"HIDE AND SEEK" Politicians and Prostitutes March 05, 1999

by
Gordon Hom

This was Monica Week, with Barbara Walter's wide-eyed interview with Monica Lewinsky. It seems that fictional television has finally caught up with the Presidential sex scandal, and has finally clued in to the fact that they were competing with a more compelling reality. With an estimated 74 million people watching Monica gush, this puts it on a transcendental scale of a sporting event or spectacle. So it is fitting that NASH BRIDGES finally responds with some sort of story or context about sex scandals to get in on the action.

The NASH BRIDGES version of the Governor of California falling in love with a prostitute is clearly a sort of Clintonesque parable, as Nash says to the arrested Big Tiny "You're depriving some village somewhere of it's rightful idiot." (referring to the title and philosophy of First Lady Hillary's book). Whereas in the past, such a story might have resolved itself with Nash and his crew sworn to secrecy, now we have politicians offering full disclosure of extremely personal, painful, and dirty secrets. Not only that, but the wife stands nearby, fully aware and accepting of her husband's sexual duplicity. Whereas Hillary stands by her man, this fictional one doesn't - she turns her back on Governor Morgan as he is about to tell all. Does he declare his love for the prostitute? NASH BRIDGES leaves that open.

This sexual duplicity is all treated with a great civility. The Governor's wife, Marsha Morgan, is not bitter at all. Instead she expresses fondness for her husband's mistress Julia Clark. Nash remains non-judgmental (though he says he didn't vote for the Governor) and indeed, ends up helping the Governor out of his jam (well, out of the frying pan and into the fire). Nash also has a kissy-kissy face relationship with the madam Annie Lindsay. Nash has an open tolerance for prostitution (as does San Francisco)- he allows her to operate as long as she's informative.

There's something about politicians and prostitutes that go hand in hand. Conceptually, they gleefully betray the public and each other and suggest something awful about the human condition. Nash has remained virtuous throughout this season, but Bad Boy Evan hasn't. Evan reveals his sexual liaison with a prostitute (though he didn't know it at the time) after a momentary break-up with Cassidy. It's messy and nasty - he may have fathered a child, but reveals it's the Lieutenant Governor instead. The Nash/Caitlin relationship settles into a brotherly, sisterly kind of ribbing and put-downs. Normally that would be boring, but in these nasty, sexual times, it's kind of refreshing.

For more, see synopsis for Episode 71

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