I was going to do a quick review of The Gates but I’ll put it off to talk about Rookie Blue. I bitch and moan about the Canadian networks not creating their own content so I will make an effort to take them seriously when they do.

Because they don’t make as much money off creating original content as they do putting the shrinkwrap back on used American programs- Canadian networks have been loath to waste money on promoting their own shows. They are usually shoved out the door with no fanfare and this is quite often held up as a reason for their lack of ratings. Hell, no matter how good or bad they are, they aren’t going to find much of an audience if nobody even knows they exist.

I give Global all due respect this time out. They made a huge effort to promote the show and it will now have a chance to win or lose based on its own merits.

And what are those merits you ask? Well, even with one strike against it for being YACS – Yet Another Cop Show… closely related to the YADS and YALS with doctors and lawyers… you know, I think we are going to have to add another one for YAVS what with all the vampire shows (I will probably be getting back to The Gates)… but I digress… where was I?

Oh yeah, what are Rookie Blue’s merits?

First, don’t underestimate the likability of the very photogenic Missy Peregrym-

- the actress who portrays the main protagonist of the ensemble case, rookie officer Andy McNally.

As cute as she is (and she is pretty damn cute i’n’t she?), the lady can act as well. Let me tell you, I got a part for her riiiiight here… ohhh yeahhhhh… as the female lead in Saving the Dead, a Lovecraftian redemptive horror I am writing on spec. She can deliver a real sense of vulnerability without coming across as overly weak – you want to step into the screen and go to her rescue.

In her big scene near the end as she walked out of the abandoned house with the young guy in cuffs- as she walks up to the camera I was reading pride, desperation for any sign of respect, fighting back tears from the aftermath of fear and adrenaline- all without a word. Very expressive.

I don’t mean to short the rest of the cast, they all do good work with some solid writing. Airing down in the US the quality and production values will not look out of place on ABC. After the initial first episode bump, I think it should settle in with solid numbers of around 6 million viewers in the US and just over a million viewers here in Canada… with a much stronger skew to the ladies than most cop shows.

Because this is not really a cop show for the guys. (The new cop show for us would be The Good Guys from Fox and re-wrapped here in Canada on Global.) There is no grit here and all the rookies are… soft?… sensitive?… oh so very “Grey’s Anatomy”?

This is the anti-Shield or anti-Wire and there is nothing wrong with that. Workplace dramas are all fantasy depictions of the jobs they portray- this one just happens to fit more with a feminine fantasy of the police world.

It is good to see another competently done television series that shows we can create here in Canada and not just do service work and buy American shows. I won’t be follow this show, not because there are any glaring faults in it like Scoundrels, but because I am not its intended audience.

Good luck Rookie.