Raw. Gritty. Emotional. Intense. Edge of my seat. Non-stop action. Those are just some of the words I can use to describe the most recent episode of SouthLAnd. I was on the edge of my seat from the moment the episode started until it ended. Starting off with the gang shooting at the club where Nate’s daughter is witness to two gang members being killed to Sammy arresting Casper at the end. It is very obvious that Sal and Gil don’t get along as they discuss the killing at the nightclub.

Tammy. What can I say about Tammy, brilliantly played by actress Emily Bergl. She is out taking pictures all over town. Picture of a skateboarding teen that is carrying pot, to a gang member that Sammy and his team are investigating. She brings home the pot carrying teen and gets high with him despite being pregnant. She passes out, the teen takes her laptop and very expensive camera. She is flighty, ditzy, self-centered, wrapped up in her photography which may or may not become a career. It could be a passing phase like so many other things she gets into. Her relationship with Sammy is definitely strained. Should they still be together? Why are they together? I guess it’s true about opposites attract. Should they be having kids? Is Sammy trying to get her pregnant because he is feeling pressure from Gil and Nate?

The scene with Sherman and Cooper at the mall was hysterical. Sherman spotting a guy using a video camera to look up a lady’s skirt. Cooper taking the camera from the guy and destroying it. Giving the guy his business card to get the iPod replaced. From what I’ve seen most of the scene was ad libbed by Michael Cudlitz. Just goes to show what an excellent actor he is. Sherman trying to keep a straight face at the end of the scene was priceless. How he didn’t just burst out laughing I will never know.

Sammy gets himself in trouble by taking his work home. By meeting Casper’s mother to taking him to a movie and lunch gives the relationship a personal touch which clouds Sammy’s judgment. When a kid is killed and Sammy finds out it was Casper that killed him he sobs while holding Casper. The emotion was so raw and real. I was crying with Sammy. All three times I watched the episode. Incredible acting by Shawn Hatosy. If he isn’t nominated for some kind of award I will be shocked.

Mercedes calling Nate “Daddy”, Cooper and Sherman discovering the money and guns, Sal and Gil finally bonding, Nate and Gil finding the head in the box, Sherman and Michelle hooking up, Sammy discovering that Tammy is still smoking pot and not pregnant after all. Her lack of concern for his emotionally tough day while she goes on about her problems.

I could go on for paragraphs about how awesome this episode is but I won’t. Everyone that viewed it realizes how awesome it was, maybe even the best episode yet. The brilliant writing, the brilliant acting. This is a show most deserving of renewal.

This week things settle down a bit as we join Detective Adams as she does what a detectives do during the course of their day—investigate crimes. An investigator’s day is a busy one, but not normally as frantic as the 8 to 12-hour shifts worked by patrol officers. The difference? Patrol officers spend their time reacting to crimes as they happen. Detectives work the crimes in reverse, starting with the aftermath. And that process can be very slow.

In the opening scene of this week’s episode, Detective Lydia Adams is investigating the murder of a young woman, a college student, who once had everything going for her until her addiction to crack cocaine led to her downfall. Adams comments about the bullet wound in the girl’s back, a wound that was pretty typical in size and shape for one caused by a 9mm round, helped viewers see a pretty decent picture of what a real gun shot wound looks like in the field. This accurate portrayal was in sharp contrast to the bullet wounds we saw in another cop show that aired on Monday night.

Continued at http://www.leelofland.com/wordpress/?p=6431

After suffering through a torturous week long wait after viewing the heart-wrenching brilliance that was Butch and Sundance, U-Boat serves up yet another action-packed episode chronicling our favorite L.A. patrol officers and detectives. While I had initially crowned last week’s episode the season’s best, I had to quickly retract that statement and bestow the top honor on to this week’s offering.

Anchored by two main story arcs, this week’s show follows rookie Officer Ben Sherman’s transition from boy to man and Det. Lydia Adams’ difficulties in learning to let go. In true “SouthLAnd Style,” the episode kicks off with some form of explosive, pulse-racing, on-the-edge-my-seat action, this time a panic-stricken Sherman rushing up the steps of a home, trying frantically to enter while someone is being viciously attacked inside. Our oh-so-favorite narrator promptly drones “Sooner or later, every police officer learns that you can’t save everyone”…excuse me while I fight to contain my eye-rolling. Seriously, couldn’t they have found someone else to do the narration voice-over, I don’t know, someone who doesn’t sound like he’s just risen from the dead?

