METTEL RAY

Thursday Movie Picks Television Edition: Police

Back at it again (because I’m clearly way more exhausted than I thought because I posted this on a Wednesday… ) and I can’t wait to share with you three police-oriented TV shows. From which, by the way, I love two very much and both happen to be Canadian. So in case you were wondering, who does police-shows the best, my answer would be Canadians!

1. LUCIFER, 2015-…

It wasn’t hard for me to pick one US show that focuses on police work because currently, there’s only one that hasn’t pissed me off or that hasn’t ran for so long that I’ve lost interest. So, as of now, Lucifer is my favourite US police procedural show on air and it has a lot to do with Tom Ellis and his charm. Besides, I like the fantasy element and the fact that the main character, the devil, is literally walking around telling everyone he’s the devil… I mean, that seems like something a devil would do. The crime solving is not so realistic but it’s Lucigfer solving crime so, it’s hardly something I would criticise.

2. ROOKIE BLUE, 2010-2015

Out of the two Canadian TV-shows, Rookie Blue is definitely the one that’s less about the police work and more about the relationships between co-workers. But that doesn’t mean there’s no police work, trust me, there is a lot of it here. Plus, like I said, it also focuses on various relationships, and career goals and Rookie Blue is simply quite a great show. Also, a bit funny when you let it be, and a bit sad too because there’s this one thing or maybe many things… and trust me, all of it will make you emotional.

3. FLASHPOINT, 2008-2012

Now comes the show that I would rank first if I was talking about police shows. Maybe it’s because it feels the most realistic and most truthful representation of police work, or maybe all those US shows have literally brainwashed our minds with every other procedural crime show ever. Flashpoint is amazing, it’s the kind of show that I learned from. Not just in regards to police work but life in general. It’s really really great and it’s not talked about enough! There are realistic situations and even though I saw it ages ago, I still remember an episode regarding a bomb.. and I think that episode will never leave me. So Flashpoint is awesome, watch it, now!

 THIS SERIES IS CREATED BY WANDERING THROUGH THE SHELVES

mettelray

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11 responses to “Thursday Movie Picks Television Edition: Police”

  1. vinnieh Avatar
    vinnieh

    I haven’t actually seen any of these, but you’ve got my attention.

    Reply
    1. mettelray Avatar
      mettelray

      Start with Flashpoint and let me know what you think!

      Reply
      1. vinnieh Avatar
        vinnieh

        Message received.

        Reply
  2. Brittani Avatar
    Brittani

    I haven’t seen any of these, but now I’ll have to research Flashpoint lol

    Reply
    1. mettelray Avatar
      mettelray

      It’s really really good imo !

      Reply
  3. Sonia Avatar
    Sonia

    I haven’t seen any of these, but I’ve been meaning to start Lucifer

    Reply
    1. mettelray Avatar
      mettelray

      It’s a lot of fun, Tom Ellis is such a charming actor that even though he’s the devil and does some pretty shitty things at times, you can’t not forgive him because he just… you just want to hug him!

      Reply
  4. joelnox Avatar
    joelnox

    Interesting sounding choices which unfortunately I’ve seen none of. Not to surprising I suppose since there are literally thousands of police shows and you just can’t see or hear of everything. I’ll be looking into all three but particularly Flashpoint.

    In those thousands I went with two favorites and a prototype of the whole genre.

    Life on Mars (2008)-In present day New York City detective Sam Tyler (Jason O’Mara) is pursuing a suspect when he’s struck by a car. When he awakens he finds himself in the same spot but it’s 1973! Already dressed in 70’s clothing he heads to his precinct where he’s mistaken for a transfer and put to work, now he has to figure out what happened while adjusting to his new surroundings and still chasing criminals alongside cops that have rougher methods than he’s use to. Intriguing series has a great cast, Harvey Keitel, Michael Imperioli and Gretchen Mol among others, terrific period detail and soundtrack but fell victim to poor scheduling which lead to its short duration.

    Wiseguy (1987-1990)-Government agent Vinnie Terranova (Ken Wahl) is fresh out of jail where he was placed by the Organized Crime Bureau (OCB) to give him a criminal history to enable him to go deep undercover to break up big syndicates. Guided by his often exasperated but understanding boss Frank McPike (Jonathan Banks) and wheelchair bound remote liaison “Lifeguard” (Jim Byrnes) he sets out to crime bust while trying to keep his secret from his mother (Elsa Raven). Excellent series told its stories in multi episode half season arcs focusing on one set of characters. All were good but the initial season’s two arcs dealing with the empire led by Sonny Steelgrave (a commanding performance by Ray Sharkey) and the draconian deeply twisted Profitt siblings (two showpiece turns by Kevin Spacey and Joan Severance) are by far the best.

    Dragnet (1951-1959/1967-1970)-“Dum…da.dum…dum-Ladies and Gentleman the story you are about to see is true, the names have been changed to protect the innocent….This is the city-Los Angeles, California…I work here, I’m a cop…my partner’s Frank Smith, my boss is Captain Glavas my name is Friday.”

    So began every episode of this Jack Webb series which he created and in which he starred giving a performance of amazing stolidness handing out his standard catch phrase “Just the facts, mam”. Initially taking a documentary approach before switching to a more standard form of storytelling of solving crimes this is the granddaddy of police procedurals.

    Reply
    1. mettelray Avatar
      mettelray

      I’d be curious to find out what you think of Flashpoint. From the perspective of a TV show person, I like it more than all the US procedural shows because it is a lot more realistic. Let me know, if you end up seeing it!

      Reply
  5. Birgit Avatar
    Birgit

    I just can’t see Lucifer as helping out the cops or falling for a gal which looks like it’s the case. Flash point sounds like it would be good and I heard of it but never watched it. Did you ever see Hill Street Blues? I wonder if you would like that show. Have watche dRookie Blue

    Reply
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