“We might be the last assembly line in Detroit.” – Det. Louis Fitch
For a “cop show,” there’s a tremendous amount of subtle character touches going on in the Detroit 1-8-7 pilot that work very well. I like the way that the show doesn’t feel the need to lay on thick the typical character types (here’s the alcoholic cop, here’s the super ambitious cop, here’s the racist cop, etc.). Instead, we get offhand references to Sgt. Jesse Longford (James McDaniel) trying to close on a retirement house in Tuscany, new Homicide Det. Damon Washington (Jon Michael Hill) getting calls from his wife that gives background on their struggles to have a child, and learning about Det. Louis Fitch (Michael Imperioli) through seeing how his colleagues react and refer to him.
I grew to like this show the deeper into the pilot I got. The little quirks and subtle offbeat moments were what did it most as they transformed what could easily be a run of the mill cops and bad guys show into something else (and a show with potential is just one of those things). Case in point is Fitch’s penchant for calling Washington on his cell phone within eyesight when he’s looking to make a point (whereas in normal circumstances he’s distant and aloof). In the wrong hands this could have felt awfully clunky, but Imperioli pulls it off beautifully.
The subtlety and quirkiness combine for a fantastic crescendo when Fitch rescues Det. Ariana Sanchez (Natalie Martinez) from a car after she gets into an accident during a chase. After Fitch efficiently and professionally gets her safely away from the vehicle, they look at each other and the setup is the classic romantic moment, or the moment where one character or the other would typically make some sort of joke to diffuse the sexual tension.
Instead, we have Fitch, a fairly enigmatic guy who knows how to ramp up his humanity when it comes to the job but otherwise has poor or at least strange communication skills. He brushes Sanchez’ hair back, not in a romantic gesture but, as he explains, “You’ve got some lint.” It’s played straight, and that moment made me fall in love (or at least a strong like) a little bit with the show.
There are some other things that don’t work quite on that level. Fitch’s decision to walk into a building to talk down a psycho who took his family hostage is a situation we’ve seen a million times. While we get more of a sense of his background or at least his motivations as he heroically saves the day, it feels a bit like a Big Suspenseful Scene jammed into a pilot. This goes double for the episode’s cliffhanger, where Washington gets shot basically out of nowhere in the stationhouse after he and Fitch finally seemed to be gelling as partners .
Still, there’s lots of potential here and I’ll be tuning in to see if the show can build on a very solid debut.
More thoughts on the Detroit 1-8-7 debut:
* There’s an effective use of subtitles to set the scene and very basic character information without interrupting the flow of the story. And then it’s additionally nice that the subtitles help us to follow multiple homicide cases and keep basic character information straight throughout the episode (such as “Pharmacy Double” – Shannon Burke’s Residence). Some might find that to be a little heavy handed in terms of spoon feeding an audience but I appreciate it as it allows me to absorb what’s going on quickly while suspending disbelief.
* Another subtle touch: the fake puke prank on Washington’s desk feels legit to how a real Homicide unit would haze a new guy after he lost his dinner while on his first case.
* Some good musical selections to set the Detroit mood: Stevie Wonder’s “Higher Ground,” The Temptations’ “Papa Was A Rolling Stone,” etc.
* “No, strike that. It’s a .45” – Det. Mahajan. Absolutely hilarious that not only did Mahajan and Longford find different shell casings than the ones they were looking for on a highway overpass, but that it doesn’t really faze them in the slightest. “That’s what happens when you’re looking for bullets in Detroit,” he then adds.
* “On a scale of one to ten, ten being totally believable, this is how good that lie was,” Fitch says while flipping over a notepad with a big fat zero on it.
* This may have been the best line of the episode: “Look at you, you green as a f—ing Martian. Come on man, what is this y’all, Training Day?” – Pooch to Washington
This review originally appeared on TV Geek Army.