I digress. After Chickie finds herself assigned to the “kid room,” which apparently for a patrol cop is the equivalent of being put out to pasture, she confronts Cooper about the perceived unfair treatment by their fellow officers for reporting Dewey’s alcoholism when essentially, she was merely acting on Cooper’s orders. After a talk with the boss Cooper partners up with Chickie for the day, leaving Sherman to patrol the mean streets of L.A. solo for the first time. After some fatherly advice from Papa Cooper (“Remember your training. Hands….watch the hands”), Sherman eagerly heads out for, unbeknownst to him, the proverbial day from hell.

It’s not surprising that, given the character’s history of family abuse, the writers relied on children and women to frame Sherman’s emotional day on the job. His first encounter involves a father who forces his son to mow the lawn donned in only lingerie, punishment for allowing the neighborhood bullies to steal his shoes and throw them over a power line (I still, to this day, do not know how people manage to do that…what, you just keep throwing the shoes until eventually they catch?). As Sherman confronts the father who, not only defends his right to humiliate his son, is a lead candidate for All-Around Asshole of the Year. You not only see, but physically feel Sherman’s frustration and helplessness as he is forced to retreat from the situation as technically, no crime was committed.

Sherman is then asked to assist in finding a missing nine-year old girl who is believed to suffer from Asperger’s Syndrome and who was last seen wandering from a bus stop (yes, I realize I’m out of sequence, bear with me). After conducting the initial interviews of the parents, teacher and students, I thought the writers were going to pull a cease and desist a la “Butch and Sundance” and send Sherman off on other calls without him seeing the case to its resolution. Fortunately, Sherman is called back to the case and after a little good ol’ fashioned police detectin’, successfully finds the little girl and returns her safely to her parents.

Meanwhile in the other patrol car, Cooper abruptly puts a stop to Chickie’s whining, er, venting over her woeful situation, and informs her, in typical Cooper fashion of course, that she sucks ass and her days of hiding behind Dewey are over. Admittedly, my skin started to prickle at Cooper’s harsh tongue lashing and Chickie’s failure to defend herself and her competence as a police officer, but as the episode rolled on I was forced to agree with his assessment, shaking my head mournfully, wishing she would just get a grip already. Cooper spends the day giving Chickie a refresher course on what I would assume are basic police tactics, and in true SouthLAnd fashion, they encounter some colorful characters along the way. While we weren’t treated to the best of Cooper’s Hits, we did receive some fantastic material nonetheless including “Dude didn’t beckon you;” “If you weren’t so far up their ass, you would have seen that;” and my personal favorite, Cooper’s aggressive crotch grab of a suspect. To the untrained eye it may have appeared aggressive and invasive, but I‘m sure it is proper police procedure (hell, I would gladly pay a handsome sum to be manhandled by Cooper in such a way). I will say I winced painfully when Chickie failed to recover the suspect’s second gun from his ankle holster, my mind flashing back to the pilot episode which showed the dangers of half-ass body searches distinctively. Talk about an EPIC FAIL.

Sherman’s main incident involves a woman named Stella, otherwise known as Attractive Female Victim, who claims her ex-boyfriend/boss is stalking her. After taking the report, a little flirting ensues between Attractive Female Victim and Sherman, mostly stemming from her (seriously, who can blame her? I would commit a crime if it would guarantee a visit from Officer McHottie). Attractive Female Victim then continues to contact Sherman with increasing concerns over her ex’s erratic behavior, which prompts him to pay a visit to the man’s restaurant for a little Intimidation Tactics 101. After confronting the man, who claims Attractive Female Victim is actually stalking him, one starts to wonder…perhaps the lady doth protest too much? Admit it, I’m not the only who thought there was a chance Attractive Female Victim might have been laying it on a little thick to receive some attention from Officer McFineAsHell and this would be yet another one of SouthLAnd’s surprising twists, but unfortunately I was dead wrong. After receiving a frantic phone call from Attractive Female Victim that her ex was outside of the house, we cut to the opening sequence that has Sherman breaking his way into the home…and yes the ex-boyfriend is there and yes, he has done a number on the poor woman. Sherman proceeds to literally beat the shit out of the scumbag and has to be restrained from inflicting further damage (and how incredibly HOT and SEXY is Violent Sherman? Woo, I needed a cigarette after that one and I‘ve never smoked a day in my life…don‘t judge me). One question…did Attractive Female Victim end up dying? I want to say that she did, but honestly I don’t think that was made clear.

