"Southland" Season Two Talkback (Spoilers)

[The Penguin]

Last April, we met some of the police officers and detectives that keep the city of Los Angeles safe presented in a gritty, more documentary-style format. Scheduled to premiere in October, NBC cancelled the series before its season began. It was eventually saved by TNT, who started with the seven season one episodes which have now completed their first run on TNT.

In the season one finale (capping off the marathon at 9 p.m. ET (http://www.toonzone.net/forums/showthread.php?p=3546705#post3546705)), Det. Russell Clarke went to check on his neighbor and got a bullet for his trouble! Find out if he survives tonight at 10 p.m. ET (replay at 1 a.m. ET) on the second season premiere of Southland on TNT.


http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e92/Shadow0285/Southland.jpg"Phase Three" - Season Premiere
Tuesday, March 2, 2010 @ 10 p.m. ET/9 CT on TNT
Lydia and Russell’s replacement, Rene Cordero, investigate a possible abduction of an elderly man by a known drug addict. Nate and Sammy investigate a freeway shooting and wind up threatening the integrity of a major undercover operation. And Chickie finds herself in the middle of a mini-riot after her new partner shoots at a 13-year-old boy.

Season One talkback (http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=228008)

TNT.tv/Southland (http://www.tnt.tv/series/southland/)

[mr.happy]

It's no wonder NBC gave up on this show. I had actually taken it off my schedule, but decided to give the season premiere a shot after all. It wasn't worth it. There's just no sign of improvement at all, and there's still that weird sense of distance from the characters. They do and say all the things fictional cops should, but for some reason, they just don't feel real or interesting, and the plot doesn't offer much relief from the tedium of it all.

Anyway, I said last season that there would be more dramatic potential in Whatshisface surviving the shooting, so at least they didn't go for the rainy funeral cliche, but it was kind of difficult to work out exactly what they were doing with it. I don't feel like sticking around to find out.

[The Penguin]

Funny, I felt like I enjoyed the show more than I did way last spring. I watched the first season finale cap off the marathon and enjoyed having the show back.

I thought this was a good place to pick the show back up. It wasn't immediately after Det. Russell "Whatshisface" Clarke was shot, but it also wasn't so long after that all the characters had moved on from what we saw.

As always, the cops are the big winners with Ben moving onto the next phase of his training period (and getting to drive the car!). The citizen who thinks the police can do anything they ask is always good for a laugh and the guy who wanted them to give him a ride was good. Chickie is good to be rid of Dewey, but her new partner was not a lot better setting off that mini riot. The three did a great job getting out of that situation.

Moretta & Bryant getting in the with task force should be interesting (which may also be a way to move them to the side). I don't remember the specifics now, but they did a couple of things to try and point out that they aren't two white guys and Moretta is Hispanic which I thought I was good because some think they're indistinguishable. I know one thing, I don't need to see Sammy's wife ever again.

According to what was reported before NBC cancelled the show, Amaury Nolasco's Det. Rene Cordero will not be on the show long, but I enjoyed him with Det. Adams and Lydia hoping Clarke would come back tomorrow.

[mr.happy]

The citizen who thinks the police can do anything they ask is always good for a laugh and the guy who wanted them to give him a ride was good.Was that in the season 2 opener? I thought that was last season?


Chickie is good to be rid of Dewey, but her new partner was not a lot better setting off that mini riot. The three did a great job getting out of that situation.I thought Chickie's new partner was a little too much of a cartoon for a show like this, and that they, as usual, completely buried the lead, for lack of a better term. Being saddled with this buffoon was apparently a sort of unofficial punishment for going against the "cop code" and ratting out her former partner, rather than trying to help him, but the show seems to have a real problem telling its story. It almost feels like this aimless documentary style needs narration to get its point across. It seems like they're trying to nurture the idea of an escalation in gang activity, but it doesn't seem to be getting any real traction.

I just get restless and bored watching this show, and half the time I have no idea what's going on. Was I meant to remember or know who the guy that got stabbed in prison was? I know he was a snitch who talked to the Un-dynamic Duo earlier, but other than that, I have no clue about where he fits in.


According to what was reported before NBC cancelled the show, Amaury Nolasco's Det. Rene Cordero will not be on the show longAh yes, i seem to remember there was some controversy about him being dropped. Perhaps Chickie ratted him out for trying to infiltrate the department to help free Scofield and his giant-headed brother from the local prison? Her punishment will be a new partner from the Heroes cast.

[The Penguin]

Was that in the season 2 opener? I thought that was last season?I'm pretty sure it was this season. I only watched the finale from last season again and that was the old lady who was upset McDonald's was out chicken nuggets.


I just get restless and bored watching this show, and half the time I have no idea what's going on. Was I meant to remember or know who the guy that got stabbed in prison was? I know he was a snitch who talked to the Un-dynamic Duo earlier, but other than that, I have no clue about where he fits in.Moretta & Bryant obviously knew him, but I didn't get the impression that I as the viewer was supposed to.

[The Penguin]

New Southland tonight at 10 p.m. ET and replaying at 12 a.m. ET on TNT.


http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e92/Shadow0285/Southland.jpg"Butch and Sundance"
Tuesday, March 9, 2010 @ 10 p.m. ET/9 CT on TNT
John and Ben are the first responders to a gruesome triple homicide in Hancock Park, where a mother is bludgeoned to death and her young daughters are found bound, gagged, raped and dead in their bedrooms. In investigating the case, Lydia and Rene realize they have two very different styles of doing detective work. Sammy continues to have problems with his wife, who seems unable to complete even the simplest of tasks. And Ben confronts John about his increasing reliance on pain pills.

