Author Topic: Gritty Cop Dramas (Read 8280 times)

Langenator · « **on:** August 04, 2018, 05:55:19 pm »

So, Larry's made a few very entertaining posts about his Gritty Cop Show! game he's fooling around with, and since I'm always looking for new things on to watch on the boob tube, I thought I'd start up a list of gritty cop shows and movies.

So, without further ado, and in no particular order:

TV shows
The Wire
Justified
NYPD Blue
Southland
True Detective
Blue Bloods
Homicide: Life on the Street (annoyingly, not available on Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime at the time of posting)
Luther
The Shield
Bosch
Boomtown

Movies
Heat
Serpico
L.A. Confidential
Colors
Training Day
Dirty Harry
To Live and Die in L.A.
Bladerunner
Dredd
Robocop
End of Watch
The Departed
Lethal Weapon
The Untouchables
Seven
Bullitt

Possibles
Hill Street Blues
Law & Order
Third Watch
Chinatown
Die Hard (Is it a cop movie, or a Christmas movie?)

WeTheArmed.com

MTK20 · « **Reply #1 on:** August 04, 2018, 06:15:02 pm »

The Killing.

It's a fantastic show

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Langenator · « **Reply #2 on:** August 04, 2018, 08:14:49 pm »

Dangit...it's not giving the the option to go back and edit my post. I wanted to go back in and add where you can find them, for the ones that are available streaming.

Mods, what's the deal?

MTK20 · « **Reply #3 on:** August 04, 2018, 09:12:48 pm »

I think you can find "the killing" on Netflix still

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Langenator · « **Reply #4 on:** August 04, 2018, 09:29:30 pm »

I know NYPD Blue is on Hulu...I'm halfway through season 8 at the moment.

And the A&M library media section has both True Detective and Homicide:LotS

TommyGunn · « **Reply #5 on:** August 04, 2018, 11:36:25 pm »

Cop shows:

ARREST AND TRIAL
NAKED CITY
87Th PRECINCT

If I think up more I'll come back and add 'em.

coyotesfan97 · « **Reply #6 on:** August 05, 2018, 09:50:30 pm »

Hill Street Blues definitely
Police Story
Barney Miller isn’t gritty but it’s the most authentic cop show ever

MTK20 · « **Reply #7 on:** August 05, 2018, 10:50:44 pm »

Quote from: coyotesfan97 on August 05, 2018, 09:50:30 pm

Hill Street Blues definitely
Police Story
Barney Miller isn’t gritty but it’s the most authentic cop show ever

How does one define a "gritty" cop show?

TommyGunn · « **Reply #8 on:** August 06, 2018, 12:11:30 am »

Quote from: MTK20 on August 05, 2018, 10:50:44 pm

How does one define a "gritty" cop show?

Realistic .... dirty .... violent when necessary.... fewest possible cliches. Not necessarily humorless, but should be organic. Cops as human beings, try to do good but can have bad results anyway.
Things like the above. And other things.

MTK20 · « **Reply #9 on:** August 06, 2018, 12:33:52 am »

I was mainly posing the question because I'd expect gritty and authentic/ realistic to go hand in hand.

That's why I quoted coyotes fan, because I figured you couldn't have one descriptor without the other

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Langenator · « **Reply #10 on:** August 06, 2018, 06:57:53 am »

I deliberately left out all of the super-dooper forensic shows (CSI, Bones, etc) and shows that just don't have the right 'feel'.

The NCIS family is a big one there for me. Never been Navy, but I've seen their Army equivalent (CID). All of the running around in casual clothes, shaggy hair, beard - no, sorry, ain't happening. They've got regulation haircuts, and they're wearing dress pants and suit jackets or sport coats. And most of what they're investigating is sexual assaults in the barracks and expensive stuff getting stolen, not murder conspiracies. Now, NCIS: Fat Leonard would be a heck of a show...

A key disqualified for me is when their police station/office space is brand new and/or super clean, with super high tech computers that sometimes put Star Wars and Star Trek to shame. (Looking at you, new Hawaii Five-Oh.)

