Detroit 187 canceled

**HKYTWN** · May-13-11, 04:29 PM

http://www.freep.com/article/2011051...|img|FRONTPAGE

we all knew the writting was on the wall ..still a sad day

lilpup · May-13-11, 04:36 PM

Detroit's horrid PR strikes again. If the show didn't have "Detroit" in its name it probably would have had more viewers.

DetroitPole · May-13-11, 04:49 PM

I doubt it was Detroit. The ratings steadily declined. I watched several episodes, but the show was pretty unwatchable, even from someone who lives in Detroit. The characters were flat and the writing was weak.

**1KielsonDrive** · May-14-11, 03:43 PM

Originally Posted by DetroitPole

I doubt it was Detroit. The ratings steadily declined. I watched several episodes, but the show was pretty unwatchable, even from someone who lives in Detroit. The characters were flat and the writing was weak.

I hardly watch teevee at all. But the few times I watched 187, I thought it was as described by DP: flat characters and weak writing. Sorry. I know a lot of people in Detroit were hoping for it, as was I. Why doesn't someone put together a series with Detroit actors and all Detroit settings and scenes? I mean, with all the morbid fascination of Detroit around the entire world, you'd think a realistic and accurate portrayal of Detroit would knock 'em out. Scenes of city council could be thrown in [[I'm serious), as well as the bridge ramp to nowhere, Delray, Detroit City Airport and surrounding cemetaries, abandoned industrial buildings and railway stations. Detroit has it all if you're speaking unique. Seriously. These are the very things that have brought thousands of young people to Detroit to live and create. Nothing I've said is meant in anyway to be negative. Detroit is what it is. Why not sell it as it is?

**downtown_racine** · May-13-11, 04:51 PM

Tough market lots of better shows on pay tv cable stations. I liked Mike Imperioli on The Sopranos but he didnt seem that great in 187 tho I only watched about 2 episodes.

Chicago Code sucked as well and also got canceled, I liked Law and Order but havent watched since Lenny Briscoe left the show...

**Django** · May-13-11, 05:47 PM

I thought 187 got much better as the season went on. At the end I was glued.

Im enjoying Justified, a guilty gunslinging pleasure, a kind of Dukes of Hazzard on meth. Southland isnt bad and I believe Breaking Bad is up for another season. None of them have that believability like The Wire did though.

**Maof** · May-13-11, 06:29 PM

Originally Posted by Django

I thought 187 got much better as the season went on. At the end I was glued..

i agree D. kinda pissed they left us in the lurch.

**Cincinnati_Kid** · May-14-11, 08:11 PM

Originally Posted by Django

I thought 187 got much better as the season went on. At the end I was glued.

Im enjoying Justified, a guilty gunslinging pleasure, a kind of Dukes of Hazzard on meth. Southland isnt bad and I believe Breaking Bad is up for another season. None of them have that believability like The Wire did though.

The Wire is the greatest television show or series ever made. At least that's what they tell me.

**kraig** · May-17-11, 07:39 PM

Originally Posted by Cincinnati_Kid

The Wire is the greatest television show or series ever made. At least that's what they tell me.

That's always going to be subject to debate. Even though I personally think that whoever told you that, told you right. I can't think of any show that was more authentic. The things that happened on the show were extremely accurate with what happened in Baltimore. Hell, there have been plenty of parallels with that show and what's happened in Detroit. If you haven't seen it, it's definitely worth checking out.

**Gistok** · May-13-11, 06:08 PM

Too bad about 187...

Anybody else here a CASTLE fan?

I've never been a big police show fan... but Castle is pretty good...

**Homer** · May-13-11, 06:37 PM

Two thumbs up for JUSTIFIED. Hillbilly Mafia at it's best..............

**Meddle** · May-13-11, 06:45 PM

Wasn't this reported months ago?

**iheartthed** · May-13-11, 07:01 PM

I had made my peace with the probability that the show wouldn't be renewed after the season [[now series) finale. But it still sucks. It probably never had much of a chance considering the network. ABC has quite a few freshman dramas that were either in limbo or outright canceled this season.

**stasu1213** · May-13-11, 07:09 PM

As much as I had loved the show I would have to look at it from the perspective of viewers who don't live in Detroit or Michigan to be exact. The show was sappy at the beginning. It had started picking up it's pace during mid season but from the outside the show was dry and missing something. I am wondering if viewers from Detroit thought the show was good because we were hoping or suffering from cognitive dissedence, if that was spelled correctly

**jcole** · May-13-11, 07:18 PM

Because you asked; dissonance.

