'Detroit 1-8-7' is a cop show that needs your attention
DETROIT 1-8-7
Tuesday, 10 p.m., ABC
1-der why ABC thinks this show is gr-8? (Sorry. Got nothing for 7.) The Michigan metropolis' death spiral makes for fascinating background, but what's in the foreground is the same old police procedural. At least it's filmed on location, and stars ex-"Soprano" Michael Imperioli. Credit: ABC
WHAT IT'S ABOUT In two separate stories tonight, Det. Louis Fitch (Michael Imperioli) investigates the murder of a young executive, while Sgt. Jesse Longford (James McDaniel) heads off into the mean streets with Det. Damon Washington (Jon Michael Hill) to find the perp of an apparent drug-related slaying.
MY SAY The post-"Sopranos" Imperioli has been a bit of an enigma wrapped in an enigma. He has played three roles of note, including this one, all of them cops ("Life on Mars" and the movie "The Lovely Bones" are the other two). Throw Det. Nick Falco of "Law & Order" into the pot - a recurring role during "The Sopranos" years - and that makes four.
Makes you wonder if there is a message here, of the talented actor refusing to become typecast as the hothead with the highly flexible trigger finger. As Christopher Moltisanti, he was one of the most electrifying characters on arguably the greatest series in TV history. But watching him as Fitch, you find yourself waiting around for one good hair-curling 120-volt charge. Refusing to chew scenery, or burn it down, Imperioli has let others step up, like McDaniel, who has really become "Detroit's" standout, along with the Motor City itself.
McDaniel ("NYPD Blue") is excellent as the weary cop who studies Italian in preparation for the glorious Tuscany retirement you know will never come. Imperioli is, too, but we really need some more Christopha here. Meanwhile, there is so much else to like about this show. The writing is clean and unfussy. The humor can be bleak but rarely bitter. There are many supporting actors and most of them are effective. The Detroit of "Detroit" isn't the Baltimore of "The Wire" - squalid and forever lost - but a functioning city with a functioning police force. "Detroit 1-8-7" actually feels optimistic; if only ABC were.
BOTTOM LINE ABC has ordered a few more episodes, which qualifies as tepid support, but tepid is better than none. The network needs to give it a full season - and let viewers watch it grow and flourish. Without a doubt, it would.
GRADE B+
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