The Closer Creator James Duff: "Tapped Out"
Most of us play many parts in life. I am a writer, a godfather, a producer, a spouse, a son, a brother, a boss and a friend, to list just a few (of the more repeatable) things I am called during the course of an ordinary week. The concept of identity is a little like the illusion of motion and matter, for even the most solid object constantly moves. That's why assuming someone's persona is poured in concrete is a recipe for disaster.
So is standing beside Lts. Flynn and Provenza, both of whom often demonstrate a casual disregard for being sucked into career-threatening sinkholes. Fortunately, as active detectives, they are used to finding themselves on the wrong side of policy; not so Assistant Chief Will Pope, who has the bad luck to be in their general vicinity when yellow tape rolls out around a nearby crime scene.
I could just say that "Tapped Out" concerns a pick-up artist who fancies himself a leading authority on hooking- up, a screaming assistant with a black BMW, a cable television network executive, a grieving brother and a new and energetic detective all linked by the same murder (and that — of course — mayhem ensues). But the core of this episode is about identity, not only as it applies to individuals, but also to the LAPD itself, a law enforcement agency made up of many different sections and divisions. Should the police department be working more in unison, connected by a single-minded commitment to justice? Or should the police force remain broken up by its different tasks — homicide, vice, narcotics, traffic — defined more as the sum of its constituent parts than as a one distinct entity? This is the mystery Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson confronts in an episode featuring the inestimable talents of J.K. Simmons, Tony Dennison and G.W. Bailey.
Our series cast had a special assist in tonight's episode from Andrew Daly, whose performance so delighted our regulars that they had trouble keeping straight faces during filming, a problem we hope you have at home.
— James Duff