Review: Elsbeth, “Doll Day Afternoon” | Season 3, Episode 2 / Matlock, "Another Matlock" | Season 2, Episode 2
One show settles into formula while another reimagines its status quo
As a reminder, Josh's coverage of "ElsLock"—Elsbeth and Matlock—is heading behind the paywall. To follow along throughout their seasons, become a paid subscriber today.
“These are my plain clothes!”
Considering that I enjoy shows like Elsbeth, Matlock, and Poker Face, it should come as no surprise that I adore the 70s procedural Columbo. (Yes, Columbo extended into the 21st century, but the high points were in the original run on NBC.) While Elsbeth is about as naked an attempt to redo Columbo with a few twists as you could imagine, I was reminded of a key way in which the formula works perfectly while watching “Doll Day Afternoon.” The episode title implies what becomes clear before the opening title card: this is an episode with a hostage situation, and Elsbeth naturally is right in the middle. But that title isn’t just a riff on the 1975 Sidney Lumet classic; it’s a hint about the big way in which this isn’t quite as high-stakes as a bank robbery. No, this episode takes place in and around an FAO Schwarz-esque toy shop called Becker’s Toys. That’s catnip to someone as upbeat and ebullient as Elsbeth Tascioni, and it can drive someone like Nolan Hurst crazy.
That speaks to the key way in which Elsbeth is very much like Columbo. For as much as the title characters in both shows are immeasurably intelligent and quirky and unexpected, they tend to drive the criminals they’re hunting absolutely insane. Now, by the end of “Doll Day Afternoon,” Elsbeth is doing a much better job of connecting with Nolan (David Cross) than she is with the gruff NYPD Captain Tully (Campbell Scott), but you get the sense that both men have only so much patience for her. The episode (co-written and directed by show co-creator Robert King) walks an awfully tight balance this week, displaying Elsbeth at both her kookiest and her shrewdest. It’s true that you have to have the right appetite for it, but listen, what can I tell you? Watching Carrie Preston bounce around on a Big-style keyboard or act out some Punch-and-Judy fight with two stuffed animals is just very funny to me.
