Brooklyn South

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.

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.

"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 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.

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!