10-8: Officers on Duty (2003–2004) User Reviews (10)

You have the right to remain silent...

[vikitoria · 8 March 2004]

I've watched many of the police dramas since I was a child in the 70's and this was a decent show for something current. The acting is good and the premise is promising. But, why does ABC hate this show?

The rookie kid, Amonte, is a good hearted thug from the East. The veteran Sarge is a rough, by the book cop who handles his family the sme way. It is better than that old show, The Rookies, with Ontkean, et al. Hudson adds charm to his character, and Nucci brings in his freshness to the small screen here. I love it. The other guys on the show are fun and great to look at - no doubt in that. This show has it all; political correctness, a diverse cast, current themes, and yet ABC is submerging it into the trash. Disney, of all studios, should be backing this show 110%. I love Disney.

If there is a way to save this show, and you like it, we should try and do something......

They must be joking....

[pereichhorn-1 · 1/10 · 30 January 2007]

I have just watched an episode of this, let me put it mildly, sorry excuse for a police show. Especially the plot is thin and rather unrealistic. The first thing that came to my mind was :" OMG is this written and paid for by the LAPD?". The second thing was "Hmm a dramatization of C.O.P.S., and poorly done as well."

It might be a matter of taste, but the way the cops are portrayed as everyday heroes is very, very sickening. Don't'get me wrong, I respect the police and what they stand for, but this is just a tad too much. Deputy Barnes telling his trainee that he felt he let him down, because he (the trainee) went in to a house being prejudiced towards its tenants and than stating that being a member of the force isn't about that? And all people involved, either criminals or others, listening to the members of the force? That's hardly how it's going down in real life.

Give me shows like NYPD Blue or Criminal Intent where life isn't portrayed as black and white, but with all the different layers in between.

No wonder that it apparently only ran for one season....

Very weak and clichéd police show

[Mortus · 2/10 · 28 June 2007]

This show was really bad, and it was so clichéd that who ever green-lighted it should be put in a dress and a blond wig and thrown into the showers at Riker's Island. The main character, Amonte, who is fresh out of the academy and very idealistic, is paired up with the veteran, Barnes, who seems cynical but is really a good guy and a faithful community servant. And of course they come from different cultural backgrounds. This is so predictable, and basically out of the "T.J. Hooker"-handbook for creating a mediocre cop show. The worst part about the show, however, is the voice-over done by the Amonte-character. There is a voice-over throughout the show and always a closing epilogue, just to make sure that we, "the stupid audience", understand the vaguely hidden moral points of today's episode, here are some examples: "Cops may seem insensitive but it is a necessary facade", "It is important that kids have positive role models", "Violence never solved anything". If you find this show to be anything than a huge insult to your intelligence, then you probably think that "The Simple Life" is a greater cultural gem than Shakespeare's "Macbeth".

Good Cop Show

[jwrowe3 · 20 October 2003]

I like what a previous poster said about this show feeling like it was from the 1970's, along the lines of cop dramas from that era. I couldn't agree more. I thought pretty much the same way myself, and saw a little "Hill Street Blues" tossed in as well.

Perfect ensemble show. Ernie Hudson is a great actor, and I found myself liking the rest of the cast, as well.

Give it a look. Congratulations ABC TV, "10-8" and "LA Dragnet" have got me watching your network, again.

2005 update.

So, ABC cancels it.

Feels like something out of the 70s

[budikavlan · 12 October 2003]

This is an old-fashioned cop show, like The Rookies or TJ Hooker. As such, it acquits itself nicely, but it's unlikely to attract much attention. In the right timeslot, it might last long enough to smooth out the storytelling and develop the characters, in which case it could build up a loyal audience. Ernie Hudson brings the proper authority to the gruff training cop, and all three rookies are appropriately green. I guess what I'm saying is that if there's not anything else you're hooked on watching, 10-8 makes a good solid backup. But I wouldn't invest too much interest in the show, as it's not a good bet to stand the test of time.

Ernie Hudson returns in this light-weight, but well written cop show

[liquidcelluloid-1 · 31 March 2004]

Network: ABC; Genre: Drama (Crime); Average Rating: TV-PG; Classification: Contemporary (star range: 1 - 4)

Season Reviewed: Complete Series (1 season)

The modern status quo says there are only 2 types of cop shows TV networks and viewers will tolerate/understand: the 'ripped from the headlines' 'Law & Order'/'CSI' shows that are more about crimes and evidence than characters and the 'gritty cop drama' ('The Shield', 'NYPD Blue'). So it's no surprise that when the genera bending '10-8: Officers on Duty' hit the streets neither audience or critics (to cowardly to stand up for a show they think will fail) didn't know what to make of it. Have we been that conditioned by the mediocrity of Dick Wolf?

'10-8' breaks every one of those rules. In a throwback to cop shows of the 70s, it's largely light-weight with comedic elements and the larger focus is on characters and themes rather than solving mysteries and shocking the audience. Danny Nucci makes an impressive leading turn as Rico Amante - a former street punk in training for the LA sheriff's department. The show's most fun moments are surely when Amante butts heads with his training officer, a sensational Ernie Hudson. Hudson makes such an impression he carries most of the show. While the two partners could have held the show themselves the show expands in later episodes with a well rounded cast.

