Films/DVD Asylum

The first cop show was the best?

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Vegman70

In Reply to: RE: TV posted by Audiophilander on May 18, 2019 at 10:20:13

Somewhere I read that "modern day" police officers picked "Naked City" as their favorite cop show.

Follow Ups:

RE: The first cop show was the best? - Audiophilander 03:07:39 05/19/19 (2)
There were a number of good ones, including Highway Patrol ...which seems less noirish in retrospect in spite of being B&W... and Decoy featuring Beverly Garland as a tough undercover police woman, but Naked City is solid. Also, I'd recommend 87th Precinct from '61/'62. That series was very popular among police as well.

For private detectives, the ultimate noir series has to be Peter Gunn, but another worth picking is Mike Hammer (the '58/'59 series starring Daren McGavin). There's another good B&W police detective series from the late 50's worth checking out that starred Lee Marvin. It was titled M Squad and ran for three seasons if you can find watchable prints on DVD.

I don't mean to take anything away from modern police procedurals, but most are more character driven and built around story arcs rather than emphasizing concise episodic storytelling. If you enjoy more expansive story arcs with greater emphasis on the personal lives of characters and can handle grittier modern tales, I'd recommend Bosch, right off the top of my head, but that series is much less noirish even though much is shot at night..

Cheers,
AuPh
- TV cops - Vegman70 16:13:13 05/19/19 (1)
  Thanks for the list of Peter Gunn, etal. I was in high school at the time, and Dad had priority on the one TV we had then so I didn't to get to see a lot of shows.
  
  Lately, and for quite a while I've been watching UK cop shows--Even going back to Sherlock. Pretty much a mixed bag for me. Some good episodes, but some stinkers, as well. OK, one exception that I bought for home viewing was Rumpole of the Bailey. Yes, it was technically not a cop show, but Rumpole always defended those in trouble with the cops. Too bad the set I bought doesn't have subtitles.
  - RE: TV cops - Audiophilander 03:11:53 05/20/19 (0)
    I've collected quite a few European and U.K. series on DVD including many police detective dramas. Most of them hold up quite well. Definitely a different approach to writing with a bit more emphasis on character development than action in general. More recent police procedurals from the U.K. and Europe are often grittier than US efforts.
    
    For instance, the Swedish Wallander 2005-2013 (the version starring Krister Henriksson) is one of the most gripping detective series ever from start to finish with a unique and brilliantly executed finali. Alas, the British reinterpretation starring Kenneth Branaugh pales in comparison and makes the character so boringly moody that the stories tend to get lost.
    
    Cheers,
    AuPh

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