BIG EASY CRIME SERIES TAKES THE EASY WAY OUT.Byline: DAVID David, in the BibleDavid, d. c.970 B.C., king of ancient Israel (c.1010–970 B.C.), successor of Saul. The Book of First Samuel introduces him as the youngest of eight sons who is anointed king by Samuel to replace Saul, who had been deemed a failure. KRONKE >TV CRITIC "K-Ville's" kind of schizophrenic. On one hand, Fox's new cop drama seeks to essay the still-deplorable conditions under which many New Orleans New Orleans (ôr`lēənz –lənz, ôrlēnz`), city (2006 pop. 187,525), coextensive with Orleans parish, SE La., between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain, 107 mi (172 km) by water from the river mouth; founded citizens are forced to exist, two years after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. On the other, it fairly frequently devolves into pulpy crime potboilers featuring guns a-blazing, a less seamy seam·y adj. seam·i·er, seam·i·est 1. Sordid; base: "seamy tales of aberrant sexual practices, messy divorces, drug addiction, mental instability, and suicide attempts" variation on "The Shield." Anthony Anderson and Cole Hauser star as Marlin Boulet and Trevor Cobb, respectively. Boulet's a dedicated cop who toiled through Katrina and, though his wife believes the Crescent City is waning quickly, is determined to help it survive. Cobb's a new recruit with a murky past who sees Katrina as a chance to reinvent -- and, perhaps, redeem -- himself. In two episodes made available for review, Boulet and Cobb contend with a shadowy gang shooting up fundraisers to help restore the devastated dev·as·tate tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates 1. To lay waste; destroy. 2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. Ninth Ward, and they track down escaped convicts from a local prison. In both cases, the pervasive and notorious local corruption that grips the city -- both pre- and post-Katrina -- factors into the story lines. Alas, in both cases, the plots are so overheated o·ver·heat v. o·ver·heat·ed, o·ver·heat·ing, o·ver·heats v.tr. 1. To heat too much. 2. To cause to become excited, agitated, or overstimulated. v.intr. that it's tough to take the corruption subplots seriously. Too bad: The show, created by Jonathan Lisco, flirts with serious social issues (and pumps money into New Orleans' economy, which desperately needs it), but it can't really transcend its basest genre impulses. Plotting can be sloppy and rote. But Anderson and Hauser make for an agreeable buddy act, and John Carroll Lynch John Carroll Lynch (born August 1, 1963) is an American actor. He may be best known for his role as Drew Carey's cross-dressing brother on The Drew Carey Show and for his role as Norm, the unassuming husband of Margie Gunderson (Frances McDormand) in Fargo. , as Capt. Embry, offers a refreshing change from the cop-show clich(hrt) of an apoplectic ap·o·plec·tic adj. Relating to, having, or predisposed to apoplexy. ap  o·plec boss enraged en·rage tr.v. en·raged, en·rag·ing, en·rag·es To put into a rage; infuriate. [Middle English *enragen, from Old French enrager : en-, causative pref. that he can't rein in his renegade wild cards. His good-ol'-boy character recognizes that in the Big Easy, the rules are -- and always have been -- different, and he's perfectly comfortable with that. If only Lisco shared Embry's philosophy when it came to storytelling. David Kronke, (818) 713-3638 david.kronke@dailynews.com www.insidesocal.com/tv/ K-VILLE - Two and one half stars >What: Trigger-happy cops combat escalating crime in post-Katrina New Orleans. >Where: Fox (Channel 11). >When: 9 tonight. >In a nutshell: A less seamy variation on "The Shield." CAPTION(S): 2 photos |
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