The premiere episode of NASH BRIDGES plops the viewers
in the middle of everything - literally. In the very first scene, we
are deposited in the middle of an undercover deal going bad. Nash's
partner, Rick Bettina, has found out and it is up to Nash to bail him
out. This is our voyeuristic introduction into the life and times of
Nash Bridges and the Special Investigations Unit of the SFPD.
The main story line centers around bad guys selling computer
chips. Why, you may ask, are they trying to sell these chips and who
to? Well,somewhere amoungst all the bantering dialogue you get the
answers to those questions, but honestly the answers aren't that
interesting. What is interesting are all the hints you are given
about the characters.
For example, you find out about Nash's love life, or lack there
of. At the present he is working on ironing out the details of
divorce number two while simultaneously trying to keep a civil
relationship with ex - wife number one, who just happens to be the
mother of his 6 year-old daughter. Did you get all of that? Trust me
you will.
We also learn about the group of intriguing misfits who make up
this SIU crew. There's Harvey Leek, a Deadhead who has been on the
force almost as long as Nash, with the small difference that Harvey
seems like he still trying to get over some mushroom he took back in
'72. Then there is Evan Cortez. Evan is the young, Nash wannabe who
is way wet-behind-the-ears, but is trying really hard to pull his
weight. Being from Chicago he obviously has a lot to get used to in
good ole San Francisco - earthquakes for instance. There is some
estrogen floating around the SIU. Of course, Bryn (whose last name
you won't hear until the second season when Mary Mara becomes a
regular) is seen so sporadically that her presence is mainly for
show.
Thrown in for good measure are the dueling partners, Bettina and
Joe Dominguez. Old versus new you could call it. Nash's old partner
Dominguez is now a PI who is always willing to help out his old
friend. On the other hand, Bettina is the new bumbling, thorn in the
side that Nash spends more time keeping away from than working with.
And at last, but not least, there is Lt. A.J. Shimomura who is
supposed to be running things around the SIU, but it certainly seems
like Nash has been running things for a while now. (Could that be
coincidental considering Don Johnson is running the production of
NASH BRIDGES off camera as Executive Producer. I think not!)
Well, to make a rather long story short, I know too late, there
are a lot of good pieces that can be expected to continuously occur
in NASH BRIDGES land. First, Nash always gets the bad guy in the end.
It may not be by the book or without hassle, but the good guy always
wins here. Second, Nash always gets his woman, whether he can keep
her or not is another story. Third, the banter of the cast members
sounds like these people have been buds for years. All of these
things are the making of a great show and as long as the flash and
banter continue this show should be a hit. Especially considering all
the MIAMI VICE fans out there. [written by nashb]