I am starting to really look forward to the “police parking lot” scenes between Cooper and Sherman…it’s like the confessional booth for the two partners. Shaken by his experiences and loss of control with the stalker (murderer?), Sherman confesses to Cooper that he doesn’t “know where the lines are.” This prompts Cooper to deliver one of the best lines of the series: “You’ve got a lot of power out there. If you can’t get control of it, you shouldn’t be here. Everyone thinks when they get out of the Academy it’s all black and white, but you know what? It isn’t. We live in the gray. We live there. Now you know what you’re capable of.”

Remember those troublesome $100 sneakers? Yeah, Sherman remembered them too, a constant reminder throughout the episode of his failure to save the young kid from his situation. In an exceptionally touching scene that had my throat tightening and my eyes feeling with moisture, Cooper meets Sherman outside the boy’s house and shares a heartbreaking story of trying to perform CPR on an infant, but failing to save her life. Even though he still dreams about the baby, he understands that “you can’t save everyone.” The scene and the episode ends with the fire department, as a favor to Cooper, rescuing the sneakers from the power lines.

I will veer off track for a moment to profess my undying love for Officer John Cooper. One minute he is an obnoxious prick, the next a wordly philosopher, and the next a vulnerable, sensitive and supportive friend. I feel like his character is the core of the show and Michael Cudlitz the best actor, showcasing Ann Biderman’s talent in creating complex, multilevel characters and finding the proper people to portray them.

Switching to Lydia, it certainly appears as though our fearless heroine is suffering from some post traumatic-like symptoms. Her story kicks off in the middle of a nightmare, a surprising recap of Lydia’s famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral, one of SouthLAnd’s iconic scenes. Only in this version, instead of an outlaw gangbanger reaping the fury of Lydia’s shotgun…it’s none other than her partner Det. Russell Clark (might I add how realistic that gunshot wound looked? I’ve never seen an actual gunshot wound in real life mind you, but if I had, I’m positive that is exactly what it would look like). Back in the office, Lydia’s new partner, Det. Rene Cordello, receives some hazing from an unknown source (Ricky Martin? It can‘t get any worse than that… oh wait yes it can, that’s Sarah Palin) and Lydia is scolded for her lack of support to little Jimmy and his mother Brianna, whose storyline we followed in Season 1. I absolutely love it when a show delivers an update on an earlier storyline, giving dedicated viewers a nice little nugget to chew on. After informing Rene of Brianna’s situation, Lydia places a call to Russell who is currently still in recovery. As Lydia and Rene work through the day’s calls (including a crib shopping trip in which the salesperson amusingly assumes Lydia is pregnant and married to Rene, and a “Jackass”-inspired stunt gone horribly wrong, taking the life of a teenage boy), Lydia’s insistence on phoning Russell after every single call increases Rene’s irritation, not to mention my own. After rudely dismissing a warning from Rene to bypass a visit to the hospital, Lydia awkwardly walks in on an argument between Russell and his wife. If nothing, this scene reminds me of how incredibly disinterested I am in Russell’s marital problems and how incredibly annoying I find his wife. After receiving a harsh rebuke from Russell, Lydia later apologizes to Rene and agrees to have a drink with him, all the while dubbing him “Hollywood” and copping to the hazing.

Ahem…it must be said. My co-worker Krista made a comment after last week’s episode that she believes Lydia’s…“devotion” to her partner runs much deeper than what can be innocently deemed professional. Of course, I quickly pooh-poohed this idea because the actress herself has denied this… however, it can be said that Lydia’s behavior this week may tell a tale of a woman who may have feelings for her partner. For example, in one scene Lydia proclaims that she “loves“ Russell and wishes only to “hear his voice.” I’m not saying she does have feelings for Russell, but I don’t think it would stretch the imagination too much to think otherwise …and I have a sneaky suspicion that subtext was deliberately included by the writers to keep us all madly guessing…again I‘m just sayin’.

Another week, another fantastic episode of SouthLAnd, further deepening this baffling mystery as to why anyone should have to fight to keep a show as incredible as this on the air. Rarely will you find a show that continues to top itself after each episode, like an overachiever always searching for ways to out-do himself. It’s too soon to say how much longer this SouthLAnd journey will be, but I’m enjoying the ride along the way.

