Against the Wall

I downloaded this mainly to see how homegrown gal Rachel Carpani is faring in the US - she does her best with the lousy scripts and their eye-rolling predictability, but has not so far shone. A shame, as she's a pretty good actress when given decent material. Sadly if this show is going to be her leg up into the US TV scene it won't lift her far. I haven't been surprised or even entertained to any great degree by an episode yet, but as I firmly believe 95% of TV series suffer first season growing and adjusting pains for both the actors and the script writers, I am prepared to give Season 2 a try. (A classic example of growing pains is The Shield - the first season reeked, but it ended up being one of the most excellent police dramas ever.)

Also, this show smacks of being an attempt at a female-oriented version of Blue Bloods, which is an infinitely better show. The premise of one member of a family of cops going into IA is full of potential, but regrettably, so far, Against the Wall fails to deliver, for me.

Abby Kowalski (Rachael Carpani) comes from a long line of policemen. Her father (Treat Williams) and three brothers are all cops. She is frustrated with the lack of opportunities and takes a job in Internal Affairs which causes a rift in the family. She investigates police misconduct with partner Lina Flores (Marisa Ramirez).

Lifetime attempts do something here. Maybe the problem is that they didn't take on more risk. Or else they could have more than 13 episodes. The acting is good. There is some good family drama along with the standard police procedural. The two female police partners may be the pitch for Lifetime. This is a good show but I don't know how committed is the network. It just doesn't feel like a Lifetime show.

The only reason I decided to check out this program was because I saw the promos showing Chicago.

If you are from Chicago, you can clearly see this show is not filmed in Chicago. The only shots from Chicago are the transition scenes.

The actual scenes in the program don't even remotely resemble the Chicago area. Where's the green street lights, there are no wooden picnic benches in Chicago parks, they are not "Divisions" they are called districts.

If you are going to make a show based in Chicago, put some effort into making it look and feel real.

Showing the skyline, an 'L' train, the River, the Lake, etc. doesn't make it Chicago.

Show FAILS!

I have been watching this since the beginning, coming from Australia I have to download this show and I look forward to it each week.

I have been a big fan of Treat Williams since he starred in DB Cooper many years ago, so seeing a show with him in is a bonus for me even if he is just a bit part.

The show revolves around a family of cops, similar to Blue Bloods, but only in that regard. Abby is the only daughter of the family and she joins Internal Affairs because that is the only detective posting available. This is much to the disgust of her brothers and father, but they get over it as they love their sibling more than they hate IA.

While some of the scraps she and her partner, a pregnant Lina get into are a bit over the top, it is still mostly believable and very entertaining. The show is a police show that adds a lot of family drama and I enjoy watching it very much and recommend it. I look forward to this being on air for a long time to come.

8 out of 10 for me.

Another reviewer has panned this show purely because the backgrounds aren't Chicago. Whilst any person proud of their city may be remotely offended...it isn't a valid reason to pan the show. Also the premise of a heavily pregnant woman on the streets wielding her weapon is probably a little hard to believe...at the same time it was probably done as an experiment to do something different and create interest.

The pilot was a bit rocky and occasionally so was the scripting here and there. But that is usually true for the first seasons of most shows and the characters and acting really stands out in this show. Racheal Carpani does really well to charm the viewers and as a young almost newcomer she holds the show together really well with the help of a very charming and talented ensemble cast. The choice of Kathy Baker and Treat Williams for her parents was a good one to back the show up so to speak with some star value....but I agree with other reviewers that Papadol could be either strengthened or lost completely.

So far I am entirely charmed and think this show is certainly worth seeing how season 2 fairs. It is a step apart from the regular action packed hard-ass cop dramas which is why it has a freshness to it. Racheal Carpani is absolutely one to watch which being a fan of hers from McLeod's Daughters is the only reason I set out to watch this show in the first place.