The Rookie (ABC - Seasons 1-4) (1 Viewer)

[Nelson Au]

This new Nathan Fillion series, The Rookie airs tonight. Thought I’d post because I have mixed feelings. ABC seems to have a positive collaboration with the actor, no doubt due to Castle.

If the gossip is true about the way Fillion had a feud with his former costar Stana Katic on his last series Castle, it sounds like he wasn’t a very good co-worker to everyone. Of course we will never really know the true working circumstances on the show Castle. Maybe Stana Katic was a problem, but she seems to be a victim based on what’s been published. Maybe they all wanted it to end. Or maybe it was something else, but that series was fun and then it took a wild turn on it’s last season with an abrupt end. I’m sure a lot of factors could have played into that series end.

It’s put a stain on that series and cast a negative vibe on Fillion for me. He seemed like his character, a charming and maybe rogue, but good guy. But if he was a difficult coworker who antagonized his colleagues, then maybe he learned from his experience. Or he is really a good guy and it’s just gossip.

The Rookie looks like a nice safe new show and might be a symbolic theme for the actor whose character is starting over with a new job and career later in life. That’s all I know about the premise of the show. I haven’t read the reviews, but the headline of one review is positive. I’m not sure I’ll watch. It looks like a good premise. But it’s the first time I might not give a show a chance from possible gossip about the lead actor’s past behavior.

 

[JQuintana]

I don't keep up with the Hollywood gossip so no idea what all the fuss is about, Even if he wasn't nice on set it wouldn't stop me from watching his shows.

Odds are OP wouldn't be able to watch most if not all of his favorite shows if he knew how the actors acted outside of the TV box. Not saying all are bad,, just saying that I'm sure some aren't all angels.

I really liked Castle and hated to see it end. Seeing him in this though I'm not sure if I can buy into it or not but I'll give it a try.

 

[Nelson Au]

Ha, ha, that’s a good point Johnny. I’m always of a positive mind and want to believe everyone is basically good with good intentions. What I might have been not very good at saying above is that I liked Fillion in Castle. He seems like a really good guy who can be a goof and not take himself too seriously. Rumors are rumors and I usually take them with a lot of skeptisism. If he was that bad, ABC wouldnt invest in him in this new series. I’m a huge Star Trek fan, and there’s been stories of William Shatner but after reading his side, it seems he only cared about the quality of the product and that his actions rubbed some people the wrong way, I try to get info on all sides and decide myself. The Fillion-Katic feud sounds more and more like gossip rags trying to make up a story.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I try not to get work up about issues regarding celebrities. I refuse to take sides when I'm viewing their alleged beefs from 50,000 feet. I'm just too far away to know who's really at fault. Thanks for reminding me about this series as I will check out the first couple of episodes.

 

[David Weicker]

My DVR is super overworked on Tuesdays.

Now with this show, I’m up to eight hour shows in the three hours of Prime Time

 

[Jeff Flugel]

Thanks for the reminder about this show, been anticipating it for a while. Big fan of Fillion's since his Firefly days, but didn't really care for Castle. Not a bad show, just not must watch for me. Will be glad to see him attempt something a little more serious. Hope it's good. Guess we don't really need another cop show, but if done well, they are one of my favorite genres. Will check the first few out and see.

 

[Jake Lipson]

I'm a little weary of checking this out because it sounds like it basically want to be Castle 2.0, and the head writer here is the guy who ran Castle into the ground in it final year. Nathan Fillion is a great actor, of course, but I just sort of have a bad feeling about this one.

 

[Nelson Au]

I thought Take Two was Castle 2.0. . Same creator.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I never watched one episode of Castle nor Firefly for that matter. I have seen Serenity.

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

Big Firefly fan here; never watched Castle. I checked this show out tonight. They sure get around L.A. (One minute downtown, the next having lunch in Venice). And, I know it's standard cop drama stuff, but there's more shooting in this episode than most cops see in a year (or sometimes even a career). But it's fast-paced, the characters are instantly types (not a bad thing), and I like the cutting between the body cam shots and the dashboard shots. That's really using what's current to juice up normal cop show type scenes.

Probably won't be a regular watcher, but may dip in once in a while. If I root for this show to possibly not succeed, it's only because I would rather see Fillion on a Firefly reboot.

 

[Jeff Flugel]

I enjoyed this quite a bit. Nice to see Fillion back in more serious mode, and he's surrounded by a good cast. I especially enjoyed the edgy charisma of former soap star Eric Winter as the hardass cop with the druggie wife...though he looks distractingly like a young Christopher Walken at times. As usual for current TV, all the female cops are way too good looking (and too petite) to be fully believable, but what the hey. The premise is a good one, there's some good action and the writing seems solid. I'll stick around.

 

[Nelson Au]

I watched it. I enjoyed it too. As I said above Fillion seems like a good guy. And I agree, the gossip of any friction or feuds with cast or crew are behind the scenes and out of our view. And I too usually ignore that. The way Castle ended, that stuff was dragged out so it became more upfront in my mind. So I had been putting more emphasis on it then I should.

The thing I found unnecessary these days are hanging threads that they like to drag out over multiple episodes. So the business of Nolan and Chen having a secret relationship and now it’s out looks like an unneeded plot they wanted to hang out there to cause conflict. ( I thought he was going to call the waitress)

At one point during the episode I was reminded of The Rookies, the mid 1970’s cop show with a similar premise; Following the careers of rookie cops. The scene in the bar after their first day shift was what made me think of that older show.

 

[Malcolm R]

Ratings aren't that good, so it may not be around too long. The 1.0 is the rating in the 18-49 demographic; 5.38 is the total audience in millions. Numbers are the same as last season's "Kevin (Probably) Saves the World" which was cancelled.

 

[Patrick Sun]

At one point during the episode I was reminded of The Rookies, the mid 1970’s cop show with a similar premise; Following the careers of rookie cops. The scene in the bar after their first day shift was what made me think of that older show.

Heck, "Rookie Blues" lasted 4-5 seasons, I think, and it was getting old in the tooth given its initial premise too.

I think they should maybe come up with another cop show, but call it "Jaded Cops" and examine the daily grind of being cops.

 

[Nelson Au]

Wasn’t that Dragnet and Adam-12?

 

[Patrick Sun]

But put yet another modern day twist on it!

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

That was Police Story (72-74). Jaded cops and broken marriages. Pretty damn good show (and accurate).

 

[Robert Crawford]

I watched the first episode this afternoon. I liked it, but I agree the female cops are too good looking.

 

[Doug Wallen]

It is nice to see Fillion back on the tube. I enjoyed it. The romance subplot seems a bit far-fetched. Seems his character might be a bit to old for her (daddy issues???). That was my major complaint. Cop with addict wife is an interesting wrinkle. I'm in so far.

 

[Walter Kittel]

Happy to see Melissa O'Neil in another series (after the demise of Dark Matter on SyFy). The first episode felt pretty standard, but I've always enjoyed Nathan FIllion, so I'm in at least for the time being.

- Walter.