Photo credit Warner Television/TNT

By Ben McKenzie
Mar 16, 2010 11:25 AM ET

This week’s episode is a very exciting one for me. For the first time, my character will be patrolling the streets alone, without the help of his partner. It can be a nerve-wracking experience for any cop — much less a rookie — to go it alone. The LAPD always partners up patrol cops, except for the sergeants (who act more as supervisors than first-responders). This is primarily for safety reasons: With two cops working in tandem, each can guard the other’s back. If one is incapacitated the other can radio for backup. If one is making a poor decision in a given scenario, the other can often correct that mistake before it proves fatal. John Cooper’s tutelage of Ben Sherman, while seemingly harsh, is necessary so that the rookie learns to make decisions that are in the best interest of both partners. Rookies sometimes have a cowboy mentality — I’m gonna do this alone — and this is not only foolish but dangerous.

In “U-Boat”, however, I am alone. My character ends up responding to a variety of calls by himself. Two of the calls share something in common: One person is being harassed or humiliated by another person, yet there is little the cops can do about it legally.

Continue reading at http://www.tvguide.com/Celebrity-Blogs/Southlands-Ben-McKenzie-1016297.aspx

Cooper & Sherman in "Butch and Sundance"

The theme song to Southland has never sounded so eerie before. Maybe TNT remixed it a bit? It could just be my anxiety for the episode to begin, or the fact that I’m actually using headphones and watching it on my iPod as I write this. The point being, I’ve never had a television show theme song give me this anxious feeling before. A scary suspenseful scene, sure. A theme song, not so much. However, this is Southland people, it’s damn good television and it’ll do that to you every time.

We start with Cooper and Sherman, henceforth referred to together as “Coopman” for my convenience engaged in a car chase. Zipping around parking lots and nearly ninety degree turns, something’s bound to happen – and it most definitely does. The car they’re chasing (a Toyota might I add) clips a curb, flips several times, the gas tank is leaking and it’s starting to catch fire. Coopman rushes out of their squad car to help, but Cooper realizes nothing can be done, he pulls Sherman away from the car and they both manage to get away before the thing explodes.

Officer John Cooper knows, and Ben Sherman will learn, that sometimes…you see things as a cop that nobody should see.

Can I call third-person omniscient narrator? Or is that too tenth-grade English class?

36 Hours Earlier. Richter is in bed with Tammy, while Sammy’s in the bathroom brushing his teeth. There’s no toilet paper. Sammy tells Tammy to go to Box Club and get some. Tammy complains, she just wants to go to Walgreens so she has more time to work on her photography portfolio. I love these Tammy/Sammy scenes. Tammy’s a complete mess, and Sammy’s the perfect foil to her – a man just trying to live his life by a set of rules for once.

A few minutes later, Coopman roll up to a nice house. A man is lying badly beaten on his front stairs, a neighbor sits by him. The neighbor says the man’s family is inside the house. As they clear the inside of the house, Coopman find the rest of the family beaten and tortured to death. It’s so bad, TNT has pixilated it for our viewing pleasure. Somehow, I already know I’m going to have to cover my eyes with a pillow if the Season 2 DVDs are uncensored.

Meanwhile, Nate takes his daughter Mercedes to school. He’s trying to tell her she should come to the baby shower for his new baby. She’s uninterested, and just wants him to help her find her mother. Nate reluctantly agrees, and Mercedes gets out of the car in a huff.

Cordero and Lydia arrive at the scene of the home invasion from earlier, and we immediately realize they’re more than likely going to have a differing opinions on the case (intentionally or not).

Lydia lets Coopman leave the scene a bit early, and Sherman is pissed. He doesn’t completely understand why they’re just going back to “chasing the radio” like nothing happened. Cooper puts it simply, he wants to catch the bad guys too, it was rough, and they’re lucky that Lydia let them leave when they did.

Nate, Sammy, Kenny and Andy are in the bullpen getting prepped on the details of the stakeout by Gil Puente (Laz Alonso, @lazalonso on Twitter), Nate’s former partner from narcotics. I like when cops shows take the time to have briefing scenes, especially at this pace – it tells more of a story than just jumping forward to the cops in the so not conspicuous paneled van snapping pictures. Gil then knocks Sal’s nameplate off his desk in a moment of excitement. Sal’s pissed, he doesn’t like this guy and his perpetually ready approach. Nate tells Sal to cool it, Gil isn’t doing anything bad.

Cordero and Lydia are now reviewing some surveillance tapes from the convenience store where the mom and daughters picked up the ice cream. They catch a bit of a lead on the suspect’s license plate. They’re warming up to each other due to this shared lead, but you can tell the animosity between them isn’t going to dissipate any time soon.

