It seems like there’s more and more cop shows on tv. And they keep getting better and better.
Some recent examples:
CSI on CBS. I may have mentioned this show a few hundred times in the past, but it’s because it’s so good. The show is about the Crime Scene Investigators – the geeks with guns who figure everything out. Ok, not everything, but lots of things. Trace evidence analysis, DNA sampling, paint residue analysis, they do some really cool stuff. The science behind the show is pretty solid, and they always find a great way to “show” some of what it is they’re talking about. The acting is great, the writing is great, and the pacing is always keeping you on your toes.
Third Watch on NBC. Now entering it’s fourth year, Third Watch had a (to me) rocky start with some mixed quality shows in the first season, and the ever horrible floating time block. When they finally put the show into it’s Monday night spot, I think it started to do better, and they’re cranking out some quality work lately. They were supposed to have some big black out/riot to start off last years season, but that was replaced by stories dealing with the events of 9/11 from the point of view of the same heroes that were in the spotlight at the same time the episodes were airing. There are fire-fighters and police officers in the cast, and I’m sure they were instrumental in bringing some of the very moving scenes dealing with this very sensitive time. NOTE: A&E just started airing re-runs of Third Watch at 11:00 (local, probably). They’re airing them in order, with the exception of the episodes playing on 9/10 and 9/11 – they are the ones that deal with the events of 9/11 and the direct after math. Some very powerful stuff there.
The Wire on HBO. I wasn’t too sure about this show, but HBO has a habit of both surprising me and keeping me guessing, so I figured it was worth a try. The first couple of episodes were a little slow to start, but that was mostly laying the background of the storyline and setting up the confrontations for later in the show. I don’t know if they plan another season – the finale is supposed to be next week – but if they did, I could see them doing a good job with it. The biggest problem that I see with the show is the extensive use of slang, both with the cops (and DA’s) and the dealers. My wife occasionally watches part of the show, but she gets lost very quickly. Part of this is the language, and part of it is the fact that she hasn’t seen all of the episodes – and this is definately one of those shows where if you don’t get in on the ground floor, you’re likely to get lost.
24 on FOX. Starring Keifer Sutherland, this show just plan rocked. Meant to happen in real-time during each episode, the show was a look at one 24 hour period in the life of FBI Special Agent Jack Bauer, head of a Counter-Terrorism Unit. I’m sure that the events of 9/11 changed some of what they had planned for the show, but even if it did, it wasn’t noticable. The plot is excellent, the writing excellent, and the acting, with one or two exceptions, also excellent. Each episode brings new twists and turns – some shocking, some expected – and at the end of ever episode, you found yourself wishing it was next week already. This show was originally slated for one season, but the powers that be decided to go on from there. Probably a good choice, but we’ll have to wait a few episodes and see. The neatest part of this show is that they’ve already released season one in a 6 disc set. Just in case you want to review everything before the next season starts….
Law and Order: Special Victims Unit
Law and Order: Criminal Intent both on NBC, also appearing on USA. Both of these are spin-offs of the original Law and Order, but both of them manage to do allright by themselves. SVU is about the folks who investigate the more sensitive crimes – usually sexual in nature. Detectives Benson and Stabler, the primary focus of the show, have their own issues in dealing with the crimes they investigate, but they manage to pull through – convincingly – and treat each crime as if it’s the only one that ever mattered. Criminal Intent is supposed to be “seen through the eyes of the offender”, but it’s not – it’s just the cops investigating the bad guys. Both shows seem like they’ve stretched the collective Law and Order writing staff a little thin at times, but they come through in the end. The acting is usually pretty good, and the major twists in the episodes – while kept to a minimum – usually do throw you for a loop and make you pay even more attention.
This coming season has some good looking shows (CSI: Miami, Boomtown, Robbery Homicide Division to name a few), but it’s too early to tell how they’ll do. I can say, however, I expect no good from CBS’s new show, “Hack.” The fact that it’s loosley based on “The Enforcer” is a bit much, but looking at the extended commercials that they’ve been playing for it (in, I might add, a very heavy rotation) make me cringe when they come on and give me little hope for the show. I do want to give it a chance, but I have a bad feeling about this one.
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Gina is discussing. 
charlotte 11:39 on 2004/01/05 Permalink | Log in to Reply
i like oddball im her no1 fan!