895 replies to this topic

[captain sam]

Rookie Blue is a new TV series that follows the lives of five inexperienced rookies thrown into the world of big city policing -- where even the smallest mistake can have life-or-death consequences. This series stars Missy Peregrym (Reaper, Heroes) as eager Andy McNally and Gregory Smith (Everwood) as thrill-seeker Dov Epstein. Joining them are Enuka Okuma (24) as Traci Nash, a tough-talking party girl and mother to a six-year-old son; Travis Milne (My Green House) as Chris Diaz, the straight-and-narrow poster boy for the force, and Charlotte Sullivan (M.V.P.) as Gail Peck, the ambitious one who will trample over anyone who gets in her way. This group of rookies trained together at the police academy. Now they’re on the job together, learning first-hand the hardest kind of policing there is.

The pilot was tonight, and I thought it was fairly awful. There were a lot of procedural hiccups and terrible character moments. I only really got a sense of Missy Peregrym's character, Andy, and even then I only bought her because of the earnestness of Peregrym's performance. I'm not saying it was Emmy-worthy, but it was believable and she seemed to embrace the character wholeheartedly.

I cringed at the scene with the transgendered woman and found it completely insensitive and out of touch. Oh ha ha, the rookies are uncomfortable touching a shemale--is she a man? A woman? What if she's got like, junk down there??? I thought we got over transgender-misunderstandings-played-for-comedy in like, 2005. Lazy, insensitive writing.

Slightly less cringent, but nevertheless completely uninteresting to me, was the plotline with Undercover Douchebag. He goes on a tirade about being undercover, and then yells at Andy for not knowing he was a cop. I couldn't believe no one took the time to tell him it was like he was complaining no one told him happy birthday, except he never bothered to tell anyone when his birthday was. What a moron. Of course, in the laws of TV Land, he will now hook up with Andy at some point. Yawn.

Hopefully the series will settle after the pilot, since I have a spot spot for Peregrym and Smith.

Speaking of Gregory Smith, how does he look younger than he did on Everwood? Does he have an aging painting in his attic or something?

[Turkish]

Well, I liked Grey's Anatomy with cops alot better than I liked Grey's Anatomy with lawyers from a few months back. It's like ABC has decided to model all their new shows after shows that are already successful. The pilot was still pretty bad but I'll probably give it a few more episodes. I had major problems with how almost all of the characters behaved but especially the rookies. I just don't buy that rookie cops would be that green that they act like a bunch of teenagers on the first day of high school.

I do find the black girl sort of interesting. And I totally knew they were setting us up with the "She has a kid!" reveal as soon as they had her yelling at the junkie dad for being irresponsible.

Gregory Smith definitley looks younger. I don't know what his secret is but he looked even younger than he did on Everwood. He looked about as young as his character in the Patriot actually.

Edited by Turkish, Jun 25, 2010 @ 3:24 AM.

[CapsChick]

Wow. This was...terrible. I forced myself to watch the entire ep although I wanted to turn it off almost immediately. I tried to get past the show's silly name and give it a chance. It was so predictable and poorly acted. I think every cliche in the book was used including the former cop father. If I could tell almost right away that the guy was an undercover narc and Andy couldn't -- even after he told her -- well, that is pathetic. And what's with cheesy porn mustache cop blowing his cover when it was obvious he wasn't there to catch up over donuts and coffee? Ugh. Who comes up with this dreck? There is no respect for the viewer here.

I'm not familiar with any of these actors but MP was on the radio here in DC yesterday and said she had to sign a 7-year contract in case the show lasts that long. I'm thinking 7 episodes would be generous.

ETA: I'd seen the peroxide blonde once on a TV movie. I recognize her from her black eyebrows.

Edited by CapsChick, Jun 25, 2010 @ 6:33 AM.

[LakeGal]

My DH and I watched it. He was calling the plot before it happend. He's undercover, she doesn't have her radio turned on, she has a kid, etc. It was pretty predictable. I also thought the rookies were very naive and green for their first day at being real cops. Did they not show up for training? Are we expected to believe they would let them out in society with guns if they are not ready? And of course Andy and Undercover guy will hook up. I'll keep watching for now. But it wasn't as good as I was hoping.

[YumYum]

Well, I didn't think it was that bad. Okay, not great. It's a little different, not a rubber stamp of the 5,000 other crime shows on tv. Cast is attractive, the gal who played Andy very good. The man who played her Dad at the end, Peter MacNeill, had a supporting role in Queer As Folk...I recognized his voice before I realized who it was.

