One can really take a good television series for granted until one has to watch a really terrible one begin. On Sept. 24, CBS premiered “Blue Bloods,” starring Tom Selleck, a dreadfully dull, uninteresting hour of one family of cops in New York City.
For a city with such a vibrant persona, even to those who have never been, “Blue Bloods” manages to show only a hollow shell. There is little concern for the characters as they are introduced. With each word that they speak, and as each plot point twists, “Blue Bloods” systematically proves that cramming as much as possible into one hour of television does not make for an entertaining night.
The attempt being made is one that shows Tom Selleck as the city’s police commissioner, a widower and father of three — four, had one of his sons, Joe, not been killed in the line of duty, though there is of course some mystery behind how and what all happened with that. Bridget Moynahan plays his only daughter, a feisty, young single-mother who is also a New York assistant district attorney.
Tempers flair half way through as Erin (Moynahan) questions the interrogation tactics of her brother, veteran detective Danny, played by Donnie Wahlberg. Danny allegedly used excessive force to retrieve life saving information on a missing child. By the end of the episode, all is forgiven, or, at the very least, forgotten.
The youngest of the commissioner’s children, Jamie, played by Will Estes, is a recent graduate of the academy who is approached by “special agents” regarding a secret society within the New York Police Department called The Blue Templar. It is implied that his father and possibly even grandfather are involved. It is also implied that his previously mentioned dead brother Joe might have been investigating said secret society before his mysterious death, as well.
Whatever the end result may be, “Blue Bloods” fails to present anything worth exploring from this point on, though there does appear to be an affair brewing between the commissioner and a hard-nosed reporter played by Andrea Roth. If you’re interested in how all of this will sluggishly come together, tune into CBS on Fridays, 10/9 CST.
Either way, CBS certainly is applying pressure to the other four shows making their way this fall for the first time, and it is debatable how realistic their chances are on their own. Before being considered for any future broadcasts, “Blue Bloods” should first evaluate what it is exactly they want to accomplish, as should CBS.
Reach the reporter at jbfortne@asu.edu
