Fallout. Written by Etan Frankel.
Directed by Allison Anders.
Cast:
Officer John Cooper (Officer Jessica Tang's partner)...Micheal Cudlitz
Officer Ben Sherman (partner of Officer Sammy Bryant, who is mad at him)...Ben McKenzie
Det. Lydia Adams...Regina King
Officer Sammy Bryant...Shawn Hatosy
Det. Ruben Robinson (Det. Adams' partner)...Dorian Missick
Officer Jessica Tang...Lucy Liu
First broadcast 28 February 2012.
"Southland" ran from 2009 to 2013, first on NBC and then on TNT. It was a critical favorite and commercially semi-successful (the series ended with John Cooper, the big cop partnered with Jessica Tang in this episode, shot by other cops when he confronted his neighbors over noise: it wasn't clear whether he would live or die—and we never got to find out because the show wasn't renewed).
As one writer said of it:
"Southland" dealt both with the high intensity of bringing down the bad guys—or of being the bad guys —and with mundanities, like setting up roadblocks or doling out parking tickets. Obviously, the show had lots of drama, but it didn't pretend that all its characters were superheroes. Most importantly, it looked real. "Southland" used actual ex-gang members as extras, and shot on location in LA. Additionally, the show was faithful to the actual day-to-day grind of being a police officer; not every case got solved, and even when suspects were caught, it didn't mean that everyone's lives were magically better. All this made the show seem like a slice right out of real life... but for some viewers, real life isn't as good to watch as comfortable TV tropes.
And as the New York Times put it:
But “Southland still gets it right most of the time, and stands above the more popular police and forensic dramas that satisfy our appetite for predictability while insulting our intelligence to greater or lesser degrees. It acknowledges the arbitrary, contingent, inexplicable nature of human behavior in the way its stories circle and lurch and stop midstream, and in the way it crowds the frame with unnamed cops and masses of angry or bored or hyped-up bystanders. It pays attention to everyday conversation, and disdains the haiku of superhuman detection and analysis that substitutes for dialogue and action on other shows.
This is a lot of background for an episode of a series you most likely never heard of. I'm indulging myself here. Both Rick and I think—having watched the entire series—that it was, indeed, one of the best cop dramas on TV ever—Detective Stolarski agrees—if not also one of the best dramas on TV in the recent past. It's worth checking out on your favorite streaming channel. One of the things the series never shied away from was what it is like for a female cop on the street: Tang who in an earlier episode was badly beaten, and Lydia Adams, played by the always excellent Regina King, the detective who is, if you couldn't figure it out, pregnant. And here is the moment that changes everything for Tang and her partner Cooper.
So:
1. If we take Detective Stolarski at her word, this show gets the job and life of a cop right. What does the episode as a whole say about the job of a cop? Use a specific example in your answer. EVERYONE: use a different example than the responders before you.
2. What does it say about Jessica Tang as a cop? Is she a "good" cop? A "bad" cop? Why?
3. Should Cooper, her partner, have turned her in for tampering with the toy gun? Why or why not?
4. If you were in Tang's shoes, would you, as Cooper urges her, go back and tell the shooting board the truth? Why or why not?
See you all tomorrow.
1. I would say that the show shows cops struggling with the burden of the things they deal with and cope in other ways, like Cooper used to be addicted to something and is now trying to get sober.
ReplyDelete2. I think she could be a considered a bad cop but not like she’s bad at her job, more like she is tough on those she polices and does what she thinks is necessary and right.
3. I think cooper should have turned his partner in because what she did was selfish and only served her interests, which was to not get fired.
4. If I were in tang’s mindset, probably not because she wasn’t in the mood to be forgiving or cooperate to begin with. But if I were me I would like to think I would turn myself in because if I can’t accept my fault I’m putting people in danger.
1. I think the show was predominantly saying one thing: cops are just normal people doing a very difficult job. There was a line that I think went something like this “when most people have something terrible happen to them they just sit in front of a computer screen and phone it in, but we can’t do that.” Officer Tang made a mistake, but imagine how much stress she’s under from the divorce, and if your combine that with chasing after a criminal and then in countering someone wearing the same clothes as the criminal pointing a gun at you, something like noticing the orange muzzle of the gun can slip through the cracks. This show doesn’t try to paint police officers as some moral heroes incapable of doing wrong.
