Prime Suspect

First off, the casting in Prime Suspect is excellent. Maria Bello is outstanding as the lead character, showing all the grit necessary to pull off the role with class and realism. What's truly outstanding is how Bello borrows nothing from Mirren's British adaptation, instead relying on her own interpretation of the flawed - yet gifted investigator Jane Timoney entirely. In short, this woman has some serious acting chops.

Her supporting actors are also brilliantly cast. Kirk Acevedo, a favorite of mine since OZ, gave weight to my initial interest in the show, and I'm glad he did. Should also add that the camaraderie between Acevedo and Tim Griffin is refreshing and portrayed very naturally, not at all contrived like so many other 'buddy' teams on NBC and other networks. (See the Hawaii 5-0 buddy team for a great example of contrived, forced, and utterly horrid 'buddy' performances) All in all I really can't say enough about the casting director. Obviously he/she is at the top of his/her game and we're all the better for having a proper ensemble to unveil some pretty compelling storytelling.

Speaking of the storytelling, every episode (I'm up to the latest - 6) are all based firmly in reality, the procedural aspects are depicted spot on and quite in line with how an investigation is actually run by most big city police departments. In fact the realism is most of why this show is so refreshing, as it seems to purposefully avoid the typical clichés present in other police drama/procedural (see: CSI) But alas, since this show was cursed enough to be picked up by NBC, I fully expect the corporate 'Talent Assassins' will be released from their dungeons soon enough to summarily kill this fine show from their line up of otherwise useless crud, thereby making room for some unoriginal trash. Perhaps we're finally in for the premiere of 'Real Housewives of Afghanistan' as it's replacement.

Yes, unfortunately I fully expect Prime Suspect to go the way of Trauma, Detroit 187, The Chicago Code, The Unusuals, and of course, Dinosaurs. So bloody unfortunate for the networks to continually tease audiences with quality and talent, only to have it fall away before having been given a proper chance, consistently replaced by retarded nonsense. Even more unfortunate that Prime Suspect is on NBC, as they seem to have the worst record out of all the networks for leveling the death blow ax to truly quality TV.

I was skeptical about yet another cop show, but I decided to give the pilot a try. The cast looked interesting, at the very least. It wasn't an easy decision since it's been a busy season for new shows and there is a lot of competition for my DVR's time. I watched the pilot and knew that this was not only on my list for the season, but was possibly going on my favorites list. I really don't want to see it canceled.

Even though the episodes deal with serious issues, there's this great, twisted sense of humor and camaraderie between the detectives that makes this fun to watch. And right from the beginning I couldn't help but root for Maria Bello's Jane Timoney. I want her to succeed because she's tough, passionate about her job and not afraid of getting dirty. I enjoy the other characters, too, which may be as much about the quality of the actors as the writing. They are a good fit.

It's certainly worth checking out.

Maria Bello can do no wrong in my eyes. This is an Uber American take on the Mirren classic that misses the mark a bit in early episodes but comes into its own around epi five. With a stellar cast, energetic rocker soundtrack and great city energy, I think it's a solid show. The tension of being a fast talking badass female in a male dominant mysogynistic station tracks well to those of us who live through it every day. She's gorgeous, smart, unapologetically assertive and sets the world on fire with a single blond hair flip behind her shoulder. I love this show and I'll always support anything Bello does.

I think the new Prime Suspect is watchable and has some believable aspects. Maria Bello is very good in the role -- except for the hat. (I hate the hat. Way too trendy and cliché.) But comparing this series or disliking it because it wasn't like the Helen Mirren gem does a bit of disservice to the new show and to Maria Bello. Let the new one develop it's own way. As police dramas go this one is not bad.. . I've watched many detective & police dramas: Brit, Canadian, American. Outside of Homicide: Life on the Street (and I won't even mention "The Wire") very few American police dramas have any credibility other than just pure entertainment and distraction or just for looking at pretty people with guns. I've seen four episodes of Prime Suspect so far and though I think Jane's detective counterparts are a bit over the top sexist wise since it is 2011 and I think more respect is given to women these days, that's an area that needs to be developed better. It makes the male cops look really stupid. And homicide cops are anything but. There must be more subtle ways of demonstrating sexism. Use irony instead of sarcasm & meatball comments.

I rarely review TV series as they are so changeable from one episode to the next. However, sometimes I can see some promise that bears mentioning. This series is derived from a successful series in the UK of the same name, starring no less than Helen Mirren. This US version is set within the NYPD and stars Maria Bello as tough-as-nails NYPD homicide Detective Jane Timoney, an outsider who has just transferred into a new squad where her prospective colleagues have prejudged her and decided to not like her before even meeting her.

Now, unlike some, I have spent a bit of time wearing a badge on the streets so I know what it's like, to be one and to convince others that you belong wearing a badge. To me, women playing cops, regardless of whether it's in the movies or on television, begin with a serious handicap. That handicap is that most of them are never convincing as cops. Almost every actress I've seen try on such a role fails because she doesn't have the necessary "edge" to her mannerisms or manner of speaking to make them convincing in the role.

The speech aspect isn't about getting the jargon right either, although that helps, it's literally about the manner of speech they learn to adopt. Women in our society have a characteristic way of speaking. Female cops, real female cops, no longer speak that way and that is the part almost no actresses get. That convincing part is the depth of self-assurance and self-confidence that it takes for a woman to succeed in such a man's world and also survive. A female LEO learns to have that fairly early in her career. The result is that they are cops to the bone and it shows in how they handle themselves and how they talk. Any cop, even a girl, has to convince people that they own the piece of ground they are standing on or they will fail. If they can't do that well you may as well put them in a cape and high heels because that won't sell either.

Now, the people making this series have actually tried to get together a group of actors that can come across with a degree of accuracy. They aren't perfect, but they're working on it. The star, Ms. Bello, has done some great work in motion pictures. She appears to have been trying to get into this role as she doesn't come across as a lame actress trying to do it. She has been believable to a degree that almost no women ever have. We'll see how it goes, but I think her efforts can be torpedoed by the people making the show, writers, directors, etc.

I also like the choices for the other actors; Bello's boss is played by Aidan Quinn as Lt. Kevin Sweeney (find a way to use him more); Kirk Acevedo plays Det. Luisito Calderon; Brian O'Byrne as Det. Reg Duffy (he's been especially great thus far) and Peter Gerety as Desmond Timoney, Jane's father.

So, the bones of a great beast are there. I'll have to watch longer to see if the makers can truly breathe some life into the creature so that it can reach it's full potential. So-far, so-good. The most immediate disappointment is that it's airing on network TV, which is all but dead creatively in the US now. I hardly know anyone who watches much network TV any more. The cable shows have such greater chance at approaching realism now days that it's a shame the makers of this show will be denied a great many of the newer tools; especially for this kind of show. Good luck. Sincerely.