DJariya

By djariya at 2011-09-13

Synopsis:



Starring:
Maria Bello (A History of Violence)
Aidan Quinn (Unknown)
Kirk Acevedo (Fringe)
Kenny Johnson (The Shield, Sons of Anarchy)
Brian O'Byrne (FlashForward)

Created by Alexandra Cunningham (NYPD Blue, Desperate Housewives)

Pilot Directed by Peter Berg

Trailer:

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/yUOUrWxIWbs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Charlie Goose

Looks interesting. I never saw the original series, but I love Maria Bello.

movieking

I've got the complete BBC series at home, but I've yet to open it. I'll check this out to see how annoying her hat really is.

DJariya

I think Maria Bello is smoking hot. At her age (44), it's probably tough for her to find lead roles in movies, so the transition to TV makes sense.

It's got a good supporting cast. I've seen a few clips of this show and Kirk Acevedo looks like he's playing an almost identical role to Charlie on Fringe.

Michael Corvin

+1 on Maria Bello being smoking hot and I love the hat.

Geofferson

On the fence about this one. Cool that Pete Berg directed the pilot.

DJariya

Because it's a procedural? It's got a pretty good cast for a 1st year show.

Geofferson

The promos just haven't excited me all that much. I've read several reviews -- mixed thus far, but it sounds like Bello shines in the role and I've always liked her as an actress. Like I said, on the fence but may likely err on the side of caution(?) and tune in.

I am passing on Charlie's Angels -- here's hoping that Prime Suspect and Person of Interest pair well together for quality drama on Thursday.

bluesix

I am on the fence too.

I like Maria Bello and wish she had been given better roles in her career. This is probably her last best shot given her age and the fact that she works in Hollywood.

I hate the fact that this is called 'Prime Suspect' and is supposed to have any connection to the UK original. Other than the fact that she is a female detective solving crimes in a major city I doubt there will be much carryover.

I loved every episode of Helen Mirren's version in which she plays a female detective battling the sexist attitudes of her coworkers as she climbs the career ladder, slowly becoming an alcoholic in her downtime and mourning the fact that she gave up the chance to be a mother and wife in exchange for doing well at her job.

I can't imagine network TV will waste much time giving Maria Bello's character the time to explore the deep sadness she feels drinking alone in her apartment in the dark or the mournful regret and loss she has about realizing what she gave up for a career that never gives her any feeling of reward.

And whereas in the UK version each murder mystery was played out over the course of several episodes in a season-long series giving the kind of depth that draws you in like a good novel, Im sure NBC will have to wrap everything up in self-contained episodes.

So when it comes down to it why bother calling it Prime Suspect at all?

All they are going to do is suck in fans of the original who will inevitably be disappointed.

Codis

Lose the stupid hat. It's distracting. Aiden Quinn looks better with his natural hair color - blonde doesn't work for him.

bluesix

Ugh.

The hat is nothing compared to the awful out of place soundtrack. The music was all over the place and coupled with the beauty shots hovering over Manhattan confused the tone. I have no idea what they were going for. Is this supposed to be gritty and real with comic moments like 'er' or are they going for straight drama with cinema verite realness like 'the wire'

And WTF is up with every New York cop having to sound like he's some mook gorilla from Staten Island??? All of these actors putting on cliched easy to imitate NYC accents sound exactly like that what they are. Actors putting on NYC accents. Not every cop sounds like they are from the Bronx or Staten Island, jeesh! The fact that Maria Bello speaks normally only makes it worse.

When Jason Beghe keeled over and died I wanted to cheer because he was the worst offender.

Not sure why they are going with the handheld cam for this either which seems to come and go depending on the scene.

Kirk Acevedo is definitely a plus. Where Helen Mirren was all about steely reserve and cunning intellect to prove herself, this show seems to be using Maria Bello's physicality to show she is one of the boys. I don't think it brings as much depth to the character but its fun to watch Maria Bello releasing her inner tomboy.

Plotwise they seem to be sticking with the same story threads to explain the characters that the original did.

I'll stick with this for a few more episodes, just to see if it evolves into something better than it currently is.

DeadLamb

I failed after 15min and just turned it off.. That's not fair to the show at all but I'm not really interested in yet another gritty east coast cop show..
Bad timing I guess, I might catch another ep if a preview case looks interesting.

Evan Meadow

Yeah I had no sympathy with Jason Beghe when he died. I was like "Sexist bastard, you deserved it!"

AVP77

I watched less than half of this, before giving up and going back to a doc on Netflix.

The whole thing did just feel very off. Why does every cop sound like they smoke 5 packs a day?

And use the kind of language that wouldn't be spouted non-ironically by anyone in the modern world. "Let us celebrate by adding water to ice"? Or that quite detailed sing-along that went on and on, for a small kid's birthday? These are homicide detectives, not guys working on their English PhD.

Michael Corvin

Wow. I loved it. The only thing that bugged me was the "boys club." In 2011, is this still an issue? Bello and Acevedo were excellent as expected.

The show did have an NYPD: Blue vibe to it, which isn't a bad thing.

Yeah, it was distracting. I don't mind that style (loved it on NYPD) but to go back and forth seemingly at random was just jarring.

FantasticVSDoom

Why did Bello start out with a normal accent and half way through she switched to a Queens one? The fight was brutal and I liked the end when they were at dinner so Ill stick with it for a little while longer.

SteveA

I liked the show, but hate the hat. It is ludicrous. Get rid of the scarves too. There's a bit more characterization than the usual cop show, which is good in my book. I'll stick with it a while.

mphtrilogy

I liked it a lot, but found the wrap up pretty weak, found the suspect based on a police sketch in a homless shelter? not sur eon that.

I will watch though I liked Bello, thought she brought a lot to the table.

Dragon Tattoo

Yeah, the hat's nothing compared to the ridiculous scarves.

PhantomStranger

I gave up after 20 minutes. Standard cop action with a miscast lead actress. I do not buy Bello, a beautiful woman for her age and with the looks of a former model, as a police detective in New York.

dino88

Did I accidentally open the Project Runway thread? What the fuck is the obsession with the hat?

Michael Corvin

Reviewers have a beef with the hat for some reason, hence the discussion here.

DeputyDave

I really like the show. As I don't currently have any cop shows in my rotation I'll stick with it.

wmansir

I didn't watch this. The promo's hook me. It seems they didn't feel they had to sell it past the lead being a tough NY detective...with a vagina!!! and a hat.

Quatermass

I was not expecting too much out of this one, but I have to say that I enjoyed it, only because of Bello. I thought she was outstanding. She conveyed a lot with her expressions and demeanor and I really sympathized with her, even though the outright sexism seems highly unlikely to me. They really need to dial it down a few notches. I know they have to cater to the lowest common denominator and make it screamingly obvious that she is being discriminated against, but come on. No one would tolerate a work environment that hostile. I've personally seen about 6 harassment suits in places I've worked and they were for much more minor infractions. (I really need to stop grabbing women's asses and saying "Good morning, sweet cheeks.") I agree that the accents were overdone too. Honestly I only noticed the hat once, so it didn't bother me. It's almost nothing like the Helen Mirren BBC series, of which I have only seen Series 3 and 4 and liked very much. The music was too noticeable. I liked more than I disliked, so I think it has a chance.