Detroit 187

[Piobaire]

I'm interested. My old stomping grounds. FYI, many of the shots of the city were obviously taken from the Canadian side of the river.

So far, seen so many Detroit things. The old Boblo boat, Hart Plaza, Ren Cen...thought I saw Trapper's Alley, but wasn't that torn down for a casino?

 

[Douglas]

I went to start a thread on this show just now but noted Piob beat me to it.

I've now seen two episodes of this show and I am very impressed. It's highly entertaining - the acting and writing are really, really good. It reminds me a bit of "The Wire" in terms of its broad cast and multiple storylines. Not quite as deep as The Wire, for obvious reasons, and the cases themselves can be a bit dull, but I'm really enjoying it.

There was an episode in particular a few weeks ago dealing with a cold case (with obvious racial implications) from the 1967 riots. It was the most sophisticated handling of difficult race issues I've ever seen on network TV.

I will be watching this show when I can now. Hopefully it maintains its high standard.

 

[Johnny Amiga]

Thanks for the heads up, it's getting advertised here quite a bit, and I've been interested in how it compares to The Wire and Homicide.

 

[Piobaire]

I've TiVo'ed all the eps. Yes, IMO it has been very well written and acted, even if there are a few cliche characters. I've gotten some lulz though at the very unrealistic portrayl of Windsor and Canadians, the best of which was the Frenchie Windsor cop. Also, one of the murder scenes was obviously in Windsor, given the position of the Ren. Center over their shoulders and across the river. I'm thinking Ambassador Park.

Still, outside of the usual poor handling of anything non-US, it has exceeded expectations. Getting some decent character development, and as Douglas has said, some good and thoughtful writing. The one where the boss cop's daughter is involved was very good IMO. Hope this gets picked up.

 

[bdeuce22]

I haven't watched many of the episodes, but want to. thank god for the internetz. i've heard good things and i've heard bad things, but so far, it's decent.

i think they do quite a bit filming in and around the area southwest of the stadiums. they were filming literally 200-300 yards away from hundreds of tailgaters for a Lions game once. it looked like the crew was confused and wrapped for the day. maybe they were surprised the Lions have fans.

 

[Michigan Planner]

I DVR the new ones each week and also hope it gets picked up for another full season. I know that a lot of the critiques say it's just another clichÃ

police procedural, but I like that kind of thing. I don't care about all that science stuff like they show on CSI, I used to like NCIS but their storylines have gotten ridiculous, and Law & Order was good but it doesn't exist anymore...

I'm a local though so maybe I'm just a fanboy because I love seeing locations that I recognize and hearing them mention local restaurants that I go to. My wife has gotten tired of me yelling in excitement at the TV, "I've been there!" or stuff like that.

I also have now seen Michael Imperioli around town in the little northern suburb that I live in quite a few times and I guess he has become a regular at a local bar and a coffee shop and is shopping for a permanent home.

I also know a few guys who have been extras on the show and a friend of mine from high school has gotten work as a cameraman on a few of the episodes so that's sort of cool too.

Originally Posted by Piobaire

I've TiVo'ed all the eps. Yes, IMO it has been very well written and acted, even if there are a few cliche characters. I've gotten some lulz though at the very unrealistic portrayl of Windsor and Canadians, the best of which was the Frenchie Windsor cop. Also, one of the murder scenes was obviously in Windsor, given the position of the Ren. Center over their shoulders and across the river. I'm thinking Ambassador Park.

If you are talking about the episode with the murdered soldier that was found in an abandoned lot along the river, it was actually filmed just off of Atwater east of Chene Park. They've used that neighborhood a bunch of times already - I only know this because I used to work right there and recognize those locations very quickly. It's the nondescript residential neighborhoods that always stump me.

 

[Douglas]

I don't understand the critics who say it is a cliche police procedural. I think is actually pretty unlike most of those procedurals. The cases themselves are secondary - the primary element seems to be riffing the characters under different circumstances, so the show is not very plot-driven at all. They also don't do the mystery show stuff (e.g. when you know what to look for you can solve the mystery yourself) at all.

Maybe the characters are a bit cliched - the hispanic female detective, the oddball detective, the young rookie, etc. but there is more depth than usual even to those characters IMO. The show's best moments are when two characters are just interacting, sometimes completely independent of the plotline.

I'm not from Detroit but I really enjoy the very pro-Detroit attitude of the show, too.

 

[bdeuce22]

Originally Posted by Michigan Planner

I'm a local though so maybe I'm just a fanboy because I love seeing locations that I recognize and hearing them mention local restaurants that I go to. My wife has gotten tired of me yelling in excitement at the TV, "I've been there!" or stuff like that.

I also have now seen Michael Imperioli around town in the little northern suburb that I live in quite a few times and I guess he has become a regular at a local bar and a coffee shop and is shopping for a permanent home.

either royal oak or birmingham? i live in royal oak. i've seen him at places in and around royal oak quite often. i've seen some of them at the LA Fitness on Woodward.

 

[Michigan Planner]

Originally Posted by Piobaire

Trapper's Alley, but wasn't that torn down for a casino?

The Trapper's Alley building is still there, they just renovated the inside when they turned it into the casino.

 

[limping_decorum]

so is this still considered season one?

 

[Michigan Planner]

Originally Posted by bdeuce22

either royal oak or birmingham? i live in royal oak. i've seen him at places in and around royal oak quite often. i've seen some of them at the LA Fitness on Woodward.

I'm in Birmingham. He goes to the Biggby Coffee and Dick O'Dows downtown and does a bunch of charity work with the toy store and a few other small places.

But I read an interview with him that says he loves Royal Oak and that's where it sounded like he was looking to buy.

 

[Piobaire]

Originally Posted by Michigan Planner

If you are talking about the episode with the murdered soldier that was found in an abandoned lot along the river, it was actually filmed just off of Atwater east of Chene Park. They've used that neighborhood a bunch of times already - I only know this because I used to work right there and recognize those locations very quickly. It's the nondescript residential neighborhoods that always stump me.

I think it was the one where the friend of the captain's daughter was killed but can't remember for sure. I could be wrong but I was sure there was a murder scene where they were along the Detroit River and the Ren. Center was in the shot, across water with the camera shooting across the characters so the towers appeared over their right shoulders if facing the river. This is why I was thinking Windsor side, somewhere between the parking lot for Ambassador Park and to the west of downtown Windsor.