User Reviews

I just finished watching the first episode and was pretty disappointed with what I saw. It's definitely not a Third Watch or Southland. Anyone who has spent any time working in law enforcement on either coast would likely agree that many of the situations just aren't very realistic. We all have to give television some liberties in order to tell their stories but the story line from episode one of NYC 22 was a little tough to swallow.

The show follows six rookie cops fresh out of the academy who are all assigned to the same field training officer (FTO.) They are dropped on a street corner to patrol a foot beat while completely unsupervised. Unlike what would happen in real life, each rookie is partnered with another rookie rather than an FTO and instructed "don't get yourself hurt and don't hurt anyone else." Then the rookies are responsible for figuring out the rest of the job on their own. You can only imagine what kind of disasters these officers find themselves in as they manage to even get themselves kidnapped, surrender their weapons to the bad guys, and never once check in with dispatch to announce their location or call for back up.

Rather than being radio dispatched to calls, they seem to chauffeured by their supervisor around mid town to handle certain tasks, such as detaining gang members to prevent those gangs from participating in a good old fashioned 1960's style rumble with chains, bottles, and knives. I'm really not making that up. (Sarcasm Alert!) Anyone who has spent any time working working anti-crime or gang enforcement in large cities such as NYC or LA knows that its chains and bottles that make these gangs so scary and not drive-by's with Uzies. Let us not forget either, it's always best to throw your rookies into gang detail on their first day to deal with these problems rather than waste their time teaching them how to fill out a speeding ticket.

It's difficult to buy into the premise that rookies are assigned to assist elderly widows of NYPD officers with unclogging their toilets at home, yet you will see that in NYC 22. In fact, the writers would like us to believe that the rookie assigned to unclog the toilet was a former NBA superstar who blew out his knee while playing and now wears an NYPD shield. Apparently this seasons NBA lock out was much more difficult on the players than any of us even knew! Not only can these athletes not support themselves after their career is over, disability coverage to care for you after being injured in a game also doesn't pay squat. The good news for former NBA players, if you are on disability with a bad knee and can run anymore, the NYPD will take you!! Police crime dramas are different than other types of shows. With most shows when you depict a police officer the details are not important, but with crime dramas the viewers are trying emerge themselves in that life. Most of us want to see and feel what a cop sees and feels himself when he goes to work everyday. This makes the attention to detail extremely important not just for each and every character but for wardrobe and props as well. Even the most finite details such as bullet proof vests or the way an officer handles their weapon shouldn't be overlooked in a show like this. Third Watch and Southland have both been meticulous about this and I would really like to see NYC 22 make the same move.

I'm not completely writing this show off just yet. Many shows have a rough start just like I believe that NYC 22 has had. I believe Robert De Nero is just an absolutely incredibly talented individual. I have a lot of faith in his ability as a producer to turn this show into something amazing. Hopefully, I'll be able to write a followup to this sometime in the short future to offer my praise. In the mean time, I still plan to watch a few more episodes to see where it goes.

Good luck to NYC 22. I hope you make it because I do like a good old fashioned cops and robbers TV Show.

I really wanted to like this show - Bob De Niro and the NYPD - what could go wrong (yeah, OK, I'm not counting Righteous Kill here). Also a good 'patrol-cop' show has been needed since the departure of Third Watch (which went off-street to a degree in later shows) with only Southland (which is part detective driven) filling the void.

The first 10 minutes or so of the pilot are very good. Camera work is nothing special but they catch the first day of work nerves well, along with the edgy aggression which greets newcomers in para-military environments.

After that things go downhill.

terry-351-45582's review sums up the faults of plot logic and realism (even by TV standards) better than I could - but in summary the whole thing feels over-dramatized and exaggerated - particularly with regard to character back-story. For example, I get the feeling that Toney was originally written as a failed high-school athlete, which at some point warped into him being a former NBA star who somehow needs a city wage(say what?).

Some are comparing this unfavorably to Rookie Blue, which it certainly resembles in many ways. However it really starts to suffer when compared to Southland, which is arguably the same genre but which has managed to avoid too many clichés (and had some interesting camera work). I'll stick with it, but I'm not hopeful. Fingers crossed.

I heard many say this is a rip-off from Rookie Blue. While I love that show, I am not as territorial as others and wanted to give this a fair chance.

The premise is the same, a bunch of fresh rookies finally get confronted with with the real world, and we see them struggle in their new role. It's a tried and true formula, which has been used in different ways and can result in compelling television. The Pilot is supposed to engage us, get us interested in the characters and kick off to a healthy start that sets the tone for the season. Did it do so successfully? To be honest with you: no.

