Hudson Street
In the Line of Duty
Episode 1.13 - Jan. 13, 1996
Lee Tergesen played car thief Larry Fetchko in one of the 22
episodes of this sitcom, which aired on ABC from September 1995 to June 1996.
The star was Tony Danza, who played Detective Tony Canetti in a
precinct in Hoboken, N.J.
The episode opens with Tony questioning Fetchko, who was caught in a
stolen car but still isn't giving up any information about an auto
theft ring. As a means of interrogation, Tony shows Fetchko some
footage of himself in the police boxing tournament. Within seconds
(and apparently after witnessing some below-the-belt punches),
Fetchko is ready to confess. "Make it stop!" he whines.
But before he confesses, Tony and his partner, Detective Kirby
McIntire (Christine Dunford), are called away to make an arrest in
another case. While he's left alone in the interrogation room,
Fetchko escapes into an air vent.
Officer Regelski (Tom Gallop) goes in after him, and there are
some funny moments during the unseen "chase" across the
ceiling. The pursuit comes to an end in the hallway, as Fetchko and
the officer get stuck in a wall.
Later, Detective McIntire tells Tony that the pair have gotten
themselves stuck under a support beam, so a construction crew will
have to cut part of the wall out from underneath. Meanwhile holes
have been knocked out in the wall so that Regelski and Fetchko can
see out.
To pass the time, Regelski quizzes Fetchko on state birds and
flowers. When Fetchko gets one wrong for Louisiana, Regelski makes
him start over with Alabama. Fetchko is at his wit's end. "Just
give me the electric chair, lethal injection!" he wails.
McIntire just twists his (cute little) nose and tells him to shut
up.
Finally, Regelski's incessant babbling gets to Fetchko and he
spills the beans on the auto theft ring. With that information
divulged, Regelski extricates himself from the wall -- he could have
gotten out at any time. It was just his way of getting Fetchko to
confess.
[All of these scenes just take about a minute each, and video
clips are in the gallery column at right.]
The main (non-Lee) focus of the episode is that Tony is grazed by a bullet while making an arrest. He is ordered to see a
psychiatrist, who does not clear him for duty because Tony insists the incident hasn't affected him. Tony views
it as ordinary part of police life even though his father was fatally shot when Tony was 11. Tony has a "talk" with his late father, who makes him realize the seriousness of the event.
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