141 replies to this topic

[thuganomics85]

From the CBS website:

GOLDEN BOY is a drama about the meteoric rise of an ambitious cop who becomes the youngest police commissioner in the history of New York City, and the high personal and professional cost he pays to achieve it. As he's interviewed for a story about his career, Walter William Clark, Jr. looks back on his hard-fought journey from street kid to the most powerful man in law enforcement. After only three years as a beat cop, Clark's heroics on the job make him bold enough to ask for and receive the unheard-of promotion to homicide detective, angering the members of his new department who are eager to see him fail. Clark is partnered with and mentored by experienced veteran Detective Don Owen, just two years shy of retirement. He would rather team with First Grade Detective Christian Arroyo, the alpha dog in the squad who's just as ambitious as Clark, but without a moral center. Arroyo's partner is Detective Deborah McKenzie, a tough third-generation cop and the only female detective in the unit. Also on the team is Detective Joe Diaco, well-connected with tremendous resources which Clark might find useful. Though laser-focused on moving up the ladder, Clark's soft spot is serving as the sole caregiver and supporter of his sister, Agnes, a teenager demonstrating increasingly dangerous behavior. Keenly observant and politically savvy, the Golden Boy bases his career decisions solely on his need to succeed as quickly as possible, and he'll find that his epic journey will be filled with consequences.

Anyone else gave it a shot? I tuned it because I knew Chi McBride was in it. He is one of my favorite TV actors of all time. Loved him in Boston Public, Human Target, and, sniff, Pushing Daises. Was also pleasantly surprised to see Kevin Alejandro (Jesus from True Blood, among other things), as what looks like the lead's main antagonist. But, my first impression is meh. It just felt very rough and I'm having problems warming up to Walter, the lead. I do think they're making him arrogant and imperfect on purpose, but I just don't find him interesting to watch, and I don't give a damn about him.

It seems the gimmick of the show is that we know he's going to become the youngest commissioner in NYC ever, seven years from now, but each episode will show the path he had to take to get there, and they seem to be hinting that some bad stuff happens, and possibly some of the leads won't make it. We'll see if they can pull this off.

Besides Kevin and Chi, a few other recognizable faces in the supporting cast. Not famailar with the lead, but I've think I read he was a former Downton Abbey guy.

There is suppose to be one more episode next Tuesday and then it's official time-slot will be Fri at 9, which isn't very optimistic. I'll give a few more episodes for Chi and Kevin, but it will be On Demand, since I'll be watching Grimm live when it comes back.

Edited by thuganomics85, Feb 26, 2013 @ 11:44 PM.

[Tucson]

With so many new shows hitting the skids after only a few episodes, I can't see this one lasting too long with the lead character so unlikable. I think the premise could be interesting but this guy is a jerk with an expanded ego.
Main characters can be flawed but they also have to balance that with something favorable, something to make the audience want to root for them. All I wanted to do with Walter Clark was to smack him in the head.

[neciamorris]

I really enjoyed it. I thought Walter was compelling and interesting. I love a good origin story and if they keep on this pace, I think we're in for quite the ride.

The two-Tuesday debut and a move to Friday means they have realistic expectations, so I have hope about its future.

[Shippaisha]

I liked Chi McBride's character; not so much with anyone else. And Walter's sister was supposed to be a *teenager*? Chick looks 40!

One thing that really bothered me was Walter's gritty accent - I almost wondered if they got a voice actor to dub him over, it sounded so unlike any voice I could believe would come out of this guy. They're going to have to show me a lot more naked Walter to keep me invested.

[MzTeaze]

I agree with you Tucson, I found Water Clark unlikable in the pilot. I really like Chi McBride but I just wanted him to smack Walter in the head. Also, the obvious "I got two years left..." was too close to the Danny Glover character from the Lethal Weapon series. It felt like a prequel of that series and not in a good, fun way.

Unless they carry the character in another direction quickly, I can't see this one lasting a long time...esp on a Friday night in the spring.

