"Rookie Blue" - the cop version of "Grey's Anatomy"

And yes, it's just what you'd expect. I ended up kind of hating this show by the end. The tone of it was off, the characters were off, and it felt like "Grey's Anatomy" and "Southland" crashed into each other and this freak came crawling out of the rubble.

First, this may just be me, but I don't find Missy Peregrym, who plays Andy McNally, all that appealing. She reminds me of a slighty more tolerable Genevieve Cortese. I didn't like her in her short stint on "Heroes" and I was only lukewarm regarding her character on the short-lived "Reaper." The show also stars Gregory Smith, who I know only as "that guy from 'Everwood,'" a show I never watched. The only other person I recognize is Eric Johnson, who "Smallville" fans know as Whitney. He's been around since then, most notably as a demon on "Supernatural," but I'm glad he's trying to get a steady role in something. I think he's very likeable and he's grown up well since his days of courting Lana Lang.

The tone of this show is really odd. I'm a big fan of "Southland," which I think is the best recent portrayal of police life. This show is like an ABC soap version of a cop drama, but it ends up with emotional moments that don't resonate and funny moments that are more cutesy and cringe-inducing. The life of a cop is very different from the life of a doctor, and "Southland" best captures the grittiness of reality. I know reality isn't high on the list of things you look for in a TV show, but I feel like this show didn't intend to be as soapy as it came off.

There were so many cliches in the pilot of "Rookie Blue" that I wish I had been playing a drinking game. You've got the rookie cop with a parent who was a respected veteran and now the rookie has a lot to prove ("Grey's Anatomy" - Meredith and her genius surgeon mom Ellis Grey; "Southland" - Ben coming from a wealthy upbringing, has a lot to prove; "Dexter" - Debra Morgan trying to live up to her father's distinguished legacy). You've got the respected veteran cop who is now a mere shadow of what he once was ("Grey's Anatomy" - Ellis Grey's alzheimers). You've got the senior cop romantically involved with a rookie cop ("Grey's Anatomy" - Meredith and Derek, Christina and Burke). You've got the requisite shot of some guy taking off his shirt to reveal rippling muscles underneath (way too many shows to count, but ABC is a prime offender). You've got the storyline of the rookie screwing something up early in the game only to redeem herself later in the episode (once again, way too many examples to pick from). You've got the bitter, jaded old veterans who need the newbies with their pluck and enthusiasm to remind them why they became a cop in the first place many years ago.

Other random thoughts:

• The music on this show really bothered me. It was bubbly and upbeat when it was trying to tell us a scene was supposed to be funny. It was the kind of music the Walker family drinks wine and gossips to on "Brothers & Sisters." And there were too many moments where they play some hip song while the characters bond meaningfully or encounter new situations. It came off as a desperate attempt to fill time after the episode came up short in running time or as a desperate attempt to create a poignant moment.


• Does every profession and every workplace have a bar they all retreat to at the end of the day or is that a complete creation of the TV world out of necessity for a gathering place for the characters? Is it always just one bar that was established as "the watering hole"?


• If two characters make out in a closet at the station, I'm out of here.


• If Missy Peregrym's character and Eric Johnson's character get it on, I'm out of here (not that I'd blame her).


• Can ABC do any other sort of character drama without making it sexual relationship drama?


• From the moment one of the rookies said "I love all these guys so much" in the bar in the opening, I knew it would be an uphill battle to win my affection. I was hoping they'd pull it off as a moment where the guy was really drunk, but instead they made it into a touching moment that wasn't so touching.


• I liked seeing "police service" on the sign outside the station instead of "police force." It reminded me of the scene in "Hot Fuzz" where Nicholas Angel says official police guidelines state that "force" shouldn't be used anymore as it sounds too aggressive.


• The voiceover better go away fast. The show doesn't need it. It was used so poorly for expository purposes when the exposition wasn't even needed. It was another early strike against watching this show.


• The talk about the rookies not knowing anything and that there is "no training that prepares you for life on the street" also feels completely lifted from "Grey's Anatomy." See: Chief Webber's speech to the interns about the program in the pilot. Also see: Bailey's speech to the interns in the pilot.


• You get the veteran cops coaching the younger cops, but it feels more like babysitting than tough love like John teaching Ben survival skills in "Southland."


