I know it was 20 years ago and television changed a few after this show came out. BUT I just can't stand the constant side plot one-off cases that don't add to the overall momentum of the developing storyline.
The characters are good, the acting is quite good, it has a lot of style, the intro song clip is perfect for its aesthetic and style, and the main plot development so far is awesome.
But holy shit every episode has 45% of it dragging the plot down by a one off potential pedophile, r***, or serial killer case. WE F****** GET IT. Los Angeles bad.
I will still continue to watch the whole thing because I'm invested and there's only a handful of great shows ever made so I'll take advantage of a potential amazing storyline.
Without the cases, the show wouldn't have the fact that all of these people are in fact working to lean on. If ALL that happened was the central corruption storylines, it wouldn't work. IMO
35
All_Lightning879Mar 29, 2026
+11
You do realize that this is a police procedural, right? Cases are what you need in addition to the storyline.
11
DeBattonMar 29, 2026
+6
The case-of-the-week stories get really good around season 3. Particularly for Dutch.
6
vacaxMar 29, 2026
+8
Being 55% over arching storyline was amazing at the time. You have to consider other shows at the time were like serials with 0% plot beyond the weekly case.
8
Albanian_TeaMar 29, 2026
+10
I hate to say this, but you need to look at this at the time it was made. It was very different from most of what was being made at the time. The “one offs” as you call them, was what a viewer was watching on the other channels. Keep watching.
10
Wack0HookedOnT0bac0Mar 29, 2026
-3
Yeah that's why I prefaced it with I understand that TV changed! Haha. I am still going to watch lol
-3
BlacksmithSolid645Mar 29, 2026
+7
It was a production trick that let them make the show. You can write and film those bits and put them in the show in basically any order and any episode.
Off the top of my head, it’s possible that even the bigger A and B stories didn’t always have to be shown in the exact order they were for the show to make sense, they also can be scrambled around.
7
PeakAfraid1069Mar 29, 2026
+4
this
4
RIFIREMar 29, 2026
+5
I miss when shows could balance a story of the week with an ongoing plot. I am sick of shows that are basically just an 8 hour movie.
5
BecoDasCavernasMar 29, 2026
Yeah, I didn't like the procedural aspect of this show.
0
WhatsIsMyNameMar 29, 2026
+1
lol I think they kinda need those stories. Also take into account when it aired. It was very early on in terms of prestige tv.
Also it gets better as it goes on for the most part.
1
SpruceDickspringMar 29, 2026
Honestly, it's five more seasons of the same formula. Dutch and Claudette solve the murder of the week and Vic and the team have to race against time to stop some sort of escalation of a gang war.
The best parts are the overarching plots in between the formulaic stuff and there's some great storylines where new characters are inserted into the narrative. But it does have it's share of tropes which wear thin after a while: namely, a lot of the subplots don't go anywhere and character development is virtually non-existent.
0
ticketstubs1Mar 29, 2026
+2
Sounds like it's not the show for you.
2
xamottMar 29, 2026
+1
I just couldn’t watch because of the relentless stupid jerky camera. No one f****** moves a camera like that. Shows like thus actually use software to make the camera jerk around. But no actual documentary has such terrible shaky camera. It makes me seasick. Can’t do it. And it’s a c**** gimmick to try to look “gritty and real”. Yet the f****** Wire didn’t use that stupid gimmick.
1
Wack0HookedOnT0bac0Mar 29, 2026
+1
It's really not THAT bad. Imo, the movies around that time were worse. Cloverfield, found footage horror. That shit was bad
1
xamottMar 29, 2026
Agreed on that!
0
KnotSoSaltyMar 29, 2026
-4
For me I just can’t get into because of all the camera BS. It dates the show so much.
-4
NzyMar 29, 2026
-4
I didn't like how they seemed to try to 180 on the pilot immediately by making the main character likeable and justifiable despite him just murdering another innocent cop just to hide his own corruption.
It's one of so many shows where the pilot is the best episode.
-4
Wack0HookedOnT0bac0Mar 29, 2026
+2
Hmmm I wouldn't go that far. He's done plenty of terrible shady stuff in the first 2 seasons. He's not a generally likeable person haha
2
NzyMar 29, 2026
-2
Not that bad. And the shows definitely tries to dial it back after that
20 Comments