Found it interesting that according to IMDB, Ryan Phillipe was supposed to star in this show.

[ashes ashes]

Well I loved it. I definitely think that Walter is supposed to be slightly unlikeable - his demeanor in the flashforward hinted that he had done some unethical things to get there - much more than the "breaking in" to that guy's apartment he did in this episode. I'm sure once they hit his background a little harder he'll become more sympathetic. I like that he could have gone down the same path as his father and become involved in organized crime but he decided to become a cop instead. I think his ambition makes him a good lead, even if he's sort of antihero.

I like his relationship with his partner; Owen hasn't climbed the ladder the way that Walter wants to, but it seems like he's realizing that Owen still has some things to teach him.

Edited by ashes ashes, Feb 27, 2013 @ 7:15 AM.

[piya]

I loved the pilot which of course means that it won't last long.

It doesn't hurt that Walter Clark is seriously good-looking. I actually like that he is ambitious - he just isn't in it for truth and justice. As long as the show acknowledges the fact that he is flawed and has much to learn, I am okay with him being something of a anti-hero. The show flat out admitted that he is young, brash and has a giant ego. He didn't win at the end of the episode but was taught a lesson by the more experienced and ruthless cop.

But he also seems to care about the victims . And by the end of the episode, he is willing to learn from his much experienced partner.

[GG63]

And Walter's sister was supposed to be a *teenager*? Chick looks 40!

That's an understatement! When I saw her I thought she was his older sister. In my universe she does not look like a teenager - especially one under the age of 18. I think she's supposed to be 16 isn't she?

Was I imagining he had a limp when he was being interviewed in the "7 years later" parts? Can I also guess that Chi's character is going to die as the reporter talked about Walter losing family and friends and they panned to the picture of Chi?

I'll stick around for a while if only for the pretty that is Kevin Alejandro. Yes I'm that shallow. Still miss seeing him on Southland. Theo James reminds me of someone else but I can't figure out who? I don't think I've ever seen in him anything else.

[EndoKE]

I really enjoyed it. I thought Walter was compelling and interesting. I love a good origin story and if they keep on this pace, I think we're in for quite the ride.

I liked it. I don't like shows where the lead is goody goody, too boring. I like my TV shows messy, real life, not so much.

[cissyboo]

Theo James was Kemal Pamuk on Downton Abbey. Not a really meaty role, but he did die in Lady Mary's bed.

[Gibasi]

I dvr'ed the show because I am just not sure. I am still not sure with the mixed reviews here. I love Chi McBride and like Kevin Alejandro but don't know if I want to invest the time. My dvr is already cluttered with so many shows I am behind on. Including Justified which this is on against, at least for the moment.

[cmm226]

I tried watching. I was paying attention at the beginning but kind of lost interest half way through as I was working on my taxes....

First impression: I didn't like it.

[KalEl]

I try to give pilots a break, because so long as they aren't say, Zero Hour bad, it does take some awhile to find their feet. The first Seinfeld episode is a great example of this. In fact, most of that first season when they were adhering to the traditional sitcom format. But this worked my forgiveness overtime.

I get that he's ambitious, but he's supposed to be smart as well and should know better than to push the way he does or to alienate his partner the way he does at first. In fact he's so ambitious the actor is practically twitching, like he's jonesing for the drug of success now that he's tasted a little. It's ridiculous. Then they want us to think that he's the only cop who noticed that tattoo on the suspect's neck. That's when they lost me. That's classic bad tv/movie bad writing to make everyone else dumb so your hero seems smart. It would have made more sense if he told the detective he was sucking up to about the tattoo and offered to talk to him since he was familiar. It would also make more sense if he decided that he'd solve the cold case so he'd stand out, because there was nothing about the murder that was "star-making" that he'd want so badly to be a part of it. The lead detective was totally in the right when he decided to smack him on the nose to put him back in his place. The Blonde Cop We Know He's Going To Sleep With was wrong. And if he was so famous EVERYONE would know about his parents, especially his mobbed up dad.

