S01.E01: Graduation Day

[formerlyfreedom]

Quote

When Los Angeles' newly elected Sheriff dies, Bill Hollister is suddenly propelled into the role leading one of the largest police forces in the world. Only interested in justice, Bill commands a county-wide crew of LA's finest, including Deputy Cade Ward, Deputy Brianna Bishop and Deputy Joseph Harris. The dangers of the job often lead to the LA County General Hospital, where Bill frequently has run-ins with Dr. Paula Reyes the hospital's chief trauma surgeon and his wife.

Airing on Thursday, January 2, 2020 on Fox.

[Whimsy]

This is available on Hulu. Just watched it. I’ll reserve my comments until other people post, but not sure I’ll continue. 

[MrWhyt]

full of cliches but entertaining enough that I'll give it a few more episodes.

[shapeshifter]

Just watched "live."
Stephen Dorff is as good as he was in True Detective.
Some of the cliche lines should have been cut, by I didn't hate it.
The good vs. evil dynamics were pretty much in line with my personal world view except for the gratuitous violence.
Smart move, IMO, to run the first ep before all the other shows "come back" from the holidays.
B+?

Edited January 3, 2020 by shapeshifter

[Raja]

My foster dad killed my dad was a step too far. But I will be back. I wonder what excuse the Sheriff will use to pull his godson off of jailer duties?

[Tachi Rocinante]

Not bad, cliches and all. I liked Bex's character.

No way in hell would anyone let a cop foster a kid whose father he killed. Not happening.

I'll give it a few more.

[shapeshifter]

10 hours ago, Raja said:

My foster dad killed my dad was a step too far.

1 hour ago, Tachi Rocinante said:

No way in hell would anyone let a cop foster a kid whose father he killed. Not happening

A completely WTF plot  point.
The only possible way this could work is if Hollister (Dorff) and Cade (Brian Van Holt) have covered up that Cade shot the foster kids' father.
But even if they are going there, I wonder how many viewers turned it off forever at that point.
Did the writers sleep through the section on Cliff Hangers in Pilot Writing 101?

 

Edited January 3, 2020 by shapeshifter
sp.

[Raja]

4 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

A completely WTF plot  point.
The only possible way this could work is if Hollster (Dorff) and Cade (Brian Van Holt) have covered up that Cade shot the foster kids' father.
But even if they are going there, I wonder how many viewers turned it off forever at that point.
Did the writers sleep through the section on Cliff Hangers in Pilot Writing 101?

 

The only other chatter that I have seen about the show is complaining that the acting Sheriff has the same political policies that got then a mere Lieutenant elected as LA County's real life Sheriff. And those folks say they dropped out at that point.

[Lady Calypso]

I watched it. I thought it was alright, but not enough to get me to fully commit to another episode. The characters were alright, but fairly predictable. 

We'll see if I tune in next week. It wasn't the worst pilot I've seen, but nothing really drew me in enough to make me go 'I'll give it another chance for sure.' More like a 'well, if I remember to tune in next week, I guess I'll give it a shot.'

[Whimsy]

Huh.  Guess I'm the only one who thought this was absolutely terrible.  I thought the acting was really bad, the plotline not good, the way the main character got put into the position stupid (even if it's based on something real- you can't tell me that's the first time an acting Sheriff has died in 150 years), the editing of the show was distracting.  Oh well, I have enough on my TV viewing plate so I'm happily out. 

[Featherhat]

Well this show hasn't heard of a maverick "lawman" cliché it didn't borrow and turn up to 11. Everything about it was as unsubtle as a sledgehammer.

I tried it because I like the cast a lot (SD, YM, BTK etc) and I may give it another shot because of them, otherwise it didn't really hold my interest. There are other shows that do and have done the same concept a lot better, although obviously pilots are notoriously ropey. 

[Laurie4H]

I wanted to like it.  I’ve always found Stephen Dorff to be an underrated actor and also attractive.  And while a little rough around the edges now, I still find him sexy.  I will give it another chance because of him.   True Detective seemed to be somewhat of a comeback for him....but this was so far a disappointment.  I thought he was decent but the show just seemed to be a mess.  

[toodywoody]

Stephen Dorff is hot. That is all

[Mars477]

Everything about the marketing and them playing up the “cowboy lawman” cliche is dumb as hell.  LA County Sheriff’s Office has nearly 10 thousand deputies, and the county has millions of residents.  It stopped being the Wild West 150 years ago.

[Pothunter]

Terrible camera work. Too close to the faces, too much movement and too many editing cuts.

[Ohwell]

I gave this show about 15 minutes and then I bailed.

[sweetandsour]

It's been over 25 years since Stephen Dorff was in Aerosmith's "Cryin'" video and he's still pretty attractive to me.

