Detroit 1-8-7 (Tuesdays 10/9 Central)

ABC

Sep 21, 2010 Web Exclusive By Lily Moayeri

Are we ever going to tire of episodic procedural cop shows? Apparently not. ABC’s Detroit 1-8-7 has nothing that makes it stand out from the many police dramas that have come before it, or are playing alongside it. As Detective Louis Fitch, Michael Imperioli makes a valiant attempt at being the good cop, but his brutal Sopranos character, Christopher Moltisanti, is still what comes off the screen. His partner, Damon Washington (Jon Michael Hill) confirms this as he is scared stiff around Fitch. This is not helped by Fitch calling Washington every time he wants to have a serious conversation, when they are, in fact, within face-to-face distance of each other. In contrast, the stunning Detective Ariana Sanchez (Natalie Martinez) is confident and experienced, wholly unpersuasive as she looks like she’s about 22. Naturally, she has sexual tension with her partner John Stone (D.J. Cotrona), the wannabe charmer of the bunch who just comes across as a sleazebag. The rest of Detroit 1-8-7’s cast is fill-in-the-blanks police fodder. The only two characteristics that separate this show is one, it is filmed wholly in Detroit (who cares, a soundstage looks just as convincing) and two, the cameras are handheld (who cares, that shakiness can become very annoying). The music on Detroit 1-8-7 capitalizes on that city’s claim to Motown and so is quality stuff, but that is hardly enough to make Detroit 1-8-7 noticeable. What is noticeable is the lack of a Detroit accent from anyone on the force. If you are a fan of the standard police show, put this on your grid, otherwise, save the space on your DVR for No Ordinary Family. (www.abc.go.com/shows/detroit-1-8-7)

Author rating: 2/10

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Average reader rating: 9/10

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BARRY
March 22nd 2011
2:29am

I couldn’t disagree with you more. I thunk the sensitivity and interrelationships bewteen and wthin the cast are so rare as to be non-existant on tv or cable, an M Imperioli is wonderful in this character. I also like the way Dteroit is portraid as trying to make itself a better place, after being abandoned by the corperate greed of this country.

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