Maybe it will all calm (especially his twitching) down it future episodes, because nothing about that ham-fisted final scene made me want to watch more. Not the "precinct shootout" and certainly not the "murder suicide."

[Hughes]

Loved him in Boston Public, Human Target, and, sniff, Pushing Daises.

Oh, my lovely, lovely hilarious and still sorely missed 'Pushing Daisies' and Emerson Cod, 'That's an insult on my imagination!'LOL. I watched the pilot on On Demand, and I liked it. One doesn't exactly warm up to Walter easily, but I believe that's intentional. Chi McBride was stellar as was Kevin Alejandro. Sounds like their combined stories plays a major part in Walter's. I'm still trying to place the blonde detective and what I've seen the actress in before, but it's escaping me at the moment. Granted, it's another police procedural, but I'm intrigued to see where it goes.

[Chancellor]

The only thing about this show is that the the lead is strikingly good looking. He has very sexy lips by the way. I also don't understand why TPTB couldn't just let Theo James use his natural voice instead of trying to take on some New York accent. Where is it written that a handsome, sexy young Britishman can't be a New York cop? Other than that, I am automatically not interested in another cop show.

Edited by Chancellor, Feb 27, 2013 @ 11:22 AM.

[brothertonbanks]

Chi McBride was great:
"Who am I, Morgan Freeman? Open your own damn door."

Theo James is our beloved Jed O'Bedlam. That was his best work yet. He was also in The Inbetweeners movie. Even in some interviews he's talking with an American accent. I thought the accent for the rich young guy was the most unrealistic one.

There are way too many cop shows, but I think it's good and I'll watch for Chi, Theo, the guy from True Blood, and Bonnie Somerville.

I have a feeling this will last about as long as Jack and Bobby, so enjoy it while you can.

Edited by brothertonbanks, Feb 27, 2013 @ 11:20 AM.

[AimingforYoko]

Golden Boy, or How I Met My Police Commissioner Job.
I do like they make him a bit morally ambiguous and that the central tension will be what path he takes to One Police Plaza. And any chance for Chi McBride to bark at people is appreciated.
Negative: Seven years from getting his shield to the big chair? They're not even trying to be real.

[Homo_Sapien]

As soon as we saw they were doing flash-forwards, we tuned out.
I can tolerate it for one episode, but not when it looks to be a part of the premise.
Blame 'Lost'.. and 'Flash Forward'..

[MamaBird]

As a regular viewer of "Blue Bloods", I'm confused about Teddy Roosevelt's desk. Frank Reagan's office looks so vintage and cozy, I think Teddy could walk right in and feel at home. In Walter's world, the desk is apparently situated in a converted glass-elevator shaft. Is this because it's seven years in the future? Besides the murder-suicide and the precinct shoot-out, is there also a major remodel of the Commissioner's office? (Or maybe the murder-suicide occurs in the Commissioner's office?) Inquiring minds want to know.

[reggiejax]

So this character is essentially Ed Exley, but with all the interesting parts taken out. And no Dudley Smith, Bud White or Jack Vincennes for contrast.

Well maybe they can at least involve him in a "Nite Owl" type investigation that ends with a shootout at the Victory Motel.

[cmm226]

I don't know, the lead looked weird to me. That's the only thing that kept coming to my mind as I tried to watch.

"Gee, he looks really weird." Maybe he's too thin.

[KalEl]

So this character is essentially Ed Exley, but with all the interesting parts taken out. And no Dudley Smith, Bud White or Jack Vincennes for contrast.

Thank you. You perfectly summed the character they should be looking at as an example. An ambitious kid, but still good at what he does with a streak of ruthlessness.

