Southland, Episode 1-02

1. SERIOUSLY?! Has Tom Everett Scott suffered a debilitating disease of the tongue? Why doesn't he speak?! OH! He finally got some lines, but they’re making him stupid? I don’t get his character at all. Which is sad, because I like him.
2. I don’t think anyone who belongs to a book club is reading Ann Rice novels.
3. Dewey retires simply because he was shot? What a pussy.
4. That bean bag, less-lethal weapon scares me. In the heat of the moment, how do you make sure it’s not loaded with actual bullets? Has anyone ever been injured by one of those before?
   
5. Making out in the same bar your daughter is in: SMART. Your daughter telling you your mistress is so cool: HYSTERICAL. Telling said daughter she’s being disrespectful to her mother: PRICELESS!

Southland, Episode 101

1. I really like this show. Really, really like it. Liked it enough to watch the pilot twice, just for my own pleasure. I'm sure it will be canceled in short order.
2. I wasn't aware that Tom Everett Scott could play retarded deaf-mute so well. Good for him.
3. Southland goes ahead and uses the bad words we know that hoodlums and cops in L.A. are using. Okay, maybe they're not using ALL of them, but I appreciate the effort. The bleeping adds to the raw feeling the show has.
4. Ben McKenzie does wide-eyed newbie well. That said, wide-eyed newbie cop has been beaten to death. Hopefully Southland can pull something interesting out of it.
5. So, apparently Michael Cudlitz's character is gay. I thought it was weird he was in the same bar as that bush-workin' guy at the end of the day, but I honestly didn't pick up the gay bar vibe. I'm so dense.

Basically, I though this episode did a great job integrating storylines without making things incredibly heavy-handed and obvious. If Southland can continue to tell its stories in a subtle manner, you can count me in.