Watching KVille

So, there I was, sitting back and watching television, and a trailer came on for the new Sam Jackson movie, Lakeview Terrace. I thought I saw Cole Hauser in the film as the white neighbor that gets to put up with Jackson’s scary/obnoxious cop character in the film. I was really convinced that it was Hauser, so I checked out a Sam Jackson website. The film wasn’t listed, as the website seemed about nine months behind the times in Mr. Jackson’s filmography and general news.

Interestingly enough, Tyler Perry’s The Family that Preys was featured on the Samuel L. Jackson site. Ok, I thought, those two are in two new films together. Cool. But when I try to find out what character Jackson is in The Family that Preys, he is not listed as a member of the cast. Hmm.

And then I checked out the cast for Lakeview Terrace, and it is not Cole Hauser in the thriller. Instead it is an actor named Patrick Wilson. I have not heard of him, despite his rather solid indie film and theatre resume. All I can say is that in the trailer’s brief seconds of his face, he can look a lot like Hauser.

Hauser

Wilson

It seems that Jackson has no real connection to the Tyler Perry film, or at least, I cannot find one. Maybe his website, Samuelljackson.com, simply gives shout-outs to his friends, or maybe it is tied to some marketing group that plugs any film with a black actor in it. Who knows, but I do know that Samuel L. Jackson is not in a new film with Cole Hauser. That is too bad, as I think those two may play pretty well off of each other. Another project perhaps.

But, hey, Hauser’s new film is coming out September 12.

Lakeview Terrace, Sam Jackson, Samuel L. Jackson, Cole Hauser, Tyler Perry, The Family that Preys, Patrick Wilson

Ok, so it’s not that I don’t want to write, it is that I have very little to write about when it comes to Watching K-Ville. The show is dead, Anthony Anderson and Cole Hauser have moved on to new projects, and writing about crime in New Orleans is, well, depressing. So I have been ruminating on how can I continue with Watching K-Ville, I mean, even the name is a lie.

Then it came to me. There is always an opportunity to watch a “K-Ville.” You know, one of those really crappy shows that is nothing more than a collection of television cliches, but with an added bonus of a fairly recent, true-life event/issue/condition tied into the show in order to add social relevance to the series. There are also the K-Villes out there that don’t last even a full season.

A great example of a one-season wonder...

So then it is not about Watching K-Ville, it is about watching all the K-Villes. Luckily for me, and possibly for you, I just love bad television, and I love criticizing it even more. I mean, I did go to school for it. I have a college degree in this crap, believe it or not.

And I am so glad that I had this epiphany before the new fall season (perhaps the best time of the year!!!) However, I have a penchant for watching old tv, too, so I will probably add some “pre-K-Villes” from time to time.

Now, what I am waiting for…finding a new “K-Ville” with any K-Ville cast member. That is going to happen. I guarantee it.

K-Ville, bad television, Anthony Anderson, Cole Hauser, New Orleans

But this time it is on CBS. And it’s still a maybe…

Many thanks again to TCNA, a reader/commenter, who graciously tipped me off that Cole Hauser has joined the cast of a new CBS pilot called The Tower.

Upon researching said pilot, I have found out the following:

Marcia Gay Harden plays a millionaire newspaper owner in Chicago, and the pilot/potential series is being produced by Cold Case executive producer, Meredith Stiehm, as well as Davis Guggenheim, the director of the Oscar-winning An Inconvenient Truth. Stiehm is listed as the writer on IMDb in addition to her duties as the EP, and Guggenheim will be directing the pilot.

CCH Pounder and

Denis O’Hare

are also attached to The Tower. CCH Pounder, who comes from The Shield, was usually my favorite character. And Denis O’Hare, who has been in just about everything, is a Tony-winner for his role in Take Me Out, and almost won for the revival of Sondheim’s Assassins. He can dance, he can sing, he can act. He’s a triple-threat!

*Side note* about Assassins. It came out in the early 1990’s, but nobody got it. It was then shelved for a decade, and became a hit. It’s a great musical if you have never heard it.

Here’s a little trivia about Meredith Stiehm. She first started writing for TV on Northern Exposure, and even spent a couple of seasons writing for BH 90210. Neat. I have to wonder if she will be somehow involved in the rumored 90210 spin-off, arriving this fall, possibly.

A bit from Variety:

Harden is set to play Zoe, a millionaire who buys the newspaper at the center of the Eye pilot “The Tower.” Project revolves around journos who not only break stories but also solve mysteries.

