Boomtown

Every once in a while a series comes along which is unique, interesting and even borders on being a work of art. Such is the case with "BOOM TOWN". It was captivating and lively. It took the cops and robbers genre and brought it up a notch or two by using the dramatic device of showing the same occurrences from 5 or 6 different points of view.

In its short run on NBC's Sunday evening line up, it walked a thin line. It built up a very sizable following of loyal fans. These were the kind of viewers who were highly loyal, almost fanatical. Unfortunately, the audience was not large enough or didn't hit the desired demographics. The series wound up on the scrap heap. The fate of "BOOM TOWN",as with all other network series, relied on that dreadful term, THE BOTTOM LINE. Its cancellation was determined by numbers alone, and all determined on the short term.

Looking back in the past, we had different series,now remembered as TV all time classics, that nearly bit the dust in premature cancellations. We don't have to look back too far to recall the uneasy existence that "HOMICIDE: LIFE ON THE STREET" had. (some have made comparisons of the two series) "HILL STREET BLUES" took a while to catch on and required some negotiating from then Mary Tyler Moore Productions Execs to the network to be given another chance.Years earlier, Producer Sheldon Leonard had related in an interview how he had pleaded the case for "I SPY" to be spared.

We all know that Television is a business, and that there may be none more competitive. Let's just see a little more common sense and patience. Who knows, perhaps "BOOMTOWN" was close to being just around the corner from a big numbers following.

This is the best crime drama on television and the best in recent memory. The changing perspectives are not what sets the show apart. In fact, this aspect is hit and miss. One week it might add something, the next week the story could be told in sequence with equal force. What sets this show apart is the performances of the cast. Neal McDonough is awe inspiring as talented but tragically flawed Deputy DA David McNorris. His performance is more intelligent and nuanced than anything else on network television. It is an incredible combination of a man with positive attributes who is constantly on the edge of self destruction. Donnie Wahlberg and Mykelti Williams also play roles of a lifetime. This is an addictive show that is a must see on Sunday nights.

In Los Angeles stories happen all the time. Every person involved will see it from a different angle – have different information and differing perspectives in each case. Boomtown takes a different crime each week and follows the investigation as it involves detectives Joel and Fearless, street cops Ray and Tom, the DA David McNorris, medic Theresa, journalist Andrea, the victims and the perps.

This came to the UK on channel 5 in a wave of generally strong US exports. 5 grouped it with the new CSI on a Tuesday night – this followed the first series of The Shield and the opening of CSI: Miami. I watched it as it looked like an enjoyable cop series. I'm nearly at the end of series 1 of Boomtown and have enjoyed it although it hasn't gripped me in the way that other cop shows such as Homicide :LOTS, NYPD Blue (the Caruso years) and even The Shield have. I think the reason for this is that, although each episode is good, it tends to focus on that 45 minutes rather than a longer series view. There has been some character development but not to the extent that I feel like I know the characters in the way I did with Homicide. Instead it is more nuggets of information that are given out occasionally rather than characters.

However each episode works well – most are interesting, tense or exciting. The only downside is that it has to fit into this multi-perspective mould every week and sometimes the stories are forced into this form. Mostly the stories fit nicely into the structure and are complimented by it – but the odd episode just felt that it could have worked better with a linear line without all the cutting around. This is the main reason that I have come back to it after a few weeks where Sopranos clashed with it in the schedules (and you KNOW who wins that fight!), because I know that each episode will work well by it self – but I need more to make me really stick with it as a series and not just dip in and out.

The actors are good – although some have meatier characters than others. Wahlberg has easily the best character as he is the one who has had the most development and subplots that run through episodes. Williamson is surprisingly good despite a quite superficial character – but his Rambo antics in one episode were a bit too much. McDonough as McNorris is good and balances the requirements of the law and the cops well. Garbiras plays his one-time mistress but her character has now become defunct – floating round the edge of the show with the plot really obviously looking for ways to crowbar her in. Basarba and Gedrick are good but neither have really come on as characters – with us learning that Ray may be a dirty cop, but not much more than that.

Overall this is not a classic cop show. It has a good gimmick that it uses quite well most of the time and also manages to avoid feeling gimmicky. If you're looking for a series that you can get into the characters then this is not for you – The Shield did it quite well recently. But as a series that can be easily dipped into for one-off enjoyable episodes then this works pretty well.

It's the hard world of L.A. crime. David McNorris (Neal McDonough) is a righteous A.D.A. married to Marian (Kelly Rowan) but cheating with reporter Andrea Little (Nina Garbiras). Detective Joel Stevens (Donnie Wahlberg) is married to suicidal Kelly (Megan Ward) and is partnered with Bobby Smith (Mykelti Williamson). Officers Ray Hechler (Gary Basaraba) and Tom Turcotte (Jason Gedrick) are beat cops. Teresa Ortiz (Lana Parrilla) is a paramedic who later joins the police.

