Search

ARCHIVES
CONTACT US
WORLD NEWS

New police drama to hit the television airwaves

In an attempt to compete with the wide array of TV dramas packing prime-time television hours, UPN brings "The Beat" to audiences, introducing yet another New York City cop show.

This new series comes from the creative minds of Barry Levinson and Tom Fontana, producers of "Homicide: Life on the Street" and "Oz."

The series focuses on the work and lives of two young beat cops on Manhattan's Lower East Side.

Starring Derek Cecil as Mike Dorigan and Mark Ruffalo as Zane Marinelli, "The Beat" gives a younger, more realistic flavor to the life of a New York City beat cop. Some episodes are not as glorified as other cop shows currently on TV.

The two can be seen working on paperwork and dealing with kooky taxicab drivers - presenting the realities of police work rather than focusing on glamorous chase scenes or bloody shootings.

While the script distances the series from other police dramas, there are other factors that give it a unique feel - primarily with the camera work.

Like most TV dramas, it is shot on film, but during the police action, it is shot on videotape.

This gives "The Beat" an authentic flavor and is most likely trying to bring the feel of a TV drama and combine it with a sort of documentary. The cinematography also combines flashback sequences shot in black and white and are primarily portrayed in frames.

Though "The Beat" is filmed entirely in New York City and the characters boast predictably thick accents and other stereotypical qualities, they give something new to television audiences.

The two cops are both under 30 years old and still have a lot of living to do.

Dorigan wanted to be a cop because everyone in his family is a firefighter - and he hates fires. His fiancˇ, Elizabeth Waclawek (Poppy Montgomery), is a down to earth medical student getting adjusted to married life.

She also struggles with the fact that her fiancˇ working in a dangerous field day in and day out.

On the other hand, Marinelli sports a tough-guy attitude, but is really haunted by a tragic past.

When Marinelli was young, his father allegedly murdered his mother, and it continues to plague his daily life.

Marinelli tries to cope with his mother's death by being a cop.

His loony live-in girlfriend Beatrice Felson (Heather Burns), definitely does not make his life any easier - especially when she burns down his apartment on his birthday.

The best friends find an escape in each other - playing basketball on Tuesdays and drinking at Uncle Connie's bar, but by day argue about various instances that arise when they're on their "beat."

"The Beat" premieres Mar. 21 at 9 p.m. on UPN.