Dark Blue – A gig for Dylan McDermott

Checking out “The Big D’s” IMDB page, I was surprised to find that I know McDermott from none of his past work. I didn’t watch any of the shows that he was on, and I doubt I remember his small roles in a handful of movies. So why does he look, and seem, so familiar?

Don’t know; but, what I do know is that he’s back (from where?), helming a new show for TNT – Dark Blue. Right off the bat I can tell you: this is no HawthoRNe. The question of compelling drama does not apply.

On the other hand, I’m assuming this is no Closer or Saving Grace, either. Why, say you? No lady leader. Okay, so how’s about Leverage and Raising the Bar? Well, as for the former, Dark Blue lacks the light fun of Leverage. And the latter? It’s a legal drama, so that’s its own school. Why does it matter?

First of all: RUDE! Second, it doesn’t per say, unless you’re a network trying to build a brand. Now I know that TNT established said brand with The Closer, Saving Grace, and, they hope, HawthoRNe, but the rest of their offerings just don’t mesh. That’s where the “we know drama” theme comes into play. But, do they know non-female driven police drama?

I’d say, yes and no. I loved the action of the pilot episode of Dark Blue. I think the possibilities available to a show, and an undercover unit, that plays by its own rules, in LA, are limitless, and we will definitely experience a tremendous amount of tense, life or death situations. Clearly there’ll be a lot of questions about how far a cop could/should go, but that’s moral ground that can be tread without offending our sensitive sides.

And, the acting is pretty good, too. McDermott is made for the role of Carter Shaw (or was it the other way around?), while his team ain’t too bad, either. Ty Curtis (Omari Hardwick) reminds me of Wood Harris (The Wire) as an actor: gritty, rough around the edges, but bursting with the talent for some really serious, well, serious.

We didn’t see much of Dean Bendis (Logan Marshall-Green), at least not as his real persona (or was it?), but I think, he too, was cast well for the role of the undercover who may, or may not, have walked over to the dark side. The new addition, Jaimie Allen (Nicki Aycox), is still a question mark, but I’m sure she’ll be well developed as the show progresses. Two questions for her, however: what’s the accent that keeps on bleeding through? And, do you feel as if you were blackmailed onto the team? Because, I kinda got the impression that you were.

I will say that I’m curious about how the writers plan on practically running the show. I think it needs to be more in the style of The Wire, in that each case has to have a much longer arc than one episode. How believable would it be for cases to be closed, week after week? This needs a long-haul outlook, with the three undercovers dipping in and out of their assignments, while trying to lead their own lives back home. Or not be back home. But, certainly, they can’t continuously do what Ty did in the premiere, using an old cover for a quickie assignment. That’s sloppy on the shows end, and it would likely get them all killed.

What was a bit predictable was the FBI team that inevitably found out that Carter was running an off-the-books undercover unit. I really hope they aren’t meant to be a constant thorn in his side, because that’s way too clichéd. Maybe now that they’re in the know, they’ll be useful assets. But, if they’re supposed to just hound the unit, I’ll be pretty disappointed.

I was also shocked to learn that Carter was only a Lieutenant … how is that even remotely possible? Is there a story in there, or did no one realize that it just sounds low-grade? According to the LAPD’s website, “The Police Lieutenant rank within the Police Department is assigned as Officer-in-Charge of various law enforcement and administrative functions….” Accurate, but just wrong to my ears. Just thought I’d share.

You know, assuming that next week goes well, I’m thinking about starting to campaign for Dark Blue on CliqueClack, maybe run my puppy against Leverage, of which I’m also a fan. Then I could be “that guy who really got us all into Dark Blue, and knew before any of us did, and….”

Sorry; my, uh, son got at the keyboard. But, definitely check out Dark Blue next week, Wednesday night on TNT. I know about their drama.

Hey, I like that!

Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Jul 16, 2009 @ 15:00 EST5EDT