Murder in the First

My wife and I watch one or two episodes of police procedurals every night. It's the only video we do watch. I usually pre-screen the programs, making sure of a few things we prefer, and seeing how many total episodes there are. When I pre-screened Murder in the First I wasn't sure if I was going to like it, nor my wife.

I started binge watching Murder in the First, then slowly began to like it. It isn't like any other series we've watched. It is a mix of cop show, detective show, courtroom drama, and soap opera. Fortunately there is a balance of these modes.

I'm now viewing the 8th episode of season 3 and wishing the series had gone on for more seasons.

Pros:

• The acting is good
• Direction is good
• Story lines are plausible
• Character building is good

Cons:

• We like programs that are fully contained within one episode. We don't care for formats where the murder mystery persists through several episodes or seasons. Murder in the First does have the format of a single mystery spanning an entire season. In most cases we find this style ends up with a lot of "filler" just for the sake of fitting into a whole season.
• A little too much sex. It simply isn't needed.

First, I'm a 30 year retired cop. This excellent screenplay and acting really set me back on my heels. This is a pretty accurate show on procedures and politics. In reality the norm is heads will roll if you push as hard as these two cops do. Pressure from the top would squelch any further digging into the main bad guy. He's connected and has his entourage of people connected.

Keep in mind, this is t.v. but this is one well put together show. The underlying heat between partners of the opposite sex can and does occur and it's portrayed very well by the two main actors. Their mannerisms are very accurate also in areas of interviews and interrogations. I thoroughly enjoyed the show and hope it continues with the excellent writing and cast.

There are a few things going for this new crime drama revolving around the SFPD and a tech billionaire. 1. San Francisco is a happening city now and it's always interesting to show the contrast between the homelessness and despair and the dizzying high tech boom. The last few SF based shows have been cancelled like Alcatraz and 9 Lives of Chloe King. Hopefully this series showcases more of the scenic beauty of the city and not just the seamy side. 2. Sympathetic looking leads Kathleen Robertson and Taye Diggs and a multi ethnic supporting cast are watchable and not abrasive like some crime dramas. 3. After 4 episodes the central villain? played by Tom Felton or Malfoy from Harry Potter is an interesting and enigmatic character. At first he seemed to be still too teenage looking (like the rest of the Harry Potter cast) to be effective in his role but he is actually quite good. Since Steven Bochco is behind this I'm going to give this one a chance.

This summer I've been watching the new TNT series "Murder in the 1st" and I must say that creator Steven Bochco has this series keeping viewers on the edge of their seat. A single murder case starts it off only the case leads to a world of sex, drugs, and cover up beat it all it happens to be tied to a young rich computer business genius young boy! The setting of the series is in the city by the bay the scenes and images of the golden gate bridge and San Francisco are beautiful. Those images treat the viewer to a good sight after the eyes are salted with blood and murder scenes. Leading the way are two S.F. detectives Terry English(Taye Diggs)and divorced mother Hildy(the sexy Kathleen Robertson it's nice to see her getting work again I remember her Beverly Hills 90210 days). Thru it all the case takes twist with new characters and new leads and a pilot named Bill Wilkerson(the terrific Steven Weber)seems to play a supporting connection to it all. Overall the series is a pretty good suspense and drama thriller one that changes week to week with new things as hidden secrets are uncovered this all makes for an interesting watch!

Solid cable TV police procedural that takes place with San Francisco as the backdrop. Entertaining and fast paced with believable characters. Some of the standard cop show tropes remain but no TV cop show is without some. Speaking mainly about season 2 which was a bit deeper then season one as part of the season deals with a mass shooting and its effects on a community and at least tries to present a scenario of how or why it would happen. The show does a yeoman's service of unveiling the season's story arc all the while introducing secondary stories that ultimately intertwine with the main season story arc. Its done in a straight forward fashion while avoiding too much predictability. In other words its not an "A,B,C" procedural like "Law and order" but its not a extremely hidden clue mystery like "True Detective" which I think makes the payoff and resolution at the end of the season a lot more satisfying. its a good binge watch (which is how i viewed it) it seemed a lot more satisfying watching it in that fashion. I think the show's "Bochco-isms" are apparent in the way the police struggle with personal issues while they tackle the dilemma of "brothers in blue" versus doing the legal good and how that often still opposes the moral good.