And from the Hollywood Reporter:

“Tower,” from CBS Par, revolves around a group of Chicago reporters who treat breaking news as cases to be both investigated and solved. Hauser will play a crime reporter. “The Shield” alumna Pounder will play the paper’s managing editor.

The Hollywood Reporter offered a bit more info on Hauser.

Cole Hauser has been tapped for the lead role in “The Tower,” the CBS drama pilot from “Cold Case” exec producer Meredith Stiehm.

Davis Guggenheim is directing the project, which will have Hauser starring as Sean Castleman, a crime reporter at a paper where journos investigate and solve crimes. CBS Paramount Network TV is producing.

Hauser most recently co-starred in the Fox drama “K-Ville.” He’s filming Tyler Perry’s “The Family That Preys Together” and is set to appear in the features “Tortured” and “Like Dandelion Dust.”

Hmm. I like the idea of Chicago-based reporters, even though I am sure the series will be shot in LA, despite the setting. It’ll probably be like ER in that they show a couple of shots of the Sears Tower and then everything is very sound-stagey. I really hate that, and that is one of the reasons that I thought K-Ville stood out from the pack. Filmed in the actual location is a nice touch for authenticity in a very un-authentic world.

Still, glad that Hauser is returning to TV, and in a lead is even better.

Cole Hauser, Marcia Gay Harden, CCH Pounder, Denis O’Hare, CBS, Paramount, Chicago, The Tower, K-Ville, Meredith Stiehm, Davis Guggenheim, Cold Case, An Inconvenient Truth, Assassins, Take Me out, Northern Exposure, Beverly Hills 90210, ER, Hollywood Reporter, Variety

My gratitude goes out to Laura, who submitted a comment on my last post about Cole Hauser, and her news of another film coming out starring Mr. Hauser.

It seems that Cole has been added to the cast of the new Tyler Perry film, The Family that Preys. Due out in theatres this September with a huge cast including Kathy Bates and get this, Robin Givens.

Here is a rather involved “preview” from CinemaBlend. Seems a bit different from the typical Perry fare, but then again, I have never seen any Tyler Perry film, but I do know the man seems to have a rather charmed existence in “Hollywood” by way of Atlanta.

Wealthy socialite Charlotte Cartwright (Kathy Bates) and her dear friend Alice Pratt (Alfre Woodard), a working class woman of high ideals, have enjoyed a lasting friendship throughout many years. Suddenly, their lives become mired in turmoil as their adult children’s extramarital affairs, unethical business practices and a dark paternity secret threaten to derail family fortunes and unravel the lives of all involved. Alice’s self-centered newlywed daughter Andrea (Sanaa Lathan) is betraying her trusting husband Chris (Rockmond Dunbar) by engaging in a torrid affair with her boss and mother’s best friend’s son William (Cole Hauser). While cheating on his wife Jillian (Kadee Strickland) with a string of ongoing dalliances with his mistress Andrea, William’s true focus is to replace the COO of his mother’s lucrative construction corporation. Meanwhile, Alice’s other daughter Pam (Taraji Henson), a kind but no nonsense woman married to a hard working construction worker (Tyler Perry), tries to steer the family in a more positive direction.

Hmm, seems like Cole gets to play a rather less-than-noble character (that gets laid a lot). Sweet. I think Hauser can play bad pretty well, as I remember him in Pitch Black, and though my memory is less than stellar for that particular film, I believe he played kind of an *sshole. And I remember liking it. But enough about my taste in men…

And check this out. Anthony Anderson is joining Law and Order?!?

From Blackfilm.com, the same article that mentions that Cole has joined The Family that Preys, notes that

Hauser was last seen in the Fox TV series K-Ville opposite Anthony Anderson, but with Anderson ready to join NBC’s Law and Order at the end of this season, the series is expected to be cancelled.

That news is dated March 4, 2008. So I am going to see if I can find out any more about this “rumor.” It would definitely be definitive proof that K-Ville ain’t comin’ back if Anderson joins the cast of another weekly series, but I just think that L&O has grown a bit long in the tooth, if you know what I mean. Although, it is a solid show with a solid audience, but alas, no gumbo.