As for this show, I'll stick with it via DVR season pass and it's got some things going for it, but I really hope they recognize and address the early kinks.  I like the relationship between Stephen and Yara, small doses of family life with small doses of the daughter, and I think Brian Van Holt is good in the role, even if the fostering storyline is ridiculous.  Compared to another midseason procedural (Lincoln Rhyme), which presented a lot of threads to pull on in the last few minutes of the premiere, Deputy didn't really do that, so I don't really blame viewers for dropping the show after one episode.

I, too, thought the camera work was strange at times.  David Ayer directed the pilot - I did not see End of Watch, but I did see Suicide Squad and could barely make it through.  Will Beall, the creator, was also behind the Training Day tv show a couple of years ago.  Thematically/structurally, I see some similarities between the two shows, but I recall side-eying less in the Training Day pilot.

[saber5055]

I found the pilot okay, but I don't think I paid a lot of attention since I didn't have a clue who the prison guards were or who got killed, but none of that mattered. I wondered why the new sheriff had to have a body guard/personal assistant. Did the dead sheriff have one too? And where did the body guard chick come from, they grabbed her out of some pool of applicants the same day she was assigned?

*hand wave*

Her lesbian "second date" joke was all kinds of stupid given she was talking to her boss. But her "I got silver in dressage" was pretty funny. I guess viewers had to be told how modern the show is, having a lesbian character.

I'll tune in again if nothing else is going on, and to look at Stephen Dorf. Maybe that's why I missed so much of the plot line, mindless staring at the lead.

As for the foster kids, yeah, that happened all pretty quickly. Another hand wave. I guess we have to wait a few seasons for the kid to murder his foster dad. Meanwhile, get the kid some therapy, dad.

[Laurie4H]

12 minutes ago, saber5055 said:

I'll tune in again if nothing else is going on, and to look at Stephen Dorf. Maybe that's why I missed so much of the plot line, mindless staring at the lead.

Nice to find a few others who find him attractive.  So many people don’t seem to know who he is.  

[Raja]

25 minutes ago, saber5055 said:

I found the pilot okay, but I don't think I paid a lot of attention since I didn't have a clue who the prison guards were or who got killed, but none of that mattered. I wondered why the new sheriff had to have a body guard/personal assistant. Did the dead sheriff have one too? And where did the body guard chick come from, they grabbed her out of some pool of applicants the same day she was assigned?

*hand wave*

Her lesbian "second date" joke was all kinds of stupid given she was talking to her boss. But her "I got silver in dressage" was pretty funny. I guess viewers had to be told how modern the show is, having a lesbian character.

 

 

The driver guard deputy came with the office. Many leaders of large departments served in that capacity as sort of an internship getting them ready for high, possibly Chief or Sheriff's rank.

A dead jail Deputy let's us know that the dead ex partner's son is in danger even if he is not a street cop.

[Clanstarling]

Deputy or not, I did find the drawl a bit much to take for a show set in LA. But, as bad as a lot of plot points were, I liked the actors, and some of the relationships seem promising. I have to get his wife's character on Jane the Virgin out of my mind (though, amusingly, she was a doctor too).

I exercise to most of the tv I watch, so my bar is whether or not it makes the time pass quickly - and this one did. We'll see how it goes.

[hookedontv]

I love Steven Dorff, so that was the draw when I watched this. I actually hadn't seen very many ads for it, and just happened upon the pilot. There's issues with the show as many have mentioned, but I found it interesting enough to continue giving it a shot. I agree that they are playing up the whole "cowboy sheriff" thing way too much. I am going to have to look up the difference between the sheriff dept and police dept so I get a better handle on how it's supposed to work in real life.

I would like Dorff to cut it out with the toothpick in the mouth. That's just disgusting and looks stupid and I feel it's only being done to reinforce some sort of "cowboy/outlaw" trope.

I like the driver/body guard. She's got a quiet confidence about her and can kick some ass. And there's a wittiness about her and I like her deadpan zingers that come out, especially the silver medal in the jr. olympics. In dressage (fancy riding.) 

[Gregg247]

I was looking forward to watching this show, but was really disappointed with it.  Los Angeles sure looks washed out and dirty on this show, doesn't it?  Very unattractive.

The new sheriff sure wanted us to all know how much of a rebel he is; he practically yelled it to us through the TV, in case we didn't figure it out for ourselves.  "Yeah, we get it; you're a maverick, you make Dirty Harry look like a corporate drone, you don't let procedures and rules get in the way of what's in your heart." blah blah blah blah

I made it about halfway through before turning it off.  There area LOT of much better cop shows on TV than this one.

[Raja]

7 hours ago, Gregg247 said:

I was looking forward to watching this show, but was really disappointed with it.  Los Angeles sure looks washed out and dirty on this show, doesn't it?  Very unattractive.

