When your dad is a cop…

When your dad is a cop, you learn a few things. You learn how to read people. You learn how to assess your environment, keeping an eye out for the closest exit. You learn how to tell a good lie (short, plausible, don’t drop too many details at once or else you just look guilty). You learn that sometimes, the lines between “good” and “bad” are blurred. You learn that cops hate doughnut jokes.

My father is a retired NYPD officer. The word “retired” is meaningless here, of course. Once a cop, always a cop. It’s in his blood, it’s in his brain, it’s in the way he moves and the way he operates. I don’t even know if he realizes what he’s doing sometimes. It’s just who he is.

I don’t think it was ever his dream to be a police officer, but it’s what he did for 20 years, and I know that he has respect for people who do the job and do the job well. He cares deeply about what goes on in the NYPD, even if he doesn’t always want to admit it. He takes things personally and in turn, I do, too.

I bristle when I hear people talking shit about the police because unless you’re in it or know someone who is, you really have no idea what you’re talking about. I’ve learned that people have a love/hate relationship with police officers. It’s frustrating for me and I can’t begin to understand how it must feel for the men and women who actually wear the uniform.

People are good, people are bad, people are silly, people make mistakes, people are flawed. Police officers are flawed, but they still put their lives on the line every day and I think more folks need to recognize and appreciate that.

Now, my dad has a thing with cop shows. He is physically incapable of keeping quiet when there is a police officer on screen and he or she is not following protocol. When things happen too easily or cases are solved too quickly, he will let you know that someone has gotten it wrong. “This writing is ridiculous. This would never happen!” I’ve noticed that even when he’s not around, I nitpick the characterizations as well.

It usually takes me until the end of a pilot episode to decide whether or not I want to continue watching a show. I like to give the writers, producers, actors, and crew that full hour to convince me that their program is worth it. With Southland, it took minutes.

My love for this show was immediate and intense. I watched these characters and instantly felt like I knew them. These were people I cared about, the guys at barbecues who shared funny stories about “that idiot perp who left the drugs on the counter where anyone could see.” These people were like family. They reminded me of my father. Some are gruff, some are paranoid, some are sweet as can be, some are total scumbags, but all are fantastic.

The writing, acting, and directing on Southland are nearly-perfect. The seven episodes that originally aired on NBC were excellent and it was clear to me that if the quality was maintained throughout an entire season, NBC would have a huge hit on their hands. Sadly, because of crappy scheduling and a lack of promotion, I don’t think the show did as well as the network may have wanted, but it seemed that there was still hope for Southland when NBC ordered the production of new episodes and set an air-date for a second season.

Then strange things started to happen. Not only did NBC push their premiere date back by a month, they also failed to promote the show in any way. There were no commercials. There were no DVD’s released and only a few of the episodes were made available to view on the website, making it difficult for anyone who hadn’t seen the show when it originally aired, to catch up. Two weeks before the season was set to begin, NBC canceled the show, despite the fact that they had already shot six new episodes.

I won’t go into the drama that followed, though I will say that NBC showed a complete and utter disregard for the actors, writers, and crew (not to mention the fans) by pulling the show so abruptly. Thankfully, TNT picked up the show and starting tonight, will air the original seven episodes of Southland, with new episodes premiering in March.

Southland is real. Southland is funny. Southland is gritty. Southland is hard. Southland is everything a show should be and so rarely is.

The characters are beautifully complex. They’re not always shining heroes and they’re not always perfect, but they are probably the most authentic portrayals of police officers that I have seen in quite some time. Sometimes the stories are painful to watch and other times, the scenarios these men and women have to deal with are too hilarious for words, but I look forward to all of it.

Tonight, at 10 p.m. on TNT, I’ll be watching Southland along with my dad. Not nitpicking, just enjoying a show that finally got it right.