Brooklyn Sur

A Steven Boncho production that lasted only one season. Partly because of airing opposite of the target audience's Monday Night Football, partly because of not one of the characters connecting to the little audience this show managed to keep after maybe a handful of episodes. I watched perhaps 4 episodes before I gave up on it during it's network TV run. Later, when it was released on DVD, I decided to give it another chance primarily on the strength of the superb first episode alone. Again I found that as the episodes wore on, my interest began to wane again. This show may be realistic, it may be well acted, but it doesn't have the spark that either "Hill Street Blues", "NYPD Blue", or to a less extant "S.W.A.T" did. The show committed the sin of not having anyone in the cast that stands out and is relatable for me. It just seemed a retread of story lines from other better productions.

My overall grade: C

Complete Series DVD Extras: Commentary by Co-creator David Milch on the Pilot; a 14 minute interview with Steven Boncho; Cast & Crew bios; and a list of police response codes

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.

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.

I took a chance and bought this series on DVD tho I never saw it when it aired in 97'; Wow! was I pleasantly surprised. I was so bummed during the last episode cause I wanted it to keep going for more than just one season. It has the same tone and feel as NYPD Blue but I have to say I liked the cops in this show a whole lot more. The beat cop--"blue collar" feel was just much more interesting to me than the constant "heavy drama" of NYPD which is a fine show. You watch this series and you wonder how with all the schlock on TV it didn't make it. The characters are human, flawed, honorable, and compelling. It's 16 hours of great entertainment and you can pick it up fairly cheap on line.

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.