Two new cop shows: Are they arresting?

I admit freely that I'm a fan of cop shows. From the various permutations of "Dragnet," to the revolution that was "Hill Street Blues," to the upheaval in the form by "NYPD Blue," to the myth-shatterer that was "The Shield," the behind-the-badge stories hold a level of fascination for me that few other genres possess.

My highest esteem belongs to the Steven Bochco and David Milch-created "NYPD Blue," which ran for a dozen seasons on ABC, and had my loyalty from its controversial first episode. The tales of the day-to-day experiences of the detectives of New York's 15th Precinct were -- for the most part -- precisely that; honorable cops working their cases while trying their level best to have a semblance of sanity and peace in their private lives, with the overarching knowledge that attempting to keep the two separate was, at best, a fool's errand. It also managed to be tremendously entertaining TV -- many times it was a soul-shaking drama, but it could also be tender and romantic, and even laugh-out-loud funny.

"NYPD" was a major success for ABC for several seasons, then as it ebbed, shows like "CSI" and "Law & Order," with their more closed-ended procedural stories, supplanted it as the viewer's choice when it came to crime dramas.

"NYPD" hasn't been forgotten, thankfully; the sturdy story sense that made it critically and commercially successful has been an influence on a number of different series. Two which seem to aspire to the crown of being "the next 'NYPD Blue'" have had their premieres this week, ABC's "The Unusuals" and NBC's "Southland."

"The Unusuals," which airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m., is the story of a fictional 2nd Precinct in New York City, where an unseen dispatcher (a la "MASH") sends out calls about "an unidentified man in a hot dog costume...who may or may not be wielding a samurai sword," among other oddball alerts, and where every member of the squad apparently has a huge secret that they don't dare share. The pilot episode focuses on newly-promoted Det. Schraeger (played by Amber Tamblyn in her first grown-up role), who gets her bump from Vice to Homicide when a member of the 2nd squad is found stabbed to death in a park, and the dead man's partner, weary-eyed Det. Walsh (Jeremy Renner), who immediately sets out to "clean up the mess." As they sort through their fellow cop's life and death, we meet the rest of the motley crew, including the bulletproof-vested Det. Banks (Harold Perrineau) and his partner, the possibly-suicidal Det. Delahoy (Adam Goldberg), who have the B-story of the pilot, one that involves compelling a confession from a suspected cat killer. (Both of these stories would have felt right at home on "NYPD," by the way, with a little less time dedicated to the cat story, and more anguished silence about the dead cop.)

"The Unusuals" is quirky, if you haven't guessed by now, even perhaps a little too quirky for its own good, especially when we go back and forth between a heavy-hearted main plotline and a goofier secondary story. It's not necessarily a bad thing to have lightness in a police drama, but when it calls attention to itself, it's certainly not a good thing. That lack of modulation in the show's tone is "The Unusuals" weakest link. But I like the ensemble tremendously: Perrineau and Goldberg, I thought, have the kind of easy rapport that made them believable as partners, Tamblyn finally breaks free from the teenage girl roles she'd been stuck in for years, and Renner delivers an episode-closing speech about his late partner's badge that stuck with me after the credits rolled.

The bulk of ABC's show selections over the past couple of seasons have skewed lighter and goofier, and produced some real gems; too bad they've also -- for the most part -- been sent prematurely to the TV Graveyard.

Ultimately, I think "The Unusuals" needs to figure out what it is, but I also think it deserves the time and patience from ABC to do it. Three stars (out of four).

"Southland," airing Thursday nights at 9 p.m. on NBC, on the other hand, has no such variable tonal issues -- it's relentlessly grim and dark on the streets of Los Angeles, especially for the officers on patrol and the detectives working their cases. It shares with "NYPD" an affinity for rough language among those wearing the badge, as well as the clipped shorthand conversations of detectives talking to -- well, pretty much everyone.

The first episode races from a gangland shooting to a child's kidnapping, but mainly focuses on a young patrolman, played by Benjamin MacKenzie (late of "The O.C.") on his first official day on the job. His supervising officer, played by Michael Cudlitz, seems to automatically take a dislike to his young charge, relating nasty anecdotes about the street, making jokes at the younger man's expense about his looks and disposition, and even at one point practically ordering him to quit. It's a harsh, slightly disturbing, and -- I'd imagine -- realistic portrayal of the measuring of someone entering that line of work; it's more than reasonable for a policeman to believe that when your life is in the hands of your partner, he or she better not fold under pressure.

Again, this show has a solid cast doing good work. MacKenzie is another young actor who is free of playing troubled teens, Cudlitz has his tough-case glower down cold, and the gifted Regina King, playing one of the detectives, owns every scene she's in; you like her, you root for her.

I liked the show; frankly, I think it's easily one of NBC's best hours in a long time. My biggest problem with the show is the joylessness of it. Yes, it's a tough world, filled with tough people, and being a cop here is a tough job -- I get it. But where "The Unusuals" pours too much sunshine in to the mix, "Southland" paints the whole thing black and speeds through it, seeming to have no interest in letting the stories have a single breath of air. There's not much time for hope here, even at the end, when the characters have reached the end of their day and trudge home.

Again, I go back to "NYPD," a show that had more than its share of grim stories. Sure, they ended more than one episode on a sad note, but where "NYPD" had at its core the idea that redemption was tangible and achievable, "Southland" doesn't seem to believe that, at least not yet.

Again, this is a show where patience on the network's part could pay off big, and I liked it enough to not give up on it yet. I just think that it wouldn't hurt for the writers to let the show have a little bit of light. Three stars.