Training Day

"Training Day" has a problem with tone. I liked the film, which has a gritty feel to it and an unrelenting drive to a dramatic climax. The television show, on the other hand, gives us the same two characters--the rookie and the grizzled veteran--but shifts from tone to tone. It seems to start as a serious, intense action film, then morphs into a semi-silly sequence where the veteran (Bill Paxton) takes out a house full of bad guys with a grin on his face and wise cracks at the ready(reminiscent of "Die Hard"), then a tragic occurrence, followed by a clichéd visit to a drug dealer (who has a pet baboon).

Clichés run rampant in the first episode which is further ruined by dialogue that leaves nothing to the imagination of the viewer, spelling out the conflicts, anxieties, and doubts of the two main characters.

Bill Paxton does a good job of playing the irreverent smart aleck, and a film like "Guardians of the Galaxy" would suit him well. Justin Cornwell, who is the cop in training, plays the earnest detective well. But the show lacks a consistent focus.

I'll start by saying this is not a perfect show, but then how many shows are today? I will say it caught my interest initially with the casting of Bill Paxton for it's lead. I didn't jump on the show when it first aired otherwise it would've been a bit more nerve-whacking to have to follow week-to-week. However, I'm glad I finally was able to marathon the first half season.

Keep in mind, crime shows are so not my thing. The last somewhat crime show I watched was "The Following", and that was similar for the casting of Kevin Bacon in that show's lead character. I will say that show was far better than the "Training Day" series, but then who doesn't like a serial killer in TV. However, like all shows had its flaws. I love "The Walking Dead", "Orphan Black", "Bates Motel", and "American Horror Story" for just some of my favorite shows. What do those shows have in common with "Training Day"? Nothing, except that they all have their flaws. Minor flaws in comparison to this show, but flaws.

I agree with some of the criticism with "Training Day", that the plot is usually a bit muddled or rushed. The chemistry with most of the cast just isn't there at times, maybe even half of the time. Other than the character of Frank Rourke, I'm really not too interested in the other characters. However, the show is still watchable because of Bill Paxton. His role and his acting ability just brings life to everything somehow, someway. I honestly don't think anybody else would have had that star power for this show's lead role. And I really don't understand anyone just flat out hating this show. True, the show could've been closer to a 8 to 9 star show. I would have liked to have seen the more gritty look of L.A. that the movie showed, and I could have seen a much more better story-line than what the show currently is running with. But the show is still fun. Most cliché one-liners are boring or are said without hitting the right note, but then there's Bill Paxton. The guy is talented on delivery alone. I would give the show 6 stars, but Bill Paxton earns my seventh star.

As for the show now with the passing of Bill Paxton. I don't think it has much of a chance if any to go on. It was his baby in a sense. He will be missed for a very long time like most are.

I seriously don't understand how this show is only rated 5.5 stars. When every individual episode has no rating less than 6.7 stars. Maybe the bad reviewers take the time to rate the show down, and write a bad review, but not rate every individual episode? You want to watch a bad show, go watch reality TV or a game show. Watch Teen Mom 3, or The Wall, because "Training Day" is a good show.

I have read some less than stellar reviews of this show but I watched the first three episodes nonetheless. The reviewers are correct in that the show does not pass up very many cop show clichés. LA setting, bad white guy black good guy, bad Russians, bad former military, nasty black woman in charge, smarmy lawyer, killer hot women, cop drives classic Detroit iron and on and on. You get the idea.

All that said, I will always give Jerry Bruckheimer produced shows a shot. He invented a genre with CSI and Top Gun remains little Tom Chruis' best movie. This one is beginning to grow on me.

TV shows about bad cops are all too frequent lately. Some have been pretty good (first season of "Rogue" with Thandie Newton) and some have been slow to start ("Shades of Blue"). The latest version is "Training Day", based loosely on the hit 2001 film of the same name starring Denzel Washington and directed by Antoine Fuqua. Fuqua returns as the executive producer of the TV show, with a few changes, not the least being that it is no longer a "day" but an entire season they are shooting for.

Bill Paxton plays the "bad cop" role and he does surprisingly well. I also like Katrina Law who plays a hard ass woman on the team.The trainee (Justin Cornwell) doesn't fare so well, and no one else really stands out. Think of the quality of the supporting cast from the film (Scott Glenn, Tom Berenger, Raymond J Barry, Eva Mendes, Raymond Cruz) and the TV show comes nowhere near that level.

It's all pretty predictable and there are no real insights or interesting characters. It's all one-dimensional and been told before.

It gets better with each episode, but once again, nothing you haven't seen before.

PS - In case you didn't know, Bill Paxton died on Feb 25 2017 at the age of 61.He was a pretty good actor and his work in this series gets better and better with each episode. Personally I think it's among his finest performances.

Loved this series, broke my heart that CBS did not honor Bill Paxton by airing the last episodes after his death. The story was a departure from the film made some years ago, but the acting was good, the action superb. Strongly feel many law & order or crime shows are based on real happenings in the world and as such, this show was very entertaining. Justin Cornwell did a good job with the role he played as well. Hope to see him in something very soon if this show is tossed out.

CBS is becoming known as a network that screws up a lot of scheduling on a regular basis. Getting tired of that aspect.