I'll give it a couple more tries to hook me.

[Unusual Suspect]

The plot was dumb, but I'll admit that the Toronto setting and the characters are enough to justify one more episode from me.

[Sandman]

I don't see it as much like Grey's Anatomy at all - mostly because I didn't instantly hate everyone. So already the writing is Better Than Shonda. (The thread title makes me laugh, though.)

The plot points were fairly predictable (except somehow I missed the cue about Okuma's character having a son). I want to like the characters, because I think the actors are appealing. Hopefully the Andy McNally character won't be quite as anvilicious in future. McNally Sr. is clearly going to die soon, because he's passed on his badge (which - what? Doesn't the badge belong the department?) I did like the way Missy Peregrym handled the highs (her imperfectly concealed "How awesome am I?" grin at catching Greasy McObvious) and lows (the whole scene with Devon Bostick) of her character's day. I only know two of the characters by name: Missy Peregrym's, since "Andy McNally" was said approximately seventy billion times in the episode, and Gregory Smith's, because he looks twenty-two and has a name that would seem to belong to somebody's ninety-four year old grandpa. How long before he's nicknamed "Rookie Ephram" here?

Over Greasy McObvious, the least undercover undercover narcotics cop ever, already.

I liked the fact that Toronto wasn't trying especially hard to pass for anywhere else. A reference to the Criminal Code? Whoa. I'll give it another chance. Pilots are often clunky. I liked seeing Peter McNeill, Aiden Devine, and various other Canucks (oh, my God, Eric Johnson finally gets to be in something other than a sci-fi show! And to play a grownup!)

Oh ha ha, the rookies are uncomfortable touching a shemale--is she a man? A woman? What if she's got like, junk down there??? I thought we got over transgender-misunderstandings-played-for-comedy in like, 2005. Lazy, insensitive writing.

I didn't see comedy at the expense of the transgendered suspect. The cops were definitely portrayed as insensitive about her identity; I thought that was kind of realistic, actually.

Edited by Sandman, Jun 25, 2010 @ 9:14 AM.

[shriekingeel]

So is Missy Peregrym required to have the TV character name "Andi" the way Katherine Heigl has "Isabelle"?

This was so clunky and obvious it was like watching a show from 1975. Throughout, I coudnn't help thinking of the Southland pilot, and the comparison is not this show's friend.

[Sandman]

This was so clunky and obvious it was like watching a show from 1975.

Well, in 1975, Epstein's hair would have been a lot longer. I take your point about Southland, although few pilots are on the level of that one.

[secretagentman]

I thought it was just ok. Missy is terrific, very watchable. I hear the episodes get much better around #3 and #4.

[MichaelFi]

In series-premiere news, Canadian produced drama Rookie Blue was adequately sampled on ABC, finishing first in total viewers (7.25 million) and second among adults 18-49 (2.0 rating/7 share) from 9-10 p.m.

http://pifeedback.co...451/m/792106403
I thought that the pilot was horrible too. The most idiotic part was that everyone blamed Andy for the undercover cop's cover being blown. Undercover cops get arrested all the time. The cops at the station who know them are expected to have enough common sense to realize that if they're brought into the station IN HANDCUFFS, then they're still undercover. And having the undercover cop point out the stupidity of the plot device didn't make it any less stupid.

[forumfish]

The thread title would be amusing if it didn't insult one of my favorite shows -- IMO, RB's pilot was nowhere near the quality of any Flashpoint episode I've seen. The promos didn't appeal to me, but I've liked Enuka Okuma ever since Sue Thomas, F.B. Eye (she hasn't aged a bit!), so I decided to give the show a try.

The opening "initiation" scene should have been a clue as to how the veterans treated the rookies. All in all, I found those characters less believable than the kids. And the blame on Cranky Undercover Cop's blown cover rests on the shoulders of Traci's Secret Boyfriend Cop. Really, nobody chewed him out over it? Officer Cranky (who is a bit old for the role, IMO) did his best to maintain his cover, and Andy was just doing her job. Are rookies not shown pictures of the undercover cops, or told of a Secret Code Word or something?

I was also icked out when I realized where I'd seen Gregory Smith before -- the awful 2004 flick Book of Love. (shudder)

The rest of the household thinks they might give it another try, but I'll pass.

