Television series have stayed with tried and true genres for years. At one time the three main genres were doctor series, westerns and police stories. Westerns have yet to return, doctor series have begun to peter out with ER but police stories are in full swing, at least for detective series. Now the everyday policeman, the man in blue, has a turn next to the detectives in BLUE BLOODS, season one of which has just been released on DVD.
The story revolves around a family that has three generations involved in the New York police department. The main focus revolves around Frank Regan (Tom Selleck) the current police commissioner. Having served under his father Hank (Lou Cariou) who held the same rank, Frank does his best to handle the pressures of the man on the street and those in political office who seem more interested in their careers than catching criminals or protecting people.
The same family has spawned Danny Reagan (Donnie Wahlberg), a tough as nails detective who’s willing to do anything, step over nearly any line, to make sure that people are safe and that criminals are punished. His dedication to people’s safety inevitably places him before a review board defending the actions he used, mostly violent ones, to coerce criminals to give him information. Danny is the hot head, the cop who works from his gut instead of his head.
This brings us to Erin Reagan-Boyle (Bridget Moynihan), the daughter who became a prosecutor and assistant district attorney. Erin believes in bringing criminals to trial, in putting them behind bars and in doing things legally so they can be held accountable for their actions. She is the brains behind the brawn, who loves her brother but can see the bigger picture.
Rounding out the family is Jamie Reagan (Will Estes), the youngest brother who went to Harvard and graduated but who turned his back on a lawyers life to dress in blue and police the streets. Jamie is a new recruit and graduate of the police academy as the series opens.
Each week we witness separate crimes that on occasion blend into one another, each involving different aspects of how these characters take care of the streets of New York. They try to stay apart from one another for fear of prejudicing a jury, but each one helps the other whenever possible. There is one thread among them that plays out from start to finish and that’s their missing brother.
It seems he was killed in the line of duty and on occasion these characters will refer back to him, but none as much as Jamie. Just out of the academy and on the streets, he is approached one night by a government agency that wants his help. A secret society of New York police called the Blue Templar is dishing out vigilante justice and they’re trying to stop it. So was Jamie’s deceased brother. They play a portion of a recording he made just prior to his death which leads them to believe he was killed not in the line of duty but by the Blue Templar. And now Jamie must decide whether to join their hunt for this vigilante group or take it to his family.
The series is quite well made, with some stunning visuals and photography that brings the best and the worst the New York has to offer. The acting is such that you don’t think while watching that these are actors, you believe them in each role they offer. Selleck is a stand out, a far cry from both his turn as Magnum P.I. where he was comedic and action oriented and from Jesse Stone in the series of movies he’s starred in where he’s quiet at all times. Frank Reagan is a man not to be messed with, a man who will protect his family and his city at all costs, politics be damned.
The nice thing about being able to watch season one on DVD is what I’ve said all along. If you missed the series from the start or were watching another at that time, you now have the chance to go back and start from the beginning. And with season two about to begin, what better chance than now to pick this one up and jump on the bandwagon? It’s a series that’s worth adding to any collection.
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