Awesomeland
May. 25th, 2009 09:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
nigeltdeAs someone who does not actively"seek out cop shows or enjoy the seminal procedurals, I have been very pleasantly surprised by Southland. The only reason it registered on my radar is because I heard its ensemble contains Ben "At One Point The Next Russell Crowe" McKenzie and a gay cop character. It is a cop show set in LA, with documentary-style camera work to emphasise its ~*~authenticity~*~ and the big bads are all cookie-cutter Latino gang members, so it sounds like something unpleasant you've seen a thousand times, but for a couple of reasons it redeems its premise and is really entertaining and absorbing tv.
For one thing it actually respects its audience and makes good choices with its primary characters, who are (mostly) good people who are good friends to each other. The friendly young blonde beat cop is not McKenzie's love interest but has her own moral dilemma concerning her fuckup drunken partner, and the camera is not afraid to focus on the tense, tired lines around Arija Bareikis's mouth and eyes. McKenzie shrugs away his girlfriend's touch when she sadly tells him she needs to give an old relationship a chance, but only so he can give her a lovely big hug; McKenzie does more great Ryan Atwood work here, the whole vulnerable but tough young man always slightly out of his depth.
Two actors in particular are fantastic and are compelling entry points into the whole thing. HITG Michael Cudlitz is fucking supreme as McKenzie's training officer, gruff and protective. When he smiles it's like the world is allowed to end. I knew he was the one for me when I saw this moment in episode five.
I had never heard of Regina King before but her Det Adams is amazing, deeply compassionate and clever and competent and the series' crowning moment of awesome comes in the seventh and final episode of the first season when she has to protect Janila, a good kid who's agreed to be a witness. A woman and a girl alone in a vulnerable home is a pretty standard way to ratchet up some tension but the show comes by it honestly and the payoff is excellent.
The narrative structure is interesting and episodes flit between the beat cops and detectives, the main focus varying ep to ep. There's little to no Shield melodrama, no Wire-esque criminal POV or political machinations, no L&O slickness, just casework and random calls with one overarching investigation involving Janila, who's a great character, a sweet and shy with a lovely smile. There's only seven episodes in the first season and I found it quite addictive and recommend it to y'all. I can't wait for season 2!
For one thing it actually respects its audience and makes good choices with its primary characters, who are (mostly) good people who are good friends to each other. The friendly young blonde beat cop is not McKenzie's love interest but has her own moral dilemma concerning her fuckup drunken partner, and the camera is not afraid to focus on the tense, tired lines around Arija Bareikis's mouth and eyes. McKenzie shrugs away his girlfriend's touch when she sadly tells him she needs to give an old relationship a chance, but only so he can give her a lovely big hug; McKenzie does more great Ryan Atwood work here, the whole vulnerable but tough young man always slightly out of his depth.
Two actors in particular are fantastic and are compelling entry points into the whole thing. HITG Michael Cudlitz is fucking supreme as McKenzie's training officer, gruff and protective. When he smiles it's like the world is allowed to end. I knew he was the one for me when I saw this moment in episode five.
I had never heard of Regina King before but her Det Adams is amazing, deeply compassionate and clever and competent and the series' crowning moment of awesome comes in the seventh and final episode of the first season when she has to protect Janila, a good kid who's agreed to be a witness. A woman and a girl alone in a vulnerable home is a pretty standard way to ratchet up some tension but the show comes by it honestly and the payoff is excellent.
The narrative structure is interesting and episodes flit between the beat cops and detectives, the main focus varying ep to ep. There's little to no Shield melodrama, no Wire-esque criminal POV or political machinations, no L&O slickness, just casework and random calls with one overarching investigation involving Janila, who's a great character, a sweet and shy with a lovely smile. There's only seven episodes in the first season and I found it quite addictive and recommend it to y'all. I can't wait for season 2!
