Though its pedigree was top-drawer, the fine CBS police series Brooklyn South never really clicked with primetime audiences (or, according to critics of the network, never got a chance to click). All the same, the program ... more »offered interesting possibilities for its famous creators to decant old wine into new bottles. Steven Bochco and his lead writer on NYPD Blue, David Milch, produced this show about uniform cops working a tough New York City beat while coping with the professional and personal fallout of sundry catastrophes. If the series didn't establish, as NYPD Blue did, a new benchmark in stylish television from the start, it certainly shocked audiences into high-stakes drama with a premiere in which several key characters are slaughtered during an ambush by a rooftop sniper. This made for a hell of a way to introduce a series cast, i.e., by establishing most of them as survivors, but Milch and Bochco made inspired use of ethical and emotional ripples from that horrifying event to inform the rest of Brooklyn South's first (and only) season's storylines. Not surprisingly, Brooklyn South's ensemble approach and busy episodes (comprised of multiple, character-driven stories) most closely resemble the form and balanced tones of Bochco's classic Hill Street Blues. As such, each installment can be as ghoulishly funny (Michael DeLuise's officer Phil Roussakoff, moonlighting at a funeral home, causes some consternation when he takes a nap in a coffin) as it is brutal (the usual murders, suicides, etc.) and emotionally stark (love as a sure path to despair). Brooklyn South had its problems (too many characters), which were compounded by network ambivalence. This DVD set, however, will keep an abbreviated but worthy project from disappearing into oblivion. --Tom Keogh« less
Andrea M. from HOFFMAN EST, IL Reviewed on 6/25/2017...
I got Brooklyn South because I saw that Titus Welliver, from Bosch, had an early role in the series. Most of the reviews here are several years old. The cast is full of people you will recognize you have gone onto other shows. Fundamentally, if you were a fan of Hill Street Blues, this is by the same creator who is great at weaving storylines throughout the season. With the ensemble cast, it is fairly well-balanced across the characters. Six discs make for a good binge watching that you know will come to an end.
1 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Movie Reviews
Could Be The Start Of Something Good With TV DVDs!
Servo | Atlanta, GA USA | 09/10/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Brooklyn South was a stellar police drama from producer Steven Bochco which ran on CBS for a single season. The show was basically a 90s update on Bochco's earlier cop ensemble series Hill Street Blues, but with more edge. Brooklyn South was just as great as NYPD Blue (another Bochco production) but failed to pull in the numbers CBS wanted to justify another season. Where on NYPD Blue the focus was on the work and personal lives of the detectives, Brooklyn South focused on the sector patrol - the "beat cops" - while flawed, still exhibited glowing pride in their work. This is exemplified in the show's patriotic opening theme by veteran composer Mike Post.
Although Brooklyn South featured great storylines and performances, CBS seemed to suffer from the "single season curse" whenever they put out a new quality drama. Brooklyn South, EZ Streets, Turks, and Michael Hayes were ALL quality shows that never made it past one season due to poor viewership, despite good reviews. Though with Michael Hayes, I always suspected that viewers still harbored resentment [at the time] toward David Caruso for leaving NYPD Blue so early in its run.
After Brooklyn South ended several of the cast members went on to more successful projects, not surprisingly, police drama-related. Richard T. Jones (Officer Clement Johnson) went on to star in Judging Amy; Yancy Butler (Officer Ann-Marie Kersey) starred as the heroine in Witchblade; Gary Basaraba (Sgt. Richard Santoro) stars in Boomtown; Klea Scott (Officer Nona Valentine) appeared as a Pre-Crime cop in Minority Report; And Adam Rodriguez (Officer Hector Villanueva) formerly of Roswell, stars in CSI: Miami;
I can't recommend this DVD enough. The episodes themselves are MORE than enough to justify the purchase. This DVD could signal the future release of those other great shows I mentioned earlier. Man, the possibilities are definitely expanding now! Think how cool it would be to own DVDs of Reasonable Doubts or Murder One - both with TWO SEASONS under their belts. Until then, my copy of Brooklyn South is already bought. Oh yeah!"
ADDICTABLE AMERICAN COP DRAMA THE BEST!
Pvp Group | Belfast, County Down United Kingdom | 10/12/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Here in the United Kingdom we have our own cop drama's, the most famous being The Bill, but I find watching American shows far more interesting and entertaining.
Brooklyn South premiered on Channel 5 (Britains newest fifth channel, aren't we lucky having 5 channels? anyway thats a whole different subject) Channel 5 had been on air a year, and half of the population couldn't even get this show. Whcih is a shame as it deals with important issues in a realistic way, not portrayed in "i know this is a tv show" way, for a while you're sucked into believing the people are real, well they are, but not really, are you confused?
Sadly, by the time I'd got into this show and got used to the constant moving the episodes from 9pm to 11pm the show was over, and really over as it was cancelled the previous year it aired in the UK.
I've bought the DVD set to enjoy time and again and I recommend you invest in a copy, this show is one of the best dramas to come from the states in years"
Another underappreciated gem!
headsup | SF Bay Area, CA | 09/18/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is another great Bochco production. Everything Bochco learned working on Hill Street Blues he refined on this show. Great storylines, great dialogue. This show was cast very well too with the likes of James B. Sikking, Klea Scott, Michael DeLuise, Richard T. Jones and Jon Tenney. CBS should have let this show grow. It's too bad the networks demand high numbers right out of the box. They forget their own recent history, many shows took a few years to develop big audiences and numbers, like Cheers, The Simpsons, X-Files, and they have turned into cash cows."
Buyer beware - defective DVD's
Car Guy | Phoenix, AZ USA | 06/25/2008
(1 out of 5 stars)
"This is a good show that has been ill-served by defective copies. I bought two new, sealed copies of "Brooklyn South" from Amazon sellers and each disc in each set is marked and smeared. Maybe it's a bad coating, I don't know, but the discs are unplayable. The best bet may be to purchase a "Like New" or "Very Good" copy; at least those have been inspected and perhaps proven to be playable."
Brooklyn South is a MUST for pure enjoyment and realism
Harold Hull | Columbia, MO United States | 12/01/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I'm not a profession review writer -- not even amateur. This is my first and it will be short and sweet. I bought Brooklyn South without much knowledge as to it's content. By the end of the first episode I already knew it was realistic, well acted and something I was sorry had been canceled after the first season. My mid-west home is far away from NYC, but while I watched this series I was right there on Manhattan Island putting myself next to one side or the other and not always the police. As I took the final DVD out of the player I did, indeed, morn that there were no more episodes and no more seasons to watch! My apologies for a short review. You can get that from others who wrote lengthy reviews. I'm just an amateur DVD owner and watcher who hopes this will encourage you to buy, watch and enjoy Brooklyn South as I did ! ! ! I don't think there is any chance that you will be sorry."