274 replies to this topic

[tenblade]

Has anyone watched this gritty documentary show on A&E? I am a great fan of the investigative shows on the network, and this one is a spectacular addition. It's in a very different style than shows like American Justice and City Confidential, and I really enjoy watching the detectives as they discover evidence and interrogate suspects and witnesses, rather than hearing their recollections (sometimes years) after the fact.

I'm constantly amazed at the dedication of the detectives on the show-- their singular focus on the cases they work is remarkable. Their families are referred to rather than filmed, and as a viewer, I appreciate that. Although I'm sure the centers of these detectives' lives are their families, the hours they work and the sleepless nights spent solving crimes is a truly heroic pursuit, in my opinion.

It's also interesting (yet not always as satisfying as a viewer) to see how some cases come together within hours (as in Episode three with Sgt. Eckert's case) and some which seem open and shut (as in Episode one, the murder of a mother in Coconut Grove) remain unsolved.

From the website, it looks like this show will only run eight episodes, but I plan on catching all of them.

[katymo]

Oooo I love this show! I was hoping someone would make a topic so I don't feel like I'm the only one that watches it in fascination. I really like the combination of reality/documentary/investigation thing it has going on.

Only 8 episodes ever or just in a season? I would really hate for this one to go away so soon. The closest thing to it that I like is Parole Board. It has the same feel.

I can't remember any of their names just now, but the one detective with the family he never sees, I like him. He's gritty, makes no shit about anything. I like it when they yell, its so real rather than the cool cop stuff they play on TV.

The last one I saw that you referred to in Coconut Grove was really sad. I like the fact that they all were very up front about not caring what she did in her life, she was murdered and a victim and that's all they needed to hear.

I also think the fact that they are never with their family is heroic. Not to mention the fact that we don't spend half of the episode dealing with one of the detective's daughters drawing on the wall with marker and the hilarity that ensues. Thank you, A&E!

[choochi]

I like this show too. I've seen the Miami and KC episodes and two of the four cases remain open. Ironically, both the KC prostitute and the Coconut Grove woman who sold jewelry from her home were killed in similar circumstances. Both came into close contact with strangers in the name of commerce in non-public surroundings.

I like the focus on the detectives and their dedication. I've always wondered what drives someone to do this type of work. I meant to watch the NYPD documentary on ABC last night but I forgot it was on.

[tenblade]

This show somehow fell off the radar for me recently (probably due to at least one repeat after only four originals), but if anyone is still watching, A&E has ordered a second season of the First 48. Good news!

[katymo]

Yeah me too, for that reason. But yay for a second season! Thanks for reporting that back to me, I was wondering about it.

[suctionprints]

The closest thing to it that I like is Parole Board. It has the same feel.

I just caught the KC KS/MO episode, and boy, is this a great show! And right on about the Parole Board comparison - while I love American Justice and City Confidential, it's really interesting to see the process unfolding in real time, so you can make your own interpretations of the facts. I hope it runs forever.

Edited by suctionprints, Jul 25, 2004 @ 2:48 PM.

[jazmyne]

I also like the uncertainty about things. When you watch City Confidential and American Justice, you know that by the end of the episode, you're going to know what happened, who did it, and how the prosecution turned out. With this show, you get instances like the KC case, which are not solved by the end of the show. There's a bit of suspense to it. I also like the reality of people's reactions to what's happening, rather than their polished recollections after the fact.

[tenblade]

I watched last night's ep, and they followed a single case: a spree killer in the Miami projects. WOW! It was pretty amazing. It really showed not only the local community's disdain for the police presence, but also the connections there too. The scene with Schillaci and the woman whose son's life he had saved was incredibly potent. I love the glee the detectives have in watching the other detectives as they grill a suspect or witness-- it's catching. They have such great admiration and affection for each other, and that really came through in this episode. This was probably my favorite of all I've seen thus far-- if fans of the show missed this one, try and catch it again.

I agree jazmyne, about the uncertainty of the show. The edge adds another level of intensity, although I tend to enjoy the way the other shows are almost always resolved (there have been occasions on American Justice and Cold Case Files that have featured unsolved cases, haven't there?). For this show, I'll make an exception.

Edited by tenblade, Jul 30, 2004 @ 11:17 PM.

[Green]

They have such great admiration and affection for each other, and that really came through in this episode.

