Murder in the First: Season 1

DVD Wholesale Quick Overview:

Murder in the First is a perplexing show given it’s pedigree. The bar is set quite high when you see this is a Steven Bochco creation; “Hill St. Blues”, “NYPD Blues”, “Cop Rock”…(OK, so “Cop Rock” was an aberration), Bochco really established the gritty, realistic police drama genre. Perhaps the limited ten episode format pressured the writers to try and pack too much story in a timeline that was too tight; things happen and are resolved ridiculously quickly and easily. Plot points are introduced and then either dismissed or speedily remedied.

Our protagonists are SFPD Police Inspectors Hildy Mulligan (Kathleen Robertson) and Terry English (Taye Diggs) who are partners in the homicide division. They catch a case of a murdered drug dealer that bleeds over into another murder involving the employee of a young tech billionaire. There’s an eventual trial and a delightful turn by James Cromwell as a high powered defense attorney. Once the story gets going it’s not terrible but as others have noted there are some things that are hard to buy. Kathleen Robertson is a beautiful woman, but looks like she should be on a fashion shoot and not mixing it up with bad guys- she weighs about 90#. She kisses a suspect while chewing gum to get his DNA, this would seem a questionable practice on a number of levels and she’s even called out on it in court with no consequence. She’s later involved in an officer involved shooting, appears to be reconnecting with her ex-husband, and even has a romantic moment with her partner but these elements lead nowhere and are quickly dispensed with. The two witnesses to their first case are kids, one young boy has the street name of “D-hop” but he looks about as street as Jerry Mathers did in “Leave it to Beaver”. The married DA and homicide LT are having an unprofessional relationship which isn’t interesting but is a distraction. Inspector English is suffering after his wife’s death by cancer in episode one and prone to beating up suspects in the interview room, or pummeling two lugs in a bar when they provoke him- rather than just badging them and calling uniforms to arrest them all without repercussions.

Given the lack of quality programming offered today this show is still worth viewing despite its flaws, hoping season two is better.

– Colonel D

San Francisco, 2014. Homicide Inspectors Tildy Mulligun and Terry English are partners. This morning they’re called out to the Tenderloin, the red light and poor rent district. Kevin Nyers, age 50, drug user and drug dealer, has met his end via a 44 caliber slug through his forehead. Almost too good to be true, he’s lying on top of an unlocked ipod, where the last email Nyers sent reads: “Listen, kid, help an old man out. $50K. Peanuts. Last chance or I go public.”

And who’s it sent to? Erich Blunt, Silicon Valley wunderkind and millionaire. And about to be billionaire, because his company APPLSN is going to go public. What could these two have in common?

Though this is a very American show, it follows the format of many British mysteries where one main homicide investigation is told over all the episodes. This gives more time for the introduction of red herrings and more time for characters to be multi-faceted. In particular, Tom Felton (Malfoy!) brings out his creep side.

The 1st Season of “Murder in the First” originally aired June – August, 2014,on TNT. The ten episodes total almost 440 minutes. If you buy it on disc, English subtitles are available on the episodes, but not on the Bonus Features. Two more seasons were aired, Season 2 in 2015 and Season 3 in 2016. So far, only Season 1, as far as I know, is available on disc.

The Bonus Features have some overlap in content:
…a…”The Making of a Police Drama” (6 minutes) Commentators include the two co-creator/producer/writers, Steven Bochco and Eric Lodal. Bochco has been in television a long time. His hits include “Hill Street Blues”, “L.A. Law” and “Doogie Houser M.D.”. Of course, he also had “Cop Rock”.
Bochco: “One of the things in our first season [of Murder in the First] is, we never told anyone [who did it]. We never told anybody in the cast. And so, every week, as we published our scripts, various cast members would come to us and say, ‘ I did it, didn’t I?’ ”
…b…”Behind the Scenes” Three 1 minute talks with Taye Diggs (plays Terry), Kathleen Robertson (plays Hildy) and Tom Felton (plays Eric).
…c…”Murder is Only the Beginning” (2 minutes) Felton: “Every episode, a new character kind of gets woven into the suspects.”

A good series. We stayed up way past our bedtime to finish it!

-Happy Reader

This series is perfect for binge-watching. What is hard is NOT to binge on this drama. Season One showed the actors and writing are first rate. Season Two had me and wouldn’t let go. Tears, hopes, more tears. Season Three delivered great performances as I’d been led to expect. I love this partnership: Terry and Hildy. It doesn’t have to be sexual. It also doesn’t matter if it is sexual. It’s just great as it is. So good!

-Big Momma

DVD Wholesale Main Features:

Actors: Various
Directors: Various
Format: Multiple Formats, AC-3, Box set, Color, Dolby, Full Screen, NTSC, Widescreen
Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Number of discs: 3
Studio: Warner Home Video
DVD Release Date: May 12, 2015
Run Time: 440 minutes