TV Review: NYC 22 is No Rookie Blues

I expected great things from NYC 22 when it debuted this past Sunday night.

For starters, Robert Di Nero is an executive producer. Then there is Adam Goldberg who plays Ray. Ray was once a veteran news reporter, but decides to become a cop after he is laid off from his job.

If you're like me, you recognized Goldberg's face, but couldn't place where you know him from. Come to find out - you know him from a lot of different places, as he has been on every television show from " Medium" and "DeJa Vu", to "My Name is Earl."

Unfortunately, the debut episode fell rather flat for me. As usual, when you have a large ensemble cast, there is the adjustment period of figuring out who is who and what is what and how each character fits into the order of things. I thought this was the problem, but it wasn't the case. Instead, I decided that there is no point of view (POV) here. And that's where NYC22 fails.

Unlike "Rookie Blues" which centers around Andy, this episode tossed together our 6 rookie cadets and then sent them off in pairings of two to allow them to misbehave. Where "Rookie Blues" started with the other characters pivoting off of Andy and then expanding into their own storylines, "NYC 22" just gives us a chapter of each.

So--- we see Ahmad (Tom Reed) get profiled by other officers because he is from Afghanastan, Tonya (Judy Marte) with a chip on her shoulder, and Jayson (Harold House Moore) the once-professional-basketball-player, who has to convince his friend to turn himself for extorting money from shop owners.

We also see Ray lament his life and give himself the nickname "Lazarus" and Jennifer (Leelee Sobieski), who is a wisp of a thing, but was an MP in the military. Oh, and finally Kenny (Stark Sands), the token "all of my family have been police officers and I have a thing to prove" rookie. (I swear Jamie from "Blue Bloods" once listed almost the same pedigree - perhaps he and Kenny are related?)

Anyway, as you expect each pair gets into trouble. Two try to break up a gang fight in Harlem, two end up in a domestic situation with a gun to their heads, and two get assigned to help an old lady unstop a toilet. Or... maybe those two broke up the gang fight?

In the end, it was really hard to care. The characters were cardboard. It made me miss Andy and Sam and I wondered why the "22" would pair up two rookies and make them walk a beat instead of having them trained and mentored by more experienced officers who could tell them whats what.

I may give this one another try, but only when the DVR isn't busy recording "Desperate Housewives" and "Mad Men," which are on at the same time. I also may be wrong, but I don't think that even Robert Di Nero's name is going to keep this one around too long. It will be interesting to see.

TV Review: Scandal

Shonda Rhimes has done it again.

Thursday night, ABC debuted "Scandal" in its "Private Practice" slot following the Golden Child, otherwise known as "Grey's Anatomy."

The show "Scandal" steps away from the medical field, and introduces us instead to the world of crisis management. More specifically, the world of Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington), a super-tough crisis manager who runs a tight ship filled with "strays" as one of Olivia's employees tells newbie Quinn Perkins (Katie Lowes) on her first day.

This cast of "strays" include; Stephen Finch (Henry Ian Cusick), a cad lawyer that Olivia deems needs to have a "normal life." Harrison Wright (Columbus Short), the self-appointed regal "gladiator in a suit." Abby Whelan (Darby Stanchfield), the no-nonsense private investigator, and Huck (Guillero Diaz), a computer genius who once worked for the CIA.

When introducing a large group of people to an audience, the first episode is generally a mish-mash of scenes that is short of plot substance and quick on trying to explain what---is what. This episode of "Scandal" was no exception.

In short order, we had a suspected murderer introduced and sentenced to spend the rest of the episode in a closed office. We had some kind of subplot with a kidnapped baby kept in a file box (???) that is ultimately rescued from the Russian Mob when a $3 million dollar ransom is paid, and perhaps more importantly, we learn that Olivia once had an affair with the President of the United States and appears to still have a thing for him despite the small fact that he is married.

It's often hard to judge a first episode when it is fast-paced. Since Rhimes is at the helm of this speed cruiser, we'll have to give the show some time to develop. Can it reach "Grey's Anatomy" success, or is it a watered-down version of Private Practice? If you're a fan of the other two, you couldn't help but see some similarities between Olivia and Addison. You might have wondered if Quinn is the new Meredith or is she just another Amelia Shepherd?

In other words, switching from Seattle Grace and the Oceanside Wellness Center to a lofty law office in Washington DC may take a bit of getting use to, but it should also be interesting to watch.