I loved that, too. When they were all eating breakfast, and Rome reached over to grab a couple pieces of Schillaci's pancakes and then shared it with one of the other cops, and no one paid any attention because obviously they were just that close, I thought that was really neat.

I also was really touched when Schillaci was hugging the mother of the boy he had once saved. Very sad.

I was really fascinated by the episode with a body wrapped in garbage bags, dumped in the canal. When they found an empty apartment with blood EVERYWHERE, and then it turned out to be unrelated to the body that had been found, I got chills. Crazy shit really is going on everywhere, isn't it?

[mhinrichs]

I'm fascinated by this show, too - although that greasy-haired guy in Miami is annoying!

You might be interested to know that there was an arrest made in the Phoenix ice rink murder case:
http://www.azcentral...1icerink11.html

[Scarlet Rose]

Thank you for the link, mhinrichs!

I'm glad to hear there's been an arrest in that case. The savagery of the beating and the sledghammer bit really disturbed me. The quotes from Michael Strode's fiancee (in that article) nearly made me cry. So heartbreaking.

The cases from this past week (the man who killed his cousin and his cousin's friend, and the murdered prostitute) once again kept me glued to my seat. Even though I guessed that the cousin and his friend were most likely dead, I felt extremely sad when they found the bodies.

[katymo]

Same here about the cousin. That guy has absolutely no soul or conscience whatsoever. When the one guy found the burned out car and was going to pop the trunk to see if there were bodies inside, I absolutely cringed. Then when they ultimately found the bodies just laying in the alley like that, like trash, it was really hard to watch. Asshole!

[Theredqueen]

I was searching TWOP for this show, I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who enjoys this show. I love love love this show! I'm very particular about my law shows but this one is just spectacular.


Tonights episode made me sad (Party's over and Desert Body). I felt so bad at the end of the show when the boy who got shot died of complications of surgery. I realy thought he was going to make it. Hmm also he got shot at a huge party and no one saw....yeah right. I wish people would step up when they see things happening.

I loved that, too. When they were all eating breakfast, and Rome reached over to grab a couple pieces of Schillaci's pancakes and then shared it with one of the other cops, and no one paid any attention because obviously they were just that close, I thought that was really neat.

I realy like seeing the teamwork and family feel that so many of these detectives have. It's realy nice to see and not something that you get to see on any other shows.

[katymo]

Yeah the guy that died from surgery was so tragic. In the hospital his mother seemed so hopeful and joyous just that he was alive even if he was not the same. I was like yay he actually made it! Then they showed the footage of him dancing saying he had died and it was now a homicide and it made me so sad.

[suctionprints]

Rome reached over to grab a couple pieces of Schillaci's pancakes and then shared it with one of the other cops, and no one paid any attention because obviously they were just that close, I thought that was really neat.

I realy like seeing the teamwork and family feel that so many of these detectives have. It's realy nice to see and not something that you get to see on any other shows.

Heh, I hate to say this, but it just shows how Homicide: Life on The Street got it right. I've turned to my husband a couple of times and said "I could totally see someone on Homicide doing that!" Love, love, love this show! And, yes, it crushed me too when I found out that the kid died. Someone has to step forward, that's just a tragic waste.

[WindStar]

If anyone watches Women and the Badge on Oxygen, some of the female detectives from this show (I think the one from Miami, for sure) have been profiled on that show too.

[suctionprints]

New season starts Thursday!

And it looks like it's going to be a suspenseful season opener:
A Serial Killer Calls

Edited by suctionprints, Jan 3, 2005 @ 1:38 PM.

[Green]

I saw one that was new to me over the weekend - a 19 year old kid shot a convenience store clerk (who had moved his family there from Iraq just 2 weeks prior) in front of a huge group of people and it was caught on camera. His mom convinced him to turn himself in, which shocked me. The whole thing was so senseless, random and tragic. It was a riveting story, but my heart broke for the victim's family and the kid's mother.

I'm really looking forward to the new season.

[suctionprints]

Green, that was very moving and troubling to me as well. What a tragedy.

To change topics slightly, the new season is completely up to par. The serial killer episode was fascinating, especially how they used the slightest of details to find him. And that Santeria dude...I'm sorry he met such a horrible end, but wow, was his house cree-pee.

[katymo]

Oh yeah, these new episodes this year are totally awesome. My brother rarely ever watches TV, let alone crime shows and he asks me if he can watch it with me when I TiVo it. I've converted someone!

