Critic Reviews
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Golden Boy is packed with fine performances, but no amount of actorly talent could have done for this series what its intelligently twisty plots, its nuanced dialogue bearing a distinct resemblance to human exchange--even from the mouths of TV police detectives--has done.
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The cast is engaging, the premise is intriguing and the genre long has been CBS' ratings-rich specialty.
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Happily, Golden Boy not only manages a fairly original take on cop shows but actually turns out to be surprisingly intriguing.
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It's a solid, meat-and-potatoes police procedural, and one that could potentially evolve into more depending on how the flash-forwards are used down the road.
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The scripts offer a well-balanced mix of office politics, underlying mystery and weekly cop procedural. And the first-rate cast ties it all together with abundant skill.
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Golden Boy works as a decent cop show. But an epic one? Not yet.
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The cases themselves are nothing new--indeed, it's all pretty standard procedural stuff, with the only extracurricular detour involving Clark's young sister (Stella Maeve), who he looks after. Yet the device of the flashbacks offers a nifty kicker, teasing at things to come--like why the older Clark walks with a pronounced limp. Ultimately, the series benefits enormously from the interplay between James and McBride.
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In its best moments, the drama has the grit of something more likely to be found on cable channel TNT.
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We know how this ends (he becomes commish) but there's little evidence suggesting how or why that happens, and even less reason why we should care. Meanwhile, the best stuff in Golden Boy is the little stuff--sharp, brittle dialogue, nice performances and a street cred that's a cut above average.
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To say this ground was covered better on The Wire is both an understatement and unnecessary--although the setup has promise. [1 Mar 2013, p.62]
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Somebody tell the creators of shows like this, please, that viewers want engaging characters and entertaining, absorbing storytelling. We really don't need to be whooshing around in time while our heads spin.
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If yet one more cop show about the brash young rookie and the older, tired guy thisclose to retirement is enough to make you go completely insane and start watching, say, “Smash” or something equally upsetting, then for sure you want to stay away from Golden Boy. However, if you love cop shows that aren’t really procedurals so much as stories about the internal politicking of the NYPD, than maybe Golden Boy is just what you’re looking for.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 21 out of 34
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Mixed: 7 out of 34
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Negative: 6 out of 34
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Mar 20, 2013
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Mar 19, 2013Golden Boy is a Japanese anime series based around the comedic flavors of Great Teacher Onizuka. This is not the same Golden Boy.
Disappointed. -
Apr 23, 2013