**Motor City Sam** · May-13-11, 08:03 PM

Sorry to see it go. I am a huge fan of the show. I had a feeling it was going to be cancelled when ABC kept pre-empting it for stuff like a Charlie Sheen interview. And they did very little promoting for the show after the winter break. ABC showed several commercials for the new show in that spot during an NBA telecast this past Sunday. I would have loved to see D-187 get that kind of promotion. Heck, they hardly promoted the season finale and covertly switched it to a different night.

It wasn't just Detroiters who liked the show. I have friends in Boston, New Jersey, and Seatter who were fans.

**rjk** · May-13-11, 08:32 PM

I really wanted to like this show, but couldn't make it past the 6th week.
I thought there were too many uninteresting/boring characters. Outside of Imperioli and the older black cop I had a hard time finding the rest of the cast believable in their roles.

After the initial ratings that were described as being so-so started to sink even further you could have probably stuck a fork in 187 by the 4th week. That's probably why they didn't promote it that much. Why promote a show that didn't have ratings anywhere near the number it needed to come back for a second season?

**Jason** · May-13-11, 10:57 PM

I guess I appreciate that the show existed [[being set in Detroit and all that), but I didn't like having such a poorly done show associated so much with Detroit.

I only watched a few episodes and I only managed that because it was set in Detroit. It was neat to see what they would do at first and it was fun picking out the filming locations, but the show itself was sub par. People said it got better as it went along but I don't think it could have improved as much as it needed to.

**Swimmaven** · May-17-11, 02:38 PM

Originally Posted by Jason

I guess I appreciate that the show existed [[being set in Detroit and all that), but I didn't like having such a poorly done show associated so much with Detroit.

I only watched a few episodes and I only managed that because it was set in Detroit. It was neat to see what they would do at first and it was fun picking out the filming locations, but the show itself was sub par. People said it got better as it went along but I don't think it could have improved as much as it needed to.

I lived in Detroit so long ago [[left in'84) that I didn't recognize anything. That's why I watched some of the episodes. But, the story line was dismal and the characters were too serious in an uninteresting way. oh well.

But, Detroit is mentioned a lot in the news and as a metaphor, so maybe something else will happen.

**BrushStart** · May-13-11, 11:23 PM

I don't know if the show's cancellation was purely the result of its ratings and performance, as the cancellation announcement occurred on the same day that Michigan's film tax credits were eliminated by the passage of Snyder's tax plan. I'm not for or against the film tax credits, but I am suggesting that their elimination might have pushed Detroit 1-8-7's chance for renewal over the edge.

**professorscott** · May-14-11, 12:09 AM

Originally Posted by BrushStart

I don't know if the show's cancellation was purely the result of its ratings and performance, as the cancellation announcement occurred on the same day that Michigan's film tax credits were eliminated by the passage of Snyder's tax plan. I'm not for or against the film tax credits, but I am suggesting that their elimination might have pushed Detroit 1-8-7's chance for renewal over the edge.

Absolutely true. By the way I wish people would stop using the false term "tax credit"; even though that's what the state called it, that's not what it was. Calling a pig a horse does not make the pig a horse.

The fact is, the taxpayers of Michigan were paying out - in cash, paying out, like you do at the grocery store - anywhere from 25% to 35% of any production cost of a film or a show like D187. Now, given that fact, and that the show was on the bad side of the bubble to start with, cancelling the bribe was absolutely what pushed it the rest of the way off the cliff.

You can object to the word "bribe" but only on the basis of illegality; the word "bribe" connotes an illegal act. The Michigan "tax credit" is a legal bribe, but a bribe nonetheless.

Try this if you don't believe me: we don't have very many Vietnamese restaurants in Michigan. In fact I can't think of any. Now, go to the Vietnamese community and say, anyone who wants to open a Vietnamese restaurant, I won't charge you any tax at all and I'll pay you 25% of your ongoing costs, because it will just be super cool to have Vietnamese restaurants in Michigan, plus of course it will create jobs etc. Within a very short time Michigan would be flooded with Vietnamese restaurants. Or, change the subject of this paragraph, shoe factories or retro-themed nightclubs or any other business where you think that it's a good idea to have the taxpayers pay the businesses to operate in our state. Very few businesspeople are over the ethical line to the point of refusing a statutorily authorized kickback. Now, does that make it good public policy? Hmm.

**downtown_racine** · May-14-11, 05:58 AM

Originally Posted by professorscott

Absolutely true. By the way I wish people would stop using the false term "tax credit"; even though that's what the state called it, that's not what it was. Calling a pig a horse does not make the pig a horse.