ReplyDelete2. I think it’s very difficult to classify people as “good” and “bad” no matter their profession. It all depends who you ask. Everyone has done something bad in their life that they are probably hiding, some people do worse things than others. Officer Tang may have made thousands of arrests and stopped dangerous criminals, but we are just judging her based on one day of her entire law enforcement career. That doesn’t seem fair.
3. I think Cooper shouldn’t, because he has skeletons in his closet too, I don’t know if tang knew about them, but he’s still on the force so if she knew then she didn’t report him. Also, I think he knows that once she gets past her divorce she will be back to 100 percent and the precinct doesn’t need to lose a cop forever because of a bad day.
4. I’m not sure what the ramifications would have been if she had left the orange muzzle on the gun and said that she didn’t see the orange and got mixed up. If she would have gone to prison or been fired then I don’t know what I’d do, So I might just leave everything the way it was. I probably wouldn’t go back to the internal affairs person and tell them theat I tampered with evidence. I don’t like this scenario, because no matter what happens, you still shot an innocent person.
1. The nature of a cop’s job can change within seconds. One minute, Tang and Cooper are drinking coffee and talking about Tang’s personal problems. The next minute, they are chasing down a man with a gun. You really have to be prepared for anything at any moment, because a calm day can turn into a hectic one quickly.
ReplyDelete2. Jessica Tang definitely lets her emotions control her behavior. It was obvious that she was acting irrationally and aggressively because she was upset about her divorce. I wouldn’t say that she is a good cop nor a bad cop. I think she just had a really bad day, and let her personal life get in the way of her job. If she were regularly aggressive and impulsive, I would say that she was a bad cop. We definitely saw her on her worst day, though. Maybe upon seeing other episodes I could make a better judgment about whether or not she is a good cop.
3. I think that Cooper was right in keeping quiet about the toy gun. The kid had already been shot, and the damage was done. Most likely, Tang is going to be a much more careful cop now that she has made this mistake. I see no reason to punish her. I think she was impulsive because she was angry, but if she had known it was a toy gun at first sight, she wouldn’t have shot the kid. She made a horrible mistake, but what happened cannot be reversed.
4. If I were in Tang’s shoes, I don’t think I would go back and tell the shooting board the truth. I would be too scared of the consequences. I would have to admit that I lied the first time. Not only that, but I would also have to admit that I took a piece of evidence from the scene to avoid getting in trouble. If I were her, I would probably just end up quitting because of the guilt. At least by quitting I would know that I would likely never have to make the choice to shoot, or not shoot, someone again.
1. One of the most memorable parts of this show is when the two male officers are arguing, and one of them states that people are constantly trying to “stab him in the back.” When the officer points this out he means it not only literally, but also in the sense that the public is always waiting for police officers to mess up. It seems as though if cops are unable to rely on each other, then they are left on their own. This aspect of being a cop seems incredibly difficult because relying on others is essential.
ReplyDelete2. I definitely do not think Jessica Tang is a “good” cop as she is influenced too much by personal issues and she lets them affect her job performance. In the two incidents before the shooting, Tang was overly aggressive and did not actively better the community, but instead created a poor relationship between cops and citizens.
3. Cooper should have turned his partner in for tampering with the gun; however, I see why he would not do so. It seems as if she is a close friend, and it would be difficult to betray someone like that.
4. If I was in Tang’s shoes I would have gone back to tell the truth because lying under oath has very harsh punishments. In addition, as Detective Stolarski mentioned, police departments are based around trust and once that trust is broken the system is in danger.
1. Every single cop has their flaws. Everyone of them make just as many mistakes as any other person would, and no matter how invulnerable they seem to be each one we are shown in the show has a large conflict outside of what they signed up for. Officer Lydia seems to crack a murder case rather well, but is having issues completely separate from work that has affected her performance.
ReplyDelete2. I think this question can’t be fully answered yet, as we don’t know what she was like as a cop before her divorce became an additional source of stress. She’s overly tenacious with rules and regulations, which means she’s more focused on the “crime” itself than the context surrounding it. Letting her personal life hinder her police life was an awful move, and a kid with a toy gun had to pay for it. She may not usually be a bad cop; but circumstances sure have made her seem like one now.