[Sandman]

The most idiotic part was that everyone blamed Andy for the undercover cop's cover being blown. Undercover cops get arrested all the time. The cops at the station who know them are expected to have enough common sense to realize that if they're brought into the station IN HANDCUFFS, then they're still undercover.

Secret Boyfriend Cop is only bright enough to keep one secret at a time.

Maybe my Canadian bias is showing, but even with the weaknesses this show has, I think it has vastly, yooooooooogely more potential than the cringeworthy, third-hand copy that was The Deep End (the name of which I actually had to look up, since I couldn't think of anything other than Grey's Anatomy (or Nurses), But With Lawyers).

Though honestly I can't see any purpose behind blending elements of police uniforms from two different countries, or behind other "unspecified" story elements, other than leaving everyone unhappy.

Edited by Sandman, Jun 25, 2010 @ 2:28 PM.

[CapsChick]

When MP was interviewed on the radio yesterday morning she said that the city in the show is unspecified and is supposed to pass for any US/Canadian city, and that they blended elements of the police uniforms from both countries.

[fashionkills]

My DH and I watched it. He was calling the plot before it happend. He's undercover, she doesn't have her radio turned on, she has a kid, etc. It was pretty predictable. I also thought the rookies were very naive and green for their first day at being real cops. Did they not show up for training? Are we expected to believe they would let them out in society with guns if they are not ready? And of course Andy and Undercover guy will hook up. I'll keep watching for now. But it wasn't as good as I was hoping.

All the summer shows so far (bar Pretty Little Liars) has fallen well short omy my hopes for compulsive summer viewing, and this show was highly offensive, to be honest!

It was extremely predictable. I could see where it was going at every point. I might also add that they've obviously set up the love triangle for Andie with the homicide guy, which is just so very annoying.

I do have to say that Missy was actually quite compelling. She's very naturally charismatic, and given better material, I'd probably call her a very good actress. For this reason only, I will give this show 3 or 4 more episodes, because it should have potential (but we all saw what happened to Grey's Lawyers).

[YumYum]

When MP was interviewed on the radio yesterday morning she said that the city in the show is unspecified and is supposed to pass for any US/Canadian city, and that they blended elements of the police uniforms from both countries.

There must be a reason for unspecifiedity (I don't think that's a real word), I wonder what it is. Probably not having to worry about being accurate when characters talk about neighborhoods, distances from one spot to another, etc. I like shows that are filmed in New York City and are supposed to be New York City...or Los Angeles or Toronto. Little travelogs for those of us who never go anywhere.

[Sandman]

I presume that explicitly Canadian shows aren't seen by the network suits as being sufficiently marketable in other countries. (Because we ... talk funny? Our health care system makes hospital scenes inherently less dramatic? Because there are fewer polar bears in downtown Toronto than on the Losties' tropical Island? I don't know.)

Heh. Maybe Rookie Blue is set in Unspecificity City? (Population: It depends.) I don't know that accuracy in setting is of primary concern. Certainly audience members have noted inaccuracies about Chicago in ER or The Good Wife or about Manhattan in many, many shows set there.

Edited by Sandman, Jun 25, 2010 @ 2:27 PM.

[YumYum]

Heh. Maybe Rookie Blue is set in Unspecificity City? (Population: It depends)

They'd better watch any flags showing up on buildings...unless they're clear see-through plastic.

At least when they do this they shouldn't have to worry about accents...there are so many Canadian and Australian actors now working on U.S. produced shows. I've always thought how difficult it must be for actors to master a different accent and act, too...and I've wondered why they need to even try. I live in a metropolitan city and hear different accents every day.

I just realized, reading a previous post, that Everwood's Ephram is one of the rookies here. I like him a lot more in this series than I did in Everwood, he's matured nicely.

[Authorized User]

I have watched pretty much everything with Missy Peregrym in it since Black Sash, (Best. Show. Ever.) but this show just is not very good. Especially since one can't help comparing it to the magnificent Southland.

[Mikita]

I liked it. I am liking Andy and Tracy. I already cannot stand the fake blond.

