The Wire and Detroit 1-8-7

            A comparison between The Wire and Detroit 1-8-7 is really case of apples and oranges. Indeed, a case of apples and oranges where the apple is in season and the orange has long past being slightly rotten so instead of comparing perhaps it’s best to analyze them individually. These two shows are chronicling similar fictitious arrangements of cops and bad guys, but in drastically different manners. Let’s start with the apple.

            The Wire has probably been described as ‘gritty’ so often now that it’s a cliché of the show but it’s the most apt description of the show, from the storylines and writing to the filming and cinematography, it is all gritty. The Wire is a show that holds you on the edge of your seat ready to jump from whatever happens in the next frame. It holds the viewer in this pose not so much from awe-inspiring storylines or intelligent performances but more from the fearful realism it all depicts. Viewers should be forewarned at the start of each show that they could possibly get a few worry lines or develop premature crows feet from the wincing this show produces. It is, like they say, a show unlike any other on television and all that sort of thing and it is also, like they say, a show that boldly broke the mold of the typical cop show and all that sort of thing too. But what this show does best is what television is meant to do, take the viewer out of their own living room into a reality completely different than their own. The Wire is a show that is legitimately rife with verism and for those who like that sort of thing, it’s the best of its kind, but not for the faint of heart.

            Detroit 1-8-7 is this season’s answer from ABC to the network executive’s question, “How about a cop show?” The show follows the usual self-contained formula of these shows. In these shows drama launches quickly and carries the audience through a series of cliffhangers between commercials. The characters in these old chestnuts are nameless, archetypical bodies performing their functions. Detroit 1-8-7 follows this formula and it is a formula that many people could easily tire of after seeing it done dozens of times. And then there are others who don’t tire of it and will, if ABC hopes and prays enough, fill their rating quota. There is actually nothing truly wrong with this hackneyed form. It can provide intrigue and interest to the viewer just enough to distract them but not enough that they can’t carry on afterwards. And there are shows that utilize the form exceptionally well, such as Law & Order: SVU, unfortunately Detroit 1-8-7 does not make use of it that well.  But all is not lost for those appreciative viewers of this form, for if it does not make it past the network cuts, there will surely be another facsimile to take its place next season.