure. and Jon Anderson of the Chicago Tribune described her as "somewhat like Quick Draw McGraw with touches of John Wayne and Clint Eastwood". According to Rose, Mahoney was inspired by Dirty Harry, Wayne, and Rambo. Although Mahoney was portrayed at odds with most of her superiors, her boss Lt. Terry McNichols (Danny Aiello) is more sympathetic and understanding towards her. Rose described McNichols as similar to a character in the crime drama The Sopranos. Mexican actress Katy Jurado appeared in the pilot as cocaine kingpin Dona Maria Theresa, == Production ==

, pictured in 1999.|alt=A black-and-white photograph of a neighborhood; it is taken from an aerial point of view. Lady Blue was created by Robert Vincent O'Neil. The executive producer was David Gerber. while Jack Priestley was the cinematographer. Actress Arnetia Walker performed the show's theme song, "Back to the Blue". To prepare for Lady Blue, Rose watched Clint Eastwood films (including the Dirty Harry franchise) and practiced steadying her gun hand. According to Jamie Rose, Lady Blue had a similar concept as the crime dramas Police Woman and Get Christie Love!; Reesman stated that the latter was not as violent as Lady Blue. In a 2017 interview, Rose said that Lady Blue was the most violent series of its time and there had been little public exposure to a character as "bloodthirsty" as Mahoney; however, she said that the series was less graphic than future television programs. == Episodes ==

Thirteen episodes of Lady Blue were broadcast on ABC between September 15, 1985 and January 25, 1986. When the series began, its emphasis on violence was criticized The National Coalition on Television Violence called it the "most violent program" on television during the series' run. In response to the criticism, Rose said that Lady Blue was set in "more of the heroic fantasy world" and compared Mahoney to a superhero; she explained that series was not intended to be a realistic representation of the police. Lady Blue was initially broadcast on Thursday nights at 9 pm EST; the series ranked third in its time slot, behind the half-hour sitcoms Cheers and Night Court and the detective series Simon & Simon. and continued to receive complaints of excessive violence. Reesman also attributed the decision to low ratings. The series has not been released on DVD, Blu-ray or an online-streaming service. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer owns the rights to Lady Blue, but a studio spokesperson said that there were no plans for a home release. == Critical reception ==

During its run, Lady Blue received primarily negative reviews due to its emphasis on violence. Lloyd Grove of The Washington Post criticized the reliance on violence "[that] overpowers, and eventually sours, what could have been an agreeably fast-paced show". In response to the pilot, Grove also panned its writer Robert Vincent O'Neil for copying ideas from Clint Eastwood films and the 1971 film The French Connection. Despite negative reviews, Reesman reported that teenage and young adult males responded positively to Mahoney's attitude and appearance. In his 2013 book June Cleaver Was a Feminist!: Reconsidering the Female Characters of Early Television, television studies author Cary O'Dell called Lady Blue an "interesting experiment" in imagining the "hardcore cop genre with a female lead". According to O'Dell, criticism of Mahoney and the series' ultimate cancellation were the results of sexism: "Was such rebellion, contempt for authority, and brutal tactics considered too 'unfeminine'?" The author felt that Lady Blue was ahead of its time, contrasting Mahoney's negative reception with the positive reaction to the titular protagonists of the 1991 film Thelma & Louise, who have developed a legacy as "newfangled feminist icons". == References ==