Training Day: EW review

As the number of scripted dramas on TV continues to grow, networks are looking for more and more intellectual property to mine for series. This has led to a string of feature film-to-TV adaptations with mixed-to-mostly bad results. Rights holders, protect your films. Don't let what has happened to Training Day, once regarded as the title of something good, happen to your precious assets.

It's easy enough to see why the crime movie that earned Denzel Washington an Oscar and taught eighth graders everywhere what "getting wet" means would get the adaptation treatment. The cop format is eternally repeatable. Plus, the racial tension built into both the Los Angeles and the black-white divide between the leads means that the show's eventual creators could commission a rubber stamp reading "Important!" and mark every script page. Unlike some of the other film-to-TV transplants, Training Day really could have worked. Unfortunately, all potential was thwarted by three letters: C, B, and S.

Training Day, the CBS series, is a toothless gruel of police-procedural clichés and focus-grouped mediocrity that squanders a huge amount of potential. Bill Paxton, inheriting the "bad cop" role from Washington, plays Detective Frank Rourke, a collection of "tough guy" network TV tropes. He drinks, refers to his ex-wives, and steals money from drug dealers. He also lacks an ounce of actual menace. Any rough edge is sanded down so far that the character is as gritty as a spoonful of Jell-O.

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Justin Cornwell's rookie character follows a similarly pernicious trope — conflating a backstory with personality. Right off the bat, we learn that Kyle Craig is a veteran, he has a wife, and that his dad died in the line of duty. He also seems to have the moral fiber of an average human being. Beyond that, we don't know much, but it's not that Kyle is a mystery. He's just a bore.

And a dumb bore at that. I'm about to describe a moment near the end of the pilot, and I have no qualms about doing so because 1) you should not watch Training Day and 2) because if there's any lingering curiosity about the show, this may convince you otherwise. After chasing the cartel-hired mercenary responsible for his former partner's death, Kyle finally corners the killer, who has lost his gun in the preceding shootout. The cop, however, still has his weapon, but declares, "I'm taking you in," before tossing it to the ground and engaging in a fist fight.

I can't think of a more perfect encapsulation of everything wrong with Training Day. This show ain't got s— on King Kong. C-