The Wire and Detroit 1-8-7 take the same concept and adapt it in two different directions. There are many reasons for this, the initial being network content vs. cable, as well as the show’s need for ratings. For example, The Wire sets itself in the city of Baltimore, and focuses on different facets of life in the city. It deals with issues of crime, violence, politics, journalism, and racism on a realistic level in a city known for its high crime and violence. Detroit 1-8-7 in its first season has largely taken the role that The Wire did in their initial season as well. It investigates the life of the police as they deal with the high rates of crime that plague their city. Unfortunately, where The Wire succeeds at capturing a realistic city with identifiable characters, Detroit 1-8-7 falls into the standard tropes that most shows of its kind do.
The Wire never dealt with the issue of the Murder-A-Week scenario. Plotlines weren’t begun and ended in the same episode, as the show’s main plot ran over a series of episodes, and in many cases, the entire season. Detroit 1-8-7, as a network television program, must attract weekly ratings, and provide the viewer with a complete storyline in 42 minutes. These result in the issue of having little to no feel of the repercussions of actions that the show’s characters make. They find a murder, investigate it, and solve it by the end of the show. In addition, the tropes they use to make this happen are pulled straight from police dramas dating all the way back to Hill Street Blues. No process is shown, they simply find their “guy,” bring him in, question him for information, and then move on to finding their next “guy.” The Wire never showed any continuing issues of investigation, because it focused on the realism of the police, and crime in general. Criminals weren’t fast talking jerks or angry morons; they were people who came with their own reasons for what they did.
The overall reasoning comes to the fact that these shows, while both maintaining the premise of dealing with social issues in a debilitated city, have entirely separate demographics and intentions. The Wire was on a channel where ratings weren’t everything, like on network TV. Being on a channel of paid subscribers allowed David Simon, the show’s creator, to push the boundaries and depict a violent, sexual, and racist environment that simply couldn’t be displayed on Detroit 1-8-7. The closest that show ever deals with sex is a wacky side-story regarding who of the detectives who “get it on” in the interrogation room. It’s meant as procedural drama.
Detroit 1-8-7 fails where The Wire succeeded due to its lack of ambition and commitment to making any sort of real statement regarding the city’s issues. Police procedurals are a dime a dozen in today’s television landscape, and to stand out and make a difference, a show needs to move beyond the standard weekly bad guy, and move on to deeper and more realistic themes.
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