Brooklyn South

I am a Cop, a Big City Cop. At least I was one for nearly 35 years, which was just about all of my adult life. So, just because life doesn't require sitting through at Roll Calls, patrolling the streets, nor attendance in various Court Rooms, from Traffic Court to Felony Courts and the Grand Jury; the identity is still the same, a Cop.

And, being that the Statute of Limitations have now run their course, the time is ripe. They say that Confession is good for the Soul, so it must be that time. It's high time to get all of this off my chest. So please, bear with me. Thank you.

I like Cop Shows, good Cop Shows, that is. Certain Series such as : "ADAM 12", "POLICE STORY", "HILL STREET BLUES" and the perennial NBC Favourite, "LAW & ORDER" and its family, these are programs that combine a certain level of realism, blended in with high entertainment value.

Sometimes, the public forgets that Policemen are just like any other grown-up boys, only more so. Cops like their toys and they like their fantasies. When DIRTY HARRY with Clint Eastwood hit the Screens in 1971, it was all Clint Eastwood for America's Cops. So we saw Dirty Harry type haircuts, Harry like sport jackets and the like. And there wasn't a Smith & Wesson, Model 29, .44 Magnum Calibre Pistol left for sale in any gun shops in these United States.

So a little make believe can go along way, for anyone, even the Police.

In "BROOKLYN SOUTH" we have a Stephen Bochco Production that has quite a Family Tree. It's a cousin of "NYPD BLUE" and is also distantly related to that most prolific progenitor, the Abraham of Cop Shows, "HILL STREET BLUES".

Like all the previous efforts from Mr. Bochco, quality reigned supreme. The writing, the cinematography, costuming, color work and cast were all tops. A fine group of actors, both veteran and youthful, formed a sort of repertory company of NY City Police. Among those featured, my own favourites were: "HILL STREET" veteran, James B. Sikking as Captain Jones, Michael DeLuise as Officer Phil Roussakoff and the very underrated and unappreciated Gary Basaraba as Desk Sgt.Richard Santoro, who got promoted to Lieutenant during the short, 22 episode run of "BROOKLYN SOUTH".* Mr. Bochco and Company were attempting to do what is most difficult, and that is namely, to do a successful series not about the 'Big Heat' Detectives; but rather one dealing with the 'grunts', the infantryman of the Police Department, the Uniformed Patrolmen.

NOTE: * We see that the entire series is available on DVD. Quick, someone tell my family! Christmas is just a little more than 2 weeks away.

I can still remember seeing BROOKLYN SOUTH during its only season (1997-98). It's really too bad that it didn't last any longer. The series struggled in the ratings, but it still had a chance to become a hit. If CBS had the courage to renew the series for a second season, it might have become successful.

What sticks in my mind is the pilot, in part because it apparently made BROOKLYN SOUTH the first non-cable series to get the TV-MA rating (meaning Mature Audiences). But other than that, the rest of the episodes were rated TV-14 (indicating that it may not be suitable for viewers under the age of 14). The reason for the pilot's TV-MA ratings was because of the grisly shoot-out scene at the beginning, which involved a cop getting shot in the head by a sniper.

The premature demise of the series was a big disappointment. I would have liked to see BROOKLYN SOUTH last five years or more. In fact, it could have been the HILL STREET BLUES of the new millennium.

Brooklyn South was an innovative and Gritty show when it hit the air. Focusing on street cops in uniform over detectives, and making a thorough commitment to realism, it was unlike most anything else on TV. The writing and acting was top notch, and the show is able to serve up verbal confrontations just as vicious as the physical ones.

Still, it hasn't aged well. Given the time period and the fact that it aired on CBS, Brooklyn South is relatively tame by today's standards. This isn't necessarily bad, such as in most classic Victorian literature, where the author invents a way to refer to sex and violence much more entertaining than a straight description. The problem is that Brooklyn South presents itself as gritty and revealing, (which it was for the time) and the actual content of the show ends up being a let down, rather than a delicious metaphor. Many of the issues that Brooklyn South is obviously trying to tackle, such as abuse of power, the slippery slope of committing evil deeds in the name of good, and what constitutes morality when your paid to use violence, it can only hint at. Thus the watcher is slowly drawn into these issues, only to be let down when the show switches subjects just before truly exposing them.

Given this I'd recommend Brooklyn South to hardcore fans of the crime genre, because even after aging it's still entertaining, and for it's historical importance as one of the first cop shows to focus on realism and morally ambiguous characters. Beyond that it's safe to say that HBO's The Wire is everything Brooklyn South wanted to be, and better done to boot.

Brooklyn South is probably one of the best TV shows ever produced. Unfortunately, the series did not do well enough in the US, and was cancelled after only 1 season. That is a shame, regarding it`s realism, life and death drama and gripping storytelling. Really gives a good insight into the lives of some of "New York`s finest"

I have to disagree with the others who have posted in praise of "Brooklyn South." As a die-hard fan of "Hill Street Blues," I have to say that "Brooklyn South" didn't come close to matching the earlier series in quality and watchability.

Don't get me wrong: I WANTED to like this series very much. It just didn't hold my interest, perhaps because so many of the situations seemed so incredibly far-fetched: One character's shrewish wife - who is even prepared to frame him for a murder - is conveniently killed off in a car accident; the first precinct captain was so cartoonishly clueless as to be laughable; the Terry Doyle character was so annoying I was actually HOPING he'd be killed off.

Actually, for me, the only character I cared about and who really came to life for me was Gary Besaraba's Sgt. Santoro. His scene in one of the early episodes with his son's grade-school teacher - who is copping a superior attitude to the sarge and his wife - was great. I also had a sneaking respect for Jim Sikking's character, a career Internal Affairs investigator with ice-water in his veins.

A good try, but no cigar.