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**LoveBEN** · 04-17-2009, 09:43 AM

News of the day

'Southland' week two: Pretty BLEEPin' good

'Southland' week two: Pretty BLEEPin' good | Prime-Time TV commentary | last night, Television | Ken Tucker's Watching TV | EW.com

I'm getting hooked. Maybe it's the wave of New Sincerity that Susan Boyle has loosed upon this country, but I found myself really engaged by Southland's baby-found-crawling-in-the-street subplot last night. And the rest of the episode -- complete with thirteen bleeped curse words, four before the opening credits were finished -- was nearly as interesting.

NBC's replacement for ER shares the hospital drama's method of focusing on professionals under stress, combined with interesting cases and expected moments of humor. Last night, nearly all the major players, including stars Ben McKenzie and Regina King, were involved in the abandoned-child story line. Written by show creator Ann Biderman, this episode kept us guessing about where that baby would land: in Child Services, or returned to her former-addict mom. Even with a (relatively speaking) happy ending, it was a heart-breaker.

There was an excitingly-filmed suspect chase that ended with co-star Tom Everett Scott shooting the guy... with a "non-lethal" bean-bag gun. (When are we going to get some of the Scott character's backstory? Southland is teasing us nicely.) I feel as though Southland is trying to cherry-pick the best elements of cop dramas such as NYPD Blue and, especially, Hill Street Blues, while building its own visual style and narrative rhythm. If so, that's a smart decision: It invites a large audience to enjoy episodes that feel at once familiar and fresh.

The show continues to use Los Angeles and its neighborhoods well. (I'd swear that the motel the cops brought that girl and her grandmother to for safekeeping was the one I stayed in on Sunset Blvd. my first night in L.A.)

And next week -- did you catch the coming attractions? Special guest star Tom Sizemore!!

I am so there...

Did you watch? What did you think?
Southland Review | Scathing Reviews for Bitchy People

For its shortcomings, “Southland’s” strength will undoubtedly be the talented McKenzie, whom I’ve liked since “The O.C.,” which I truthfully followed all the way through its four seasons. But it was in that least-watched fourth season that some surprisingly funny and touching moments came and where McKenzie sharpened his timing skills and proved he could do more than brood and skulk and brood some more. That season also came after his impressive turn in Junebug,” and hopefully he’ll continue to be in more projects.
IAmATVJunkie.com: News, Great Clips, Unfiltered Snark (and sometimes, free stuff!): 3 Clips -- Parks & Recreation and Southland Preview Clips, Southland Star Cudlitz Interview by TVGuide.com

I gotta say it right away, if you are not watching Southland you are missing the best cop drama I've seen since Hill Street Blues.

It kept me on edge, riveted and other terms like that the whole hour, right up until the grizzled Silver Lake training office played by Michael Cudlitz walks into The Faultline (or a reasonably facsimile, anyway), my favorite leather/levi gay bar in the neighborhood for a post-shift beer.

Southland_king_2 (Oh, and did you catch the reference to Barnsdall Park in the pilot? That really cracked me up, that place was notorious for years. I thought next time I was in town I would take pics of the huge signs they claim in the pilot script are now there warning about arrests for cruising there. And seriously, my gay brothers ... still cruising in parks? You should be having sex in places with towels and hot water. AND CONDOMS!!!)

Cudlitz was amazing. And very very brave of John Wells, episode scribe Ann Biderman and the crew in the writers' room to make the straight-laced white guy the gay cop.

How's he gonna deal with that beautiful Ben McKenzie riding shotgun with him? Hey, we're not all into the pretty boys, Officer John Cooper might be into bears.

(Me? I'd be distracted. Very distracted.)

Regina King turns in yet another remarkable performance. Her face says so much. Her diligent, world weary detective took us through every thought and every action with her whole being.

In this case the network hype is right, this is don't blink TV. I can't wait to see where this show goes, though I can wait until the daytime hours the day after it airs to watch it. It's so close to home for me ... the neighborhood is my old neighborhood, crimes like these are on our local news each night (if you can bear to watch the local news, it makes one really sad) and you just can't predict what's gonna happen next.

P&R_leslie_outdoor_table I wanted to write about the show earlier in the week, but I didn't think I could do it justice. I hope I did today.

Plaudits all around to the creative team and the performers.
Filming Locations 4.17.09 | On Location Vacations

Filming Locations 4.17.09

Southland is filming at 570 Arroyo Bl S, Pasadena. CA.

Collection of articles on the ratings

Orlando Sentinel - "CSI," in sci-fi mode, leads CBS to Thursday victory; "Southland" is giving NBC some hope in post-"ER" era by Hal Boedeker

NBC received some good news at 10: New cop drama "Southland" seems to be clicking. The show won the time slot with 9.6 million viewers. "Harper's Island," the new murder-mystery on CBS, ran second with 8.2 million. A "Private Practice" rerun on ABC was the tonic for 4.4 million.
TV ratings: CBS cruises even though 'Harper's Island' falls - 'Southland' continues decent performance for NBC - Zap2it

NBC took the lead at 10 with "Southland," 6.1/11, which was on par with its premiere last week. "Harper's Island" posted a 5.3/9 for CBS -- down significantly from its premiere -- while a "Private Practice" rerun on ABC drew a 3.1/5.
Nielsen Ratings - Overnight TV Ratings for Thursday, April 16, 2009; Including Southland, The Office, Parks and Recreation, Survivor: Tocantins, CSI, Harper's Island, In The Motherhood, Samantha Who?, Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, Hell's Kitchen,

Southland was remarkably consistent, it dropped a mere 10th of an 18-49 ratings point to a 3.1, although week over week Southland’s lead-in was better last night. A week ago 30 Rock had a 3.1 adults 18-49 rating at 9:30p, last night it had a 3.5.
Southland is the best show launch NBC has had in a while and given its consistency half hour to half hour, I expect NBC to add “The New Hit everybody is talking about” to the promotions any second now
Frompifeedback.com

In the week two 10 p.m. battle of NBC’s Southland versus Harper’s Island on CBS, the winner once again was Southland. The new John Wells crime drama averaged a 6.6/11 in the overnights -- 47 percent above lead-in 30 Rock with only a four percent loss from its week-ago premiere (6.9/12 on April 9). Gory Harper’s Island dipped to a 5.5/10, holding only 55 percent of the 9:30 p.m. portion of lead-in CSI (10.0/16). Compared to it’s week-ago debut (6.7/12), Harper’s Island was down by a more significant 18 percent. Yes, it looks like NBC has something here. But with Jay Leno waiting in the wings, Southland will have to find a new time period. Monday or Wednesday at 9 p.m. seems like the most logical options.