3. At the end of the day it’s Cooper’s decision. If I were him, I would’ve blackmailed her to take leave, or resign if she continued to work as if nothing happened. As a close friend, I see myself being very conflicted and much more sympathetic to Officer Tang than I actually am.
4. I would tell the truth, because lying would only make the situation worse. I shot an innocent kid, and lying just to cover my back would be so selfish. There may be the fear factor I’m not accounting for though. Officer Tang will face punishment if she does tell the truth. Then again, getting caught lying would be even worse.
1. I believe the episode as a whole shows that cops are normal people too and it could be hard trying to balance their personal lives from their job. For example, Detective Adams is pregnant and she has to deal with being sick at work and constantly taking a bathroom break and even staying late after work.
ReplyDelete2. I can’t really classify Officer Tang as a “good” cop or “bad” cop. I feel like her actions were definitely influenced by personal issues but at the same time you can’t always use that as an excuse because if this is your job you have to learn how to balance your personal life and still do the job right being that this is such a difficult job. I do think she should’ve been honest though because that’s just showing good character.
3. Yes I think Cooper should have turned her in because that’s the right thing to do. If someone finds out Cooper knew about it and didn’t tell, he would probably get in trouble for it too.
4. If I were in Tang’s shoes, I would’ve gone back to tell the truth. I would probably feel really guilty and it would be eating me up on the inside so I would just go ahead and let it out.
1. I think that this episode depicts the image that is very true that cops are normal people just like us and have ever day lives too. Officer Tang decided to shoot that kid because she saw a gun pointing at her and she wasn't having a good day. She had a split second to make a decision and then realized it was not a real gun. Everyday people make mistakes.
ReplyDelete2. I personally don't think this says if officer tang is a good cop or a bad cop. she had just been divorced and wasn't having a good day. I don't think this is enough to tell if she was a "good" or "bad" cop. We need to have more detail and background of her on a normal day.
3. I personally think cooper should have turned officer tang in. I know they are good friends and everything but I don't think its right to lie on the force. She killed a boy and it was a mistake but covering up some big evidence (that could get her fired), is not ok.
4. If I were in Tang's shoes, I would honestly go back and tell the truth. Lying on the force is not ok especially as a respected cop. I would feel the need to go back and tell the truth because I would not be able to have what I did settle with me.
1. It just seems like it would be so hard to separate the life of being a police officer with that of a normal person. It can’t be easy to have a job like that and still manage to act normal in public and with your family. For Officer Tang, it must be really hard to have to go home and behave as usual after the day that she’s just had.
ReplyDelete2. I wouldn’t classify Officer Tang as a bad cop. She actually seems to be exceptionally good at her job, and at one point she describes herself as a “first rate officer”. That being said, the way she conducted herself after she shot the teen boy could be easily described as bad.
3. I really don’t know. It’s obviously the right thing to do, but at the same time I can see why someone might not want to turn their partner in. Maybe he knows that she is actaully a very good cop who has just made a mistake and not deserving of a punishment. This very much feels like one of those gray areas in which the best course of action is not at all clear.
4. I definitely would because it’s obviously the right thing to do. Additionally, the situation would only get much worse if she was eventually discovered to be lying. It is much easier to confess and take your punishment than it is to be caught in a lie which would end up having far greater consequences.
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ReplyDelete1. I thought that this show was an excellent example of the hidden issues that cops face while on the job. We saw that Jessica Tang’s partner was clearly very shaken up after what he saw Tang do. Officer Sherman and his partner were also at an unstable point, another example of internal conflict. To the average Joe, it may seem like police officers are just robots programmed to fight crime, but here we see something very different. We see that officers deal with their own problems on and off of the job.
ReplyDelete2. Quite honestly, and as much as I’d like to say she was a good cop, Tang is what I would call a bad cop. She lets her personal life get in the way of her job. She is dishonest when talking to her superiors. She conflicts with her partners too consistently. These are all traits of an officer that is unprepared to do her job.
