L.A. Heat

This show combines ever action movie stereotype and compacts it into one hour segments every afternoon, and it's the funniest show on afternoon tv because of it. Every episode is guaranteed to have a car chase and shootout. Witty one liners abound. While it is undeniably low brow entertainment, what else do you want, really? The show will amuse you, unless you are utterly humorless.

I don't think anyone would ever accuse 'LA Heat' of being a dark, emotional cop drama on the calibre of 'Law and Order' but that doesn't make it any less enjoyable. The series centred on LA detectives August Brooks and Chase McDonald as they track down criminals resulting in many car chases and shoot outs.

The show relies very much on a 'Lethal Weapon' formula where Brooks is the older, black cop who is more mature and laid back while McDonald is the young, reckless white cop whose over-energetic ways often requiring reining in by his veteran partner. The two leads, Steven Williams as Brooks and Wolf Larson as McDonald, have a great rapport and portray their characters in a likable manner.

'LA Heat' often does pushes the boundaries of realism with the number of car chases, shootings and explosions shown every episodes but that's what makes it fun. It doesn't pretend to be deep and dark and instead revels in light-hearted action, excitement and humour. Definitely a must for fans of 'Lethal Weapon' and 'Bad Boys'.

Admittedly most cop shows are unoriginal, but this one seemed like a parody of a cop show - and not the good kind of parody a la "Police Squad!" but one with all the cliches present and correct and trotted out like new. Black cop/white cop, one by-the-book and one wild and crazy, obligatory cute girlfriends, police captain one step away from lunacy thanks to their antics... it's all here, and it's all mind-rotting.

Even the title - "L.A. Heat" - sounds like the kind of bad cop show people in TV shows or movies either watch or see being filmed. Steven Williams should have stuck with "The X-Files" or "21 Jump Street"; this is right down there with "T.J. Hooker" and "Dempsey and Makepeace" in the ranks of Cop Shows That Should Never Have Been Made.

TV cop dramas don't get cooler or wackier than this. "L.A. Heat" makes a great carbon copy for "Lethal Weapon" and "Miami Vice". They got all the trimmings for a typical cop show: two cops, black and white, a funny chemistry between them, great action sequences, a bossy, loudmouth captain (Kenneth Tigar) and the cops' hot lovers (Dawn Radenbaugh and Renee Tenison). Wolf Larson makes a cool cross between Sonny Crockett and Martin Riggs as Chase McDonald, being crazy and stylish at the same time, while Steven Williams is August Brooks, the calm, methodical partner; a more of a smooth Rodger Murtaugh!! Together, they clean up the usual trash that lurks in the fine streets of L.A., chasing down drug dealers, serial killers, mobsters, punks; you name it, Chase and August had busted them down!

Brilliant show. Excellent cast. The best show of it's kind on tv. The imaginative stories combined with the high standard of acting and production make this series stand out in a class of it's own. It helps of course that Wolf Larson and Stephen Williams are so talented in all ways.