Memphis Beat, “Inside Man”
Originally Aired June 21st, 2011
Episode Named After: So it looks like Memphis Beat has abandoned its first-season pattern of naming episodes after Elvis songs that would then figure in the show. This time the generic episode title refers to the heist plotline.
Plot Synopsis: This week’s show opens at what is presumably an East Memphis (or eastern suburbs) McMansion where there’s been a home break-in with a floor safe missing. Dwight (Jason Lee) suspects a return of the infamous “Fox Meadows Burglars.” A public call for information leads to a mysterious, awkward tipster, Keith Grant (Reno 911‘s Thomas Lennon) who has a lot of knowledge about the crimes. The man seems mild-mannered, but he reminds Dwight of “the ones who end up running down Beale Street naked with a samurai sword.”
After discovering that he’s studied the earlier “Fox Meadows Burglars” jobs more thoroughly than the MPD, Lt. Rice (Alfre Woodard) urges Dwight and partner Whitehead (Sam Hennings) take on Keith as a consultant, and he ends up helping them solve a case that is plaguing “all the rich folks of Memphis.”
A wan subplot concerns Whitehead’s attempt to “rebrand” himself.
Respect (Memphis music featured in the episode): The reduced interest in Memphis music doesn’t end with the episode titles this season, as the amount of music — and Memphis-specific music — is on the decline. The Muddy Waters’ identified “I’m Ready” and the Ray Charles’ identified “You Don’t Know Me” pop up, but in other versions I couldn’t ID. The Allman Brothers’ “Midnight Rider” is head. Most prominently is B.B. King’s “When It All Comes Down,” which is used four times, twice sung by one character to another in the form of a serenade.
