Gritty cop drama in motor city
Detroit has been getting a fair amount of drama love due to its fall from grace as the heart of American manufacturing. Last year they had Hung which led a teacher to turn to prostitution and this year we have the police procedural, next up is Detroit 1-8-7. The selling point is the crazy high murder rate and a return to our screens for The Sopranos
The plot is simple enough, the cops arrive at the scene of a double homicide in a pharmacy, at first it looks like it was the result of a botched robbery, but seasoned veteran Detective Louis Fitch suspects more is at hand and robbery was not the motive. As is always the case, there is a rookie in the precinct who is eager to prove himself to the less personable Fitch, Fitch offers all his advice via a phone call, even if only standing a few feet away. A third murder on a bridge is being investigated by Sergeant Longford and Detective Mahajan but when forensics link the crimes they find their suspect and track him down a confrontation with hostages. Fitch puts his life on the line to negotiate, bearing a darker side to his unknown personality.
When compared to other new police procedural dramas this season, Detroit 1-8-7 is by the far the grittiest, most the action takes places at or on cloudy days making it feel rundown and depressing even during scenes of comic relief. This at least sets it apart from the competition in some respect, but in real story terms there is nothing new here to get overly excited about – it is the same old story in different packing. Further more it is still network television, so although it tries to be gritty it can’t quite extend down to the depths of FX’s The Shield
Some of the best comedy can be found in drama, this is often due to well thought out characters rather than set ups and punchlines which can feel unnatural and forced funny. Amongst the grit of the pilot there is a fair amount of humour from both Fitch and Washington as they struggle to find a way to work together. This is really important as the darkness will only feel dark if we have light to compare it to.
Imperioli is very welcome back on our screens and it is great to see him turn to a brooding thinker rather than the rash ambitious gangster, he plays his silence well and lingers in your mind long after the after characters are forgotten, for they are not nearly so well drawn. There is an interesting scope and darkness to be pealed away to reveal why the character keeps those around him at such a distance.
What is interesting is that the show was originally envisioned and shot as a faux documentary, but abandoned this after the city of Detroit banned camera crews from following real officers after a controversial police shooting during filming of the A&E documentary series The First 48. Scenes from the pilot were re-shot, but from time to time remnants of the concept survive. Although we have lost scenes such as Fitch grabbing one of the documentary cameras to smash a car window that brilliantly break the wall and show us something we have not seen before. This shift in focus has still not fully happened in the pilot and we are left with is a show that is either evolving or devolving in front of our eyes. Right Detroit 1-8-7 has more promise that most cop shows, but falls far short from the best.
Created / Written by: Jason Richman
Directed by: Jeffrey Nachmanoff
Starring: Michael Imperioli, Natalie Martinez, Jon Michael Hill, James McDaniel, Aisha Hinds, D.J. Cotrona, Shaun Majumder, Erin Cummings
Date premièred: 21st September 2010
UK Details: TBC
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which are more risqué than shows on the mainstream channels, but avoid on screen graphic violence, sex and language that are common on the subscription channels. The Shield for example is known as one of the most gritty cop dramas ever produced, it deals with drugs, gangs and bad cops and yet not once in the 7 series was the word “Fuck” ever uttered, compare that 
, 
. So when a new FX series starts you know that they will find a way to push the limits, but more importantly, because money is tight, they can not afford to make a series and then cut it from the schedules only show 2 episodes because it wasn’t performing, for this reason the scripts have to be better.
) and was commissioned for a full series order on the back of this pilot. A full series on FX is around 13 episodes and so shows do not suffer from a sudden order for 9 episodes after the show becomes a hit leaving the writers looking for a way to drag out the series.
Sam Spade or more recent examples such as the brilliant 
and Jeff Goldblum’s Raines), the character portraits and story structure in this episode of Terriers is superb. From the outset we understand the dynamic between the two friends, we understand an obvious outer struggle (money) and gradually learn the greater personal struggles they need to overcome. Hank needs to reconcile his past as an alcoholic cop and face up to losing his wife, Britt needs grow up and take more responsibility in the relationship with his girlfriend. Both men are floundering at the start of the episode, but their path is set at the end; as they look forward, the road may be tougher, but the rewards will be greater.
and followed by Treme, The Good Guys, Outlaw Country, the recently wrapped up 
and new entry Memphis Beat. Since these last two have more than little in common I will review both now.
the pilot sets up that all too familiar police dynamic and while Raylan maybe more gentleman than brute force, his unconventional methods still rials up his boss. With 
