I wanted to like "Detroit 1-8-7" but there are just so many things wrong with it. There's the apparently pointless faux documentary style, the obvious posturing of various characters for future love sideplots, the fact that so many characters are borrowed from other cop dramas - a no non-sense black female homicide boss (original Law & Order), a veteran black cop constantly making references to Italian culture (Homicide: Life on the Street), and Imperioli's Fitch seems so far to be a pathetic copy of McNulty from The Wire.
Unfortunately Detroit 1-8-7's problems run deeper. Set in the city of Detroit, one of the most unique places to be a homicide cop in America, there are all of 1.5 lines in the script that would even differentiate the pilot from an episode set in any random municipality anywhere. A place where drug and gang murders are the typical homicide case and we get a half-baked, unbelievable story about a white guy on a domestic-related killing spree? Why even bother setting it in Detroit if you're going with stories that feel like they're in the Law & Order rejection bin?
The show does have sleek direction, despite the awkward faux documentary feel, and it does feature some actors who have been great in other shows. Also, it was apparently converted from a mockumentary to a serious cop drama during production. I'm going to watch more episodes and see if it makes a miraculous turnaround. But this show seems to have some fundamental problems that severely threaten to make it a dumb, pointless cop drama. It's going to take one heck of an effort to ever top "The Wire" and right now, "Detroit 1-8-7" is fumbling around in the dark.
Unfortunately Detroit 1-8-7's problems run deeper. Set in the city of Detroit, one of the most unique places to be a homicide cop in America, there are all of 1.5 lines in the script that would even differentiate the pilot from an episode set in any random municipality anywhere. A place where drug and gang murders are the typical homicide case and we get a half-baked, unbelievable story about a white guy on a domestic-related killing spree? Why even bother setting it in Detroit if you're going with stories that feel like they're in the Law & Order rejection bin?
The show does have sleek direction, despite the awkward faux documentary feel, and it does feature some actors who have been great in other shows. Also, it was apparently converted from a mockumentary to a serious cop drama during production. I'm going to watch more episodes and see if it makes a miraculous turnaround. But this show seems to have some fundamental problems that severely threaten to make it a dumb, pointless cop drama. It's going to take one heck of an effort to ever top "The Wire" and right now, "Detroit 1-8-7" is fumbling around in the dark.