Did Newman have a crush on Chris?
They seemed to hint at it, especially in the Christmas episode where they worked together, but it never seemed to go anywhere. Was it originally a storyline but got dropped for some reason?
shareI think that his character was axed shortly after that, so there was no chance for any relationship to develop. I may be misremembering though.
shareNewman only lasted one season, but I think they were hinting at him having a crush on Chris, which was a bit odd since she wouldn't give him the time of day.
shareAnd in the end, they gave him a token live-in girlfriend to whom he was practically engaged, but there was nothing mentioned about her during his run on the series. The theme of Newman's last episode was (besides catching his killer ) how little they really knew about the chap. I guess creating what we would now call a cougar-type relationship between Newman and Cagney would have ended in her lapsing back into alcoholism, etc. Maybe they didn't want to overwork the whole Chris/alcohol angle.
"Shake me up, Judy!"
I guess it's possible Newman met the girlfriend after the Christmas episode and they were engaged by the season finale.
Chris was still drinking that season, though. It wasn't until the end of the next season that she realized she was an alcoholic.
Newman's last episode is one of the best in the entire series, IMO.