Coopman then are seen returning home after their shifts to take a load off. Cooper chooses to drown his frustration in a beer, while we see than Sherman simply can’t fall asleep. He’s staring out the window, his clock radio alarm going off, and the brutality of the case is still bothering the heck out of him.

The next morning, Cordero and Lydia are back on the case, still going against each other on every possible theory. Coopman are also back on the beat. Cooper notices Sherman’s sleepy-face and calls him on it. He jokes about giving Sherman some Ambien. Sherman embraces that opportunity, and rags on Cooper about his pill problem. Cooper than turns it around on Sherman, he’s tired of the rookie’s “passive-aggressive bullshit.” Good for you Cooper.

Now Sammy, Nate, and Gil actually are in the so not conspicuous van snapping pictures, except they sprung for the windowed version for ease of picture snapping. Gil asks Sammy if his wife is pregnant yet. Sammy reluctantly tells him that she isn’t. Gil pushes Sammy a bit more, tells him that since his wife is still young – she must not be trying hard enough. You can tell Sammy wants to beat the living daylights out of this punk, but he’s the better man and refrains.

Meanwhile, at the window, Nate spots someone pull up to the auto shop. It’s the gang member, Orlando, whom he and Sammy busted about a year back. Sammy confirms the visual on Orlando, and they decide to arrest him in violation of his probation for gang association. Nate radios Kenny, who along with Andy, begins to pursue Orlando via auto. This scene is a nice little break from Southland’s norm, as we get to ride along for a bit with two of the supporting characters. Kenny and Andy’s tail of Orlando is cut short when a firetruck pulls out in front of them – blocking the street.

Lydia’s at the hospital, interviewing the father from the home invasion earlier. She’s suspicious of him, asking one of his fellow doctors (James Eckhouse, Jim Walsh from Beverly Hills 90210) about his possible stressors – maybe the husband had something to do with the attack? “Jim Walsh” tells Lydia that he believes the doctor had a happy marriage and keeps asking about his wife, no reason he had anything to do with it. Lydia enters the room and interviews the father. He asks for his wife, Lydia tells him she’s dead. Distraught, he’s now worried about his daughters, Lydia tells him they didn’t make it either. The father, wires, tubes and bandages all over him, cries even more.

Sammy and Nate are driving through MacArthur Park looking for Orlando. Sammy tells Nate that Gil shouldn’t be ragging on him about his sex life – that’s private stuff. Nate assures him that Gil was just trying to pass the time. They spot Orlando, jump out of the car and take off after him. Sammy, ahead of Nate and running like a damn machine, catches up to Orlando and tackles him to the ground. Orlando tosses a gun into a nearby lake.

Lydia returns to the station. Cordero tells her that he found some stuff that implicates the father. Lydia, running on autopilot, tells “Russell” that it couldn’t have been the father. He was distraught, the kids weren’t even supposed to be there. Cordero stops her, tells her he’s not Russell, Lydia’s ashamed – but she tells Cordero that they should check into the parents from the father’s malpractice suit. Maybe it’s revenge? Cordero tells Lydia the father knew Wayne Dorff, the guy who drove the truck that tailed the wife and daughters to the convenience store.

Lydia and Cordero then take a trip to the rehab center that the father worked at, and Wayne attended. The director of the center tells the detectives that the father healed Dorff’s staph infection – and was always helping the guy out. Lydia asks the director if he knows who the skinny guy in the surveillance tape with Dorff is. They get a name, Danny Sutton. The two had a reputation as “Sylvester and Tweety Bird,” the director’s sure that Sutton got Dorff into trouble. Lydia thinks Dorff and Sutton saw how rich the father was, decided to rob him. Cordero is dead-set on the idea that the father could’ve hired Dorff and Sutton to pull it all off.

At lunch, Sherman tells Cooper he’s sorry he insulted him. Cooper tells him not to worry, then he gets a call from the Watch Commander for follow-up on the home invasion/triple homicide. Sherman then gets a call from his sister, who is trying to fix him up with a girlfriend via a dinner date. Cooper laughs. “Get laid, get drunk and try and forget about this crap,” he says.

Tammy is at Box Club, it’s warehouse walls stocked with crazy-huge boxes of foodstuffs. She stuffs some snacks, toilet paper and dog food (with extreme difficulty) into the overflowing cart and then hoofs it to the checkout line.

Back at MacArthur Park, Sammy and Nate are watching as a dive team searches the lake for Orlando’s gun. Sammy asks Nate if he trusts Gil, because Sal doesn’t like the guy. They then switch subjects to Mercedes, who’s upset that Nate couldn’t find her mom because he was too busy with his pregnant wife and subsequent new baby. Nate asks Sammy if he’s sure he’s ready to start a family – just as the dive team finds Orlando’s gun.

