TV Review: Leverage and Dark Blue - Page 2

The problem isn't so much that every undercover cop/federal agent movie/television show/miniseries/radio drama has used one of these two storylines before, it's much more that the audience has absolutely no investment in the characters at the point at which we begin to question their actions. The stakes are not properly established and one has to question why Shaw would ever have either of these guys as part of his team, and why he would bring in newcomer and liar extraordinaire Jaimie Allen (Nicki Aycox). The audience is left with the impression that Shaw's methods may be unorthodox, but that he gets results (and is therefore given a long leash). I think we've all heard that one before, right?

In its first two episodes, Dark Blue very much feels like it is simply cashing in on the memory we have of a multitude of other shows that have done the undercover-possibly-dirty-cop-thing better than it does. The episodes fail to break any new ground whatsoever, both simply use standard genre tropes as their main plot points. Dylan McDermott may be a talented, intense, actor, but the material as presented is terribly worn.

The undercover cop genre assuredly has a lot of material to focus on, it's a shame that Dark Blue has initially simply opted to cover old ground.

Article Author: Josh Lasser

Josh Lasser, formerly known as "TV and Film Guy," and complete with a Masters Degree in Critical Studies in said areas, gives his opinions on TV, Film, and Entertainment in general. All of which he does in a shameless attempt to try to get paid to do the exact same thing. …

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