A police procedural set in 1864 Manhattan (the same Five Points setting employed by “The Gangs of New York), “Copper” comes to us from Tom Fontana, showrunner of NBC’s “Homicide: Life On The Street” and HBO’s “Oz.”
I’d be more excited about it if the reviews were better (and if Fontana had not also created such mediocrities as “The Bedford Diaries” and “The Philanthropist”).
... Copper so far feels flat and undistinguished, a series that might have seemed novel on cable five or ten years ago, but now feels surprisingly unsurprising. …
... the decent but unspectacular "Copper" comes off as "Deadwood Cop," minus the Milch: It's more or less a police procedural with added corsets and waistcoats. …
... It's a promising framework for a series, and the first two episodes of "Copper" work in fits and starts. … doesn't arrive fully-formed in the way that "Homicide" or "Oz" did. This is a big, ambitious project with a lot of layers and a lot of practical considerations to be figured out, and you can almost see Fontana, Levinson and Rokos figuring out what they can and can't pull off over the course of the opening two-parter.
... It's missing exactly the elements that make you want to watch those British shows on BBC America: energy, irreverence, a sense of humor and, crucially, consistently good performances. …
... the hero is unequivocally a good guy, his adversaries are unmistakably evil — I hereby declare that to be refreshing. … "Copper" has come to entertain, not to educate, and it discharges that duty well. …
The San Francisco Chronicle says:
... works not only because it mines elements of classic storytelling but also because of elaborately colorful dialogue by Fontana, Rokos and their fellow writers, compelling performances by every member of the cast, richly detailed art direction and well-paced overall direction. …
... All of these characters and situations are mildly interesting, but it’s difficult to know from just a couple of episodes if they’re ever going to become desperately interesting. This is especially true of Weston-Jones’s performance — he’s fine to watch but difficult to relate to. That’s because “Copper” is yet another show where every character is damaged and complicated and doesn’t want to be related to. …
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says:
... does not reach "Homicide" levels of greatness in its premiere -- really, what show could? -- but tonight's pilot at least suggests it may offer "Oz"-level attention to character development once it gets up on its feet. … But there's enough to re-commend about "Copper" that it's worth tuning in to see how the series develops.
... a dark, violent and ultimately gripping walk through New York in 1864. …
... something special. … BBC America chose to launch a move beyond reairing British dramas and into original series by trusting two of the people responsible for one of TV’s best police dramas, “Homicide.” I’m inclined to do the same. …
... everything about the show feels just a bit off: underfunded, insufficiently cast and flatly written. …
... It's in the stilted, stiff execution where things fall apart. Like AMC's even more tedious Hell on Wheels, capturing a turbulent era and a squalid setting with studiously detailed period grit isn't enough. While the story revels in bone-crunching brutality on either side of the law, the impact is muffled by cardboard characterizations, wooden acting and clichéd plotting. …
... On paper, there’s much to like about the premise. In practice, it’s a sluggish start to a big story -- and in today’s scripted environment, that usually doesn’t end well. …
... isn't terrible, but suffers from a flat-footed quality. Mostly, like AMC's postwar experiment "Hell on Wheels," it leaves one pining once again for the poetry of "Deadwood." … it's difficult not to be disappointed by a series that plays, finally, like too much of a cop-out.
10 p.m. Sunday. BBC America.