There are some nice things. The shots of New York aren't the flashy overused ones you see in most films and TV series. Here you get to see the city without its makeup and it reflects on everything. The police station is worn and stuffy, colleagues are gruff and etiquette is non existent. It's not a welcoming environment and it builds tension, because all the rookies stick out like a sore thumb. They are out of their comfort zone, even if they grew up in this city. Then, their journey begins. And this is where the show loses it's stride, in my opinion.

The acting, for one, is a problem. LeeLee Sobieski for example, has terrible line delivery. There's a scene...

------------------ *SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER* ...where a boy on the street calls her a 'fine looking bitch' and she returns, twists his hands and threatens to make his life hell if he doesn't respect her. The scene is obviously set up to show she's tough even though she's a thin blonde girl. The idea itself is pretty weak, but a strong actress could have pulled it off. LeeLee didn't. For one, the way she twists his hand is so amateur looking, you don't even have to be a martial artist to spot the difference. Secondly, the way she says it is cringe worthy and immediately put me off. I'm all for strong female characters, but not in this way. *END SPOILER* --------------------

I know this seems like a small detail to fuss over, but things like this take me out of the experience, like spotting a microphone hanging in the air does. There are more instances like this, where mediocre writing becomes actrocious because an actor simply can't sell it. Judy Marte (Tonya Sanchez) sometimes comes across as too cold, with an expressionless face that wouldn't do bad on a mannequin in a clothing store.

Then of course, there are the clichés. The black guy boasting he'd "hit it before the end of the day", the Afghan guy getting pestered with Kite Runner references, etc. It's annoying because it's stereotypical (and no I'm not going to use the racist card, as it's overused already). If they wanted to create friction in the group or set a tone, there are more subtle and more effective ways of doing it.

The characters seem still too much of a cardboard to be real, and this feeling keeps nagging in the second episode. They don't seem like real people. That said, there are some good performances there, though most don't come from the main cast. Maybe this is the kind of show that needs to find it's footing first before it hits its stride, but for now it's lackluster. It seriously needs to up its game if it wants to make it beyond season 1.

It got compared to 'Rookie Blue' all over the reviews here, but I much preferred this show, RB I was pretty much over in 1-2 episodes.Not that I have anything against Missy Peregrym, loved her as the Home Depot chick in that Ray Wise devil/demonic show. Like the theme too, but I cannot find that exact version of the JZ song anywhere. Thought it was a good cast mix. Yes, Adam --might-- have been getting a little old for the premise, but, now as with the LAPD 'the Rookie" we have a guy joining up for first time in his 40s. And hey, this guy was in THAT beach-landing scene in Saving Private Ryan, if he can handle that, should be able to handle a 'hood in NYC, right? Leela Sobieski might be a little delicate and girly looking for street policing, but reality is, that she is what a lot of western police force hiring now actually looks like, for better or for worse.

If you love New York City, you will love this show. The street level scenery is wonderful. The cast of knowns and unknowns is working out its kinks. The music is cool. I don't recall the other Rookie show it is being compared to so I must have seen the pilot to that one and decided not to follow it. It is a shame this was canceled (spoiler?). I think it could have been developed into a long term show. Most of us do not have law enforcement experience so the idea that the NYPD is so understaffed that Training Officers have to let rookies go out and fend for themselves is not that big of a stretch for the uninformed. Perhaps this show is just for those who love New York. DeNiro loves New York, the feel, the pace, the diversity. It is the center of the universe as my grandfather says. You can go from block to block and it is like going from one country to another around the world. NYC 22 captures this. But if you are not familiar with the City, maybe you are not as taken with NYC 22 as I am.

Puerile nicknames, soapy plots, jargony dialogue, unrealistic situations...I tried to give this one a shot, because I like shows with genuine NYC backgrounds and this one delivers on that score.

But not on any other. Too many people doing incomprehensible, unrealistic things. Background music is awful, as others have noted. And, well, Adam Goldberg's chipmunk cheeks distract me. So now his character, besides being a failed journalist, is a closet drunk, apparently? Lord, Lord, are we to be spared no cliché of the cop genre? We've had the overbearing dad pushing his kid into the force, the spunky women with chips on their shoulders trying to prove themselves, the ethnic girlfriend with something shady going on, and many more I can't even recall because my eyes are burning with the awfulness of it all. Plus between this and "Blue Bloods", I'm just sick of copycat cops. Won't be watching any further eps. Though it is nice to see Leelee Sobieski.