dorp-2

I loved Police Story when it aired and it sickens me that it is no longer in general circulation due to legal issues. It had great acting, rich, believable stories and showed the good and sometimes bad of police life in LA where I lived and worked for 30 years. Little Boy Lost was a powerful episode that has stayed with me since it aired due to its tragic story line and a powerful performance by the late Robert Forster, a gifted character actor. Everyone should watch this episode to understand the level of effort and heartbreak police officers often experience.

This 8 part series started out as a promising thriller, but dragged on into a hard to believe family oriented mystery with Patty Hearst/SLA overtones. The acting and casting were fine, but there were many holes in the plot and many unanswered questions about events that occurred over time. My wife and I were constantly screaming at either Toni Collette's character's actions or those of her 30 year old immature daughter. LOL. We wish it had been a more believable script with more empathetic characters.

My wife and I watched all 4 seasons (48 episodes) and we both thoroughly enjoyed the series which is usual as we often don't like the same shows. It had interesting murder plots in most all episodes mixed with an ongoing family related mystery theme that weaved through all four seasons. The cast and acting was decent and the Turin area scenery was scenic and interesting. While there was a lot of in-office romantic nonsense among the key players, as well as questionable procedural practices at times, the cast and plots kept things moving for us both. My wife liked the romantic stuff more than me and I enjoyed the many attractive Italian women who appeared throughout. The final episode was a bit of a disappointment to us both and we wondered what the writers and producers were thinking with a series wrap like that. Two thumbs up anyway.