Dark Blue

The script is not bad, the directing and all not bad either ... but although Dylan McDermott was brilliant--if not perfect--in playing his character in every setting in The Practice, Lt Carter Shaw in Dark Blue is one role which should never have been offered to him/which he should never have accepted.

Let us face it, nearly every actor/actress has roles they cannot possibly play convincingly--Streep can pull off Sophie's Choice, The Devil Wears Prada and Mamma Mia, but that does not mean that everyone else can.

If you adore Dylan McDermott even if he just sat there watching paint dry, then there is no reason for you not to enjoy Dark Blue. But if you are the type of viewer who is distracted by actors playing roles which do not suit them--as in Michael Weston in BURN NOTICE Season 3-Episode 5 "Signals and Codes"--then you will be distracted throughout much of Dark Blue.

Dark Blue truly takes these cop shows to a whole other level. I have always found the CSI, Law & Order type series to be so dreadfully boring they could actually put me to sleep. Dark Blue makes you feel more like you are watching a movie then a series which is a unique experience. We don't have to wait 45 minutes out of the hour for only a few minutes of action and gun fire because it's always happening and they keep you interested. Unlike focusing on the typical investigate this investigate that Dark Blue is all about a deep undercover unit hitting the streets and putting themselves right into the action. The cops are the ones who are actually committing the crimes so they can make that next bust. Save the put me to sleep and do some paper work garbage for CSI I promise you this one is a big hit and will keep you entertained. I would like to add that this review only applied to season 1. Unfortunately the show took a wrong direction for season 2 resulting in an epic fail and cancel. Everything I said that lacked in the typical cop series is what they applied to season 2. It's a shame because they really had something great here.

Unconventional LAPD officer Lt. Carter Shaw (Dylan McDermott) leads an undercover unit employing questionable tactics. Ty Curtis (Omari Hardwick) is struggling to maintain both his work and his marriage to Melissa. Dean Bendis (Logan Marshall-Green) is on the edge of his dark side. Carter recruits Jaimie Allen (Nicki Aycox) into the team counting on her abilities to lie such as her new identity hiding from her criminal past. In the second season, they are joined by FBI agent Alex Rice (Tricia Helfer).

This show relies on a dark crime gangster sense in a police procedural. It's very manufactured at times. Luckily, McDermott has the intensity to pull it off. The gangster lowlife sensibility gets a bit tired. I like Nicki Aycox's storyline. However, the rest of it blends into one giant mishmash of tough guy bravado.

First off, I'd like to know how you guys were able to swipe the name I had registered for the last eight years! :) Secondly,I'd like to say congrats to your writers and actors for putting together a nice piece of work. Dark Blue clearly defines the fine line between what an 'undercover' and a 'plainclothes'cop. Most of your viewers will catch on if they haven't already. Although you've taken police genre in a new direction, I've seen several flaws in some of the action scenes. I know this because I'm an ex-NYPD undercover cop. I wonder how much more gritty your show would be if you infused outside help from someone who's actually been a real 'undercover'. Click here: Welcome to Derek Wright Associates

Great start!

When I first sat down to watch this show I was expecting another formulaic, "fast and loose with the rules but always just on the right side of the line" cop show. I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised.

Dark Blue is indeed refreshingly dark; the characters are predictably tortured souls with an interesting mix of personalities and histories that add to the depth of the plot lines, they are all superbly written and acted to the degree that sometimes the plot becomes something of a happenstance as we follow the personal journeys of the protagonists.

the plots themselves have all been seen before in numerous guises, but Dark Blue puts a new and slightly twisted slant on them that can fool you into thinking that you have never seen them before, but it is worth remembering that the case is not really the important thing here; it is what the case does to the characters that defines the show.

All in all, I would recommend this show to anyone who wants to watch a new and gritty take on a genre that has not yet been pushed to these limits.