130. Cagney & Lacey

I was sent to bed at half-past eight until my parents realized that I'd have to come home early from the pub to meet their deadline. That early bedtime was directly responsible for any claim I might make to being well-read, but it was completely rubbish for TV watching. I should add that I did not have a TV in my room. The thought!

There were lots of programmes my brother and I were desperate to watch, but the only one that I bothered sneaking out for was Cagney & Lacey. Like the scent of bacon wafting up the stairs, the strains of the Cagney & Lacey theme tune were harbingers of a more exciting life happening elsewhere. My success in actually watching the programme depended on a number of factors, including:

Before 1985, if the au pair was out, we might be able to sneak into her room and watch on her tiny TV. This was relatively risk-free, but not without its stresses.

Post 1985, the only thing that mattered was where the TV was in relation to the door. (In some houses this position would be fixed for many years. But if my mother gets bored she moves furniture. She's so funny.) Sometimes the positioning was propitious and I could either stand silently at the door, or, best of all, sit on the stairs. This only worked until either parent needed to leave the room, obviously, but sometimes I'd get a good twenty minutes in before having to race back up the stairs.

I wanted to be Christine, of course, for all her problems, but you always knew where you were with Mary-Beth. And she could be feisty when she wanted to be!

Even now, when I hear that theme tune I am transported back to being ten years old and sneaking around in my pyjamas. It doesn't matter that I could watch re-runs of C & L through the night without censure - some part of me will always be on the lam.