[Forgetful Jones]

There is good, as in a work of high artistic merit, and then there is good, as in something you get enjoyment from watching. Maybe this show isn't so much the former, but for a pilot I thought it did pretty well on the latter. Sure, it was hardly Hamlet, but that was already manifestly evident from the commercials that have been playing for this forever. I don't think they were aiming for gritty realism with the tone, so I was fine with it - the comparison to Southland actually never occurred to me, although I really liked that show. But I could use a cop show with a lighter tone in my viewing rota right now, I'm kind of maxed out on dramas with serial killers, crime scene shots of violated prostitutes, etc. I liked Andy, and actually her training officer as well, and I'm intrigued enough by the rest to see where it goes. I'm even looking forward to the telegraphed relationship drama. (Andy and Undercover Dude will presumably hook up by the end of the season, y/y?) Overall, I was entertained, and I'll definitely watch the next few episodes to see how it develops.

[DolfinWings]

Is it wrong of me to think that the cast is a bit too pretty? I find a hard time believing that these kids would be cops, especially the girls (except MP, who I find butch enough to cop).

Maybe it's because they haven't spent much time on the other characters other than Andy.

Does anyone know anything about police procedures and techniques? Because I cringed every time Andy went to go cuff someone. There was something about the way she went about it that made me think that if those guys weren't such pussy's they could have just rushed her, get her gun, kill her, and get away.

It also looked like they didn't put the actors through much police training, because the girls looked really awkward holding those guns.

[Sandman]

It's true the cast is exceedingly pretty; certainly the titular rookies are. I convinced myself (fanwankery? So soon?) that the awkwardness with the handguns was in character, rather than attributable to inexperience on the part of the actors.

[captain sam]

I find a hard time believing that these kids would be cops, especially the girls (except MP, who I find butch enough to cop)

So pretty girls wouldn't become cops? This is a television show, and there were certainly pretty boys aplenty to match the women. Blond detective was one, and so was the officer who wanted to do everything by the book. They're handsome, but they became cops. Of course they're going to cast attractive women for these roles; it's a summer television show.

As for procedure, I found everyone lacking, not just the women.

[The Mad Maple]

Well, it wasn't terrible, but it wasn't great, either. It's no Flashpoint, that's for sure. Still, I'm a fan of Missy Peragrim, and there really isn't a hell of a lot on for the next couple of months, so I'll probably keep tuning in. Hell, if I survived The Listener, I can handle this.

I'd be amazed if it survives the summer, though. But hey, with any luck that'll free her up to be cast in the Charlie's Angels remake. :)

[janeway452]

Yep, pretty awful all around, but it was the pilot, and there may be some potential, so I'll give it a couple more views. What really bothered me was has hesitant Andi McNally when ordering someone to freeze, etc. Granted she was nervous, but she did not project any police authority. She's in a very dangerous situation and especially with her upbringing and supposed training, take a deep breath and say FREEZE! like ya mean it. Well, it certainly wasn't Southland, not even close, but I hope we see some growth.

[Nightmare Logic]

I think its a contender for the worst pilot ever award...Hey Tubey...maybe next year make that a category.

Anyway even though pilot was six kinds of God awful I might watch the next episode...I know I really need to find a hobby that doesn't include television.

[snowprince]

Sorry. I tried. I really tried, but I could not get through that with anything resembling a straight face. I still find myself breaking out in spontanious guffaws..............just awful.

And I can assure you from my own experience...some pretty girls DO become cops.

Edited by snowprince, Jun 26, 2010 @ 10:24 AM.

[SomeTameGazelle]

I hated myself for watching the entire season of The Bridge, but I kind of couldn't look away because of the locations. So I probably should have known better than to watch this -- and I think that it was partly because of some residual confusion that had given me the vague idea that Callum Keith Rennie was associated with it as well as the idea that I had seen them filming in the area.

The rookies were embarrassingly incompetent and even the seasoned officers seemed rather soft. However it did kind of pick up for me from the point where Andy went to yell at the undercover guy for making her feel bad.

I don't think I recognize any of the main actors, but in the last scene with the rookies in the bar, I kept thinking that Gregory Smith looked a lot like Eric Foreman on That 70s Show, so I couldn't take him seriously.

[fashionkills]

So pretty girls wouldn't become cops? This is a television show, and there were certainly pretty boys aplenty to match the women. Blond detective was one, and so was the officer who wanted to do everything by the book. They're handsome, but they became cops. Of course they're going to cast attractive women for these roles; it's a summer television show.

Yes, I don't have a problem with the eye candy either, but throwing in a few mingers wouldn't hurt. And you're right about the male cops, particularly the guy who plays Diaz...he's as cute as a button.