Tammy is in the checkout line at Box Club, she presents Sammy’s Box Club card, which she is told she’s not allowed to use because she isn’t Samuel Bryant. Tammy, eating some of the snacks from her cart, insists that she should be allowed to use the card because she’s Mrs. Samuel Bryant. The cashier tells her that rules are rules, and that she needs to go get her own card at customer service. Tammy argues that she doesn’t have the money to get her own card. The guy behind her in line tells her to just go get a card, Tammy tells him “that’s how they get you man.”  Tammy then pleads with the cashier to be able to use the card, tells her it’s B.S. that she can’t. Cashier tells Tammy not to swear, Tammy subsequently insults the cashier – who calls for a restock of all Tammy’s groceries. Tammy tells them it’s not going to happen, and grabs at her stuff as the stock boy unloads the cart. The guard is called, and Tammy freaks. She tells them “my husband is a detective on the Los Angeles Police force!” The store patrons clap and cheer as Tammy hurries out.

Meanwhile, Sal pulls up to the stakeout spot. Gil complains that the guys they’re watching will see the cop car. But they won’t see the big van that’s been sitting there for over an hour? Heh. Sal ignores him, asks how the stakeout’s going and joins them in the van. He grabs some binoculars and looks out the window at the auto shop, and notices Mercedes – Nate’s daughter entering and kissing one of the workers. He calls Nate over, who takes a look and gets super pissed.

Coopman are at the house of the suspect in the home invasion/triple homicide. They knock, no answer, so they look in the windows. The guy isn’t there so they head over to the neighbors as the suspects drive by in the Toyota from the opening scene. Coopman rushes back to the squad car and pursues the suspects, initiating the opening chase scene, which replays.

Coopman, back at the station for the end of shift, carries their shotgun and beanbag shotgun as they have a conversation. Cooper tells Sherman he is not an addict like those friends of Sherman’s mom up in Beverly Hills. He takes the medication for a work-related injury so that he isn’t stuck working a desk, because if he isn’t out on the streets as a cop – he’ll put a bullet in his head. Cooper goes inside, and Sherman tells himself that he’ll put a bullet in Cooper’s head.

Back at Nate’s house for the baby shower, the place is packed with family and friend enjoying the festivities. Mercedes arrives, and Nate eyes her up. Mercedes fawns over the baby, asks if she can hold her. Maria, Nate’s wife, hands over the baby. Nate tells Mercedes that she’s late, asks where she was. She tells him she was nowhere, he presses. She tells him she was with her friend Lola. Nate knows she’s lying and takes his baby daughter away from Mercedes.

Back at home, Tammy’s editing her pictures on the laptop. Sammy gets in and tells her all about his stakeout experience- he hated it. Then Sammy enters the bathroom and freaks out because there still isn’t any toilet paper. Tammy tells him to hang on, and retrieves a single-wrapped roll from the closet and tosses it to him.

“What’s this?” He asks.

“I went to Walgreens.” Tammy replies.

“Why? Come on I asked you to do one thing. Why?” Sammy badgers.

Tammy ignores him and sits back down at her laptop.

Sammy continues, “I’m serious, I’m owed an explanation! I had a horrible day.”

Tammy doesn’t even look at him, “I don’t want to talk about it,” she tells him.

Lydia returns to the hospital and tells the father that they caught the guys who hurt him and his family. It won’t bring back his wife and kids, but they won’t be able to hurt anyone else. Lydia gets a call from Cordero and excuses herself. Cordero’s at the Sutton’s sister’s place, he tells her it’s the father. There’s a load of evidence there that suggests he orchestrated the entire thing. Lydia hangs up then simply handcuffs the father to the bed and tells him he’s under arrest for the murder of his family.

