Reviewed by Rama Gaind.
Directors: Numerous, Via Vision Entertainment.
“There’s something really primal about the idea of being a rookie — it hits that horrible, eternal sense of feeling like a fraud, like a kid dressed in grown-up clothes, trying to pretend you know what you’re doing. And I thought, what if you were feeling just like that — but with a gun?” —Tassie Cameron, Executive Producer
There’s no deception in Rookie Blue that follows the lives of five police officers after their graduation from the academy. At the police academy, they trained, argued and celebrated together. The new recruits are beginning their careers with Toronto’s 15th Division.
Training’s over, life begins. They must learn to deal with not only their duties as police officers, but also the problems and expectations of family, friends, and romantic attachments. They are first responders who are about to learn that no amount of training prepares you for life.
The first season includes the novice cops Officer Andy McNally (Missy Peregrym), Officer Gail Peck (Charlotte Sullivan), Officer Dov Epstein (Gregory Smith), Traci Nash (Enuka Okuma) and Chris Diaz (Travis Milne). Eventually they graduate from “rookie” status and become more experienced partners. Throughout it all, the officers have to find a way to negotiate their personal lives and relationships, while dealing with the pressure of being on the force.
The well-worn words: “to serve and protect” are familiar, but when you add “don’t screw up”, then there’s usually a significant meaning in the context of the episode’s plot. The rookie graduates are now in the real world, tackling everyday problems, being brave, but in the world of big city policing, even the smallest mistake can have life-or-death consequences.
The good-looking young crew gives the Canadian series a fresh, hip look, even though the storylines and surprising behaviour are more docile than some other police series.
This 22-disc set brings together every episode from the six-season run of Rookie Blue, with an arresting collection of special features. No wonder it has been described as the Grey’s Anatomy of the world of rookie cops!
