This was hardly a high concept cop show. In a nutshell, it's a knockoff of "Miami Vice" set in Palm Beach, only with less substance and credibility. Two young, glamorous cops investigate and solve murders committed by snooty Palm Beach socialites, and do so without messing up their hairstyles or expensive wardrobes. The portrayal of the wealthy suspects was never believable. Most of the women wore form-fitting spandex, packed obvious silicone implants, and look like hookers masquerading as royalty. To put it mildly, it's hardly typical of Palm Beach society women. Most of the men were stereotypical greedy, perverted sleaze-balls, like pimps who won the lottery. Indeed, the film seems to say that all rich people are scum and it's fun to watch their downfall. Many of the clues seem to fall into the cops' laps, making it hard not to solve the murders. A number of the cases are obviously based on real life.
In spite of these many and obvious shortcomings, it's a fun show. I watched it faithfully for a few years. Much of the credit goes to Rob Estes and Mitzi Kapture. As detectives Christopher Lorenzo and Rita Lance, they give a genuinely convincing portrayal of dedicated detectives and supportive partners. They truly seem to want justice and be the best of friends. And there are other compensations--the background music is chilling and the location work is well-done. Unfortunately, the producers had to ruin it by having them become lovers. After they left the show, it just wasn't very interesting. New characters were introduced, and the show sank to the level of "Ken and Barbie play cops." Still, the series ground on for four more years, which says much about the quality of the USA Network's programming.
Would I watch it again? Absolutely! To those interested, I say get the first four seasons and enjoy. You won't believe a minute of it, but you'll have a good time anyway.
