Brooklyn Sur

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.

The fact that this series ran only one season is a travesty. It's true it was competing with football etc...however, Steven Boccho and David Milch actually focused on the street officer in uniform. A tremendous cast of Gary Basaraba who made the show go..but outstanding performances by actors like James Sitking ( Hill Street Blues, Dylan Walsh, Michael Deluise (from NYPD Blue )Titus Welliver,Jon Tenny and Richard Jones. Klea Scott and Yancy Butler portrayed women police officers who interacted very well with their counterparts week after week and did their jobs very well. The series targeted the very essence of police work and that is, working the streets. It focused on the officer's duty,their personal lives, traumas and stress as they put their lives on the line every time they walked out the door of the 74th precinct. It is true there has been police series on TV, dating back to Dragnet (featuring detectives) Adam 12 ( almost robotic in nature ), William Shatner as TJ Hooker in 1982. Even Hill Street Blues featured the street officer in uniform, but was almost comedic when you consider the reflection of this mythical police department, where the officers didn't conform to the departmental regulation of the uniform..officers were allowed to wear corporate baseball caps, cowboy boots etc..with no fear of reprisal. James Sitking played a mercenary predator who was the commander of the SWAT team who wanted to utilize his latest weapons no matter what circumstances demanded. This is not to mention Renko (a loose cannon ) who in most departments would have been sent to see the department psycologist. But, none the less, it was a great show which lasted for years. The weekly scripts were outstanding addressing the controversial issues of the day while still reflecting the professionalism of the Police Officer in a positive way. This series may be history now, but it is available on DVD. I highly recommend it. Given what the choices are today, 10 years later..it should be welcomed back..regardless of critic opinion and "ratings". We lost a good series here.

"Brooklyn South", from the minds who brought us "NYPD Blue", is a one-season-wonder TV drama series about the street cops at the 74th precinct in Brooklyn, NY. Where sibling series "NYPD Blue" focused on the detectives, "Brooklyn South" takes us into the lives of uniformed patrol cops spreading its complex, fast moving stories over about ten no nonsense characters weaving its plot lines into short, mid, and long term story threads while spending most of the 45 minute episode time on cops and cop issues with action, "perps", and other characters used only as necessary. Series' stories are a pleasing mix of humor and drama, pathos and poignancy, gritty reality and entertaining contrivances which show the Brooklyn cops to be as vulnerable and human as they are tough and determined. Worth a look by cop show junkies or anyone who enjoyed "NYPD Blue", this entertaining DVD watch will take a little time to "get into" because of the number of characters and the intricacies of the stories. (B+)

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.

If you haven't seen Brooklyn South, get the DVD boxed set. I thought this was an enormously entertaining series and I was very sad when it wasn't renewed. I agree with another poster who complained about some of the characters, but has there ever been a show that had all perfect characters? Brooklyn South had some bad characters, some bad actors, and some bad episodes - I say "some". But not all. I would even say very few overall. This series had some poor characters portrayed by good actors, some good characters portrayed by poor actors, and some good characters played by good actors. I submit that one sure sign of a good actor is if he or she manages to get their audience to dislike their character. Not dislike the actor, but dislike the character that they portray - especially if you like the actor. Tim Roth in the movie "Rob Roy" would be an example: I think he is a fine actor and I like him very much, but I absolutely DETESTED him (as his character) in Rob Roy. Gary Basaraba was tremendous in his role as Sgt. Santoro. It was a good character portrayed by a great actor. The on screen relationship between Clemmy and Jack was an edge-of-your-seat cliffhanger from week to week. You got the sense that under all the conflict they really liked and respected each other as people. It's just too bad that this series was not renewed after the first (and only) season. There was a lot of unrealized potential left on the table in Brooklyn South, and it was one of the few - very few - programs that I faithfully tuned into week to week. You were great while you lasted, Brooklyn South. I miss you!