Southland: Season 1

TNT strikes gold again with Southland, a worthy addition to a lineup of cop dramas that already boasts such superior fare as Saving Grace and The Closer. While this show (offered here on two discs with all seven episodes from its first season) may not accomplish its producers' goal of "redefining" the genre, they have certainly succeeded in creating an alternative to procedurals like CSI and Law & Order by focusing less on the details of the crimes being investigated than on the professional and personal lives of those doing that work, specifically the uniformed officers who patrol the streets of Los Angeles and the plainclothes detectives dealing with murders, kidnappings, and other major offenses. Each episode features multiple story lines; most are well done, but those involving the "uniforms" tend to be more compelling. For them, every day is like "driving through the sewer in a glass-bottom boat," as one puts it, as they encounter everything from car theft and domestic disputes to rotting corpses and the usual array of junkies and prostitutes. A variety of cops are featured--C. Thomas Howell is good as the off-the-hinges Billy Dewey, but most involving is the relationship between Ben Sherman (Benjamin McKenzie), a rookie fresh out of the academy, and his partner John Copper (Michael Cudlitz), a more seasoned officer who gives the younger man (who also happens to be a rich kid from Beverly Hills) heavy doses of grief until the sharpshooting Sherman earns his respect. Most episodes are gritty and fairly graphic, the uncensored versions featuring the liberal use of F-bombs and other profanity. The writing, much of it by creator Ann Biderman, is excellent, with juicy dialogue, well-developed plots (like an ongoing story involving the detectives' efforts to protect a young girl who witnessed a murder), plenty of black humor, and characters you can care about. A making-of featurette is the sole bonus feature. --Sam Graham