There’s not much I can write about tonight’s episode without it coming across as obvious padding. As I’ve written a few times in the past, TCC tends has been attempting (with increasing frequency, I must note) to mix standalone elements with the ongoing narrative, with mixed results. And while the show has been threatening to go over into standard crime procedural zone for a few weeks now, the show finally took that plunge, much to my chagrin.
Between Jarek and Evers’ case with the not-quite hookers, and Vonda and Isaac cleaning up the mean crack streets of Chicago, it all felt very route. If the cases had been more original – or at least more interesting – then this focus on standalone cases wouldn’t have been so jarring, or so troublesome.
But I don’t want to disparage the episode entirely. I of course must make mention of the fact that the show wasn’t being entirely lazy here; instead it used the cases as an attempt to deepen our understanding of the characters, Just to list them:
- Jarek and Caleb scrap over their status as partners. Caleb calls Jarek out on cheating on his wife. We find that Caleb is a bigger prude than Jarek
- We see how Teresa works within the government bureaucracy, balancing that line between playing politics and adhering to a moral code.
- We see Vonda at her manipulative best, turning Moose’s mistake into a secure position on the Organized Crime Division.
It was admirable for the show to incorporate these characters beats into the hour; in fact, the scenes between Jarek and Caleb in the car were perhaps the most enjoyable of the episode, closely followed by the give-and-take between Jarek and Teresa. With these little moments alone, TCC proved that it was a different kind of cop show, not fit to be lumped in with CSIs and L&Os of the television world.
Yet I can’t ignore the fact that these beats don’t really tell us anything new. We already knew that Jarek has trust issues when it comes to new partners. We already knew that Teresa would never forsake her personal code of ethics in order to better her own position. And though we’ve never seen Vonda pull off such a meticulous move, it has long been implied that she is a good cop, a smart woman who can look after herself. So even if these character beats added to the flavor of the hour, it turns out the meal wasn’t a nourishing steak, but rather a quickly processed tub of popcorn.
There was one other element at play tonight – the continuing references to Chicago’s rich history. This was new element introduced tonight, and I feel it adds a rich flavor to the show’s atmosphere, so I hope to see it return. Yet all of these elements still can’t cover for the fact that the stories that TCC told tonight were hopelessly generic, plots that belonged to just about any crime procedural. If this show truly wants to stand out from the other cops shows on air today, it needs to return to the ongoing narrative that the first few episodes focused on; that’s where the truly great material lies.
What did everybody else think?
Additional Thoughts:
“No, I’m about to go in, and when I get out, I’ll want a tangy and refreshing dessert.”
“Whaddya know, three minutes till noon.”
“Father knows best.” “I was thinking All In The Family.”
“What should we charge him with?” “It doesn’t matter; it’s no t going to stick. Just make sure to call his wife to bail him out.”
“Have you ever tried to keep pretty women and rich men apart? It doesn’t stick for long.”
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