TommyGunn · « **Reply #11 on:** August 06, 2018, 12:57:11 pm »

I like NCIS and HAWAII FIVE-O, but I don't consider either realistic, and NCIS is only just barely gritty, and even when it is, it's sorta like a participation award ....

sqlbullet · « **Reply #12 on:** August 08, 2018, 11:05:16 am »

Doesn't fit the criteria, but I was really sad to see The Good Guys get cancelled.

Chief45 · « **Reply #13 on:** August 08, 2018, 11:52:00 am »

couple of years ago the wife and I were on netflix and watched all of the original Adam 12 and Dragnet episodes. Still Good stuff. what got me was 40+ years difference in technology but the human issues and problems were still the same.

Langenator · « **Reply #14 on:** August 08, 2018, 01:42:35 pm »

Ooh...I wonder if Dragnet is still on Netflix?

Not that I need more...I've still got 3.5 seasons of NYPD Blue to get through, the Homeland is next in line (Claire Danes...yup), then probably True Detective and Homicide on DVD from the library.

MTK20 · « **Reply #15 on:** August 08, 2018, 03:38:23 pm »

Quote from: Langenator on August 08, 2018, 01:42:35 pm

Ooh...I wonder if Dragnet is still on Netflix?

Not that I need more...I've still got 3.5 seasons of NYPD Blue to get through, the Homeland is next in line (Claire Danes...yup), then probably True Detective and Homicide on DVD from the library.

I've watched some Dragnet episodes on YouTube before

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Desert Rat · « **Reply #16 on:** August 10, 2018, 06:30:08 pm »

Quote from: sqlbullet on August 08, 2018, 11:05:16 am

Doesn't fit the criteria, but I was really sad to see The Good Guys get cancelled.

Definitely not a gritty cop drama, but one of my favorite cop shows ever. It got canceled too soon. But hey, it was Fox. Should've known better than to let Fox break my heart yet again.

RMc · « **Reply #17 on:** August 10, 2018, 07:13:45 pm »

Quote from: Chief45 on August 08, 2018, 11:52:00 am

couple of years ago the wife and I were on netflix and watched all of the original Adam 12 and Dragnet episodes. Still Good stuff. what got me was 40+ years difference in technology but the human issues and problems were still the same.

Just like Whispering Smith starring Audie Murphy!

https://www.get.tv/programs/whispering-smith

Langenator · « **Reply #18 on:** August 12, 2020, 10:56:02 am »

I going to go necro-thread on this one: does anyone know why Homicide: Life on the Street doesn't seem to be available on any streaming service? At least none that I have (Netflix, Amazon, Hulu)

Amazon has it on DVD (but not BluRay, interestingly). From everything I've read, it was a great show, if not especially a ratings winner during it's actual run. It must have done halfway decent to run 7 seasons and get a series-ending movie.

So why can't it be found anywhere streaming?

cpaspr · « **Reply #19 on:** August 12, 2020, 01:15:52 pm »

Well, you started it. If anyone has the right to resurrect it, it's you.

Quote from: Langenator on August 12, 2020, 10:56:02 am

I going to go necro-thread on this one <snip>

coelacanth · « **Reply #20 on:** August 12, 2020, 02:31:52 pm »

Agreed, but I don't have an answer to the question. I never saw the show and wouldn't have a clue where to look for it.

Raptor · « **Reply #21 on:** August 12, 2020, 02:37:04 pm »

Licensing issues, maybe?

One of the reasons that not all of the Miami Vice episodes are available on streaming (and even some DVD collections, I think) was because the owners of the had to get all of the artists who contributed music to the series to license the songs for home-media distribution.

ksuguy · « **Reply #22 on:** August 13, 2020, 12:25:17 am »

WKRP had similar issues since it used a lot of contemporary music at the time.

Langenator · « **Reply #23 on:** August 13, 2020, 02:22:48 pm »

Maybe that's it. I know other NBC shows from the 90s - like Friends and Seinfeld - can be found on streaming services.