TV Review of "Rosewood"

Rosewood, Fox's new Wednesday police procedural, has an issue.

I appreciate your kindness. Among Rosewood's many issues is the challenge of differentiating itself from the seemingly endless supply of other mixed-gender crime-solving shows. procedurals has been either well-received or widely panned by audiences in recent years

The Creator, Todd Harthan has zeroed in on two key differentiating characteristics, and those characteristics are heavily emphasized throughout the first episode. The pilot episode of Rosewood doesn't do anything to distinguish itself from the pack, so this device is annoying and mostly ineffective. However, it does serve as a good diversion from the dull murder investigation. Distraction from distraction of mediocrity is not a successful strategy.

Morris Chestnut's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is the first major departure. It's Beaumont Rosewood, all right Jr Known as "Rosie" to his friends, he is the preeminent private pathologist in Miami. Private In-house pathologist In spite of the fact that pathologists have been the focus of several television shows, I feel it necessary to emphasize again that Rosie is a private pathologist. Private Since he is not an official member of the Miami Police Department, he must seek out clients by visiting crime scenes and pontificating while pointing to the many informative billboards he has erected around the city. Because regular TV pathologists don't have to worry about how they're going to get paid, he repeatedly reminds us and other characters that he accepts all major credit cards. Private

Rosie's consistent employment demands force him to cultivate professional connections, beginning with Jaina In Lee Ortiz's Annalise The newest local detective, Villa Det Villa travels all the way from New York City to meet Rosie, but she has no idea that Rosie is a private pathologist. He has "arguably the most sophisticated pathology compound this side of the Pecos" and is "considered by some to be the Beethoven of private pathologists." ”

A forgiving observer might conclude that Rosie's egomania is motivated by a desire to shake things up in the workplace. To those who aren't, this may come across as annoying. And if you're feeling particularly charitable, you might conclude that Rosie's repeated references to wanting to work with Villa as his partner are motivated by his desire to get to know her better and maybe even start a [possibly romantic] relationship with her. If you don't see past Rosie's pursuit of business connections, you might label him a con man. Those who hold the first two points of view are likely to find Chestnut charming simply because of his personality, regardless of what Rosie does. You'll never watch Rosewood again if you subscribe to the latter two points of view.

Rosie is going to die, which brings us back to the second point of differentiation. In the opening scene, he runs by the bay shirtless, and if you look closely (and aren't distracted by Chestnut's abs), you can see that Rosie has a scar across his chest. Rosie does, indeed, have a void in his soul that can only be healed by the satisfaction he derives from helping others find justice, or at the very least, by the therapeutic effects of injections. Det Villa repeatedly tells Rosie that he is obsessed with death, prompting a response from Chestnut's Villa of "My obsession is with every breath I take." He gives us a prognosis in the pilot that is both soon and still hilariously far beyond the expected lifespan for Rosewood, despite the fact that Rosie is a time bomb.

The use of these differentiations Rosewood is just another procedural about a guy who looks closely at things and then uses his deductive reasoning in creepy stalker ways if you take the supernatural elements out of the equation. Rosewood lazily telegraphs his thoughts with insert shots because he doesn't trust the audience to have Beaumont's powers of observation. Rosie works out and leaves Villa her nicotine gum and wedding bands neatly arranged on a white towel before they meet. Rosewood, like Rosie's billboards, leaves clues where everyone can see them.

Considering Rosie's enthusiasm for Det Villa's motive for dating Evalonga, if any, is purely financial; the chemistry between them is fake, and all they do is talk about talking. "I'm the ying the yin to my yang I'm telling you, " he says You're oil, she says, and she's water. And that's the best there is"

The other characters are sketchy as well, and the majority of viewers will never know how much of an improvement the remake of the show's pilot was over the original. Gabrielle Dennis, who plays his sister and works on his lab team, has been given two new scenes that attempt to humanize Rosie and imply that his smugness is an act. Indeed, Lorraine Toussaint Although the episode fails to successfully graft Rosie's mother onto the episode's main mystery, as played by, she continues to be one of those actors who can instantly breathe life into stock characters.

Aside from Rosie himself, the pathology compound he owns as a private pathologist is meant to play a significant role in the story. Private Rosie's devices are hampered by years of other shows, including Fox's own Bones, inventing fantastical gizmos, a problem that affects Fox's Minority Report as well. Rosie is arrogant about everything, but his collection of trinkets is his specialty, so the fact that it elicits no more than a shrug from his friends and family is actually detrimental to his character.

Because of differences in tone, style, and narrative structure, Rosewood is better served as a Morris Chestnut vehicle than as its Wednesday night counterpart Empire. If you don't like the genre, Rosewood's pilot doesn't seem to offer much more than a generic procedural. There are worse pilots out there this season, but not many as average as