Mark Norville At first I really did not like this show, and then I realised that it is Canadian, and then I hated it even more.This a poor man's wannabe American cop show, however it does become better mid season. I say better, more tolerable is more of an apt description. I am on episode 8, season 01, and it reminds me of an old B movie. You either like them, or hate them.I honestly cannot see why this show is rating so high, maybe canucks coming here, but for me, it just does not grip me, the way that American cop shows do.

Meme Having watched the brilliant series Southland, I really wanted to give this a go, the first two seasons were well done, we got a good insight into the characters who they were, their personal demons and relationships, it was sublime and written nicely. The third season felt like it had plot twists here and there, and there was a focus on the plot and a few character arcs in between, the middle half of the third season didn't feel as good as the previous seasons and the first few episodes of season 4 have not been as good as this show once was, riddled with clichés, ***spoiler*** for once I would like to see a show where the female character going through personal demons doesn't end up with the male front runner ,after a few drinks, also going through a deep personal tragedy and then the usual banter of a few mistakes were made follows. I don't like it and I don't get it can writers not do more than this, how about showing two people form a deep friendship and a bond based on their loss,I mean it feels like putting the two characters going through hardship in their life together was the simplest way the writers went.I hope season 4 gives a good character arc to Jean-Marc Brouillard by developing his arc fully, and not chalking it down to a stereotype. Hoping this show ends well and meshes the characters out well because the actors are good I feel the writers need to give them well written characters.

viper-57726 Initially enjoyed this show, good to have a more low key cop drama that entirely focuses on the individuals and not some big case. This approach is both a positive and negative, positive was the ability to explore characters more, however I understand life in general is tough and more so for police but odds should mean at least one is a happy & rounded person! This does make it pretty depressing, could have done with some more lighter and comical moments, i expect this is the way a team would handle their tough lives.I also found it oddly put together, some plot points seem to just vanish, making it feel poorly edited, granted focus is on the people but sometimes you still need to know whats happening to understand whats going on. This is not even major plots, just random things are started then just never mentioned again.My massive problem was the violence in episode 9 in the first season. I love many shows known for their violence (GoT, Spartacus, Banshee and such) and whilst I reckon all these shows could tone it down to be less gratuitous, at least its part of their identity and you could argue how they do it makes it a bit tongue in cheek and your always prepared for it. Nothing prepares you for how graphic this episode was, this may have been the intention, but personally this episode had one of the most uncomfortable scenes I have watched in a long time. It wasn't required in my opinion and didn't fit with the tone of the show.I would have scored higher but this surprise dark turn and the lack of more engaging story lines let me down. Massive fan of the Shield & Wire, both these shows had great character development around interesting plots and neither used overly shock tactics in terms of violence.

Marie Morgan I use a personal cheese-o-meter when it comes to cop shows. Does the buff black guy (because that's a requirement on TV) have shorter uniform sleeves than the other cops - to show off his hard-earned gym muscles? If yes, I brace myself for a steady and swift progression of clichés and stereotypes. Such was the case with the two episodes of 19-2 that I could force myself to watch. "Character driven" dramas can be tricky if the characters are sullen lumps whose lives are one problem after the other. The beauty of Montreal won't draw me back to that boring show - which is a shame because I try to bond with any show not filmed in California.