[bookseller362]

I knew this show wasn't clicking with me when I got up during the flashforward, fired up the computer, and caught up with my February bookkeeping chores. Didn't even try to follow what was going on... didn't like the cocky young Commish... Seven years from patrolman to Commissioner? Seems a tad far-fetched. I think I can believe in the Enterprise more easily.

[fauntleroy]

I wouldn't mind if it was just a plain old linear show, without the seven-years-in-the-future gimmick. Flashbacks of FlashForward, ugh. Show us him rising quickly to the top. But no, networks don't have faith in a plain story--there has to be some time travel or dimensional twist multi-point of view or some friggin thing.

Person of Interest flashes backward, which is less annoying, but I could still do without it.

I'll take a brash and unlikable young commissioner like this dude over Tom Selleck's sanctimonious St. Francis of New York, any day.

[Navona]

I like complex lead characters but why producers/writers think that for that to be the case, they have to make the leads all be so dickish is beyond me and I am bored to tears with the trope. I like characters that are more than two dimensional - and, yet, just another cop show.

I tuned in for CM - he's a delight all the time - I wish he could find something worthwhile instead of another cop retread - bleah. Again.

[dargosmydaddy]

I liked it more than I thought I would... Chi McBride rocks (am I the only PD fan who laughed out loud when Owen gave an Emerson Cod-esque "Oh hell no" toward the end of the episode?), and Theo James is pretty. His accent was a little grating at times, and the sister was distractingly elderly, but I'll be tuning in again.

Was I imagining he had a limp when he was being interviewed in the "7 years later" parts?

I saw that, too... but then he also seemed to have it in the scene where Walter was interviewing the dead guy's female co-worker, so I began to wonder if that was just a weird affectation (or actual injury at the time of filming) by James. It wasn't apparent in any other scene.

[MarenAte]

I thought the show was fair at best. Emerson Cod was by far the best part.

I loved Theo James in Bedlam and I find the accent he's going for to be utterly distracting. I noticed the limp as well and thought perhaps it happened in the initial shootout, but no.

The actress playing the sister is horribly miscast. The actress is 23 but I thought the sister was supposed to be 16-17? The makeup they are putting on her makes her look all of 32. She's not coming across as troubled teen at all.

I'll give it a few more episodes, but I kind of like that our "hero" is not really a nice guy at all. I'm sort of hoping for some major twist where he's done all of this because he's the secret son of a major crime boss or IRA terrorist (give me his natural accent, please) and plans to run the city.

[BooBear]

I enjoyed it. I don't mind the main character not being too likable. I admire that in a CBS show. But I was distracted by a few things. I had trouble understanding Theo James at times. I think his accent needs work. The sister is and was horribly miscast. Weird, most Hollywood things go for the very young looking person. I wonder if the actress knows someone. I loved Chi McBride. He played it with the right amount of compassion to make him more of someone I want to get to know.

I do not like the commissioner gimmick. I hope they drop it soon. The problem for me is that it just isn't a bit enough deal. I mean on Jack and Bobby -- the future was the Presidency. Here is the commissioner of the NYC. I mean.. I don't even know who that is.

Um what was with the limp? And is Theo James too thin? He seemed unusually thin. Was Bonnie Sommervile pregnant? It just seemed that way to me. Like they were trying to hide it.

[Oskars Mom]

My initial reaction after watching it was - well there's 60 minutes I'll never get back. While I will grant that it is original (which of course my initial reaction wasn't) and I do love Chi McBride - he's never failed to draw and keep my attention in any show he's in, it was choppy, hard to follow (even in flashback) and not really all that interesting. I may give it one more chance but after that I'm on to something else.

[Somebody]

I dvred this show just cause I'm disliking a lot of the current shows I'm watching so u didn't expect to actually like it but I actually really did like it. It wasnt the greatest show in the world but it kept me interested. I also liked the flash forwards but worry that they will become annoying as almost all flashforward shows usually become annoying. But eh I'll stick with the show for now. I do agree about the police commissioner thing though. Like who cares who the police commissioner is at least make him mayor or governor or something.