SkimIt
CBS's new drama NYC 22 is produced by Robert De Niro, but that pedigree might not be enough to save it.
Hit the Block
The show's about beat cops in New York City, but these aren't seasoned veterans -- they're all first-year rookies. They come from diverse backgrounds, including a former Marine MP and an ex-NBA player. The six cops head off with Sgt. Daniel "Yoda" Dean (Terry Kinney) to take their new turf and meet the locals. Basically, it's like Police Academy, just not a comedy.
Meet the Team
Easily the high point of the show is Ray Harper (Adam Goldberg). The oldest of the rookies, "Lazarus" is by far the most interesting character, but he gets too little screen time. Conversely, Jennifer "White House" Perry (Leelee Sobieski), the ex-Marine, is an embarrassing caricature, and Sobieski's acting is wooden and unbelievable. Also, she's terrifyingly skinny.
Low Man on the Totem Pole
Because these are rookies, they're tasked with the worst jobs on the force, from watching dead bodies to cleaning out toilets. But, of course, they manage to get real police work done in between, including a tense standoff at a domestic abuse situation and a near-fistfight between a cabbie and another driver. Nobody screws up too bad, but nobody gets any medals either.
No Overtime
At the end of the first episode, the rookies wrap up their first day and we get a scene that really illustrates the problems with NYC 22. Dean, the group's supervising officer, literally gets the rookies together and tells them what they learned that day. It's 2012, we don't need to be spoon-fed a moral at the end of an hour of television. If I'm up at 10:00, I'm an adult.
NYC 22 didn't really do enough for me to stand out from the approximately 9,000 other shows about New York policemen. Sure, they're rookies, but there's no hook in the pilot to make me want to see more. Too bad.
Best Lines:
"My name is Sgt. Daniel Dean. Some call me Yoda. I do not like it."
-- Yoda meets his new charges.
"Just do the job. That's all that matters right now."
-- Kenny (Stark Sands) tries to keep Ahmad's (Tom Reed) morale up.
"I'm going to give you until 6 o'clock to walk over to that precinct and turn yourself in."
-- Jackpot (Harold House Moore) tries to convince an old friend to do the right thing.
"Call an ambulance. The baby stopped breathing!"
-- Tonya (Judy Marte) bluffs her way out of a bad situation.
"This was not a good day."
-- Yoda wraps things up.
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