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Thursday, October 25, 2007

NBC's Life - A Review

Have you checked out the new NBC show, Life?

I missed the first few episodes and tried to get into Dirty, Sexy Money, but even though I enjoyed the episodes of that I watched, it didn't really "take." That's what makes Life interesting to me (no puns intended here):

In general, I'm bored with these TV shows that have these great, sweeping, overarching stories; if you miss so much as one episode, you're basically lost in the grander scheme of things. But even worse, these grand, sweeping stories go on and on and on because, once they are finalized... like, where does the series go?

So then they start a new grand, epic storyline that goes on and on and eventually everyone tires of them and they fold quietly and people forget, except for the rare drunken reverie, where someone goes, "You remember that show...?"

So I tired of Dirty, Sexy Money after a few episodes and caught an episode of Life and really enjoyed it. The main character is a cop (I hate cops) and it's a cop show (I do not like American police officers), so I didn't bother with Life at first. But I caught an episode on one of the cable channels and I honestly enjoyed it. I kept trying to watch Dirty, Sexy Money, but after another episode or two of that, I found myself wondering what was going on over to Life, so I finally broke down and started watching it.

I'm glad I did.

It's a fascinating premise: the main character was set-up by the LA police (I said fascinating, not unbelievable) and spent 12 years in prison, where he found Buddhism and Philosophy. Finally, his conviction was reversed and he was granted a sizable settlement and allowed back onto the force as a detective. Okay, maybe the last bit is a tad unbelievable, but I don't know how that works.

Either way, it's an honest show about cops (I know, that's... ironic, to say the least) - not another one of those gritty, ball-busting shows that tries to falsely sketch American cops as hard-working, salt-of-the-earth, good guys who are forced to make complicated moral decisions everyday and usually find they have to sink to the criminal elements' level in order to get to the truth. Oh, there's still a bit of that here and there, mind you, but by and large, the cops are portrayed a bit closer to the truth: they are real people and most of them are really corrupt - far more willing to sell themselves and everyone around them out to make a little extra cash than to do an honest day's work.

Enter Detective Crews, the philosophy-spouting former cop turned prisoner turned millionaire detective, who generally remains above it all on some level, while still being down-to-earth enough to understand the people on both sides of the fence. It's an unlikely premise, but Life makes it work - quite well, actually - and even makes it interesting enough that your suspension of disbelief is never questioned.

Recommended.

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