3. No, I don’t think Cooper should turn her in. Although it was not right of her to tamper gun, I don’t think it’s worth her losing her job over. After all, the kid was still in the wrong, no matter if he had a real gun or not. An officer is trained to identify the threat and decide in a split second what to do. While I do think it’s necessary for Cooper to have a word with her about the incident in private, I don’t think he should snitch on her.
4. I wouldn’t tell the truth unless it started to eat my mental health away. I don’t think it’s worth all of the trouble. So what if she removed the tip from the gun? The only person who it’s harming is herself. Tang knows what she did, and it’s up to herself to figure out how to deal with it.
I think this show highlights just how difficult being a cop really is. We see the argument between Officers Sherman and Bryant, where Bryant says something along the line of “This car is the only space where someone is supposed to have my back,” which I think is pretty powerful. People are always waiting for a cop to mess up, and one would hope you could have faith in your partner.
ReplyDeleteI think that Officer Tang is neither a good nor bad cop. In such a risky and life-changing profession, it is important to be able to check yourself and know when enough is enough, an ability which she has not quite yet developed.
Reporting Officer Tang would definitely be the right thing to do. I think that as her partner, I would wait a day to see what she does, then report her if she made no effort to redeem herself. That kid probably died because of her actions, and she must act under the law she serves.
I do not know what I would do in Tang’s position. I know I would sleep on it and would like to say I would report myself, but I honestly do not know. It would depend on whether the kid actually died or not.
This episode says that the job is hard obviously but also unpredictable. For example when officer Sherman and officer McKenzie are dealing with the woman, Crazy Carol, and it seems like everything has worked out but then she switches up and attacks officer McKenzie. They had clearly dealt with her before and knew what they were doing with the sprite can but things changed so suddenly it became dangerous.
ReplyDeleteI think it’s hard to characterize her as good or bad. We only saw her in one day where she was clearly having a terrible day. I don’t think she handled it well though which is why I lean towards bad. Everyone has bad days no matter what line of work they are in but you cannot let it effect you that much. She is bad when it comes to handling her personal problems and not letting them affect her performance.
I think so. At this point it is much more than betraying his partner. She may have killed an innocent boy. We saw how distraught the mother was, he was doing well again. A police officers job is to serve the public not their friends.
I would. It would obviously be hard but I could not live with the guilt that I ruined a child’s life who was working to get back on track. I could not live with the thought of hurting his family that much. And per usual if she is completely honest like officer Cooper suggests I don’t see it being as bad as she think she it will be.
ReplyDelete1. This show shows that a bad day for someone really means a bad day for someone. It doesn't matter who you are, cop, firefighter, burger flipper, or CEO; everyone has bad experiences and has to endure hardships. If a burger flipper has a bad day, so what, no one cares right? If a CEO has a bad day, now we have a problem because everyone that works for them will be effected in some way. Yet, somehow, if you are a lowly city cop, getting paid five percent of what a CEO makes, and you just so happen to also have a bad day, it really matters to everyone. No one understands how a cop could mistake a toy gun for a real one, or how a cop could be threatened just like anyone else, or how a cop experiences feelings too. This show shows that cops are just regular old people with a high pressure job.
2. In the one episode we watched, I did not leave with a good impression of her. She lied about affecting the crime scene by taking the orange tip off the kid’s toy gun. She was salty all day making appropriate claims on citizens. And although she gave a reason for her actions (divorce), I don’t believe we were given enough material to empathize with her. She did seem genuine though, and seemed as if she was a good person just caught up with things at the wrong time.
3. I think what he did was perfect. He shouldn’t do it, he is her partner and her ride along. And as we could see from the other two male cops, loyalty is important, especially in the field. So, what he did was perfect. He went up to her and told her that she needed to own up and tell the office the truth, that she was having a bad day.
4. Yes, I would. This is because the more a person lies and tries to hide something, guilt eats at them and they begin to act stressed. Also, most of the time, eventually, the truth comes out some way or another.
This episode shows how important it is for cops to have a strong support system; people they can trust to listen to the painful realities of their job and have faith in them.
