Fox is once again getting the jump on the other three networks with it’s fall premieres. Monday night saw the debut of their new cop show, K-Ville.
K-Ville, short for Katrinaville, is set in the 9th Ward of post-hurricane-trounced New Orleans. It follows the on the job and at home troubles of long-time local cop Marlin Boulet (Anthony Anderson) and his new partner, Trevor Cobb (Cole Hauser). Botlet’s old partner cracked under the pressure of the job during Hurricane Katrina and ran off, leaving Boulet up to his neck in injured and panicked people. Needless to say, he’s a little leery of taking on a new partner, even two years after the flood waters have receded.
As far as cop shows go, this one’s pretty standard. The caper they foil in the pilot is a little over the top in its execution and resolution, but the character interaction has the seeds of something that could be interesting to watch. The fact that it’s actually filmed in New Orleans is nice from both a realism angle and a humanitarian angle. But that’s about where the uniqueness of the show seems to end.
Also on the negative side is the editing technique used in the show. The cuts are disorienting, not in the usual MTV way, but in a “How the heck did the characters get there?” sort of way. In some cases, it makes things look just plain silly. We jump from being inside when a drive by shooting happens to being half-way into the chase–and then after just a few screeching twists and turns we jump again to the car they’re chasing being on its roof and empty. It’s like they couldn’t afford to film the important parts of the chase, the real action and the stunts. So all we’re left with is filler.
It doesn’t do anything new–not that there’s that much new that can be done with the cop show–and without something more distinctive than its setting, it won’t last long. Especially once NBC’s Monday night stars up. The lead in from Prison Break may help it last half the season, but I don’t expect it to last much longer.
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