Tag Archives: TNT

SouthLAnd 4.10 – Thursday

Posted on March 21, 2012 by | 12 Comments

All the king's horses and all the kings men couldn't put Ben back together again.

As if this show would go out with a whimper. Please.

Ben and (…is it Sammy?) pull up at some apartments, guns drawn and sneaking up to the door. Ben gives a shout, busts the door down and we see someone jump out of a window. And that’s when we realize it’s not Sammy, it’s Fergusen, back from getting half of his face shot off in the opener (nice bookends, writers), who runs outside to flank the suspect. Ben looks at him and we freeze.

“After a couple of years on the job every cop has to make a decision about what kind of cop they’re going to be. The time has come for Officer Ben Sherman to decide.” Continue reading →

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Southland 4.8 – God’s Work

Posted on March 7, 2012 by | 4 Comments

One of these cops is showing his colors, and I don't think it's "blue."

Before any discussion, I just want to state once again how much I love the theme music to this show. I whistle it for days after an episode airs. Just thought I’d share.

We open on someone with bloody knuckles washing their hands in a fluorescent-lit bathroom. The camera pans up and it’s Ben. He looks…checked out. Either that or so utterly filled with despair that he can barely wrap his head around it.

“Cops are often asked if they believe they’re doing God’s work. Officer Ben Sherman is just trying to do the job without losing his soul.” Continue reading →

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Southland 4.7 Fallout

Posted on February 29, 2012 by | 4 Comments

Dynamic Duo is becoming more Apathetic Duo. (Digging the curls, Sammy.)

Split second choices, pre-meditated choices, everything is going to come to a head this week. It’s just been simmering for weeks now, anyway.

Officer Tang, gun drawn, moves through someone’s backyard, heavy with overgrowth. She sees movement on the opposite side of the yard, a good 50 feet off, but it’s hard to see beyond someone with a grey hoodie and a weapon drawn. She fires once (nice shooting, Tex!) drops him, and goes to check him. It’s a kid in a hoodie. With a toy gun down by his knees. Shit. Over the radio we hear, “We have the suspect in custody.” Yeah, we figured this kid wasn’t the person she was looking for.

“LAPD officers start every shift knowing they might only have a fraction of a second to make a difficult choice. The ramifications will last their whole lives.” Continue reading →

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Southland 4.6 – Integrity Check

Posted on February 22, 2012 by | 40 Comments

Oh, please do not tackle the (secretly) pregnant cop, Distraught Mother.

Raise your hand if you were on the edge of your seat for the last four minutes of this episode. Hooboy, my racing heart. On with the show, though.

A woman in her robe is shrieking and hysterical inside a van as Dewey makes things worse (a theme for him this episode) and Tang circles the vehicle. Cooper yells at Dewey to get her under control; two other cops are holding back a large man several yards away. The woman exits, screaming, and has a knife. Tang tackles her as Dewey and Cooper draw their weapons.

“The average street cop in L.A. makes $75,000 a year. It’s not enough.” Continue reading →

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SouthLAnd 4.5 – Legacy

Posted on February 15, 2012 by | 18 Comments

God, I wish people cared about the very real effects of bullying.

 It’s a John Cooper Appreciation Day up in here, gang. And the question to take throughout the episode: what’s Coop’s legacy? Former FTO of amazingness? Drug addict? Gay cop? One of the oldest guys on the force?

The show opens with a jumper being held by an ankle several stories up. John is the one holding him as he strains and grunts from the effort. (Oh, his back! Please don’t pop a staple, John.)

“After twenty years on the job Officer John Cooper has been wondering how his fellow officers will remember him. But right now, the only thing he can think about is hanging on.”

Continue reading →

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SouthLAnd 4.4 – Identity

Posted on February 8, 2012 by | 12 Comments

Not the best job for someone contemplating motherhood.

 

Last week with Community, the focus was on people in groups working together (for good or bad). This week it’s all about how outsiders as individuals find out who they are and where they belong. Continue reading →

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SouthLAnd 4.3 – Community

Posted on February 1, 2012 by | 4 Comments

Cooper explains the rules for the street version of "Eye for an Eye."

No matter how “civilized” we think we’ve become as a society, certain fundamental laws haven’t changed from the early days when we dropped out of trees and started organizing into groups. When you wrong your community, your community will take care of you eventually.

Tang and Coop roll up on a big event at nighttime; there’s a raging fire with cops and firefighters all over the place. Cooper jumps out shouting, “Where is he? Where is he?”

“The City of Los Angeles is made up of over one hundred separate ethnic, racial and religious communities. LA cops have to know how to navigate all of them if they want to survive.” Continue reading →

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SouthLAnd 4.2 – Underwater

Posted on January 25, 2012 by | 15 Comments

Huh. You don't see that every day...

“This is a tough, dirty job. [The LAPD] used to have a lot more rope, and a lot more soap. But it’s a new age – a video age. People are always watching us. Everywhere.”

Officer Ben Sherman said as much (but far less eloquently) to Officer Fergusen just last week, as Fergusen watched a crime suspect die in the street while a crowd of angry citizens watched. Sherman is about to be reminded of the same thing.  Continue reading →

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SouthLAnd 4.1 – Wednesday

Posted on January 18, 2012 by | 10 Comments

John Cooper gets a new partner.

The best show on television is back on my screen, and I couldn’t be happier. And once again, they haven’t pulled any punches, they haven’t let the tempo drop, and they haven’t dumbed anything down for the audience. For that alone, I thank you, Amy Biderman and crew.

We open with Sammy and Ben driving through the neighborhood where they see some douchebag beating up a young woman. They light it up, Ben jumps out and races after him (I wonder if they fight over who gets to run? Because they both are runners, and damn good at it.) Sammy drives around front to try and cut the guy off. As Ben jumps up on a tv to hop the fence and the action pauses, we hear:

“Cops wake up every morning different from the rest of us. Our worst nightmare is just their Wednesday.”  

Continue reading →

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Southland 3.10 Graduation Day

Posted on March 10, 2011 by | 3 Comments

This week on Southland, the production team prepares for the worst (cancelation).  Let us all hope this is not the end for the best show currently on television.

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