The Glades

July 15th, 2010

I know. I know. I've neglected my audience.

It's not my fault- blame the producer that's ready to ring my neck over a missing television pilot. (Another word of advice, no matter how nuts they drive you, DON'T piss off your producer.)

Now that I'm finally at the bottom of a big ass pile of work, I'm going to use Movie Thursday as an excuse to talk about a new television show-

The Glades. (The promo pulled us all in. Admit it.)




I watched along with everyone else this past Sunday. I was intrigued, not just because I live in sunny Florida, but also because everyone has been raving about this show. I'm always skeptical when it comes to cop shows, since nothing beats The Shield in my mind, so it was good for me to branch out. Explore new beginnings.

I should have stuck to those Vic Mackey re-runs.

With all the hype it received, including the script being available online and at Barnes and Noble the weeks before the premiere, I expected more. I can't say it was the worst show I've ever seen, but it definitely wasn't the best.

So far, we know that Matt Passmore's character is a former Chicago cop that ended up in Florida. Great- now what? So now he does what he wants, golfs (a lot), runs around catching criminals, and he has a thing for a nurse whose husband is in prison and her ten year old smokes cigarettes.

If you ask me- the situations are forced. Extremely forced. From a screenwriting standpoint, some of it didn't even make sense.

As with any other cop show on the planet, all of this revolved around a case. This time, it was a headless woman. Great- so every episode is going to have that CSI feel with just a touch more drama than usual. Hasn't this been done in New York, Miami AND Vegas?

And don't even get me started on the acting. Kiele Sanchez, who plays Matt Passmore's love interest Callie, is the only one who exhibits talent. Don't get me wrong, Matt Passmore has a wit about him that women will fall in love with, but his tone is flat. He's almost hard to watch. And the supporting cast? Don't even get me started.

If you don't mind a little bit of cheese, or you're a fan of those damn CSI shows, this could work for you. Personally, I didn't care for it. I feel like A&E is trying to cash in on the success of other cable networks, like FX.

I think they should stick to reality shows.