Let’s jump the gun on Copper.
The Toronto-shot series, set in 1860s New York, doesn’t debut in Canada until next weekend – Sunday, Aug. 26, to be specific – on Showcase.
But because it debuts in the United States this weekend, Sunday, Aug. 19, on BBC America (why would Canada be later? That always bothers me), and there will be reviews aplenty from American critics, I thought I’d weigh in now with some general thoughts on the ambitious series.
I’ve seen the first two episodes, and I guess I can sum up my feelings this way: It’s not love at first sight for me. But there’s enough going on to stick with it for a bit longer, to see if the things I don’t like eventually are outweighed by the things I do.
Set in New York’s vicious Five Points area in the 1860s, Copper stars Tom Weston-Jones as Kevin Corcoran, an Irish-American cop and Civil War veteran. Corcoran isn’t really a hero in the traditional sense, but he reflexively seeks justice for the powerless while simultaneously trying to solve the mystery of what happened to his wife (missing) and his daughter (deceased).
Think Gangs of New York from the perspective of a police detective, rather than a gang member.
I am fascinated by this time period, as many amateur history buffs are, and I really was cheering for Copper to be great. At first glance, though, it has something of a split personality.
It’s a bit bland. Then, almost like a machine becoming self-aware, it’s as if Copper can sense itself being bland, and it responds with shockingly violent and graphic scenes, seemingly out of the blue, to stir itself.
The look of Copper is slightly distracting, too. I know the intent was to make this brutal neighborhood seem claustrophobic. But even in the most claustrophobic cities, when you’re outside it feels as if you’re outside. Copper almost always feels as if you’re on an indoor set. Instead of the desired effect of claustrophobia, it often just seems grey.
On the positive side, the best part of the first two episodes was the Robert Morehouse character, played by Kyle Schmid (pictured above). Robert is the wayward son of a wealthy curmudgeon, equal parts seeking his father’s approval and determined to carve his own path and be nothing like his old man. Robert’s relationship with every single other character he comes across in the first two episodes has the potential to be fascinating, largely due to Schmid’s precocious spark in the role.
So overall, Copper didn’t aggressively frisk me right from the start, as I’d hoped it would. But I remain cautiously curious, and will continue to monitor Copper’s “arrested” development.
(By the way, I’ll be writing more about Copper in Sun Media outlets next week. To read about the chat I had with Weston-Jones at the recent Television Critics Association tour in Los Angeles, click here.)
bill.harris@sunmedia.ca
@billharris_tv
