Robbery Homicide Division
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Robbery Homicide Division was a television series on CBS, created by Barry Schindel with executive producer Michael Mann (film director).
The show took an intense, no-nonsense look at the present-day Los Angeles Police Department, specifically the Robbery-Homicide Division. Lt. Cole is the driven chief detective of a squad that is dedicated to solving some of the worst crimes the city has to offer.
In April of 2002, Schindel, who wrote the pilot episode and created the show, left to focus on his duties at NBC's Law & Order. Frank Spotnitz joined the show as an executive producer in May after The X-Files ended its nine-season run and then left in October for undisclosed reasons.
Thematically, the show was very reminiscent of Mann's film, Heat (1995) in that it also dealt with a driven cop working the Robbery-Homicide Division leading a multi-ethnic squad. Stylistically, Mann has said that RHD was a chance to check out some of the high-definition digital cameras he would later employ to much greater effect on Collateral (2004) and Miami Vice (2006).
Cast
- Lt. Sam Cole — Tom Sizemore
- Det. Richard Barstow — David Cubitt
- Det. Sonia Robbins — Klea Scott
- Sgt. Albert Simms — Barry Shabaka Henley
- Det. Ron Lu — Michael Paul Chan
Episodes
The show debuted with a less than impressive 8.41 million viewers. CBS gave RHD two chances to capture a wider audience by airing two episodes on Saturday night. The first tryout was unsuccessful, but the second Saturday airing on Dec. 7, 2002 did capture a larger audience; garnering a 6.0 rating in households, while its lead-in The District received a 4.3 in households.Although the show was a critical hit, had better ratings in the same time slot. CBS placed the show on hiatus after the December 7th episode. The series was cancelled after ten episodes. The remaining three unaired episodes premiered on the USA Network in April 2003.
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| Code | Name | Writer(s) | Director | Premiere | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | E3801/101 | “A Life of Its Own” | Barry Schindel | Stephen Gyllenhaal | 2002-09-27 | CBS |
| 2 | E3802/102 | “Mini-Mall” | Todd A. Kessler | Fred Keller | 2002-10-04 | CBS |
| 3 | E3803/103 | “2028” (a.k.a. Internet Sex) | Jan Oxenberg, Philippe Browning, Frank Spotnitz, Todd A. Kessler | D.J. Caruso | 2002-10-11 | CBS |
| 4 | E3807/105 | “Free and Clear” | Vince Gilligan | D.J. Caruso | 2002-10-18 | CBS |
| 5 | E3805/106 | “Alton Davis Redux” | Carter Harris | Rod Hardy | 2002-10-25 | CBS |
| 6 | E3806/107 | “In/Famous” | Frank Spotnitz, Jan Oxenberg | Paul Michael Glaser | 2002-11-01 | CBS |
| 7 | E3804/104 | “City of Strivers” (a.k.a. Defense Lawyer) | Jan Oxenberg | Rod Hardy | 2002-11-08 | CBS |
| 8 | E3808/108 | “Wild Ride” (a.k.a. Zero Disrespect) | Todd A. Kessler | Nick Gomez | 2002-11-15 | CBS |
| 9 | E3810/109 | “Life Is Dust” | Todd A. Kessler, Sean Jablonski | Mario Van Peebles | 2002-11-30 | CBS |
| 10 | E3811/110 | “Had” | Todd A. Kessler, Gustave Reininger, Glenn Kessler | Paul Michael Glaser | 2002-12-07 | CBS |
| 11 | E3812/111 | “Hellbound Train” | Jan Oxenberg | Ami Canaan Mann | CBS | |
| 12 | E3809/112 | “Vamonos, Chica” | Todd A. Kessler, Glenn Kessler, Sean Whitesell | Bill Duke | CBS | |
| 13 | E3814/113 | “Absolute Perfection” | David O. Sosna | Paul Michael Glaser | CBS | |
Miscellanea
- Alongside Jack Webb's Dragnet (1951), this is considered by many to be the most accurate T.V. show about the activities of the Los Angeles Police Department.
- There were several technical advisors who worked on the show: Chic Daniel, an LAPD living legend who served more than twenty years on SWAT; Robert Deamer, a specialist of gang enforcement who is one of the most decorated veteran of Special Enforcement Unit (ex-C.R.A.S.H.); and Lieutenant Todd Reinhold, an actual squad leader of Special Weapons And Tactics.
- The series was originally titled "Metro" which was the division where the show was originally going to be set. Then, the title was changed to "RHD/LA" which was used for the fall schedule announcement. CBS ordered the final title believing that people would be confused about what "RHD" stood for.
External links
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