I'm still creeped out by the Santeria guy and that whole thing!

[Theredqueen]

I lurve this show soo much. It shows so much of the nitty gritty details that CSI and L&O don't show. That Santeria guy was weird and I was expecting his BF to have had killed him not that other guy. Very weird indeed.

[Green]

I, too, was fascinated with the Santeria guy's house. On the one hand, it was so carefully and beautifully decorated and neatly kept, and then in the closets there was a ton of bizarro, yet also neatly kept voodoo stuff. Apparently I continue to have no gaydar at all because when they finally did say something about a boyfriend, I was very surprised. When I said so, Mr. Green just looked over and said, "Are you serious?"

The serial killer one was a little different from their format, and I'm glad they dedicated the whole hour to the story. This show has really done a good job of making me feel sorry for prostitutes. Damn, they just can't catch a break, between the crack-addictions and all that entails, sex with the foulest of strangers, and men randomly trying to kill them but still not scaring them enough to get them off the streets. And they usually have family members who seem like they would have been willing to help these women if they had only been willing to help themselves. The bodies piled on top of each other, in various stages of decomposition, were the first bodies on this show to actually make me a little queasy. It was eery to watch the killer walking around with the officers so calmly. Did they even cuff him? They should have hog-tied him and carried him in on a stick, as far as I'm concerned.

I've had one episode on Tivo since last week, but have not had a good chance to settle in and watch it. Hopefully tonight!

[tenblade]

I just caught "A Serial Killer Calls" and was really gripped by this one. The way the cops handled the first find, the realization that they had a serial on their hands, their devastation when a key piece of information was leaked by the press and the rush of excitement when the puzzle started to come together were all fantastic. The whole thing was creepy, especially the shots of Terry Blair staring into the camera. Great episode, and it definitely pulled me back to the series.

[choochi]

This show has fallen off my radar screen, but I caught a Miami episode last week. It involved the strangled gay singer and the kid killed by a drug dealer. I didn't like the cop with the slicked back hair in the first season because he seemed too aware of the cameras. But he's grown on me, particularly in this episode where he had to tell the victim's parents that their son was dead.

I felt so bad for the cop who was having trouble with his girlfriend and then got dumped at the end on his answering machine. They had gone so far as to buy a wedding dress and then she just dumps him on the phone? Eek.

[katymo]

I had kind of lost the show as well, but have picked it up again in the past few episodes and it's better than ever. The episode with the several guys who ambushed the strip club owner was really intense. They were call caught on video waiting for him to arrive for work in the morning, then they pounced just after he entered the building. It was really haunting to watch the crime as it was happening, even if the murder itself was not seen. Best episode to date, IMO.

[Munchkinmom]

Mr. Munchkinmom is an investigator and this is the only law enforcement show he can watch without completely mocking their high level of incompetence. This show does a really nice job of showing the job as it is day to day. Sometimes you get a break and solve a case, but most of the time, it takes weeks, months or sometimes never.

Also, to the posters who said that their dedication to work to the detriment of their families was heroic. Well, I can tell you that it doesn't feel heroic when they miss major events in our lives. Mr. Munchkinmom was thisclose to missing munchkin #2's baptism because of a case. It sucked. I really empathize with the wives on this show and I can't tell you how many of those same type of telephone conversations we have had.

[AggiePride]

I love this show too! It helps to combats (at least) two major stereotypes:

1) That only white folk are serial killers.
We see black serial killers, they seem to like to kill prostitutes over and over
again.

2) The police don't care when black folk or poor folk are killed.
We see these detectives work like hell to find killers. We also see
the dispair and frustration from lack of leads and lack of cooperation
from the community.

Great show!!!

Edited by AggiePride, Jun 1, 2005 @ 9:51 PM.

[AggiePride]

Tonight's episode: Fallen/Texas Burning

I fall more and more in luv with Schaillaci each episode he appears in. The scene where they had to tell the man his daughter was gone brought me to tears.

This show deserves an Emmy!

[skeevo666]

Schaillaci is the love child of Joe Pesci & Dennis Franz; keep up the good work!

[suctionprints]

Munchkinmom, you are a hero, too.

Feeling the Schaillaci love with the rest of you. I also love Olga Rome and her matter of fact attitude. I've been using her line "put on your big girl pants" a lot lately.