Season premiere review: 'Southland' - 'Wednesday': Change partners
Cooper and Sherman adjust to new colleagues, and Lucy Liu guest stars
Michael Cudlitz and Lucy Liu in "Southland."
The TNT version of "Southland" has grown on me slowly over time, I think. The budget cuts have forced John Wells and company to streamline the cast, and it seems the focus is now much more on how the different partnerships operate, and on LAPD culture in general, which is where the show excels. (Back when there were so many detectives floating around, the show seemed to feel compelled to spend more time on generic murder cases, when the magic was just watching the cops ride around in their cars kibbitzing.)
With the fourth season premiere, I quite like how putting Ben and Sammy together has revitalized both characters without entirely letting Ben get too comfortable, and it was interesting to see Cooper adjust to both his new back and his new partner (played by recurring guest star Lucy Liu).
I'm not going to write about this show every week, but what did everybody think of the premiere? Do you like the current configuration? Do you suddenly have a hankering for Hawaiian-Filipino fusion, served from a truck paying homage to Chuck Norris? And how did you feel about what went down at the station at the end of shift?
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Login or create a HitFix account Login SignupMJM
January 18, 2012 at 12:36AM EST Reply to CommentI tried to watch this show twice and stopped because of all the bleeping. If you can't say certain words then don't do like 8 bleeps. Has the show cut back on that? If so then I might give it another shot.
Thanks if anyone answers.
marty i never really like to comment negatively, cecuas eevryone has the right to an opinion, but come on really, you're gonna judge a show based on bleeps? they try to be realistic and if the characters, acting, writing, direction and story are all good, you're not gonna watch based on bleeps? can't get my head around that. it's good, def give it another shot
January 18, 2012 at 12:35PM ESTMJM I understand. It is a minor thing, but it seemed like in the episodes I watched that they were using it to appear edgy. I think one driving scene had like 5 bleeps in less than a minute. Why write the words if you can't use them? Once or twice I get, but it seemed excessive.
January 18, 2012 at 11:38PM ESTI have no problems with language. Maybe I shouldn't have listed it as my biggest complaint. The few episodes I watched were kinda dull, but that was season 1.
Judging by the positive comments below I will try again.
Lisa
January 18, 2012 at 12:40AM EST Reply to CommentTo me, this feels like what the show should have been all along, focused on the uniformed officers. In an era where all of the "cop" shows are really about the detectives or the lab rats, it's refreshing to see this dynamic, where the various partnerships handle multiple cases per episode.
I thought it was great to see Cooper in good shape for once; I like the back-and-forth he has with Tang.
Was the squadroom shooting a little much? Possibly. But that's likely how something like that would go down: At shift change, when half the people are on their way home and half the people are just getting settled in. I really appreciated that Bryant threw up and both he and Sherman admitted peeing their pants; it was a nice touch of realism.
tamandua This show has constantly evaded my attentions, but I'm going to make a concerted effort to see it for the exact reasons you spell out in the first paragraph.
January 20, 2012 at 3:54AM ESTThe situations dramatized by police dramas have become ever more ridiculously inflated with each passing year. First most cop shops gravitated to murder as the basis for storylines, which evolved into sensational murders "ripped from the headlines" which further morphed into a daily parade of serial killers, each one more vicious and depraved than the last.
With The Wire and The Shield long gone, Southland seems like one of the few programs of recent vintage that attempts to put a halfway realistic human face on the society cops have to deal with every day.
msumark
January 18, 2012 at 12:56AM EST Reply to CommentThe precinct shootout really happened here in Detroit.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TI38xTCoiAI
msumark
January 18, 2012 at 1:21AM EST Reply to CommentAnd the Lucy Liu segemnt is real as well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jjW3DlzaRw
jmr1948
January 18, 2012 at 3:21AM EST Reply to CommentThought premiere was excellent. Wish you would cover it regularly. Lucy Liu was badass: "Light 'em up!"
RD Totally badass. And very hot. I hope she becomes a regular on the series.
January 20, 2012 at 4:15AM ESTerika_herzog
January 18, 2012 at 4:17AM EST Reply to CommentI love SOUTHLAND. Have been a fan since the first show.
To me it reminds me of all the great parts of HILL STREET BLUES.
I am going to miss Lydia's female partner -- at first I wasn't crazy about her but then she grew on me and I am sad and surprised she's not back. I though their pairing was really interesting and fun.
