Belker (Bruce Weitz) and Robin (Lisa Sutton) finally tie the knot at city hall, and Howard (James Sikking) suffers a fall, and believes he’s a prisoner on a Russian ship, one that has been spotted in the harbor, when in actuality he’s in the basement of the precinct, and causing a number of problems in the building as he messes with the heat, the water, and more.

Das Blues was written by Jeffrey Lewis, David Milch, Jacob Epstein and Dick Wolf from a story by Lewis, Milch and David Ward. It first aired on 23 January, 1986.

Furillo (Daniel J. Travanti) is approached about a possible run for mayor, Buntz (Dennis Franz) pairs up briefly with a former partner but is dubious about his motivations. Fabian (Zero Hubbard) has returned, and Lucy (Betty Thomas) is eager to ensure that it’s what he wants but plans to make the adoption official. And Bobby (Micheal Warren) has taken some time off to deal with his father’s death.

LaRue (Kiel Martin) and Washington (Taurean Blacque) get involved with a tattoo artist played by Grace Zabriskie who could be more trouble than she’s worth but could also lead to some solid busts for the pair.

Renko (Charles Haid) seeks to help out one of his musical idols, Bobby Angel (Billy Green Bush), who he busted six months ago, and even invites him home with him. But when he starts drinking and makes moves on Daryl Ann (Deborah Richter), he tosses him out.

The Hunter story is a little silly and leans into the Cold War mentality prevalent in the 80s, and not enough time is given to the idea of Furillo running for mayor.

Scales of Justice first aired on 30 January, 1986. It was written by Milch, Epstein, Wolf and Ward from a story by Lewis and Milch.

A smoking ban in the precinct is causing problems in the precinct, and LaRue is starting to make the moves on Terry (Zabriskie) who is continuing to help he and Washington bust criminals, among them Leo (Billy Drago!). But what happens when he kills her snake during a shootout?

Daniels (Jon Cypher) asks Furillo for a favour, Lucy deals with the Fabian situation when his druggie mother resurfaces, and Buntz is dealing with some dealers whose heroin has been killing people.

We check in with Bobby who has gone home for his father’s funeral, and makes a romantic connection, which may help him deal with his grief.

There’s a lot going on, tons of story threads at work, and while that’s interesting because it gives us a look at a number of characters, none of the stories are strong enough or given the time enough to stand on their own.

A solid pair of episodes, but I miss the fact that neither of these episodes is providing a commentary on what it’s like to be a cop. These were more about the melodrama of the situations the characters find themselves in.