A Man. And His Blog.

Season 3, Episode 2 (15)
Date of airing: Jan 11, 2011 (TNT)
Rewatched for review: Jan 9, 2012
Number of review in January/2012: 55/55

Another solid episode. And with a season finally being completed at the end, the gangbanger story feels like being part of a bigger story. Yes, it was the second gangbang story in the second episode of the season, but they unnaturally feel in front and center of the writers’ attention at this point. Which I don’t mind, because it connects the work of both the detectives and the officers. The detectives detect around, while the officers collect the death. And I really wait for a story which connects both groups in this show, making it even more of an ensemble show than it already is.

And with the exception of Dewey’s (C. Thomas Howell) return, it was basically just a gangbangers episode. This time more of an investigation-kinda episode, but I liked it. I liked it more in the last third though, when the murders were all almost resolved, and Sammy (Shawn Hatosy) and Moretta (Kevin Alejandro) only had to deal with the drive-by shooting. Even though it looks like the whole weekend murders were forgotten with the drive-by shooting, I liked the scenes after it. Beginning with how Sammy and Moretta were hunting down the AK-47 and the shooter, ending with the guy in custody, who was not fucking around with his opinion about the killed gangbangers. But now it’s time to create a real story around it. The second gangbang story in this season also means it’s the second episode-centric one. And I really wouldn’t mind having a continuous storyline, like in the first season.

Dewey annoyed me. I could understand John (Michael Cudlitz) the whole time here, and I was laughing, when he disappeared with Ben (Ben McKenzie) at the end, making Chickie (Arija Bareikis) pissed off at him. I hope something is coming there in the next episode. Not just for the sake of closing it with Dewey (he is on the top spot of the cop to die real soon), but also making the show more character-strong, when Chickie is pissed at John, while also Ben is getting pissed at John for not going to the doctor about his back pains.

Other than that, the rest of the episode was pretty much okay. Nice to see Sal (Michael McGrady) back, though I thought he was cut from the show thanks to budget cuts. It’s something which annoys me a bit. Like Tom Everett Scott, who is still in the show, after what had happened to his character, Michael McGrady is also still in the show. Sure, it’s more realistic, when the characters don’t disappear, instead are just not used anymore, but I don’t know how the producers could have cut the costs even more without those old characters from season one relics. Also, I could have done without the Sally (Stacy Haiduk) plot. Yes, Ben has a big-titted girlfriend. And everybody is talking about her. No, it’s not funny. And yes, it makes Ben awkward as a character. First he kind of had a crush on Chickie, but never did anything, and now he’s fucking the go-to gal for all the cops? And he still doesn’t care? Well, I don’t know what’s going on in his head.

And finally, just some words about how the cops and detectives probably see their works: I especially noticed it with Lydia (Regina King), who was practically shocked seeing the dead parents (killed by the father), and couldn’t believe how shit like this can happen in this town. As if there are moments, when she doesn’t like her job very much and just wants to quit. I love those kind of character moments, and hope to get more of them. After all, Chickie also seems to be a woman, who doesn’t like the job very much. Especially with Dewey at her side. 7.5/10

Fake girlfriend is all air

Crisis between foul-mouthed cop and responsible detective

Season 3, Episode 1 (14)
Date of airing: Jan 4, 2011 (TNT)
Rewatched for re-review: Jan 9, 2012
Number of review in January/2012: 54/54

A smaller budget, a smaller cast, a bigger season, an uncomplicated writing procedure – this is how I could describe the third season of SOUTHLAND with only having watched one single episode. It was a good season premiere, solid as every other good SOUTHLAND episodes, and despite the budget for the production being cut back, I had the feeling that it was the best what could have happened for the series.

The hunt for a killer, a shootout in the middle of the street, and the usual character storylines – it’s a good and uncomplicated way to start the season, and I liked what the producers did with it. While some scenes looked pretty cheap, like the camera going down between the bridges and revealing Sammy (Shawn Hatosy) and Nate (Kevin Alejandro) at a crime scene, others looked good for how cheap they must have been, like the shootout in the middle of the day. Not just reminded me that scene of much realism in a television series (considering the sound effects, which were actually no effects at all, because they were real), but it was a thrilling scene, where you could have expected for one of the officers to be shot – in the arm, in the chest, or wherever. How easy could it have been for the writers to bring Cooper (Michael Cudlitz) into life threatening danger, to develop his back pains even more; or how easy could it have been to let Chickie (Arija Bareikis) being shot by one of the bad guys, just to let her have an own storyline for a couple of episodes? At the end I was kinda disappointed that Ben (Ben McKenzie) ”just” had to see a suicide, but the scene still looked great.

The murder of the cleaning lady was a nice story, and luckily the writers didn’t go much into the investigation part of it. Instead I liked that Lydia (Regina King) and her new partner Josie (Jenny Gago) had to improvise, which kinda let Lydia to think that her partner is nuts, and doesn’t care much about how she feels for the job on the force. The good thing about the story was that it didn’t focus on catching the killer, instead it brought much tension between Lydia’s and Josie’s working relationship – the scene in the car, where Josie talked on the phone, or where she just talked about the tacos, Lydia stills seems to think more of her job than Josie does. Hopefully this will be an ongoing storyline throughout the season, otherwise it would be boring, when Josie changes her way of working the job without anyone noticing.

