Quick spoilers for the second episode of "Southland" coming up just as soon as my goats clear some brush...Last week, I favored the pilot of "The Unusuals" over "Southland." This week, the roles are reversed, not because "Southland" was appreciably better than last week but because "The Unusuals" was worse. Whatever issues I have with John Wells' non-"ER" shows (and certain periods of "ER," as well), there's a kind of baseline consistency to them, not just on the technical front (where his people are always the best in the business), but in terms of the kinds of stories, the amount of time devoted to character, the work of the cast, etc.
I don't feel a lot of affection for "Southland" yet -- in part because the characters are still so thinly-sketched that the only name I can remember is Ben, for obvious reasons, in part because so far most of the story beats have played out fairly predictably (the teenage girl witness being attacked, for instance). But I do like the slice-of-life, Joseph Wambaugh-esque take on work in the LAPD. In particular, I think it confronts the precarious nature of most cop marriages more bluntly than any other show of its type in recent memory (most notably when the middle-aged cop's daughter caught him kissing his mistress and was pleased about it), and the emotional toll it takes on people like C. Thomas Howell's character(*).
(*) Can anyone identify what late '80s/early '90s Howell film the photo of him at the retirement racket came from? Clearly, it wasn't "Soul Man."
I'm glad that they're continuing to focus largely on Ben McKenzie and Regina King (with a generous sprinkling of Michael Cudlitz, who carries himself like a veteran cop -- or, at least, like the veteran of lots of cop shows and movies that he is). King's the best actor in the cast, and while McKenzie is more or less playing his character from "The O.C." so far (Fienberg likes to call this show "Ryan Atwood: Year One," in homage to this), it's a part he plays well, and Wells and company showed on "ER" how valuable the wide-eyed rookie character can be early on in this kind of setting.
It has potential, anyway. Then again, so did "Third Watch," and aside from an occasional episode (notably right after 9/11), that never achieved its potential.
What did everybody else think?
You know, I actually friggin' love Southland. Watched the pilot on Hulu a couple weeks back and it blew me away. I'll grant that may be because I've never taken the time to invest in watching one of the many cop shows that have graced the tube over the years, but it seemed much fresher to me than you seem to find it, Alan, and I find myself very much invested in the characters. I felt like episode 2 made good on the promise of the pilot and I'm looking forward to more.
ReplyDeleteThe Unusuals, on the other hand, I did not like even one bit. I watched the first episode and the "seams" were so obvious and the characterization so calculated that I was bored to tears.
I (bleeping) hate the (bleeping) bleeping out of the offensive dialouge. For the love of God, I'm not asking for "The Wire" type wording, but I'm certain that "NYPD Blue" level of language is still passable in this world.
ReplyDeleteOther than that, I'm liking this show quite a bit...
Alan,
ReplyDeleteDId you see ABC is bumping CUPID next week in favor of 2 consecutive nights of new UNUSUALS
Agreed, I find the bleeping distracting. I understand what they are trying to do, but I think BSG much more effectively nailed the cursing without curse words when they adopted "frakk." Or are the networks onto us with that one now?
ReplyDeleteI was as happy with the second ep of Southland as the pilot. I worry they might go down the predictable route with Ben and blonde female cop (like you Alan, I can't remember names yet), but then again, this is an ER-esque show and how many hospital relationships did we have?? But I still live in hope that NBC will manage to hang onto this one...or at least give me a good 13 episode run.
I still liked it--liked the moody atmosphere, I think the characters are pretty interesting and want to see more about them. It's like old school tv, with more bleeping. I really want to know more about Regina King's backstory. I like the mixing of stories and i'm finding the characters interesting. Definitely dig it.
ReplyDeleteIs it sexist to say that I love that it was created by a woman? It just seems so male-oriented, I think it's cool that Ann Biderman created it.
DId you see ABC is bumping CUPID next week in favor of 2 consecutive nights of new UNUSUALSYup. Mentioned in the Twitter feed on the right rail of the blog. Didn't seem to merit its own post.
ReplyDeleteI don't know... I want to like this show, but I wasn't crazy about this week's episode. I thought they were too on the nose with things like Regina King's baby issues (though I agree she's an excellent actress), and especially the rookie at the end - coughing up the obligatory scarring childhood memory with basically no prompting. A lot of things on this show seem kind of forced so far... or maybe I've just watched too many gritty cop shows.
ReplyDeleteMy enduring warm feelings for Ryan from the O.C. (hey, season 1 was pretty good!) and Bull from Band of Brothers mean I'll give this a while to grow on me, probably, but I wish they could manage a little more subtlety with the character development.
Also, just once I'd like to see a TV drama where a character finds an abandoned baby -- and doesn't bond with it at all...
ReplyDeleteI'll give this a while to grow on me, probably, but I wish they could manage a little more subtlety with the character development.my sentiments exactly, right now I *want* to like this show more than I actually like it. I want excellent ensemble drama on network tv to succeed, I want it to be something that's not a procedural, and I want the storytelling to be fresh. Southland is not yet appointment TV for us.
ReplyDeleteIf not for Tom Everett Scott and my affection and appreciation for the fine folks who gave me my beloved ER, I don't think I could hang in there with Southland much longer. Regina King's character is interesting (and I agree that she's the best actor of the bunch) and I want to see *a lot* more of Tom Everett Scott's character so I can be interested in him too. Everything else? Not so interesting. It just seems very cliched, and the writing is flat out atrocious sometimes.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate all the ER folks getting some face time, though. This week, we had Lisa Vidal - aka Kerry Weaver's baby mama - as the reporter/mistress and Annamarie Kenoyer, who memorably played Diane Ladd's granddaughter in season 12, as the cop's teenager daughter.
Why not "It's my kid in a box"?
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry; although it was over the top, after "The Shield" any LAPD procedural is just going to seem like Adam-12. Only this time, it's with two Martin Milners. I do like the production values, and the fact that the Michael Cudlitz character is actually gay; hope they follow up on that. (come to think of it, maybe that's a nod to the character Martin Milner played in "Valley of the Dolls").
ReplyDeleteWhy no more mentions of Southland, Alan?
ReplyDelete