Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch is a homicide detective for LAPD. He has been the central character in a long running series by Michael Connelly. Amazon has adapted the character for a TV (does it really count as a TV series if it is aired on a website?) series. It is currently in its second season. Season is also an interesting term when one considers the entire 10 episode season was available to watch on March 10th; I finished watching today.
Season one followed Bosch as he tried to solve the 20 year old murder of a missing 12 year-old boy. This gets entangled with a serial killer who claims responsibility. And then there is the fact that Bosch is in court for having shot and killed a suspect. Though told episodically, it is really just a miniseries that centers on one big case and a variety of subplots. Good stuff. Too my surprise, season two proved better than the first. A murder for hire is made to look like a mob hit and Bosch gets the case.
Not having read any of the books, I can't judge how well Titus Welliver does in bringing the literary character to life. However, I really like his version of the character. He has this seen-it-all, unflappable quality to him. In a way, he reminds me a lot of Robert Mitchum. Doesn't look like him, but he has a very similar manner about him. It works very well for a military and police veteran.
The cast in both series is really quite good. Of the three major supporting characters, Chief Irving (Lance Reddick) shines most. Perhaps that is the way it comes through in the novels. His partner, Jerry Edgar (Jamie Hector), serves as a sounding board and is mostly defined by being extremely well-dressed. Lt. Grace Billets (Amy Aquino) is underdeveloped. She's a run-of-the-mill boss in any police drama who mostly let's Bosch manage himself with the occasional 'hey, now!' for good measure. Irving had a big story arc this season and perhaps such is on tap for Edgar and Billets should a third season materialize. I certainly hope so.
Thumbs way up!
No comments:
Post a Comment