washedone

I've read several (not all) of Michael Connelly's novels with Renee Ballard. While they always felt a little bit distracted compared with the Bosch & Lincoln Lawyer novels, they were still engaging, at times compelling. Since the Bosch: Legacy show ended, I couldn't wait to see this new show. Detective Renee Ballard in the novels is a solid and interesting character as well as a good detective. Unfortunately, this new series falls well short. Some potentially good moments are overwhelmed by alternatively stiff and cliched dialogue. Maggie Q carries her role well, but the investigation steps, the behavior of supporting characters, numerous stereotypes and under-developed backstory on Ballard's character make the show feel haphazard and unfinished. That said, it does get better as the season progresses. The few scenes including Harry Bosch (Titus Welliver) are easily the best - Maggie Q and he have solid chemistry - but they are too few and far between to raise Season 1 of Ballard above a mediocre novel adaptation.

This show is definitely worth watching. It has a texture and feel to it that succeeds in mixing gritty police drama with the balance of a more realistic portrayal of the many compassionate police officers who are out there in real life but not often shown as such in film or TV. Seyfried plays a compassionate, smothering, damaged, adoring but fearful mom very well. The emotional center of the story, the relationship between Seyfried's Officer Kirkpatrick and her younger troubled sister, works well most of the time, but her character is also where the some of writing weakens. Her acting is solid and quite nuanced, but it's the police officer side that lacks. There are just too many unrealistic actions by her character to believe she is a patrol cop in Philly. In truth, if she was as naive and untrained as her character is written, she would be wounded or dead in short order. If she ignored protocol as often, she would be fired. She involves civilians in investigations (although she is a patrol cop), stakeouts, and pursuits. She never calls her situations in, never calls in backup for a dangerous interaction, and is never reprimanded for either. Her sergeant is essentially a placard, pure idiotic, obtuse caricature.

The writers excel with the relational dialogue and scenes, but the authenticity of their representation of the police department, procedures and the corresponding conduct of officers feels like it came from... watching TV cop shows instead of research, and it distracts from the impact of the story. Unfortunately, the ending is obviously supposed to feel satisfying but the payoff gets lost in too many misdirections and false antagonists. It is this and the caricatures that keep the story in the "better than average" zone instead of realizing it's full engaging potential. All that said, this is worth watching for Seyfried's complex portrayal alone.

Josh Holloway is solid as the lead. That's pretty much the end of the positive. Not sure why this show exists. There isn't much of a story, the writing is choppy, cliched plot, and the lead female actor is wooden at best, annoying at worst. Supporting cast is quirky but in a predictable, worn way. It's unfortunate because I've been hoping for Holloway to get a show that matches his ability, but this is just his Lost character redux surrounded by actors filling mostly meaningless roles. Holloway has excellent depth, and it shows again here occasionally, but the writing doesn't really allow him to stretch.