The Commish

I really loved this show during its peak years. When it first premiered, I resisted watching it, because I hated the title. I always hate when people try to sound cool by shortening words (and yes, I realize how silly that sounds). Anyway, I tried and tried to watch "Sisters," the competition on NBC at the time. I finally had to give up--it was just too gynocentric (given to endless gnashing of teeth over nebulous, incomprehensible emotional dilemmas). Channel hopping to ABC, I saw something (or someone actually) who caught my attention, and watched the show. "The Commish" turned out to be thoroughly entertaining. The plots, while never earth-shattering, were inventive and often both suspenseful and funny. Michael Chiklis was surprisingly charismatic as the title character. My favorite character was Stan--the story thread which ran through the first three seasons (until Stan was killed off) depicting the mentor/protege relationship between Tony and Stan was the best part of the show. After Stan (Geoffrey Nauffts) was killed and Syd (Melinda McGraw) left the show, unfortunately, "The Commish" lost its way. The plots became less inventive and more serious. I felt like the heart went out of the show. The show at its best, however, was like eating macaroni and cheese--pleasant, familiar, and comforting.