10-8: Officers on Duty

This is an old-fashioned cop show, like The Rookies or TJ Hooker. As such, it acquits itself nicely, but it's unlikely to attract much attention. In the right timeslot, it might last long enough to smooth out the storytelling and develop the characters, in which case it could build up a loyal audience. Ernie Hudson brings the proper authority to the gruff training cop, and all three rookies are appropriately green. I guess what I'm saying is that if there's not anything else you're hooked on watching, 10-8 makes a good solid backup. But I wouldn't invest too much interest in the show, as it's not a good bet to stand the test of time.

Rico Amonte (Danny Nucci) leaves behind his colorful New York upbringing and tries to turn the page as a rookie beat cop in the Los Angeles Sheriffs Department. He has a bad encounter with Senior Deputy John Henry Barnes (Ernie Hudson). To his shock, Barnes becomes his training officer. Senior Deputy Ryan Layne (Jamie Luner) substitutes Barnes when he has troubles.

Immediately, I'm thinking of The Rookie except I like these characters less. I don't necessarily hate them, but I do have some issues. This is a pro-cop Thin Blue Line kind of a cop show. That's not a problem, but some comments do not age well. This is pre-George Floyd and post-Rodney King. The biggest difference from today is the lack of police body-cams. I want to like Ernie Hudson more, but his character is sometimes wrong. Danny Nucci is fine as the self-confident rookie. I don't like dropping in Jamie Luner. Maybe she was added to increase the sex appeal, but I don't like that for this show. If this show has any strengths, it is being true to the blue. On top of that, I don't like the opening theme song.

I've watched many of the police dramas since I was a child in the 70's and this was a decent show for something current. The acting is good and the premise is promising. But, why does ABC hate this show?

The rookie kid, Amonte, is a good hearted thug from the East. The veteran Sarge is a rough, by the book cop who handles his family the sme way. It is better than that old show, The Rookies, with Ontkean, et al. Hudson adds charm to his character, and Nucci brings in his freshness to the small screen here. I love it. The other guys on the show are fun and great to look at - no doubt in that. This show has it all; political correctness, a diverse cast, current themes, and yet ABC is submerging it into the trash. Disney, of all studios, should be backing this show 110%. I love Disney.

If there is a way to save this show, and you like it, we should try and do something......

This show reminds me of the days when I was a "Rookie" Police Officer for the City of Ventura, California. I could relate totally to the way Deputy Amonte was being treated like "Crap" by the other Officers. You got a sense of how you're not fully accepted into the group until you "Prove Yourself" to the other Officers that you work with. In that sense, the show was very realistic.

It was amazing to me that with all of the chase scenes, shootings, taking of hostages, fist fights, etc; I never once saw ANY of the Deputies show any type of Report Writing.

I realize that this is Hollywood & they try to show all of the exciting action type "stuff" but they need to show some type of realism because, all of the above mentioned situations requires some type of Crime Report, Incident Report, Traffic Report, etc.

Report Writing is the "Backbone" of Police Work, yet the show never even "skims the surface" of this important function.

Further, Deputy Amonte seemed to always get the "Pretty Women" & he was just a "Rookie". I KNOW that this NEVER HAPPENS during the period when you are a "Trainee." Another thing I noticed was the relationship between Deputy Amonte & his "Training Officer" Deputy Barns (Ernie Hudson), was for the most part "too friendly." especially as the series progressed into the later episodes.

When I was a "Trainee," there was NO relationship that even resembled anything like "Friendly," In fact, we HATED our Training Officers!!! When these "dynamics" began to be noticed, I felt it impacted the show in a "negative" way.

I guess that's the difference between playing the part of a Police Officer & actually BEING a Police Officer. I feel that in order for a Police Show to be "credible" it must show ALL aspects of Police Work & not just the "exciting" part of it.

The "ironic" thing about it is the fact that the person who only "plays" the Police Officer role as an actor gets more money than the person who's REALLY out there doing "REAL POLICE WORK"!!!

All of the other aspects of this show were portrayed pretty good for the most part.

I like what a previous poster said about this show feeling like it was from the 1970's, along the lines of cop dramas from that era. I couldn't agree more. I thought pretty much the same way myself, and saw a little "Hill Street Blues" tossed in as well.

Perfect ensemble show. Ernie Hudson is a great actor, and I found myself liking the rest of the cast, as well.

Give it a look. Congratulations ABC TV, "10-8" and "LA Dragnet" have got me watching your network, again.

2005 update.

So, ABC cancels it.