Cole Hauser, Tyler Perry, The Family that Preys, Kathy Bates, Robin Givens, CinemaBlend, Blackfilm.com, Anthony Anderson, Law & Order

Cole Hauser, formerly of the much beloved and much maligned but still very cancelled K-Ville, has completed work (or should be done soon) on his next project, a film with Mira Sorvino. The title is Like Dandelion Dust, and it’s based on a novel by Karen Kingsbury, who is also a producer on the film.

Here is the quick synopsis I found on IMDB:

Jack and Molly Campbell enjoyed an idyllic life with their adopted 5-year-old son, Joey. One phone call shatters their world when they learn Joey’s biological father has just been released from prison and discovered a loop hole in the adoption papers and now lays claim to his son. He wants to start a new life by taking back his son. When a judge upholds the biological father’s claim and Molly and Jack learn they must give Joey over to this brutal man they devise a plan. How far would you go to protect your family? Written by Karen Kingsbury

Hmm. Though I am not likely to see this film, it looks like it could be good. I mean anything is possible, right? Barry Pepper is playing the biological father, Rip. You remember this guy, he played the sniper in Saving Private Ryan, and then I think he went on to the unfortunate Scientology-pet-project, Battlefield Earth.

He’s the one on the far right. He is quite good and kind of intense, so if this Like Dandelion Dust has a face-off between him and Cole, that might be kind of cool. But I don’t know if this is an action film, per se, so I am holding judgment for the time being (I know, what a surprise!).

By the way, if you didn’t see The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, you should. It is quite black, but also quite funny. I only bring that up because that is another film that Barry Pepper has done in the last few years. Tommy Lee Jones is also in it, and excellent as always. I mean, really, what isn’t Tommy Lee Jones good in? That Batman movie he did…I don’t know, I didn’t bother to see it.

Now, back to Like Dandelion Dust. I found a short article on Jacksonville.com that mentioned that it was an “independent Christian film”, whatever that means.

But I did find a synopsis of the film on Christians in Cinema’s website, so I guess it’s a Christian film afterall. And yet, I still have to ask, what does that mean? Straight to DVD?

The director is Jon Gunn. The last film that Mr. Gunn headed was My Date with Drew, as in Barrymore. Yeah, looked pretty bad despite Ms. Barrymore’s charms. Gunn’s first film was Mercy Streets. I don’t know anything about this one except that Eric Roberts was in it, which is never a good sign.

But still, good to see Cole Hauser is working.

Cole Hauser, K-Ville, Like Dandelion Dust, Mira Sorvino, Barry Pepper, Saving Private Ryan, Scientology, Battlefield Earth, The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, Tommy Lee Jones, Jacksonville, Christian, Cinema, Jon Gunn, Drew Barrymore, My Date with Drew, Eric Roberts

Yes, I just made that word up. I just like putting the -ista suffix on anything that people take too seriously. And I can call “foodies” out, as I am a bit of one myself. But onto the real point of this post…

I guess that just the mention and brief appearance of gumbo has spawned Monday Night Gumbo parties in N’awlins. Sorry, do they say N’Awlins anymore? Is it NOLA? I know it is not K-Ville. One of the major complaints about the show from New Orleans locals is that no one calls it K-Ville. If I live there, I would call it the town that FEMA forgot.

On a side note: In Oregon, we had some pretty bad flooding about a week and a half, two weeks ago (December 3, 2007), and FEMA finally showed up yesterday (December 19). Yeah, the US government — we pay taxes, and it all goes to Halliburton, KBR, DynCorp, Blackwater, Titan, CACI, Parsons…don’t believe me — look it up.

Anyhoo, the Times-Picayune has mentioned the K-Ville Cookbook before, and I said I would follow up on that topic. The “unofficial” K-Ville Cookbook was a gift to cast and crew when the filming on K-Ville wrapped in November.

Script supervisor Jillian Amburgey had already been collecting recipes from local crew members. She’d assembled them into a neat booklet with script excerpts that tied the recipes into specific food references in episodes. She’d also done biographical profiles of some of the contributors, including their storm stories. A couple of the recipes were scanned copies apparently rendered in a grandmother’s handwriting.

There’d been some talk of publishing the cookbook as a charity fundraiser, but when sudden news of the shutdown came, Anderson and co-star Cole Hauser paid to have copies of the booklet quickly printed up for distribution to everybody in the “K-Ville” production family.