[The Penguin]

So should I assume we don’t have much love out there as a collective group for Southland?

Last week I mentioned I could go without seeing Tammy Bryant again and then comes back to freak out at the fake Sam’s Club when the cashier wouldn’t let her use Sammy’s card. They both should have known better. I’m going to assume in good faith that the card is new. Otherwise how could you not know that? I know that and I’ve never had a Sam’s Club card.

He must have been, but I don’t really remember Nate being married last season or his wife being pregnant. I did remember that his sister was actually his daughter, but the other info felt new. As if that wasn’t enough of a problem, now it seems Mercedes is dating one of the gang-bangers at the car lot they are watching.

Seeing them both again jogged my memory, but after such a long layoff, I had pretty much forgotten about Ben’s sister and their vapid “friends” and Cooper’s drugs actually being illegal. The latter adds to Ben’s concern about his partner. I’m now (re-)worried about him too.

Lydia & Rene make kind of an interesting team. I hate knowing that Amaury Nolasco is on borrowed time, but I’ll just watch and enjoy.

[The Penguin]

Anyone for Southland? If we don't have any interested parties this week, we'll let this thread rest. See it tonight on TNT at 10 p.m. or 12 a.m. ET.


http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e92/Shadow0285/Southland.jpg"U-Boat"
Tuesday, March 16, 2010 @ 10 p.m. ET/9 CT on TNT
Ben winds up in a patrol unit alone for the first time. Among the cases he has to handle on his own are a missing girl and a suspected stalking case. Lydia and Rene spend the day checking in on and helping out Brianna and her baby. Over in Gangs, Gil Puente leads the task force to take down ex-banger Trinny Day, but Sal and Sammy have a hard time working with Puente. While patrolling with John, it is clear that Chickie has no command presence, but she is determined to work harder and become a good cop again.

[The Penguin]

The shortened second season of Southland comes to end tonight at 10 p.m. ET (and 12 a.m. ET) on TNT. Originally a 13-episode order by NBC, they cancelled the show with six episodes completed, which were eventually picked by TNT without an additional order. Before the finale, catch up on all the season's episodes beginning at 5 p.m. ET. As of yet, there is no news on TNT's interest in a third season.

TVGuide.com: Southland Creator on Finale: "Every Character Is Faced with a Huge Crisis" (http://www.tvguide.com/News/Southland-Finale-Biderman-1016963.aspx)

I'll be happy to join anyone interested in discussing the finale or the slate of episodes.


http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e92/Shadow0285/Southland.jpg"Maximum Deployment" - Season Finale
Tuesday, April 6, 2010 @ 10 p.m. ET/9 CT on TNT
John gets an unexpected request from his ex-wife just as he, Ben and Chickie are sent out as part of a maximum deployment to capture the “Canyon Rapist,” a perp who has been impersonating a cop. Lydia gets re-partnered with Russell for a double-homicide case. And Sal gives his wife Susan a special gift to commemorate her promotion, but their night turns into a disaster when their daughter reveals Sal’s affair with TV news reporter Mia Sanchez.


Season Two marathon:

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e92/Shadow0285/Southland.jpg"Phase Three"
Tuesday, April 6, 2010 @ 5 p.m. ET/4 CT on TNT
Original airdate: March 2, 2010
Lydia and Russell’s replacement, Rene Cordero, investigate a possible abduction of an elderly man by a known drug addict. Nate and Sammy investigate a freeway shooting and wind up threatening the integrity of a major undercover operation. And Chickie finds herself in the middle of a mini-riot after her new partner shoots at a 13-year-old boy.

"Butch and Sundance"
Tuesday, April 6, 2010 @ 6 p.m. ET/5 CT on TNT
Original airdate: March 9, 2010
John and Ben are the first responders to a gruesome triple homicide in Hancock Park, where a mother is bludgeoned to death and her young daughters are found bound, gagged, raped and dead in their bedrooms. In investigating the case, Lydia and Rene realize they have two very different styles of doing detective work. Sammy continues to have problems with his wife, who seems unable to complete even the simplest of tasks. And Ben confronts John about his increasing reliance on pain pills.

"U-Boat"
Tuesday, April 6, 2010 @ 7 p.m. ET/6 CT on TNT
Original airdate: March 16, 2010
Ben winds up in a patrol unit alone for the first time. Among the cases he has to handle on his own are a missing girl and a suspected stalking case. Lydia and Rene spend the day checking in on and helping out Brianna and her baby. Over in Gangs, Gil Puente leads the task force to take down ex-banger Trinny Day, but Sal and Sammy have a hard time working with Puente. While patrolling with John, it is clear that Chickie has no command presence, but she is determined to work harder and become a good cop again.

"The Runner"
Tuesday, April 6, 2010 @ 8 p.m. ET/7 CT on TNT
Original airdate: March 23, 2010
Lydia and Rene arrive in Compton, where a young USC student was murdered. Kenny and Andy canvass the neighborhood while Nate and Sammy investigate a house nearby where a party took place the night before. John and Ben head to Indian Wells for the funeral of a cop that proves to be very personal for John. They also stop at a halfway house for cops to see how Dewey (guest star C. Thomas Howell) is doing. And Lydia decides to talk to her mother about something that has been festering between them for years.

"What Makes Sammy Run?"
Tuesday, April 6, 2010 @ 9 p.m. ET/8 CT on TNT
Original airdate: March 30, 2010
Gangsters open fire in a crowded club and kill two bangers, one of whom has a connection to an officer. Meanwhile, tensions rise between Sal and Gil on the gang task force. And Sammy confronts his wife, Tammi, after discovering that she has been out photographing gang members.