Sorta not thrilled to see Lou Diamond Phillips in this thankless role. Glad for Lucy Liu. She's a nice addition, though the video was not what I thought it was going to be.
The moment where Officer Ben Sherman waved at the little girl who hid in fear really spoke to me.
I hope you review it more -- the show could use your support.
George Hopefully Chickie gets at least one episode this season.
January 18, 2012 at 8:12AM ESTGeorge Hopefully Chickie gets at least one episode this season.
January 18, 2012 at 8:12AM ESTNevadasmith I don't know if I'd go with Hill Street Blues comparison since for me Hill Street is the gold standard. But I see it as a descendant a a closer relative to NYPD Blue without the great David Milch language. Bottom line is that Southland is the best cop show since those classics.
January 18, 2012 at 5:37PM EST
January 19, 2012 at 4:57AM ESTdang i totally forgot about Chickie! :-)
can't wait to see what Allison Anders does with episode 7. she's so great.
January 19, 2012 at 4:58AM ESTEuroviewer
January 18, 2012 at 7:54AM EST Reply to CommentThis show gives me the shivers.....I think it is excellent. Been watching from SO1 and yes it certainly got better after the budget cuts.
vandusen
January 18, 2012 at 10:02AM EST Reply to CommentLoved it. Not a fan of Lou Diamond Phillips being such a d-bag but he pulled it off well. It will be interesting to see how much Tang actually knows about Cooper. She said that she had requested him because she knew he wouldn't hit on her. Does everyone know he's gay? If so I like it that it isn't important to anyone. I assume the coldness between Cooper and Sherman will be addressed at some point. Also- if one of the other cops doesn't shoot Dewey it will be a miracle. What an asshole!
Wendy
January 18, 2012 at 10:05AM EST Reply to CommentI think it's sad you won't write about it every week. It's a better series than Justified. I know that's an unpopular opinion, but I love Justified as well. Anyway, Southland doesn't need to a critical daring. It's still the best cop show on tv in many years
Ted Schmoesby yeah justified is cartoony compared to southland...speaking of which (as in, completely unrelated)....what happened to HIMYM reviews??
January 18, 2012 at 11:30AM ESTNasser
January 18, 2012 at 12:15PM EST Reply to CommentIs this a show that you can just pick up from the 4th season or should I start from the beginning?
sarak Start from the beginning. It's worth it. Best cop show on TV.
January 18, 2012 at 1:22PM ESTThe_NV You could read up on the backstory, at the very least, in order to understand the characters and their motivations, as all the main characters have gone through quite a bit to get to where they are. I would suggest watching at least season 3, but if you're going to do that you might as well start from the beginning. There haven't really been that many episodes, so it would be easy to catch up.
January 18, 2012 at 2:07PM ESTJason
January 18, 2012 at 1:40PM EST Reply to CommentI love this show. I agree that trimming down the cast was a great idea. I hope they continue to mix in personal stories w/ professional relationships. Also, I'm pretty sure that what happened @ the station was inspired by something that happened in Detroit last year.
UnHoly Diver
January 18, 2012 at 5:18PM EST Reply to CommentI'm disappointed they brought back Dewey. I'm hoping he'll be the next person to run out in traffic(btw, great makeup/special fx job on the aftermath of that guy getting hit by the truck.) Other than that, I thought it was outstanding.
Don J
January 18, 2012 at 6:07PM EST Reply to CommentI'm also of the opinion that Southland is a much more compelling show than Justified even though it appears that Justified has alot more fans. Last last night's was just top notch in the writing and directing. Like the addition of Lucy Liu and I think mixing up the partnerships was a great idea.
Question guy
January 18, 2012 at 6:22PM EST Reply to CommentAm I the only one who thought that when they kept asking Cooper if he'd seen Tang's youtube video, that the video had something to do with sex, or her doing a sexy dance, scantily clad or something like that? Thinking that for most of the episode made seeing the actual video all the more dramatic. Was that intended, or am I just a perv?
stevemalachi I think it was intended (or we're both pervs ;>). I was expecting her to break into a stripper routine, so I was shocked when the giant threw her like a rag doll. It's hard to believe that she survived that beating without any permanent physical injuries, but maybe some will be revealed later.