It’s not an official “wrap” gift because “K-Ville” hasn’t officially wrapped. (-NOLA.com)

Aw, Anthony and Cole must be the nicest guys to work with. I think that this book would sell, and it may help out those on the production side that are out of work. Just an idea…Although, I did read on another blog (thehullabaloo.com) that the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 478

requires its members to continue working through the strike. The 550 members of the union include set painters, wardrobe workers, grips and other crew positions.

So maybe those guys are working on something. It says “stage” crew, so maybe those burlesque shows could use some gaffers.

K-Ville, gumbo, parties, New Orleans, FEMA, Oregon, flood, Halliburton, KBR, DynCorp, Blackwater, Titan, CACI, Parsons, Times-Picayune, K-Ville Cookbook, charity, fundraiser, Anthony Anderson, Cole Hauser, International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees

Oh, do the clever names for episodes never stop? Wait, they might in about two episodes.

Yes, my friend, conflicting information about the fate of our fair show. According to both wikipedia and epguides.com, there will only be eleven of the original thirteen shows that will be airing.

Hmm, why wouldn’t FOX have produced the full run? My guess is cancellation. Drat. Seriously, FOX, what else do you have?

It seems that Anthony Anderson may have to find a new job. Shouldn’t be a problem for him. He has had a pretty good couple of years…The Departed, Transformers, The Shield. He just finished up work as himself on Black Poker Stars Invitational. Can’t wait.

Cole Hauser just finished production on a movie called Tortured. It is about an FBI agent that has a moral dilema about torturing someone…how timely.

But hey, back to the present.

Last night’s episode, “Boulet in a China Shop” offered us a look into Boulet’s tortured soul, and kept us in the dark about Cobb — again. A murder at a Mardi Gras warehouse, you know where they store floats?, interrupted Boulet, Glue Boy and Love Tap’s awesome kareoke night — Anthony Anderson can sing! When the team + Cobb and + Captain + the other nameless faceless cops in full SWAT gear storms the warehouse, they find two dead bodies and another guy hiding out in a big head. I kept calling the guy Ashy Larry because he looked a lot like Ashy Larry from Chappelle’s Show.

This Ashy Larry character was one of the many people that Boulet had saved during “the Storm.”

Ashy Larry, or “Owen Giles” as K-Ville calls him was played by Avery Waddell, and it is impossible to find pictures of him, so here is one from his younger days on Boston Public.

Here’s Ashy Larry.

You try and tell them apart, especially after the character was pulled from some big paper mache head with a lot of dust all over him.

And the time count for the first mention of “the Storm”– 5 minutes! Who has that square? Yay, it’s me, because I’m the only person playing.

K-Ville, FOX, Anthony Anderson, Cole Hauser, IMDB, Transformers, The Departed, The Shield, Black Poker Stars Invitational, Tortured, Ashy Larry, Avery Waddell, Boston Public

Just in case any FOX execs happen across this little blog…

1. The Location of New Orleans.

I am sick to death of watching New York shows or Los Angeles shows. New Orleans gives viewers a somewhat unique locale for a drama. Sure, I know that more and more shows are branching out into other US cities, but so many of them are obviously not filmed in those cities. K-Ville is filmed in New Orleans, and that is a wonderful change of pace for those of us that took that first hit of TV as kids and never bothered to get help for our affliction.

I mean, sure, a show like Grey’s Anatomy takes place in Seattle (right?), but you can tell that they did not film there. There is one or two exterior shots of that hospital, and we are to believe that poof, they are in Seattle. But it seems to me the only place they ever go outside of that hospital is to that bar across the street (At least not in the three episodes I have bothered to watch — that show is like a high school soap opera, but then even high school soaps seem more mature). ER did/does the same thing. There is no authenticity in the location, and today’s television viewer is more savvy than that. We want a sense of realism in our cop shows. K-Ville gives us that, in spades.

And one more point, K-Ville provides jobs and maybe a sense of pride for New Orleans, and hey, what US city can use the help more than NOLA?

2. The Dynamic of the Two Leads.

Not to get into a whole discourse on race relations in Television History, but it is refreshing to see an African-American Actor not only carrying the show, but carrying the cop team. In Miami Vice, the show centered heavily on Crockett and Tubbs was there to make it seem progressive. Add Edward James Almos and we have a cross-section of the American population — what, no Asian-Americans or Native-Americans, come on, it was the 1980’s.

Anthony Anderson is entirely watchable. His Marlin Boulet is a complex hero. He doesn’t have those cop superpowers that make him always right and know exactly which lead to follow, and he drinks on the job, and he tricks people into letting him steal evidence, and he bullies people into telling him what he wants. The flaws are as good as his strengths.

