Rookie Blue

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".

New cop dramas come out every year or two and most are hit or miss, but there is something to this show that leaves me hoping it gets picked up again for another season. The show follows a group of fresh rookies trying to find their way on the force through mistakes and errors in judgement. It's filmed and set in Toronto, with its share of Canadian actors so that hit home with me. I read a review of this show that was very harsh and was disappointed that the show wasn't accurate in terms of what actual police work is like for rookies in terms of the amount of freedom they have in this show and the ability to make decisions. TV is meant for entertainment so I'm glad they don't have it accurate to a tee. But the emotions, fears, camaraderie, and pain these characters go through while trying to find their bearings in a new career are very real I think and contributes to the strength of the show.

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!

Come on, people. It's entertainment, it's a story, it's neither a police procedural manual nor a 'reality' show (as if those are 'real'). I know firsthand that the courtroom drama shows are also very unrealistic, but most trials actually get very boring, and who wants to watch that? For those who are carping about the acting, I wonder which shows you usually watch. With a heck of lot of training and performing under my belt, I'm very impatient with poor acting, but I find these characters very engaging, which is a good sign that the acting chops are there. My suggestion: Either don't watch it, or relax and enjoy it for what it is. I, for one, hope it stays on the air.

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.