new cop show THE BRIDGE debuts tonight

[John McFetridge]

Okay, this is BSP, well, it's blatant but not entirely "self" as I was just one of the tiniest cogs in the huge machine that is a TV show, but I thought I'd let people know it airs tonight in Canada at 9:00 on the CTV network.

 

Here's a promo:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ShE7IQaDZc

 

I think it will be available online after it airs at www.ctv.ca.

 

CBS picked up the show for broadcast in the USA but they have a full schedule right now. I've heard a rumour that the show may air in the US in July.

 

It's a show about a beat cop (Aaron Douglas from Battlestar Galactica) who becomes president of the police union and takes on a corrupt establishment.

 

 

[Jack Getze]

Will definitely watch, John. Good luck with the ratings!

[B.R.Stateham]

John, I hope this is a huge success for you. Both in Canada and in the US.

[Kris Neri]

Much luck, John! Can't wait to see it.

[Dana King]

I tried to get it from that Interwebs thing, but I got something about an unapproved location.

I remember when Canadians used to be polite. Then they win a few gold medals--okay, 14--and now's it "You can't watch our shows."

Bastards.

(Note to those who would hasten to point out the likelyhood of contractural restricitons that prohibit the show's transfer here to Baja Canada: Don't confuse the argument with facts. Next you'll be telling me there weren't death panels in the health care bill.)

[Bill Flood]

Looks VERY promising. I was a huge BSG fan, and Aaron Douglas was a total revelation in that series. (Of course, it was wall-to-wall great actors, many I'd never heard of...).

John - what was your role in the production?

[John McFetridge]

Tanks everybody, it was a good lanch for a new series. Friday night is a tough time but the show won its timeslot. Now let' see if it can kee it up.

Bill, I was a story editor on the 11 episodes filmed after the two-hour pilot had been made and I wrote one episode and co-wrote one (which will air March 19th).

An interesting exerience, very different from writing a book.

[B.R.Stateham]

If the show was launched on a Friday night, it usually means its gonna take time to build up a regular following. I hope the network gives you time to do that. There always room for a well-written show.

[John McFetridge]

I appreciate the sentiment, BR, but the show didn't really work out.

Here's a very detailed review of the first two episodes, and to be honest, I can't argue with anything he says. It's worth reading even if you haven't seen the show, just to get his take on cop shows:

http://the-legion-of-decency.blogspot.com/2010/03/guy-with-movie-in-his-head.html

[Benjamin Sobieck]

By "didn't really work out," do you mean it's off the air?

And here's the headline to my review of that review: "Smug Screenwriter Can't Get Past Suspension of Disbelief." The show is based on someone who actually existed, but it's not a faithful docudrama. It's a TV show, for crying out loud. There's going to be a suspension of disbelief involved.

It seemed like that was the reviewer's most pressing issue. He spent the first 2,000 words going over what happened in real-world Toronto. Jeez, lighten up.

I'm not sure this is the most accurate review of the show. Then again, I haven't seen "The Bridge." But I'd hate for this little zit to irritate what should be a proud moment for you, John.

[John McFetridge]

Oh, I was told I wouldn't be asked back a long time ago, Benjamin. I couldn't suspend my disbelief enough, either.

The show will run it's remaining episodes - no show ever gets cancelled in the middle of a run in Canada. The networks here are required to air a minimum number of hours of "Canadian content," as part of their license but they never make a single minute more than that requirement. So, once it's made, it's aired.

CBS picked it up and planned to air it last summer, but they still haven't put it on their schedule. It might play on CBS this summer, you never know.

Hey, it was a learning experience, that's for sure.

[I. J. Parker]

Very sorry it didn't last for you, John. I read the critique (well. parts of it; most of it seems to deal with the author's own experience in a somewhat self-congratulatory way). What struck me from what I got about "The Bridge" is that it deals with internal struggles in a police force rather than with their crime-solving efforts. However important union business is to the police officer, the public cares more about crime. Policemen who are engrossed in their own squabbles aren't terribly reassuring or sympathetic.
Or did I get something wrong?