In terms of the dialogue, '10-8' is one of the most well written on TV. Rico's musings about life, God, being a cop and the human condition in the narrations are terrific and might even inspire quotation. It's clear that the writers are going for a story structure that doesn't feel artificially plot driven. Each episode contains a 'day in the life' format where we float from one incident to another with a general sense of story. On one hand this is refreshing, on another it handicaps the series of any sense of urgency. We feel there is no stake and, likewise, no need to tune in. The show seems to float aimlessly for the hour and wrap itself up suddenly. So even if it doesn't live up to it's full potential a lot of the time, '10-8' is an original and welcome change of pace from the usual cop drama. The cast and crew should wear this badge proudly. It was an admirable effort.

* * * / 4

I love 10-8

[stafina · 30 May 2004]

10-8 is a great show. What might have happened to it? I like others, hope it didn't get cancelled. It might be like the show "Cops" but this one is far more interesting and enjoyable. Nucci, and the rest of the cast are wonderful actors. ABC should definitely bring it back. There are some shows that are OK but not as much as this one and ABC still keeps the others. Just like "Yes, dear" and "King of queens" is on the air, why not this one? Please bring back 10-8.It displays the events as if they are real. We want the show back on the air. If we the fans didn't love it, we wouldn't be asking for its return. This show is just as good as the others.

Thanks, stafina

Shades of a "Bygone Era."

[ernieswanks_757 · 9 March 2004]

This show reminds me of the days when I was a "Rookie" Police Officer for the City of Ventura, California. I could relate totally to the way Deputy Amonte was being treated like "Crap" by the other Officers. You got a sense of how you're not fully accepted into the group until you "Prove Yourself" to the other Officers that you work with. In that sense, the show was very realistic.

It was amazing to me that with all of the chase scenes, shootings, taking of hostages, fist fights, etc; I never once saw ANY of the Deputies show any type of Report Writing.

I realize that this is Hollywood & they try to show all of the exciting action type "stuff" but they need to show some type of realism because, all of the above mentioned situations requires some type of Crime Report, Incident Report, Traffic Report, etc.

Report Writing is the "Backbone" of Police Work, yet the show never even "skims the surface" of this important function.

Further, Deputy Amonte seemed to always get the "Pretty Women" & he was just a "Rookie". I KNOW that this NEVER HAPPENS during the period when you are a "Trainee." Another thing I noticed was the relationship between Deputy Amonte & his "Training Officer" Deputy Barns (Ernie Hudson), was for the most part "too friendly." especially as the series progressed into the later episodes.

When I was a "Trainee," there was NO relationship that even resembled anything like "Friendly," In fact, we HATED our Training Officers!!! When these "dynamics" began to be noticed, I felt it impacted the show in a "negative" way.

I guess that's the difference between playing the part of a Police Officer & actually BEING a Police Officer. I feel that in order for a Police Show to be "credible" it must show ALL aspects of Police Work & not just the "exciting" part of it.

The "ironic" thing about it is the fact that the person who only "plays" the Police Officer role as an actor gets more money than the person who's REALLY out there doing "REAL POLICE WORK"!!!

All of the other aspects of this show were portrayed pretty good for the most part.

10-8 awesome show

[stafina · 11 October 2004]

I've seen the show whenever it was on. Loved it so much, I told my friends & family about it. If by any chance 10-8 got cancelled, please bring it back. It's a wonderful show. All actors are great, especially Danny Nucci who is my favorite. All plots were well written and everyone became hooked on it. Please have this awesome show return to television. 10-8 is the best cop show that I've seen on screen aside from others. My husband loves it so much that he recorded the episodes in case he didn't get a chance to see them. We don't understand why the show was cancelled (that's if it did). It didn't matter how many cop shows were there because this one topped them. All actors' performances are great.

OMG even for TV this show was BAD

[rngrmyk · 21 December 2004]

As a real deal employee of the LA County Sheriff's Department, allow me to just say that this was one of the most ridiculous and unrealistic productions...EVER. This show makes even the "new" Adam-12 and Dragnet seem like documentary films. For instance, 1 show, deputies pull over a couple in a sedan that are dressed in formal attire, NO REASON FOR the traffic STOP whatsoever. During the course of NORMAL CONVERSATION, our 'hero' smells something rotten and asks BOTH tuxedo wearing driver and bride's maid dressed female out of their plain wrapped, run of the mill, upper middle class car. After 15 seconds of banter, guns are drawn by ALL, The bridesmaid was wearing a 'GARTER holster' if you can swallow that, another radio car pulls up DURING A GUN FIGHT, directly in to crossfire, joins shooting at bad guys who are directly in the middle of both sets of cops; bad guys die; Sgt investigates on scene; solves the 'case of the wedding gift robbers' and EVERYONE is back on patrol within 30 minutes. WOW !!! Sadly, this was about the BEST scene I can even describe, so that said, you'll be left to guess how truly awful the other parts of the acting, scenarios and realism were. Sad too, as Ernie Hudson is usually an outstanding actor.