The first season is an ambitious police procedural that depends on impressive writing from show creator Graham Yost. It shows the same crime from different POVs. It may have been too ambitious for network TV. It never received great ratings despite some critical praises. The later changes never really click and it's canceled after 2 seasons.

Network: NBC; Genre: Drama; Content Rating: TV-14; Available: on DVD; Classification: Modern Classic (Star range: 1 - 5);

Season Reviewed: Complete Series (2 seasons)

Creator Graham Yost ('Band of Brothers') probably should have taken his 'Boomtown' to HBO, where it's edgier whims would have been more at home, instead of NBC – a network with such a long history of recklessly mismanaging shows the ultimate demise the series took at the network's hands is almost a forgone conclusion. 'Boomtown' was surely the best new show of the 2002 TV season.

'Boomtown' tells the story of one crime from multiple perspectives, employing what movie purists refer to as The 'Rashomon' style. I will go out on a limb and boldly say that in the future this show might be the reference point when referring to this style on TV. The ensemble is tightly wound. We follow two detectives: Joel (Donnie Wahlberg) struggling with the death of his child and suicidal wife, and 'Fearless' (the massively underrated Mykelti Williamson) a Gulf War veteran whose friend took a bullet for him. Around them are two cops (Gary Basaraba, and Jason Gedrick), a paramedic (Lana Parilla), a defense attorney (Neal McDonough in a star-making, breakout performance), the criminals themselves and a journalist (Nina Garbiras). Boasting flawed heroes, 'Boomtown' has a richly layered tapestry of characters that the show loves to dig down and explore.

Walburg and Williamson are terrific leads and in Walburg's case, surprisingly so. But it's McDonough who is given the wild card role as the ultimate shifty DA, David McNorris. Yost knows exactly where to have him pop up in the story and is constantly yanking us around regarding where his loyalties lie. McDonough is a blast to watch, wonderfully chewing up every second of screen time with this galvanizing performance. The fact that this guy got Emmy snubbed is all the proof you need as to how out of touch and on auto-pilot the Academy is.

This is an engrossing series that transcends the limits of the usual cop drama. Watching Yost and his ensemble of writers cleverly pulling all the strands of the episodes together in the final minutes is satisfying in a way that evokes the kind of hair-raising, invigorating feeling you only get from great storytelling. A work from creators that obviously love what they are doing and strive in the smallest details to make something we can be proud of.

'Boomtown' looks as good, if not better, than most premium cable series and, what the hell, most movies too. The theatrical cinematography, the vibrant color palette and the subtle, not overdone, use of little tricks like sped up and reversed time are woven into the show beautifully. The action scenes are also extraordinarily well staged with Bennett Salvay's terrific music thumping them along. 'Boomtown' is just as exciting a visceral experience as it is an intriguing character drama and time shifting puzzle. I can't remember the last time a TV show's opening title sequence took my breath away.

The show took a lot of risks and there is a lot of variety amongst the episodes. 'Boomtown' is a standout from every other cop show on TV today with it's unmistakable fluid style. I admire the show's willingness to take chances and am unspeakably grateful for the way it rejects both the 'ripped from the headlines' stories focusing more on evidence and the 'gritty cop drama' mold. But sometimes the lighter tone feels off. For example, 'Insured by Smith & Wesson' (Ray meets his TV idol during a hostage standoff in sporting goods store) or 'Coyote' (a homeless man thinks he is a dog) might seem just silly to the average cop show viewer. But then there are episodes like 'All Hallow's Eve', 'Storm Watch' and 'Home Invasion' that are near masterpieces of acting, writing and directing. Often times the show succeeds in pulling out the rug and leaving us on a shocking, even nasty, final-second twist.

The show's second season "re-tooling" stands as one of the most unbelievable, egregious and disgusting cases of network interference in recent memory. NBC programming president Jeff Zucker and his band of merry men apparently decided that if this show was going to make it they needed to personally reach under the hood and rip out everything that made it so unique and so entertaining in the first place. That included throwing out the original music, the flawed heroes, the darker story lines, the multi-episode story arcs and, of course, the multiple perspective story-telling style in a transparent effort make the show as much like 'Law & Order' as possible. The show predictably nose-dived in the ratings after their much-hyped, totally un-watchable second season premiere 'For Love of Money' (a shameless network attempt to introduce Vanessa Williams to the cast).

The cast who still gave it 110%, but the characters all felt hollowed out. It's only McDonough who proves to be back in full force in the cold opening of 'Inadmissible'. The crew wrote around the shackles as best they could resulting in some pretty good episodes in the abbreviated second season, but the monkey on their back is just too big. Its became victim of a network that whines constantly about how they want something edgy and then stomp it out like a flaming bag when they get it. Do networks honestly look at viewership flight away from them and toward cable and deduce that they need less cable-like shows and more reality shows?

No matter. This was a brilliantly crafted show that deserved a long life. It was pure unadulterated entertainment that bristled with intelligence, excitement and terrific performances. One of the best cop dramas in memory and the genre(and NBC) is worse off without it.

* * * * ½ / 5