Cooper’s storyline is getting more interesting too. Again, I hope that the writers go a bit more deeper into it, and don’t let the story be in the background of everything what is happening, similar to his character development of being gay during the first two seasons. But here I can’t understand why Ben isn’t telling anything to anybody. His partner is in pain, he could easily be trouble during danger, which could lead to death or a bullet in someone’s body. Ben could have at least told something to Chickie, but instead the day was “over” and Ben was about to bang a woman – I’m waiting for the first scene, where it will actually be trouble for both Ben and Cooper.

Sammy’s and Nate’s story came a bit short though. But since they’ve arrested one of the bigger gang members of Los Angeles, I hope it will have an aftermath for the two. I wonder why the writers never went into the gang banging and a war between gangs and the LAPD (it was teased in the second season, but thanks to NBC’s cancellation, never brought up). The series could need an ongoing storyline, similar to when Lydia, Sammy and Nate had to protect a witness, because she saw a gang member being killed by other gang members (which season was that? I can’t remember anymore…).

Episodes like this let me want to watch more shows like this. I hope the ratings will be good enough for TNT to order a fourth season. But it doesn’t really look that way with 2.11 million viewers, and ratings of 0.7 with A18-49. 7.5/10

When cops use their phone while driving, something must be wrong

Ben Sherman becomes Action Jackson in white

Season 2 of NBC's cop drama aired on TNT in March/April 2010.

Southland takes a “raw and authentic look” at Los Angeles and the lives of the LAPD officers who police it. The show centers around the experiences and interactions of LAPD patrol officers and detectives. Among the characters are rookie Officer Ben Sherman (Ben McKenzie) and his training officer John Cooper (Michael Cudlitz); Detective Lydia Adams (Regina King); Officer Chickie Brown (Arija Bareikis), who aspires to be the first woman on the elite SWAT Team; and Detective Sammy Bryant (Shawn Hatosy), whose home life interferes with his working life.

Episode 01: Phase Three
I already wrote a review about it. Click here to read it. 9/10

Episode 02: Butch and Sundance
It was a good episode, and the officer’s case about the family murder was interesting. Only the conclusion was predictable and therefore lame, but I liked the scene, where Cooper and Ben were in the house and looking for more dead family members or the murderer. It was a pretty strong scene, and I was always thinking that the cliché would strike and the murderer would come anytime from a corner and start a shoot-out.
Unfortunately that was the only real story I found interest in during the episode. Sammy’s drama with his wife Tammi (Emily Bergl) was a bit unspectacular, and her crazy behavior in the shopping center was a bit over the top for me, mixed with a bit of bad acting there. The Lydia/Rene (Amaury Nolasco) couple is alright, but I can understand now, why the producers cut Amaury Nolasco from the cast, since his character leads itself kinda to nothingness – he is completely uninteresting, and I don’t think that Nolasco was the right cast for this role.
I missed Chickie in this episode, as well as some sort of ongoing storyline. I had the feeling the writers wanted to start one in the last episode (the kill in the prison), but either I didn’t see anything here or I forgot it already. 7,5/10

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The guns are back in Los Angeles: Gangs shooting their way up the ladder.

One of the best and most realistic cop shows is back on television, and we have to be lucky to see it again, since Southland had a bit of a rough past in 2009. Started as a promising new show by John Wells, who exec-produced the long running medical drama ER on NBC in the midseason 2008/2009, shortly renewed for a second season, but then the ratings started to drop. Then Be Silverman had the “great” idea to give us The Jay Leno Show on 10 p.m., which resulted in the fact that the second season of Southland didn’t have a proper time slot anymore. The show is made for 10 p.m. and way too dark and gritty for being shown earlier. So, NBC only could do one thing: Cancel Southland, before the second season even aired. Six episodes were produced until the cancellation, and the producers were looking for a new network to air their show. With cable network TNT, Southland found a new home for the six new episodes, and probably for the rest of the future as well. If only the show would be successful enough, so TNT would renew it.

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Southland takes a “raw and authentic look” at Los Angeles and the lives of the LAPD officers who police it. The show centers around the experiences and interactions of LAPD patrol officers and detectives. Among the characters are rookie Officer Ben Sherman (Ben McKenzie) and his training officer John Cooper (Michael Cudlitz); Detective Lydia Adams (Regina King), who must balance work with responsibility for her mother; Officer Chickie Brown (Arija Bareikis), who aspires to be the first woman on the elite SWAT Team; and Detective Sammy Bryant (Shawn Hatosy), whose home life interferes with his working life.

Episode 1: Unknown Trouble
Well, I definitely liked the pilot. Just a few points were disappointing. First: the episode was too short to introduce all of the characters and put on some stories. We have two pairs of officers, one pair of detectives, one single detective and probably some more police men, private problems (at the end of the episode), three different stories, two uniting each other in the last third and an authentic and great look. Like I said, it was too short to put all this on, but the look is really great. The series looks like a documentation and the camera is superb (how it goes from a moving car to another scenery without a cut, this looks great).
The series plot is a mixture of The Shield and Third Watch. Mix the difficult work of police officers and detectives (along with beeped words – I asked myself why did the producers leave it in, but then I thought it probably could be the first network show with censored material to look more authentic [and probably be uncensored on DVD]) with on location shots – and it could be a great series. The pilot episode just wasn’t really interesting enough, because of its length. I really would have seen more about Ben’s first day and the investigations of the gang murder and the missing girl. 7/10

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