Southland: Discussion Thread

[Toups]

Southland: Discussion Thread

[YRBB]

I just found out about this show... Premiering tomorrow, and it's by ER's John Wells... promising. Could lighting strike twice? I think it's definitely worth checking out, and I LOVE that title!

[YRBB]

I just checked out a clip on TV.com. It looks absolutely. brilliant! Great writing, great camerawork and THE O.C.'s Ryan in police uniform! My God, I will sure as hell be watching this tomorrow!

[YRBB]

Just watched the Pilot episode! What great fun! Like they said, it's ER with cops, and I mean that as a high compliment. Yes, the structure of character arcs stretching multiple episodes and then the individual cases seems to be the same here, but the tone feels different. I think I started falling in love with this show the moment they started showing the opening credits, a full 20 second thing, with a WONDERFUL--if unexpected--theme music. We are already starting to learn a few things about Sammy (his weird love/hate relationship with Tami), Ben (who already seems like he could become a GREAT character), Lydia (who seems to be having some interesting issues with her mom), Russell (his compassion) and John, who was a pleasant, pleasant surprise. I LOVED the way they showed he is gay... and I can't describe how happy I am that finally, FINALLY, there is a gay character who's not... well, effeminate. I am so tired of that, no matter how true it is. Chickie and Ben might be having it on! And, absolutely FLOVE the EP card at the end! Classy, classy! Definitely worth more chances!

[YRBB]

Ratings: Can Southland save NBC?

* By Tim Surette

* 04/10/09 10:12 AM

* 2 comments \ add yours

Harper's Island, Southland, Parks & Recreation all make their debuts--who came out on top?

To protect and serve Ben Silverman.

To protect and serve Ben Silverman.

Serial killers, Los Angeles police officers, and low-level city officials made important debuts last night, as CBS and NBC rolled out three shows that have been getting heavy buzz. In the end, it looks like cops may be coming to NBC's rescue.

Southland, a new gritty crop drama from the producers of ER, made the biggest splash last night, propelling NBC to a rare victory for the evening. The show's premiere pulled in a 3.2 rating and 9 share in the 18-49 demographic, and averaged 9.72 million viewers--good numbers for the struggling NBC. The numbers actually got better as the show headed into its second half-hour, meaning viewers probably liked what they saw and were sticking around, a great sign for a show's debut.

Airing in the same time period was CBS' murder mystery Harper's Island, which managed a 2.7/8 in the adult demo, and averaged 10.49 million viewers (consistent with CBS' tendency to attract more viewers overall, but not from target age groups). It looks as though viewers may have actually left Harper's Island for Southland, as Harper's lost viewers as the show progressed.

There's a lot at stake for CBS with Harper's Island. The network is looking at the slasher-thriller to draw in younger audiences with its sexy cast and horror-movie tone. But low ratings from TV.com users don't give this show a good outlook.

Parks and Recreation, Amy Poehler's new comedy from the producers of The Office, did fairly solid for normal networks/good for NBC at 8:30 p.m, with a 3.9/11 and 6.77 million viewers. But given that it was sandwiched between two episodes of The Office that both outperformed it considerably (the 9 p.m. Office almost beat it by a whole ratings point), NBC has to be a little concerned.

Of the three premieres, the only one I saw part of was Parks and Recreation, and it didn't really grab me--it seems like a lesser version of the weaker episodes of The Office. Harper's Island is waiting on my DVR, and I'll check out Southland online later today.

[Sylph]

Cops? John Wells? No thanks!

[Sylph]

[sheilaforever]

Does it have any of the qualities of THIRD WATCH?

[YRBB]

You really should give it a try, it truly is fantastic!

Sorry, never seen that show, so I can't help you!

A brand new episode tonight!

[YRBB]

Another fun episode! Loving the ending, leaving us all to wonder what's going on with Lydia... and Ben and Chickie were Cute couple!

[miajere]

Watched last week, and it was fun. I really liked it right off the bat. I've become cynical about police in the past few years, but this show was definitely refreshing.

[Southofnowhere]

A little bit. I like it better than TW.

[detroitpiston]

Love this show! It's a nice mix of Adam 12, NYPD Blue, and Third Watch.

[YRBB]

Glad to see people liking it!

Another fantastic show! Poor Ben and his dad, that was a nice ending. And Dewey is such a fun love to hate character! Can't wait for next week!

[Sylph]

Pretty much every single review I've read was very positive:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123870613377483923.html

http://tv.nytimes.com/2009/04/08/arts/tele...;ref=television

http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/tele...south08.article

http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117940003...l?categoryId=32

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/tv-rev...003959955.story

LA Times and USA Today weren't all that please, and the best one was this user comment:

The Wire was the best.