Sherman shows up for his dinner date, his sister’s there already and tells Sherman the others are still parking. She tells him he’s going to love the girl. He asks if the container on the table is Sake. His sister pours him some and he downs it. His sister then tells him that Ward and Olivia are going to be there too. Sherman looks pissed, his sister tells him she couldn’t get out of the arrangement. Ward and Olivia, already drunk, high or whatnot enter. Ward (the guy from the yellow sports car in the pilot episode) makes a cop joke. Sherman and Lila (his date) meanwhile introduce themselves to each other. Ward and Olivia go off on some crazy-ass conversation about stomach worms, while Lila tells Sherman she heard he was a cop. Ward and Olivia make fun of Sherman being a cop, Ward calls him Wyatt Earp and they act out a shootout. Sherman’s sister tells them they have to clue, that Sherman was the first to respond to the triple homicide. Ward, Olivia and Sherman’s sister start to pry him for information. Lila realizes Sherman doesn’t want to talk about it, tries to clue in the sister, Ward, and Olivia. Olivia continues to pry though, and Sherman excuses himself from the restaurant so that he can leave. Ward and Olivia still don’t get what they did wrong, and believe that Sherman has some sort of superiority complex.

Back at the station, Cordero asks Lydia if she remembers that she was wondering how the convenience store fit into the entire scheme of things. Cordero things it was just “one of those things,” Dorff and Sutton followed the mom and daughters – hoping she would drop the kids off, then realized that she wasn’t and that they could just kill three birds with one stone. Back at the house, then killed the family, then decided to kill the father too because it was to the point where they had to.

“Probably,” Lydia replies.

“Probably? Was that good?” Cordero asks.

“It’s good,” Lydia assures him with a smile.

Later, Sal sneaks back into his house through his daughter Kimmy’s open window. He knocks something over and Kimmy wakes up and screams for her mother, Sal tries to calm her – tell her it’s just him.

“What are you doing?!” Kimmy asks.

“What does it look like I’m doing? I’m crawling in through an unlocked window. How many times do I have to tell you?” Sal replies.

“You almost gave me a heart attack!” Kimmy retorts.

“Well it’s better than being raped and murdered, right?”

His wife then bursts into the room holding a gun.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Sal says.

“What are you doing?” His wife asks.

Kimmy tells her he crawled through her window, which he says was wide open. He demands it stay locked at all times or Kimmy is grounded, then he tells his wife to put the gun away.

Cooper then enters the gay bar, and sits down at the bar before entering the bathroom and exchanging some money for some pills. The seller says that it goes against his business practice, but tells Cooper he might have a drug problem. Cooper then tells him “Let’s get out of here” and picks him up.

Sherman is at the shooting range, he empties a few clips, all in the center of the target.

And we’re out.

This episode, all in all, was fantastic as always. Always a thrill, Southland delivers what you need.

I just wish Chickie would have showed up at least once in this episode, even if she just was grabbing a cup of coffee in the break room.

This episode gets a 4.5 out of 5 in my book.

There are not enough words to describe how awesome this episode is. After watching last weeks episode and thinking that one was the best episode, I watched Butch and Sundance. The show starts out with Cooper and Sherman responding to a triple homicide. The emotions they go through after seeing a woman and two children was bone chilling. I was on the edge of my seat as they walked up the stairs and found the bodies of the children. The unknown fear of whether the perp was in the house was very evident on their faces and their body language.  After finding the second child tied to the bed it was very obvious how disturbed and distraught they were by what they had just witnessed.

Nate and Sammy’s relationship appears to be strained as well as they are on a stakeout. Sammy being pressured into getting his wife pregnant while Nate’s wife just had another child. I also noted some jealousy from Sammy over Nate’s friendship with his former partner. The scene at the store with Tammy was just the comic relief the show needed. I really felt for Sherman during his blind date and their wanting to have him describe the horror he had witnessed earlier in the day. I have never seen so much emotion displayed from any of the characters. This episode showed a whole new insight into the emotions these officers and detectives are capable of. The show was very well written and acted. If these last two episodes are any indication of what the next four have to offer, TNT has a huge hit on their hands more than worthy of renewal.

Last week’s episode of Southland hit the ground running, and things were no different this time around. Butch and Sundance, the title of last night’s show, was written by television veteran, Mitchell Burgess. You might remember Burgess from another little project of his called The Sopranos. He also had a major hand in other shows, such as Northern Exposure and Mr. and Mrs. Smith. The guy’s certainly no stranger to success. Combine Burgess with Southland creator Ann Biderman and you’ve got a nice little recipe for action-packed, can’t miss TV.

So, like last week, buckle up. We’re riding with the two officers above – John Cooper and Ben Sherman. First call – a gruesome homicide scene. Victims – a mother and her two daughters. The father/husband is found at the scene, badly beaten. It seems he survived the brutal attack.

- Cooper and Sherman enter the victim’s home through an unlocked front door. They approach with weapons drawn and begin to methodically clear the house, one room at a time, checking all doors and hiding places along the way.

