to coexist with many local mom-and-pop establish-
ments, rather than driving them out of business. By
the late 1980’s, the national and local coffeehouses
began to offer decaffeinated or caffeine-free bever-
ages in an effort to make themselves into social desti-
nations for everyone, regardless of caffeine con-
sumption. Debate continues, meanwhile, regarding
the positive and negative effects of caffeine on the
body.
Further Reading
Gilbert, Richard J.Caffeine: The Most Popular Stimu-
lant. New York: Chelsea House, 1986.
Gupta, B. S., and Uma Gupta, eds.Caffeine and Behav-
ior: Current Views and Research Trends. New York:
CRC Press, 1999.
James, Jack E.Caffeine and Health. New York: Har-
court Brace Jovanovich, 1991.
Schultz, Howard, and Dori Jones Yang.Pour Your
Heart into It: How Starbucks Built a Company One
Cup at a Time. New York: Hyperion, 1997.
Gayla Koerting
See also Consumerism; Health care in the United
States; Starbucks.
Cagney and Lacey
Identification Television police series
Date Aired from 1982 to 1988
A critically acclaimed police series about two female detec-
tives in New York City,Cagney and Laceyfocused on
the experiences of female characters working in a male-
dominated occupation. Many of the show’s stor y lines also
dealt with social issues predominantly faced by women of
the 1980’s.
Cagney and Lacey, which aired on the Columbia
Broadcasting System’s television network (CBS-TV)
from March 25, 1982, to May 16, 1988, was a drama
about the careers and personal lives of two female
New York City police detectives. Created by Barbara
Corday and Barbara Avedon in 1974, the story was
originally designed to be a feature film. The writers
were unable to sell the story to a movie studio, how-
ever, and in 1981 the project was made into a televi-
sion movie for CBS starring Loretta Swit as Christine
Cagney and Tyne Daly as Mary Beth Lacey. The
enormous popularity of the television movie led to
the creation of the series in 1982. Because Swit had
other acting commitments, the series debuted with
Meg Foster replacing Swit as Cagney. Almost imme-
diately, however, the show came under fire by CBS
executives, who were concerned that Foster’s por-
trayal would be interpreted by viewers as having ho-
mosexual overtones. The network threatened to
cancel the series if Foster was not replaced.
At the beginning of the 1982 television season,
Sharon Gless took over the role of Christine Cagney,
a career-minded, single police detective, while Daly
continued in the role of Mary Beth Lacey, a police
detective, wife, and mother. The show simultaneously
traced both the personal and the professional lives
of each detective, as well as bringing attention to
contemporary social problems, most often related
to women, such as rape, abortion, and breast cancer.
Network executives, concerned to minimize contro-
versy, were in continual negotiation with the show’s
writers and producers about how these issues should
be presented.The Eighties in America Cagney and Lacey 171
Sharon Gless (left) and Tyne Daly as Christine Cagney and Mary
Beth Lacey inCagney and Lacey.(Hulton Archive/Getty
Images)