The fact is, the taxpayers of Michigan were paying out - in cash, paying out, like you do at the grocery store - anywhere from 25% to 35% of any production cost of a film or a show like D187. Now, given that fact, and that the show was on the bad side of the bubble to start with, cancelling the bribe was absolutely what pushed it the rest of the way off the cliff.

You can object to the word "bribe" but only on the basis of illegality; the word "bribe" connotes an illegal act. The Michigan "tax credit" is a legal bribe, but a bribe nonetheless.

Try this if you don't believe me: we don't have very many Vietnamese restaurants in Michigan. In fact I can't think of any. Now, go to the Vietnamese community and say, anyone who wants to open a Vietnamese restaurant, I won't charge you any tax at all and I'll pay you 25% of your ongoing costs, because it will just be super cool to have Vietnamese restaurants in Michigan, plus of course it will create jobs etc. Within a very short time Michigan would be flooded with Vietnamese restaurants. Or, change the subject of this paragraph, shoe factories or retro-themed nightclubs or any other business where you think that it's a good idea to have the taxpayers pay the businesses to operate in our state. Very few businesspeople are over the ethical line to the point of refusing a statutorily authorized kickback. Now, does that make it good public policy? Hmm.

What a disturbing waste of tax monies.

**iheartthed** · May-14-11, 01:13 PM

Originally Posted by professorscott

Absolutely true. By the way I wish people would stop using the false term "tax credit"; even though that's what the state called it, that's not what it was. Calling a pig a horse does not make the pig a horse.

The fact is, the taxpayers of Michigan were paying out - in cash, paying out, like you do at the grocery store - anywhere from 25% to 35% of any production cost of a film or a show like D187. Now, given that fact, and that the show was on the bad side of the bubble to start with, cancelling the bribe was absolutely what pushed it the rest of the way off the cliff.

You can object to the word "bribe" but only on the basis of illegality; the word "bribe" connotes an illegal act. The Michigan "tax credit" is a legal bribe, but a bribe nonetheless.

Try this if you don't believe me: we don't have very many Vietnamese restaurants in Michigan. In fact I can't think of any. Now, go to the Vietnamese community and say, anyone who wants to open a Vietnamese restaurant, I won't charge you any tax at all and I'll pay you 25% of your ongoing costs, because it will just be super cool to have Vietnamese restaurants in Michigan, plus of course it will create jobs etc. Within a very short time Michigan would be flooded with Vietnamese restaurants. Or, change the subject of this paragraph, shoe factories or retro-themed nightclubs or any other business where you think that it's a good idea to have the taxpayers pay the businesses to operate in our state. Very few businesspeople are over the ethical line to the point of refusing a statutorily authorized kickback. Now, does that make it good public policy? Hmm.

If what you say is true then it was a subsidy, not a bribe. A bribe is a coercion to get someone or some entity to perform an act that is otherwise not in their interest.

That said, as far as effectiveness goes, I think the film incentives program was worth its weight in gold. We can debate about whether the government should be in the business of offering subsidies to private business, but subsidies isn't something new or unique to government at any level. [[Check out the debate that the Democrats just started in Washington about pulling back some of the oil company subsidies.) But the amount of exposure that this program brought Detroit and Michigan is priceless. Far more effective and far reaching than the Pure Michigan campaign, IMO.

I was just reading about how Oprah's show has preempted the NBA playoffs schedule because she has the United Center reserved for two days this week. What would Chicago be today without Oprah? To say nothing of the other talk shows based there throughout the 90s that brought tons of tourists and media exposure to the city. Michigan needs to think about that while they consider the future of what's left of this incentives program.

**illwill** · May-14-11, 01:50 PM

I didn't like the show but i don't think because Detroit was in the title mattered. If the show was interesting and different it would have succeeded.

It seems as though every TV sitcom these days is based in Chicago or New York. I think it's only a matter of time before Detroit gets another opportunity. But it must be quality television. Like Home improvement.

**Bham1982** · May-14-11, 01:59 PM

Originally Posted by illwill

It seems as though every TV sitcom these days is based in Chicago or New York.

Really? I can't think of a single show presently based in Chicago, to say nothing of sitcom. Oprah's left for Cali [[new studios) and NYC [[magazine and new cable network) and the very short-lived Chicago Code was cancelled.

NYC has many sitcoms and other shows, as does obviously LA, but that's always been the case, since the dawn of television. It's hardly newsworthy that these two cities have a television presence.

And I don't think there's much of a relationship between tv shows and regional images. I mean, when Detroit had Martin and Home Improvement, did it really do anything to the national consciousness?

And did anyone outside of Michigan know or care where these shows were actually filmed?