• The best part of the show was the trailer for the new Christopher Nolan movie "Inception." Leo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Cillian Murphy all in one movie directed by the man behind the new Batman movies? I'm so there. The trailer for "Salt" is still baffling to me though. I know people love Angelina Jolie, and maybe it's because I'm a girl that I don't get her mass appeal, but isn't the Russian spy storyline a little outdated?

I might watch the next episode in a week if I have absolutely nothing else to do, just to see if this show is headed where I think it's headed. I'm not holding out hope though.

Farewell to "The Tyra Show"

"The Tyra Show," Tyra Banks' talk show, aired its final episode today. To many people, that means absolutely nothing. To many other bitter people, that means good news. But I came to love "The Tyra Show" after discovering it late in the game and found it to fill a void in daytime TV.

The show premiered in 2005 and focused often on issues in the lives of women. However, she also interviewed celebrities and politicians, conducted social experiments, and (like any good talk show host) gave away prizes. The show has won many awards including multiple Emmys.

On a personal level, I discovered "The Tyra Show" only last year. Maybe 'discovered' isn't the right word, though, as I was aware of the show prior to this time, but hadn't actually watched it. But a year ago my schedule changed and I suddenly had some free time when the show aired. I started out watching "Dr. Phil" at that timeslot, because I just can't resist some good old-fashioned straight talk via a Texas accent. But as I flipped through the channels, I found Tyra Banks and her show. At first, I dismissed it, as many people do, as a frivolous "Oprah-lite" about stupid things like makeup and fashion. She was a model, after all. But as I tuned in more often, I found her show to be more than just that. In Tyra, I got something I never got from watching Oprah. I felt like I was watching a real person, not the Queen of the World. Tyra didn't stay hidden behind a gorgeous facade of "The Host and Supermodel." From showing us her natural hair, to taking off her makeup, to talking about her own cellulite and strechmarks, to discussing personal hygiene and women's health issues, I never got the feeling like I was watching some pretty supermodel talk down to me from her tower of superiority. I felt like I was hanging out with a real human being, a real woman, who has the same struggles and questions as the rest of us.

This comes across as more maudlin than I had expected, but I really was surprised how much I enjoyed her and her show. I expected her to come across as fake and conceited when she really wasn't. As a woman in the 18-34 demographic she's so popular with, as she pointed out today, I felt like this talk show better than any other addressed issues relevant to my life. My favorite segments were always the ones where she had the audience ask questions of a panel of guests, normally about health, hygiene or relationships. They were questions that people never discuss, especially not in the public forum. It was fun to hear questions that sounded really weird, awkward, and bizarre when it turned out that most other girls had these questions too.

I know this all sounds cliche - female empowerment, finding your inner beauty, a glamorous supermodel understanding the problems of normal, everyday people, etc. But I'm not afraid to gush, because I think Tyra deserves the praise and respect for her show. Yes, there were plenty of shows that were sensational or not the best, but you can say that about a lot of talk shows. There were times I found her irritating, there were times I couldn't manage to give a damn about the things she was talking about, but then I just switched channels. I'm a woman, but I'm not so girly I want to watch an entire show about 'finding the perfect pair of jeans.' There's a lot of criticism of her show being too self-indulgent, but come on! It's her show! She's allowed to talk about herself on her own television show! I don't find her as egotistical as other people do, just very confident, outgoing, and extroverted. There are certainly bigger egos in this business than her.

Some highlights from her last show:

• Hearing what she's doing next. I'm not a Tyra stalker or anything, and never really watched "America's Next Top Model," but I was curious. She's going to be focusing on making movies and books.


• Hearing her say "kiss my fat ass" again, after the whole scandal about her looking "fat" in a bathing suit a while back.


• Her explanation of all the things going on at once in a talk show. I have no idea how hosts do it! As she went through each thing she had to pay attention to: the guest, the audience, the teleprompter, the cue cards, her personal notes, the clock, etc I was even more impressed. I knew hosts had to deal with a lot of things going on at once, but it was still fun to see her describe them all and what it's like from her perspective.


• Her talking about how important it was to have a show with her taking off her makeup. I loved hearing her say that she "doesn't wake up looking like this!" It's understandable that guests would be intimidated by her since she's incredibly gorgeous, so I loved when she revealed things like this.


• Her emotional comment about people not taking her seriously in the beginning of her show, when she was told that her show wouldn't last and she was just a model. It's the feminist in me, I know, that loved her talking about wanting to be taken seriously and not just dismissed as a beautiful but brainless woman.