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HIT...The Fight of Hart's Life on GL
Cassie felt very Blue after Hart's shooting.
To call Hart's death a tear-jerker would be inaccurate, because the word tear-jerker has a somewhat negative connotation. It implies that a certain amount of manipulation -- whether through writing, production values or whatnot -- was used to bring the viewer to tears. A better way to describe the death scenes would be to say that they were pure and honest, and therefore moving without strings attached. The metaphor of Hart fighting for his life literally and figuratively worked extremely well -- a fight of fancy that felt real. Laura Wright (Cassie) looked ethereal, while Frank Grillo (Hart), like Wendy Moniz (Dinah), gave his best performance his final week on the show.
The dialogue was spare and poignant, especially the death episode written by Michael Conforti and Tina Bell. The lighting technicians and directors also deserve praise, for embellishing the drama without overpowering it. Wright's voice-over as Cassie rested her head on Harts lifeless body was a beautiful touch; the quote she recited framed the death sequences and gave them closure. It felt like we were watching the end of a movie.
The fight scenes smacked of what NYPD Blue did earlier this season when Jimmy Smith left. But Paul Rauch, GL's executive producer, says he and his writers didn't take the idea from that show; in fact, he didn't make the connection when we mentioned the similarities. In any case, NYPD Blue is a tough act to follow, and GL's interpretation of death was almost as good -- a huge compliment considering how brilliant those NYPD Blue episodes were.
--- By Mark McGarry.
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