January 19, 2012 at 11:05AM ESTCubbyBear I don't think any of you are pervs on this. The way the fellas were harassing her on the street about the video certainly indicated that it was a provocative video...and the nicknames that she endured certainly indicated that the video was "sexy."
January 20, 2012 at 4:15AM ESTI was absolutely blown away by the feelings I had watching the video and the levels of pain that the character must have felt: 1) harassed by her "fellow" officers who should protect her; 2) working on maintaining control on regular patrol with the memory of getting the snot kicked out of her on a stop where she self-admittedly made errors (that I might add, most of her "fellow" officers probably made, but didn't get beaten for); and 3) hoping that the partner she chose (and it's my guess that it's for John's training abilities and not necessarily for the fact that he will hit on her) does not judge her as everyone else is. Liu's character is an officer in recovery from trauma and the fact that her fellow officers treat her like that in light of a brutal beating that has gone "viral" was enough to bring me to tears when I watched that segment.
gidgnyc
January 18, 2012 at 6:41PM EST Reply to CommentI've become hooked on this show. Some friends who are actors recommended it to me, and I've been watching ever since.
It is well written, well directed and well acted.
I wish it were covered weekly here b/c the stories are compelling: ethical questions, personal dilemmas, personnel challenges & changes in society. They are all touched on throughout a season, but never all at once.
GarySF
January 18, 2012 at 7:38PM EST Reply to CommentI've always really liked this show, and thought Season 4 got off to a good start. The routine stops involving Ben and Cooper make the show for me. I just about tune out any story involving the black woman detective, who I think is one of the worst actresses on TV. Also will be happy if the one cop's psycho ex-wife never turns up again, that storyline was awful. But very glad to be back on patrol with the uniforms in L.A.
Shell
January 18, 2012 at 7:45PM EST Reply to CommentThe show has suffered since John Wells took over for Ann Bidermann, but it's still one of the best things on television. I thought last night's premiere was a bit over the top, and I miss Ochoa and Chickie (I'd much rather have either of those female characters than Dewey, although at least we've finally gotten rid of Sal!), but I'm interested to see how they develop Cooper and Tang's partnership going forward.
shephrd
January 18, 2012 at 8:28PM EST Reply to CommentI really don't get why Alan wouldn't write about this show on a weekly basis. In my opinion, it's easily one of the best cop dramas on TV. If Alan doesn't have the bandwidth then fine, but I'm sure that there's at least one other less deserving TV show that he could stop writing about to write about this one.
jmr1948
January 18, 2012 at 8:39PM EST Reply to CommentWatched the show again today because I kept thinking about it, and I really liked it (with the exception of Regina King bit). There's an intensity about the street vignettes combined with interesting character arcs and interactions. Cudlitz and Liu at the end with the video was really moving. Surprised to say that I enjoyed it more than the Justified season premiere.
SLA Fan
January 19, 2012 at 12:25AM EST Reply to CommentReally love this show, it is more realistic than Justified (which I DO like) and, as has been noted by others here, often throws real life cases into the storyline. I am so happy that TNT has given this series a new life, and hope that it can have another strong season to keep it alive.
s.pierce
January 19, 2012 at 9:54PM EST Reply to CommentI remember reading Alan's point that the best parts were the beat cop stories and the worst were the attempts to do typical detective cases, and that stuck with me. That was where the show was great, and it seems like this season they took that to heart. Everything about this episode was great, except for the Lydia subplot (as GarySF mentioned) and also the predictable subplot with Ferguson (Lou Diamond Philips) -- he's an asshole! He fights with Sherman! He nearly dies saving everyone from the surprise attack by a gunman, so he's alright after all!
But, a great episode, and I'm really looking forward to this season.
Rob
January 20, 2012 at 9:08AM EST Reply to CommentHoly melodrama, Batman! The whole junkie storyline coupled with the LDP shoot 'em up in the squad room was just a tad too much to deal with in one episode. It made Belker offering a bite of his sandwich to Renko's dead Dad last night on Nuvo look tame by comparison! "They stole my DADDY!"
Teklanika
January 20, 2012 at 10:41AM EST Reply to CommentI liked the new dynamic. It was obvious the show was far too busy before with all the detectives. Plus, there are roughly 2,142 crappy cop shows that focus on detectives on TV right now(90% of them on CBS). So it's nice to see a show that focuses on the beat cops.
As much as I enjoy Ben McKenzie, I will always look at him as the troubled kid on The O.C. which is fine by me.