By Curt Schleier

Moral ambiguities are not normally the stuff of good TV. But, the folks at THE CLOSER have made it possible to enjoy a detective show and be left with something to think about. What’s wrong with them?

Forget the late James Brown.  The hardest working man in show business is the guy who will have to compile the BEST OF THE CLOSER DVD. This series consists of one superlative episode after another. Which do you pick?

It’s not like the creative team is making it any easier, either. The show is now in its third season, and, far from getting stale, is better than ever. Lately, it’s not only presenting top-notch detective stories, but tackling the kinds of moral issues that cops around the country face on a regular basis.

A couple of weeks ago, for example, Deputy Chief Johnson (Kyra Sedgwick) and Sgt. David Gabriel (Corey Reynolds) came close to a physical confrontation over a case. A decomposed body found at an old construction site belonged to a young black man reported missing 18 years earlier. The chief suspect is the victim’s brother, a former gangbanger. What raises the story above typical TV fare is that the suspect has turned his life around in the almost two decades since the murder. He’s become a respected member of the community, a politician (in the best sense of the word) and a beacon of hope.

Gabriel focuses on the present and wants to halt the investigation; Johnson’s moral center won’t allow that to happen.

In this special 70-minute episode, Gabriel and Johnson are at loggerheads again. Ruby Williams, a young African-American girl, is missing. Clues point to Roger Stimple, a known sex offender who may also be responsible for the disappearance of two other young black girls. Police dogs indicate that Stimple had Ruby in his van, but there is no definitive proof. “I need something that ties him to Ruby Williams other than a German shepherd,” Johnson says.

Time is running out. Ruby Williams may still be alive, and the cops desperately want to save her. Gabriel uses excessive force to coerce Ruby’s location. In the process, he likely ruined any chance of getting a conviction in the case. What to do? Commander Taylor engineers an insidious solution. He “accidentally” arranges for Stimple to be placed in the general prison population, where pedophiles are routinely beaten up. The prison wounds cover those inflicted by Gabriel.

It is, of course, too late. Ruby has been killed. And, it appears, so has Gabriel’s career. Once Stimple testifies about the beating, he’ll likely go free, while it is Gabriel who may wind up in the joint.

When Gabriel commits suicide, it appears like a convenient all’s well that ends well cop-out. But is it?

I won’t spoil it for those of you who haven’t seen the episode, but the denouement is so dead solid perfect, so true to Johnson’s character, so counter-intuitive to normal programming, it will blow you away. It will also make the DVD guy’s job easier.  Adding this episode to the “Best of” DVD is a no-brainer.