Southland is a vivid portrait of what it is like to be a police officer in Los Angeles. 

The series follows the professional and personal lives of several cops, both uniforms and plainclothes. 

Among the uniforms are the rookie (Ben McKenzie), who comes from a wealthy background, and his training officer/partner (Michael Cudlitz), a man secretly addicted to pain pills.  There is also the alcoholic cop (C. Thomas Howell) and his female partner (Arija Barekis), who is about to report his bizarre behavior to their superiors.

The detectives include Sammy Bryant (Shawn Hatosy), saddled with an unstable wife (Emily Bergl), African-American Lydia Adams (Regina King), who lives with her mother, can’t seem to maintain a relationship with a man and is bothered by the fact that a crime in Brentwood gets more police attention than one in South Central Los Angeles, plus Dan Salanger (Michael McGrady), Russell Clarke (Tom Everett Scott) and Nate Moretta (Kevin Alejandro), all of whom have various problems on the domestic front.

Although the focus is on the personal lives of these cops, they do work some interesting cases, many of which have to do with gangbangers.  Most of the storylines are concluded in one episode, but two of them stretch over the entire seven-episode season.  One deals with the alcoholic cop (Howell), and the other concerns a young African-American girl (Carla Jeffery) who witnessed a gang shooting and the gang’s attempts to assassinate her before she can testify.

CRITIQUE

Aside from moving Jay Leno to ten o’clock, the biggest mistake made by the brains at NBC last year was to cancel Southland, which was subsequently picked up by TNT.

Indeed, Southland is the best cop show to come along since The Shield.  It’s filled with well-drawn, multi-faceted characters, realistic dialogue and taut, violent action sequences.  Perhaps best of all, it is not shot on a studio backlot.  The series is actually filmed on the streets of Los Angeles, including many gritty locales that have never before been used as a movie or TV background.

One of the season’s most exciting sequences takes place in the “Westside” episode, a car chase through the streets and back alleys of the city, photographed, for the most part, from a helicopter.

The cast, many of which are unknowns, is uniformly excellent.

In the abbreviated first season, the series’ creators appear to be experimenting with its format.  A couple of the episodes are related in a straight linear fashion, but most of the segments begin at the story’s conclusion, then flashback several hours, developing the narrative from that point forward.

Viewers familiar with The New Centurions, the 1972 movie adapted from former Los Angeles cop Joseph Wambaugh’s best-selling novel, should recognize a couple of sequences that appear to be lifted from that earlier work, including the season’s shocking ending.

The first season's 7 episodes are presented on two discs in their uncensored version, meanining the coarse language is intact and not bleeped out (like it was during the broadcast run).

New episodes of Southland premiere on TNT March 2.

THE VIDEO

The anamorphic widescreen picture is broadcast sharp.  There are no noticeable flaws.

THE AUDIO

The Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound is excellent.

THE EXTRAS

Southland: Redefining the Cop Drama: A 20-minute featurette featuring interviews with the cast, creators and crew of the series.

FINAL THOUGHT

Fans of the series should purchase this set, as the episodes can definitely be enjoyed for multiple viewings.