ReplyDeleteJessica Tang is a human. While in this particular episode her actions are bad. Jessica is going through a lot with her divorce and is clearly angry and stressed. She should be given or take a day or more off to gather herself but instead she uses work to channel these emotions at the cost of others wellbeing. This makes me want to think of her as a bad cop but I cannot say this sense I have not seen more of her and I believe her bad actions are a symptom of the current state of her life.
Cooper is put in a very difficult position. There is a lot of grey area here. It is clear Cooper wants to help Jessica but not at the cost of others. I think Cooper should have turned her in but I would not be so quick to judge him for not.
Yes. The mother deserves to know. And if the boy comes out alive so will the truth. If she can tell the truth about this horrible scenario her coworkers will have more trust in her. As Shanon told us lying is one of the worst things you can do as an officer
1.This one episode tells a lot about the life of a cop and it is difficult watching out if you’re going to be still alive at the end of the day. It was also surprising the fact that the officers mood can affect how they treat people because when officer Tang was Served with divorce papers, the whole day she was angry and you can tell she was taking it out on people.
ReplyDelete2. Jessica Tang could have done a lot better controlling her anger and instead of taking out on people she could have talked with her(cop) partner or anyone else. I wouldn’t say she’s a good or bad cop because all she is trying to do is go through the hard times but it was wrong of her to tamper with evidence.
3. I think Cooper should have turned Tang over even though she is his partner because him covering up for her can lead to a bigger situation for both of them when the truth comes out.
4. At that moment, if i was in Tang shoes, I would have not went back to the shooting board and told them the truth because i am trying to protect the one thing I have left after a divorce which is my job and I could have been proven guilty for murder and I would not have want that.
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ReplyDelete1. This show was showing how hard a cops life is. One decision can change a person forever. For example, Jessica Tang shoots the kid with a toy gun.
ReplyDelete2. I can't really say if she's a bad cop or a good cop. However, her actions were dictated by the way she was feeling at the time but that doesn't justify anything
3. There's no need for Cooper to turn Jessica in. That just adds onto her stress. After this tragic situation I feel like she will be more careful.
4. If I were Tang I would probably tell the truth but at the same time I wouldn't want people to find out.
The first scene, the narrator said, “LAPD officers have only a split second to make a difficult choice, the ramifications will last their whole life.” I think this exemplifies how hard and tactical the life of an officer is. They have to go into each situation like it could be their last and make decisions that protect them most importantly. I think Officer Tang was in a very difficult situation. The gun clearly looked like a real gun and if it was, it could of been her life that was taken. I think she made the right decision because in her position, it would be almost impossible to know. With that being said, I wouldn’t label Officer Tang as a bad cop nor would I say a good cop. I think she jumped to too many conclusions, like when she threw the guy on the car when she didn’t even understand why. Also, she lets her mood affects how she handles a situation, like when she was yelling at the man in the car for holding up traffic, not understanding that he was trying to help his wife who hurt her leg. If I were Cooper, I wouldn’t have turned Tang in for tampering with the gun. I think they have a good relationship and he understands how stressed out she is. I think Tang should have another chance to redeem herself. If I were in Tang shoes, I probably wouldn’t tell the board the truth. It’s a very tough decision to make, but once I made the decision to take the tip off the gun, I would stick by my actions, whether they were right or wrong.
ReplyDeleteI think it shows this that the life of a cop is the same thing as the life of an average person, just an average person with a very intense job. Police officers go through difficult things and emotional things and family issues just like everybody else, but they have to be strong enough to not let it affect their work. I feel like there's a difference between being a good cop, and a good person. I feel like a good cop would never let outside influences affect their job, but at the end of the day cops are people too. I do not think she's a particularly good cop. I mostly say this because of the tampering with the toy gun that the boy had. Although taking off the cap to the gun isn't going to change what happened, it still makes it seem like Jessica was less at fault. And I do think that Cooper should've turned in Jessica for what she did. Going back to what I said earlier I think there's a difference between being a good person and a good cop. I can understand how difficult it might be for him to turn her in, since they are friends. But, at the end of the day he is a cop and he has a job that he has to do. If I were her, as hard as it might be, I would have to go turn myself in. Because at the end of the day, if that boy had died I don't think I could live with that guilt.
ReplyDelete