I just finished watching the first episode and was pretty disappointed with what I saw. It's definitely not a Third Watch or Southland. Anyone who has spent any time working in law enforcement on either coast would likely agree that many of the situations just aren't very realistic. We all have to give television some liberties in order to tell their stories but the story line from episode one of NYC 22 was a little tough to swallow.
The show follows six rookie cops fresh out of the academy who are all assigned to the same field training officer (FTO.) They are dropped on a street corner to patrol a foot beat while completely unsupervised. Unlike what would happen in real life, each rookie is partnered with another rookie rather than an FTO and instructed "don't get yourself hurt and don't hurt anyone else." Then the rookies are responsible for figuring out the rest of the job on their own. You can only imagine what kind of disasters these officers find themselves in as they manage to even get themselves kidnapped, surrender their weapons to the bad guys, and never once check in with dispatch to announce their location or call for back up.
Rather than being radio dispatched to calls, they seem to chauffeured by their supervisor around mid town to handle certain tasks, such as detaining gang members to prevent those gangs from participating in a good old fashioned 1960's style rumble with chains, bottles, and knives. I'm really not making that up. (Sarcasm Alert!) Anyone who has spent any time working working anti-crime or gang enforcement in large cities such as NYC or LA knows that its chains and bottles that make these gangs so scary and not drive-by's with Uzies. Let us not forget either, it's always best to throw your rookies into gang detail on their first day to deal with these problems rather than waste their time teaching them how to fill out a speeding ticket.
It's difficult to buy into the premise that rookies are assigned to assist elderly widows of NYPD officers with unclogging their toilets at home, yet you will see that in NYC 22. In fact, the writers would like us to believe that the rookie assigned to unclog the toilet was a former NBA superstar who blew out his knee while playing and now wears an NYPD shield. Apparently this seasons NBA lock out was much more difficult on the players than any of us even knew! Not only can these athletes not support themselves after their career is over, disability coverage to care for you after being injured in a game also doesn't pay squat. The good news for former NBA players, if you are on disability with a bad knee and can run anymore, the NYPD will take you!! Police crime dramas are different than other types of shows. With most shows when you depict a police officer the details are not important, but with crime dramas the viewers are trying emerge themselves in that life. Most of us want to see and feel what a cop sees and feels himself when he goes to work everyday. This makes the attention to detail extremely important not just for each and every character but for wardrobe and props as well. Even the most finite details such as bullet proof vests or the way an officer handles their weapon shouldn't be overlooked in a show like this. Third Watch and Southland have both been meticulous about this and I would really like to see NYC 22 make the same move.
I'm not completely writing this show off just yet. Many shows have a rough start just like I believe that NYC 22 has had. I believe Robert De Nero is just an absolutely incredibly talented individual. I have a lot of faith in his ability as a producer to turn this show into something amazing. Hopefully, I'll be able to write a followup to this sometime in the short future to offer my praise. In the mean time, I still plan to watch a few more episodes to see where it goes.
Good luck to NYC 22. I hope you make it because I do like a good old fashioned cops and robbers TV Show.
The show follows six rookie cops fresh out of the academy who are all assigned to the same field training officer (FTO.) They are dropped on a street corner to patrol a foot beat while completely unsupervised. Unlike what would happen in real life, each rookie is partnered with another rookie rather than an FTO and instructed "don't get yourself hurt and don't hurt anyone else." Then the rookies are responsible for figuring out the rest of the job on their own. You can only imagine what kind of disasters these officers find themselves in as they manage to even get themselves kidnapped, surrender their weapons to the bad guys, and never once check in with dispatch to announce their location or call for back up.
Rather than being radio dispatched to calls, they seem to chauffeured by their supervisor around mid town to handle certain tasks, such as detaining gang members to prevent those gangs from participating in a good old fashioned 1960's style rumble with chains, bottles, and knives. I'm really not making that up. (Sarcasm Alert!) Anyone who has spent any time working working anti-crime or gang enforcement in large cities such as NYC or LA knows that its chains and bottles that make these gangs so scary and not drive-by's with Uzies. Let us not forget either, it's always best to throw your rookies into gang detail on their first day to deal with these problems rather than waste their time teaching them how to fill out a speeding ticket.
It's difficult to buy into the premise that rookies are assigned to assist elderly widows of NYPD officers with unclogging their toilets at home, yet you will see that in NYC 22. In fact, the writers would like us to believe that the rookie assigned to unclog the toilet was a former NBA superstar who blew out his knee while playing and now wears an NYPD shield. Apparently this seasons NBA lock out was much more difficult on the players than any of us even knew! Not only can these athletes not support themselves after their career is over, disability coverage to care for you after being injured in a game also doesn't pay squat. The good news for former NBA players, if you are on disability with a bad knee and can run anymore, the NYPD will take you!! Police crime dramas are different than other types of shows. With most shows when you depict a police officer the details are not important, but with crime dramas the viewers are trying emerge themselves in that life. Most of us want to see and feel what a cop sees and feels himself when he goes to work everyday. This makes the attention to detail extremely important not just for each and every character but for wardrobe and props as well. Even the most finite details such as bullet proof vests or the way an officer handles their weapon shouldn't be overlooked in a show like this. Third Watch and Southland have both been meticulous about this and I would really like to see NYC 22 make the same move.
I'm not completely writing this show off just yet. Many shows have a rough start just like I believe that NYC 22 has had. I believe Robert De Nero is just an absolutely incredibly talented individual. I have a lot of faith in his ability as a producer to turn this show into something amazing. Hopefully, I'll be able to write a followup to this sometime in the short future to offer my praise. In the mean time, I still plan to watch a few more episodes to see where it goes.
Good luck to NYC 22. I hope you make it because I do like a good old fashioned cops and robbers TV Show.