Cole Hauser’s Cobb is an equally strong and flawed character. He’s an escaped convict, for pete’s sake. What made him want to be a cop; couldn’t he have done just starting “doing good” by teaching kids or fighting fires? And what makes him such a good cop? Is it that he spent so many years on the wrong side of the law, and he can think like a criminal? Either way, I am digging it, and I want to see his character grow.

3. FOX, It is Not Like You Have Anything Better.

House is on its last season, face it. Bones just cannot be bringing in the viewers. Prison Break is so over, and the choice to put them back in prison, is well, pardon the pun, criminal (and lazy). What else ya got, Fox?

Give K-Ville a chance to grow. Maybe find a better night. Maybe start programming it after that insidious American Idol. Isn’t that how you turned House into a hit?

K-Ville, Fox, New York, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Seatle, Grey’s Anatomy, ER, Miami Vice, Edward James Almos, Anthony Anderson, Cole Hauser, House, Bones, Prison Break, American Idol

Originally, there were (lucky number) thirteen episodes ordered for K-Ville. So far, FOX has graced us with five, and tonight will bring that number up to six.

Enter a plucky group of striking writers, and well, I have read that the K-Ville cast and crew just wrapped up filming the last episode that can legally make. So how many episodes are left? 13-6=7, right?

Yet, industry-bible-and-waste-of-glossy-paper Entertainment Weekly has this neat little “article” — it’s more a chart in the magazine version, and a list online. I tried taking a picture of the chart, but my camera sucks at close-ups. So you can see the online version here.

Here’s a snipet…I left the previous and following entries for context.

10 NEW EPISODES LEFT
The Simpsons (Fox)

11 NEW EPISODES LEFT
Aliens in America (The CW)
K-Ville (Fox)
King of the Hill (Fox)

12 NEW EPISODES LEFT
Notes From the Underbelly (ABC)

So, wait, there are 11 new episodes of K-Ville to look forward to, and no, I am not being sarcastic. Seriously, I kind of like K-Ville, and I give all the credit to Anthony Anderson and Cole Hauser. I hope to one day expand that list, but focus on supporting characters has been a bit thin.

Back to the math, with five episodes already aired and 11 more on their way, that makes a total of sixteen episodes. This could be a good sign, for all of us worried about the cancellation practices at FOX. Did FOX order an additional three episodes because they think the show is good, or because they are just worried about filling up programming blocks?

K-Ville, Anthony Anderson, Cole Hauser, FOX, The Simpsons, Aliens in America, King of the Hill, Notes from the Underbelly, Entertainment Weekly

Now, here is a true fan. Give it up for her. She created her own Cole Hauser wallpapers and not only that, she is giving them away for FREE!! That’s right, folks, get your own Cole Hauser for your desktop.

here’s some of the examples of what you could have…

oh, he’s pretty hot there, huh?

But in this one, you can see a little chest action!

Oh, yeah, Cole was also in the Vin Diesel vehicle, Pitch Black, which really wasn’t as bad as you’d think. Cheese factor of seven, but decent action.

And no, I cannot find any Anthony Anderson wallpaper that isn’t a movie poster from, oh, for example, Kangaroo Jack. I think he’s cute. Maybe I’ll make up my own wallpaper.

I just have to figure out how to get Jerry O’Connell out of the picture. By the way, he has a new sitcom, Carpoolers, which is funnier than I expected. It was created by former Kid in the Hall Bruce McCulloch, so maybe that has something to do with it. The guy that plays Marmaduke is a real scene stealer. I think I have a new boyfriend.

Also, more on last night’s episode…Does everyone from Cobb’s past have to die? YES. And that could make the show interesting.

cole hauser, anthony anderson, jerry o’connell, pitch black, carpoolers, bruse mcculloch

I had a meeting run late, so I missed the first half of K-Ville last night, but I had my BF takes notes, and isn’t that sweet? I walked into Boulet trying to get the C4 plastic explosives out of the evidence room without the lame white guy from Minnesota knowing what he was doing. I’m glad that K-Ville wants to inject a little humour into the show every now and then, but does it have to be so cliched ALL the time? And I am getting a little sick of the gumbo-as-a-prop issue. Just because it’s New Orleans doesn’t mean that gumbo is the only food stuff consumed? Where’s the alligator?

