Rookie Blue

I want to take a moment to defend this show, and I will defend it mightily. Yes, there are some unresolved issues that the creators would benefit from paying some attention to. Yes, the show can be much better than it is. Yet, that in itself is kind of inspiring, and certainly enough to keep this show around for more than one season. I would be willing to see a LOT more of it, in fact. It has so much opportunity to address so many issues with its fantastic premise. If it bobbles every once in a while like with the third, so what? It's only four episodes in. Every show's team makes mistakes sometimes. The point is whether or not they learn from their mistakes. The episode that came on after the third was infinitely better than the previous one. The lead characters seem to be having a BALL, always an important aspect of what makes a show watchable. There are a myriad of possibilities left to explore. The lead actors and actresses are excellent and perfectly cast, Mr. Sam whatchamacallit is an excellent handsome lead I promised myself I would not fawn, and Andie is a very compelling character in herself. I would prefer a voice over from her so that her behavior made more sense why be so mean to Sam because of rules that are not under his control? Why can't she just TALK to him about it? Is she actually not interested?. I would also prefer that she be a bit more approachable, and please God, better at her job. Right now she SEEMS every bit the bumbling intern, and is clearly not doing as well as everyone else. Yet that gives her the opportunity to redeem herself. Many shows begin with a much less interesting premise and get less interesting as they go along. This show is better than at least half the shows on television, including those that have somehow like a certain criminal investigation show, anyone? persisted for a good three years longer than they should have with critics' inexplicable approval. This show is fun, it is real, it is a look at a world we have only seen from the rosy point of view of the very best. We have never seen the criminal justice system deeply challenged from the inside, which Andie seems poised to do. We have never seen the rules of engagement actively challenged, which Sam seems poised to do. We have never had any writers tackle the very real problem of special treatment in selecting new candidates for the force and offering promotions. We have never seen people of different races work together and address misunderstandings, like Andie's best friend and her paramour. This is very good television, AND it is very female-friendly television. Men, shut up. This show is not for you. This time, it is not ABOUT you!

This was a little gem I found in the beginning of summer. Despite being aired on Showcase, Global and ABC, I didn't really hear too much about this show until the first season was done. With the series being filmed and set in Toronto, I was surprised it took me so long to watch it. This show might be old news to a lot of people but personally, I only know a handful of people who have seen this. So let me give a brief synopsis before getting into the review.

On the surface, Rookie Blue looks nothing more than a typical police drama with hardly any big name actors (No offence to Missy Peregrym and Gregory Smith) but it is so much more than that. Perhaps it holds a special place in my heart because of its Toronto and Canadian connections. The best way to describe this show is Grey's Anatomy with cops instead of surgeons. Replace the interns with rookies and Seattle Grace with 15 Division and you got yourself, Rookie Blue. The story is focused on 5 rookies (All Canadian actors btw) that just graduated from the academy, and follows their young careers as they experience the hardships of being a police officer both, on and off duty. Each rookie is assigned with a training officer and its a treat to watch the different dynamics of each pair, as well as the dynamics among the rookies as a group - learning together yet competing with one another to gain attention from the top dogs.

The main star of the show is rookie Andy McNally portrayed by the Montreal beauty, Missy Peregrym (Stick It), she's a cop that has a lot to prove because she carries the baggage of her father, a worn out, burnt out homicide detective. Other rookies include, over achiever, Dov Epstein (Gregory Smith, Everwood), nice-by-the-book-guy, Chris Diaz (Travis Mine), tough girl with an attitude, Gail Peck (Charlotte Sullivan), and the responsible single mother, Traci Nash (Enuka Okuma). Some of the veteran cops include, McNally's training officer, Sam Swarek (Ben Bass) - who's the direct opposite of her, goes by instinct and tends to break the rules to get the job done, homicide detective, Luke Callaghan (Eric Johnson) and Nash's training officer, Noelle Wlliams (Melanie Nicholls-King). With such a big ensemble cast of interesting characters, I need to cut myself short, or I'd be typing forever.

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I tend to disagree with everyone saying this show is bad, there seems to be a lack of knowledge from the rookies but thats part of the appeal. I think the writers were really trying to humanize the characters and show that cops don't just pop up being all bad ass and knowing all the stuff they know. This is really more of a training camp for cops from the very start, clearly they know the very basic but the instincts it takes to solid interrogation or street smarts while on the job are just not there so I'm gonna chalk that up to realism of the first few weeks of being on the job.

The second part that comes to mind is the cast, OK there's a massive fluctuation in dynamics here they need to really break down a few characters instead of just doing a scatter shot and hoping you like 1 main and 1 of the 50 other people they toss at you, I mean diversity is one thing but having so many people clumped up into 1 show is just a complete loss on the focus of the show, it makes everything seem incomplete because of constantly breaking away from one pair and moving on to the next.

Final review 7/10 too much stuff going on at once, simplify a bit and you'll have a solid show.

OK the main reason I even gave this show a go was the 2 women from the ad, Missy Peregrym and Charlotte Sullivan. With that admission, the show was actually still watchable.

All of the characters are at least tolerable, there is not too much angst and relationship drama, there is action and most of the plots were at least enough to hold the viewers interest. Sure some of the situations portrayed were over the top, with the mistakes the rookies made, but it also gave the characters a chance to learn from them and progress. As for the people who complained about such minor issues as belts etc, well who cares tbh! I for one never noticed them, and couldn't care less.

The show is basically a good way to spend an hour, it won't change your life, but on the other hand you won't think it was a total waste. The show is not a serious gritty ultra realistic drama, it's light entertainment, and that's what it does. As Swarek says: "It is what it is".

With all of the reality shows polluting television stations everywhere these days, shows like this are what keep me from turning off my TV permanently.

Rookie blue is exactly what you think it is: a cop show. It's got action, drama, and even has it's comedic moments. It has a variety of characters, the main ones being the five rookies, and chronicles the goings-on in and around the team.

The main characters are Andy, the good cop who rarely lets anyone in, Epstein, the smart dork from a broken family (that he never really talks about), Peck, the mean girl whose mother was a well-known and well-respected cop on the force, Diaz, the good Catholic boy who seems to want to break free of that image, and Nash, the single mother who's been trying to balance work and motherhood without anyone's help. They're all, at times, naive and still have so much to learn but isn't that what being a rookie is all about? You're trained according to what might happen but that almost never completely prepares you for the real world.

I think the problem many viewers have with this show is that it's been done before but, like I said , this is a cop show and that's what it's promised to be. If you know you don't like the genre, that's fine, but it isn't the show's fault. I'm venting a bit, but it's just frustrating when the advice being given is to not give the show a chance because there have been similar shows before. If you're looking for something completely different from anything you've ever seen before, you'll be looking for quite some time so, in the meantime, give this show a chance. It has real characters: ones everyone can relate to in some way or another, and the stories continue to unravel every week. Each episode has stories of their own, but there are also overarching story lines that regular viewers can become attached to.

It recently got renewed for a second season (Congratulations!), so it'll be around for a while. It really is a good show. The kind that I, personally, have been wanting to see but didn't expect in the summer (how often do good summer shows come on?). So, if you can, check it out. The episodes also get posted on Global TV and ABC's sites, so if you can't see it when it airs, it'll also be there. Hope you all enjoy it as much as I do!