The new sheriff sure wanted us to all know how much of a rebel he is; he practically yelled it to us through the TV, in case we didn't figure it out for ourselves.  "Yeah, we get it; you're a maverick, you make Dirty Harry look like a corporate drone, you don't let procedures and rules get in the way of what's in your heart." blah blah blah blah

I made it about halfway through before turning it off.  There area LOT of much better cop shows on TV than this one.

I remember after Rodney King the LAPD disappeared from TV shows for a while and when SoCal law enforcement returned to the air there was a half year and done LASD show. But given where the Sheriff conducts law enforcement, primarily in the jails and parts of the county that never became part of a city, (unwanted?) in general you won't see the pretty, except in nature and wildlife.

While some cities do contract with the Sheriff for law enforcement like West Hollywood basing an opening story there might confuse the audience. besides they gave us the story of a bad list Sergeant, they tried to hide away in the mounted horse unit coming to power. And the first bad guys being gangsters from the less desired part of the county which allows the audience to want ass kicker deputies to deal with them.

[Gregg247]

No, I understand that a police/sheriff show will take place in less desirable areas of the city.  By "washed out and dirty", I meant the way the show was filmed.  All the colors looked washed out and gritty, even in the sheriff's home, and the hospital where his wife works.  It looked more like a documentary than a TV show.

By comparison, "The Rookie" covers a lot of the same topics as this show, but its a very "pretty" show -- I don't know the right words for this -- it looks more like a "regular" TV show (?)

[AnimeMania]

9 hours ago, Gregg247 said:

No, I understand that a police/sheriff show will take place in less desirable areas of the city.  By "washed out and dirty", I meant the way the show was filmed.  All the colors looked washed out and gritty, even in the sheriff's home, and the hospital where his wife works.  It looked more like a documentary than a TV show.

By comparison, "The Rookie" covers a lot of the same topics as this show, but its a very "pretty" show -- I don't know the right words for this -- it looks more like a "regular" TV show (?)

Shot like a Western Movie and not like a TV Show?

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

11 hours ago, Gregg247 said:

No, I understand that a police/sheriff show will take place in less desirable areas of the city.  By "washed out and dirty", I meant the way the show was filmed.  All the colors looked washed out and gritty, even in the sheriff's home, and the hospital where his wife works.  It looked more like a documentary than a TV show.

By comparison, "The Rookie" covers a lot of the same topics as this show, but its a very "pretty" show -- I don't know the right words for this -- it looks more like a "regular" TV show (?)

Shot like a Western Movie and not like a TV Show?

Or maybe the smog of LA? It reminds me of CSI Miami's over-saturated "sunshine state" filter.

[Brian Cronin]

Seems odd to cast a non-binary actor and have them play a female character. Bishop could easily be NB. It's a weird choice. 

[OoogleEyes]

Isn't it kinda tone deaf in this day and age to encourage the police to go out there and "kick some ass"?           

I don't think that they need any encouragement 

Edited January 10, 2020 by OoogleEyes

[Netfoot]

On 1/9/2020 at 3:31 AM, Brian Cronin said:

Seems odd to cast a non-binary actor and have them play a female character. Bishop could easily be NB. It's a weird choice. 

Just made a comment on this elsewhere.

It's acting.  You don't have to play a character exactly like yourself. The ability to successfully play a variety of characters is the sign of a good actor.

If actors were only allowed to play characters exactly like themselves and characters could only be played by actors with identical natures, who would play Yoda? Jabba the Hutt? Super{man,girl}?

[FozzyBear]

On 1/3/2020 at 8:17 AM, Whimsy said:

Huh.  Guess I'm the only one who thought this was absolutely terrible.  I thought the acting was really bad, the plotline not good, the way the main character got put into the position stupid (even if it's based on something real- you can't tell me that's the first time an acting Sheriff has died in 150 years), the editing of the show was distracting.  Oh well, I have enough on my TV viewing plate so I'm happily out. 

No you’re not. I tuned in because I’m a sucker for LA crime stories, especially ones that take an unusual approach to depicting LA. I thought something shot a little like an old fashioned western in modern LA that focused on greater LA County instead of the city proper might be interesting. This was...something. Just so bad. At times it almost felt like a spoof of the show instead of the real show. I didn’t even make it all the way through the first episode.

[andromeda331]

I like the show. I like the Sheriff, his wife, and everyone else. Except for the deputy wanting to foster the kids who's dad he killed. Ah, no. Just no. I'm glad he wants to be a foster parent, that's great but those kids? No. That's all kinds of messed up.

I had no idea Bex Taylor-Klaus was going to be on! I loved her since her guest star on the Librarians in Rule of the Three as the awesome Amy Meyer who really should have reoccurred on that show. She was so awesome. The second she came on screen she immediately became my favorite character.