This scene was absolutely fantastic. And it was very realistic for several reasons. One – The procedure they used to clear the house was almost from a training academy text book. Two – The background sounds were on the money. If you have this show recorded do yourself a favor and replay this scene a couple of times. The first time watch AND listen. The second time close your eyes and just listen, and you’ll hear a very quiet house. So quiet that you’ll almost feel your own heart beating against your chest as the officers search each room. To do this in real life can be almost maddening. You’ll also hear the creaking of the leather on their gun belts, something every officer will recognize. It’s also a sound that we all become used to over the years, but we’re acutely aware of it when in dangerous situations, where total silence is key to survival.

Read more at http://www.leelofland.com/wordpress/?p=6316

For some of us, it’s been a week. For some of us, it’s been nearly a year. Either way, the wait is over as the season two premiere of Southland has finally arrived. That finale left me breathless, as I’m sure it did most of you. There were literally fireworks! Before I start, I would just like to let you know that the initial numbers are in and there were over 2 million viewers who watched last night, over one million more than those who watched the season finale last week. That is an awesome thing. So now, on with the show …

Opening scene: Sherman and Cooper arriving to the scene of an angry mob. They are even jumping on the officers. Voice over: Officer Ben Sherman is halfway through his one year probationary period as an LAPD officer. The job hasn’t turned out to be exactly what he’d expected.

Full recap and review at: http://thetwocentscorp.wordpress.com/2010/03/03/southland-–-recap-review-–-phrase-three/

In this week’s episode, we touch on a theme common to our show: the psychological toll exacted on cops who witness extreme violence while on the job. In “Butch and Sundance,” Officers Cooper and Sherman are the first to arrive at the scene of a brutal triple murder. Without revealing too many plot details, suffice it to say that both officers suffer psychologically from witnessing such a horrific event. Cops have a variety of ways of dealing with trauma, and Officer Cooper’s behavior embodies many of them. Repression, displacement, and the use of gallows humor are among the coping mechanisms employed.  Sadly, however, these mechanisms are often not enough. In the U.S., two-thirds of officers involved in shootings suffer moderate to severe problems and 70 percent of them leave the force within seven years of the incident. In other words, if Ben Sherman were real, his participation in the “officer-involved shooting” in the pilot would mean he runs a very strong chance of not being a cop in the near future.

Read more at http://www.tvguide.com/Celebrity-Blogs/Southlands-Ben-McKenzie-1016004.aspx

When NBC made the very poor decision to cancel SouthLAnd two weeks before it’s season 2 premier I was crushed. Season 1 was so great, the last episode kept us hanging. Does Detective Russell live or die? That is one of many things I kept wondering about as I eagerly awaited October 23. Much to my disappoint NBC canceled the show with little warning or even a good reason for canceling. Thankfully TNT picked up the show.

On January 12 2010 SouthLAnd made it’s cable TV premier, uncensored and commercial free. 7 episodes later March 2nd finally arrives bringing us a brand new never before seen episode. I went to a friend’s house to watch the marathon of the previous 7 episodes to prepare for the brand new episode.  Ten o’clock finally arrived and the show began.

I was on the edge of my seat as I watched the riot scene unfold and then the show quickly goes to the story of the old man who gets kidnapped while working in his rose garden. Much to my relief we find out that Russell survived the shooting and is in the hospital recovering.  We are introduced to Lydia’s new partner. I didn’t like him at first, he was pompous, and trying to hard to be liked. By the end of the episode I kind of liked him. He had some redeeming qualities.

I loved seeing Officer Sherman driving the car and listening to Cooper tell him to slow down, kind of like a father teaching his child how to drive. The scene in the warehouse with the perp hanging from the ceiling was hysterical. The show then goes back to the riot scene where Chickie is forced to call for help because her partner Slug hid in the car like a frightened child. The scene is very intense and a little scary to watch. Cooper, Sherman, and Chickie did a great job getting the perp out of the mob while Slug sits in the car doing nothing. I love how the show can go from being borderline comedy with Cooper’s sarcastic comments to scary serious in a matter of seconds.

It was great seeing Sammy and Nate again, I love their chemistry but it gets tested when Nate’s former partner from another division shows up. Will this affect the chemistry and friendship between Sammy and Nate? Only time will tell. I cried when Lydia cried after her visit with Russell at the hospital. Will he return to work? Again, only time will tell. This episode shows once again why this ensemble cast works so well. This episode was well scripted and acted. I can’t wait until next weeks episode. And the episode after that and the next one after that.