Blue Bloods

Easily one of my favorite shows on television right now is Blue Bloods. Blue Bloods follows the lives of the Reagans, NYPD's Family of Law Enforcement.

The main characters in the family are Frank, the Police Commissioner and son of former PC Henry Reagan, who must balance his duties of running the largest police force in the world and being his kids' boss. His daughter Erin who is an Assistant District Attorney, son Danny who is a senior detective and fellow Marine Veteran, and son Jamie who is a new Harvard Law grad turned cop.

The aspect that I love the most about this show is their central focus on the importance of family. Most cop shows on television are focused around the crime and "catching the bad guy", but Blue Bloods, no matter what the situation in each episode, always comes back to the family at the dinner table, proving their constant support and love for each other.

This is something that we're starting to see less and less on television, and I think the central family aspect is something to be admired and appreciated. This is 100% a show I would recommend to anyone!

Brooklyn Nine-Nine

After tearfully finishing the series finale of Parks and Recreation, I needed to immediately watch another show to pick me up out of the post-finale sadness. I turned to Brooklyn Nine-Nine, a sitcom co-created by Daniel Goor and Michael Shur (Shur co-produced Parks and Rec in addition to The Office). So I figured this would be a good choice. As far as pilots go, it definitely caught my interest.

The sitcom follows smart but immature NYPD Detective Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg) and his fellow detectives plus conflict with the new commanding officer Ray Holt (Andre Braugher). The pilot opens with a very close up & melodramatic monologue from Peralta. Even though the opening is meant to be comical on Peralta's part, it still drew me in because there was dramatic music, a close-up shot to show intense emotion, and even some slow-motion movement. It was a quote from another movie, but nonetheless it made me want to keep watching. Peralta's monologue is cut off by his partner Detective Amy Santiago (Melissa Fumero) trying to solve the crime, and changes to a single-camera shooting method with many fast zooms. (very similar to The Office and Parks and Recreation styles). Throughout the episode, Peralta finds that all of his work methods are under scrutiny by Holt, including, but not limited to, his lack of cooperation to wear a tie, slightly offensive comments, and method of capturing criminals.

The secondary characters (the other detectives) are introduced by the Sergeant; there is b-roll of the character doing something ridiculous while he narrates the basic characteristics of their character. They include Detective Rosa Diaz (Stephanie Beatriz), Detective Charles Boyle (Joe Lo Truglio), and Gina Linetti (Chelsea Peretti). They are all very funny, have great chemistry with the main characters, and contribute a lot to the story.

The seeds of other funny storylines have also been planted, such as the rivalry between Peralta and Santiago. They have a bet for who can make more arrests; if she makes more arrests then he has to give her his nice car, and if he makes more arrests then she must go on a date with him. There is clearly a lot of sexual tension between them, so I suspect some sort of relationship will develop. It was also revealed later in the episode that the new captain is gay, so future episodes will probably lean on that fact heavily. 

I really enjoyed the pilot, and will most likely watch more episodes in the near future. (Especially since Andy Samberg is one of my favorite comedy actors).

Brooklyn Nine-Nine has been a hit so far and has recieved very positive reviews and awards! At the 2014 Golden Globes it won for Best Television Series (Comedy) and for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series (Andy Samberg). It has also just been renewed for a third season! 

You can catch episodes of the series on Hulu.

You do remind me a little of Hooch...

So, if I had to pick a favorite TV show of all time, it'd have to be Castle on ABC.  It's finished its fourth season and has already been picked up for syndication, much to my enjoyment, and will soon be airing its first episode of season five.  I don't know what exactly  about it draws me in so much, but there are plenty of things that I can point out in a heartbeat.

First, the plot.  Every TV viewer focuses first on the storyline first off, and this is no exception, despite the fact that being a TVR major should probably change that (old habits die hard, I guess).  Basically, a NYPD cop is followed by an award-winning novelist, and the typical shenanigans ensue as they follow criminals and a book series is born.  There's the will-they-or-won't-they-get-together aspect of it (spoiler alert: they do), but it isn't something overly romantic; the two are constantly back and forth at one another's throats.  It's part police procedural, part drama, part comedy, with a dash of romance tossed in.  I love it; the storylines vary between episodes, everything from serious murders to what appear to be alien abductions.  You can't get bored with that kind of surprise waiting every Monday night.

Then, there's the specifics of it.  The lighting is phenomenally done, and following one of the gaffers for the show on Instagram definitely adds to my appreciation of what they do.  It's filmed with some superb shots, always a variety used well, and they go the extra mile to make sure that everything looks authentic.  For example, after watching an interview with some crew members, I learned that they actually scuffed up the floor of the set, burned holes in it, and more, just to give it a real, aged police precinct look.

On top of that, the cast is an amazingly cohesive group, working well off of one another and truly convincing the viewers that they're the characters they portray.  Having gone on for five seasons now without losing the interest of their audience, I'd say that's not too shabby.  Now, there are the questions of whether or not the show will fall apart with the two main characters, Richard Castle and Kate Beckett, are together, but I have high hopes that it won't kill the series as it has in some other instances on television.  Any of the previews I've caught all look fantastic, so I'm very excited to start a new season.