Boomtown

The last time DreamWorks and NBC got together for a series imported by Channel 5 (pre-Five), the result was "The Others," which was appropriately enough co-produced by Delusional Films. Appropriately, that is, because delusional is precisely what the makers were if they thought that sub-"Poltergeist: The Legacy" sleep-inducer had what it took to become a hit. (It was cancelled after about 13 episodes by NBC and swiftly demoted to a late-night slot in the UK.)

"Boomtown," though not the most blistering series to arrive in years, is much, much better. The hook is that each episode follows one story through seven participants; an assistant DA (Neal McDonough), a reporter (the gorgeous Nina Garbiras), two uniformed cops (Gary Basaraba and Jason Gedrick), two plainclothes cops (top-billed Donnie Wahlberg and Mykelti Williamson) and a paramedic (Lana Parilla) - these last few are what seem to have led some to compare it unfavourably to "Third Watch," and this show does have some flaws; the stories of each episode would in fact be a lot shorter if they didn't keep repeating scenes in order to have them from another point of view.

But when the show does work, it's enormously effective; and so far, it hits more often than it misses, with each of the core having more than one strong moment; the continuing plot about Wahlberg's severely depressed wife is especially noteworthy, and the acting and scripting are strong enough to make it worth the time. "Boomtown" may not be as effective as Graham Yost's earlier "Speed," but he also scripted "Broken Arrow" and co-wrote "Mission To Mars." This is far better than either.

I doubt this'll last long, but I'll enjoy it while I can.

This show is fantastic, but not suited for anyone wanting to veg. Told from the different points of views of the various characters, the writers seamlessly weave the stories lines together to complete the picture. The endings are often unexpected. "The Pilot" was heartbreaking. "Insured by Smith & Wesson" merged an old Joe Penny show (Riptide) into the mix and makes you become emotionally involved in the faded actor he portrayed. The most shocking ending was in the "Reelin' in the Years" episode with Patricia Wettig - I gasped in shock. You come to see that nothing is as expected in a very refreshing way.

Every once in a while a series comes along which is unique, interesting and even borders on being a work of art. Such is the case with "BOOM TOWN". It was captivating and lively. It took the cops and robbers genre and brought it up a notch or two by using the dramatic device of showing the same occurrences from 5 or 6 different points of view.

In its short run on NBC's Sunday evening line up, it walked a thin line. It built up a very sizable following of loyal fans. These were the kind of viewers who were highly loyal, almost fanatical. Unfortunately, the audience was not large enough or didn't hit the desired demographics. The series wound up on the scrap heap. The fate of "BOOM TOWN",as with all other network series, relied on that dreadful term, THE BOTTOM LINE. Its cancellation was determined by numbers alone, and all determined on the short term.

Looking back in the past, we had different series,now remembered as TV all time classics, that nearly bit the dust in premature cancellations. We don't have to look back too far to recall the uneasy existence that "HOMICIDE: LIFE ON THE STREET" had. (some have made comparisons of the two series) "HILL STREET BLUES" took a while to catch on and required some negotiating from then Mary Tyler Moore Productions Execs to the network to be given another chance.Years earlier, Producer Sheldon Leonard had related in an interview how he had pleaded the case for "I SPY" to be spared.

We all know that Television is a business, and that there may be none more competitive. Let's just see a little more common sense and patience. Who knows, perhaps "BOOMTOWN" was close to being just around the corner from a big numbers following.

It's the hard world of L.A. crime. David McNorris (Neal McDonough) is a righteous A.D.A. married to Marian (Kelly Rowan) but cheating with reporter Andrea Little (Nina Garbiras). Detective Joel Stevens (Donnie Wahlberg) is married to suicidal Kelly (Megan Ward) and is partnered with Bobby Smith (Mykelti Williamson). Officers Ray Hechler (Gary Basaraba) and Tom Turcotte (Jason Gedrick) are beat cops. Teresa Ortiz (Lana Parrilla) is a paramedic who later joins the police.

The first season is an ambitious police procedural that depends on impressive writing from show creator Graham Yost. It shows the same crime from different POVs. It may have been too ambitious for network TV. It never received great ratings despite some critical praises. The later changes never really click and it's canceled after 2 seasons.

In Los Angeles stories happen all the time. Every person involved will see it from a different angle – have different information and differing perspectives in each case. Boomtown takes a different crime each week and follows the investigation as it involves detectives Joel and Fearless, street cops Ray and Tom, the DA David McNorris, medic Theresa, journalist Andrea, the victims and the perps.

This came to the UK on channel 5 in a wave of generally strong US exports. 5 grouped it with the new CSI on a Tuesday night – this followed the first series of The Shield and the opening of CSI: Miami. I watched it as it looked like an enjoyable cop series. I'm nearly at the end of series 1 of Boomtown and have enjoyed it although it hasn't gripped me in the way that other cop shows such as Homicide :LOTS, NYPD Blue (the Caruso years) and even The Shield have. I think the reason for this is that, although each episode is good, it tends to focus on that 45 minutes rather than a longer series view. There has been some character development but not to the extent that I feel like I know the characters in the way I did with Homicide. Instead it is more nuggets of information that are given out occasionally rather than characters.

However each episode works well – most are interesting, tense or exciting. The only downside is that it has to fit into this multi-perspective mould every week and sometimes the stories are forced into this form. Mostly the stories fit nicely into the structure and are complimented by it – but the odd episode just felt that it could have worked better with a linear line without all the cutting around. This is the main reason that I have come back to it after a few weeks where Sopranos clashed with it in the schedules (and you KNOW who wins that fight!), because I know that each episode will work well by it self – but I need more to make me really stick with it as a series and not just dip in and out.

The actors are good – although some have meatier characters than others. Wahlberg has easily the best character as he is the one who has had the most development and subplots that run through episodes. Williamson is surprisingly good despite a quite superficial character – but his Rambo antics in one episode were a bit too much. McDonough as McNorris is good and balances the requirements of the law and the cops well. Garbiras plays his one-time mistress but her character has now become defunct – floating round the edge of the show with the plot really obviously looking for ways to crowbar her in. Basarba and Gedrick are good but neither have really come on as characters – with us learning that Ray may be a dirty cop, but not much more than that.

Overall this is not a classic cop show. It has a good gimmick that it uses quite well most of the time and also manages to avoid feeling gimmicky. If you're looking for a series that you can get into the characters then this is not for you – The Shield did it quite well recently. But as a series that can be easily dipped into for one-off enjoyable episodes then this works pretty well.