All in all, I have to give it up to the writing department (and I never anticipated doing this), but it was a fairly solid script in that I came in half-way and I didn’t have a hard time figuring out what was going on. Cole Hauser got to act a little, although the clutching the sailboat necklace at the end was hokey. I like Cole Hauser, and I finally figured out that I have seen him before in among other things, Tigerland. Great movie if you haven’t seen it. Well, ok, pretty good.

Hurray for K-Ville using the underworld connections of Cobb to 1) develop a plot and 2) give us more Trevor Cobb backstory.

And is it just me or is this guy ever going to get laid?

And I liked the “Gardenia Affair” of Boulet’s wife. Though I didn’t quite get how that guy (who was kinda hot) accused Boulet of abandoning his family because he sent them to Atlanta. Even if he didn’t “send” them, who was paying their bills? Give the guy a break. New Orleans was devastated, it’s his home town, he got his wife and child to safety, and he stayed behind to help, rather than jump ship. Seems like the right thing to do to me. If anything, it’s the lecherous elementary school teacher that hits on married women that comes across as a jerk to me. Beware those teaching lotharios, ladies…even if they do pay attention to what your favorite flower is.

K-Ville, Cole Hauser, New Orleans, Tigerland, Gumbo, Alligator

k-ville

Yes, rumors abound about the fate of KVille. Unfortunately, it may be a rather moot issue if this writers’ strike continues. I just heard that 24 has become a casuality of the strike. Honestly, 24 jumped that damn shark, and then tortured it to find out why it was there in the first place and who it’s working for and where is the dirty bomb that the non-arabic terrorists smuggled into the country…I really can’t watch that show anymore. Not even as a joke. Last season was a monstrosity, and such a let down after a really good fifth or fourth season, you know, the one with Jean Smart as the First Lady all hopped up on goofballs…

But I digress. Rumors are running wild that KVille will get the axe. Either way, the last episode is close to being in the can, and nothing more is coming anytime soon.

This was reported yesterday in the Oregonian. It’s a AP story.

“In Louisiana, crews on the set of “K-Ville,” a Fox police drama set in post-Katrina New Orleans, were filming the last episode written before the strike.

“I hope it ends soon,” co-star Cole Hauser said Wednesday in between takes. “I think it’s too bad for this show. I think we were just starting to get on a roll, and hopefully the writers and the studios will figure it out in the next 30 days to a month and a half.”

I have to agree with Cole. KVille was just starting to find it’s legs, and I was almost enjoying it as a drama and not a comedy.

KVille, writers strike, cole hauser, 24, jean smart, jump the shark

The character of Trevor Cobb, played by Cole Hauser, was a prisoner in Orleans Parish Prison (OPP) and almost drowned when Katrina struck. His cell mate did drown. In episode 2, three prisoners escape from OPP and the show centers around that facility.

There is a good possibility that people may believe that prisoners drowned in real life. To set the record straight and provide some additional background for the series, I thought I would share a little bit of real life information about OPP. Just a note, my dad was NOPD and as a kid I used to hang out at central lockup and the court house. I even got a personal tour of a small part of OPP. I know quite a few people who know it a lot more intimately than I do. heh

So, I wanted to share something I read on Java Joe’s Journal Jive, Trouble over ‘K-Ville’: Nothing bad happened at prison!. Apparently, the OPP Medical Director is not happy about what transpired in the K-Ville pilot. I bet he really hates episode 2. ;-O

“No one died in the OPP,” says Inglese. “Fiction or not, this depiction is an affront to the medical staff and deputies who, for five harrowing days, risked their lives for the inmates and civilians in their care. They’re among the many unsung heroes of Katrina—as are many inmates—who will never receive the recognition they deserve. Minimally, however, their heroism should not be undermined. Unfortunately, since so many factual depictions make up the back story of K-Ville, viewers nationwide are left with the impression that prisoners under our care drowned.”

That should set the story straight. No one died as OPP during Katrina. It should be noted that Dr Inglese has a book, No Ordinary Heroes: 8 Doctors, 30 Nurses, 7,000 Prisoners and a Category 5 Hurricane, about his experiences.

Having said that, I am sure OPP was not a pleasant place after Katrina hit. From one inmate present at the time (quote provided by the ACLU):

Breakfast on August 29 was the last meal that the inmates ate at the prison—from that point on they had no food or water. Inmate #52 reports that escaping prisoners were shot at, and that “deputies did assault prisoners.” Inmate #52 reports the inmates could not breathe, and he “thought we were going to sufacate [sic].” Some inmates found a pipe and started to break windows to get oxygen. After 48 hours on F Side, Inmate #52 was brought to the bridge early Wednesday morning, before the sun came up. The inmates were “told to leave everything behind, and walk out with our hands on our heads. The water was so deep I had [two] small prisoners holding on to me. One on each shoulder.” The inmates were taken to the bridge in small boats carrying approximately 8 to 10 prisoners at a time. Once on the bridge, Inmate #52 still did not receive food or water.

Definitely not a pleasant experience. I’m sure the experience wasn’t much better for the cops or the guards either, though.

I’ll provide some additional information about OPP over the coming days.

LewisC

kville, k-ville, crime drama, orleans parish prison, opp

Cole Hauser plays Trevor Cobb, new partner to Anthony Anderson’s Marlin Boulet. Trevor escaped from a flooded prison and joined the army before joining the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) and becoming a cop. Cole is working hard to play an authentic NOPD officer.

According to this article at CanMag.com, Cole has been spending time with the real NOPD as research.

“They do things differently in New Orleans, different than around the country as far as the cops I’ve been around, whether it be New York or Los Angeles,” said Hauser. “It’s just a different style. As far as playing characters that are cops in New Orleans, it’s the best kind of cop you can play. The fact is that in doing things different and being around and just the actual place that we’re at in the French Quarter and dealing with Louisiana and Ninth Ward, New Orleans East and seeing the things that these guys go through.”

Some of the actors have been allowed to travel with the police, even with SWAT, and get to see how the officers work and what it is like to arrest someone. In addition to getting a close-up introduction to the criminal element in New Orleans, the actors are getting to know the freakshow that is night-time New Orleans (and I say that affectionately).

Even in good times, New Orleans presents a different kind of perp. “It’s the people they’re dealing with. You have to understand like the French Quarter, everybody thinks New Orleans is the French Quarter. You go down there, everybody is drinking, you’re talking about a city that is partying 24/7 and the people that they’re dealing with, the perps that they’re dealing with, most people are either on drugs in that quarter or drinking out of their mind. So the people that they’re dealing with are just, pardon the expression, but out of their minds drunk.”

I’m glad these guys are in New Orleans making this show. The NOPD has had some bad publicity, some of it very much deserved, but they cops in New Orleans are mostly good people with a really hard and dangerous job. I’m hoping K-Ville with shed a little light on the real NOPD just as much as I hope that K-Ville will shed some light on the real NOLA.

This is a total spoiler. Don’t read on if you don’t want to be spoiled.

When Katrina hit, Marlin Boulet, an NOPD cop did his best to help the people of his city. His partner despaired of the death and destruction and freaked out. He took the patrol car and drove away leaving behind and unbelieving Martin.

Flash forward to today, in New Orleans. Marlin is doing a bit of drinking, a bit more than he should. Today he gets a new partner and runs into the old one. He doesn’t know if he can trust the former because he knows he can’t trust the latter. Both will work to gain his trust.

Partner “nut job”, aka Trevor Cobb, is an afghan vet, specifically Kandahar. He’s a cop from up north. Or is he? Hmmmmm. He’s refers to the neutral ground as the..er..neutral ground. He also knows the streets around town awfully well for a newbie.

While covering a fund raiser, Kasha Fontaine, a singer and close friend of Marlin’s, is shot. The bad guys escape in an old gold beater car. Obligatory car chase ensues. We are treated to a tour of New Orleans at speeds I have not traveled since I was a teenager, ironically on some of the exact same streets. ;-0

The chase ends at a casino. The perps escape into the casino, on foot and are followed by our intrepid heroes. The perps escape but we find out that the cameras in the casino have been moved around so that no video images are captured. Voila! It’s a clue.

Marlin assumes that an old boyfriend of the singer is the guilty party and takes him trawling. Well, dunks him. Best pun of the show: while Marlin is dunking the boyfriend off the side of a shrimp boat, Trevor asks him, “Don’t you think this is overboard?” Bwahahahaha.

At home, Marlin’s wife and little girl can’t deal with the lack of services, schools, crime, etc. They need to leave. They want to head back to Atlanta. Marlin decides he can’t leave. This is his city and someone has to stay behind to take control back from the thugs.

Sometimes you have to stand and fight for what you believe in.

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