Product Details

• Actors: Michael Imperioli, Jon Michael Hill, Erin Cummings
• Format: AC-3, Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 4
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: ABC
• DVD Release Date: August 30, 2011
• Run Time: 792 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (51 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B003UD7J3A
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #42,878 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "Detroit 1-8-7: The Complete First Season" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Finding an audience for a new network-TV cop show has always been an upstream swim, and it gets harder every season to hook an audience with the right combination of character study and police procedural. Detroit 1-8-7 very nearly clicked, but ABC pulled its plug after one season when its battle against the current of ratings and critical opinion drowned the show. It's too bad there wasn't more time for Detroit 1-8-7 to settle into its own, because there's plenty to like in this 18-episode package. The concept started as a fake ride-along reality show with the homicide squad of an inner-city precinct in crumbling downtown Detroit. ABC scuttled the premise (though there are a few leftovers of what the style might have been in the first two episodes) and redirected the format into an old-school, gritty, tough-talking profile of the detectives, the grisly murders they clean up, and the messy personal lives that intertwine with the job. The jittery, kinetic, handheld style that's become pretty much the standard of modern cop shows is employed efficiently in bringing Detroit to life. The show was filmed on location and uses the blighted city's urban decay to great effect, making Detroit a primary character in itself. The other star of Detroit 1-8-7 is Michael Imperioli as Det. Louis Fitch, a grizzled veteran with a 1,000-yard stare and a knack for police work that is clearly his only interest in life. The show largely is Imperioli and it wouldn't even have lasted as long as it did without his authoritative presence and charismatic influence. There's a mystery behind Fitch that worms its way through the season. It's a secret he's carrying that drove him out of New York, where he first drew accolades as an uncompromising cop with morals of steel and a will to win. In fact each character has a thematic arc that stretches across all 18 episodes, some of which are intermingled. Second to Imperioli in making the show crackle is James McDaniel, who brings the cred of his years playing Lt. Fancy on NYPD Blue (the show to which this and all other aspiring cop dramas bow down) as the lifer looking forward to retirement with excitement and trepidation. Fitch's new partner is a rookie detective named Washington (Jon Michael Hill) who often suffers the brunt of Fitch's cranky moods (he also has the bad luck to get shot on his first day). The squad is rounded out by the beautiful, tough-as-nails Det. Sanchez (Natalie Martinez); Det. Stone (D.J. Cotrona), a hunky ex-narcotics officer who's carrying a bounty on his head; the suave, womanizing Indian-American Det. Mahajan (Shaun Majumder); and Lt. Maureen Mason (Aisha Hinds), the boss who runs her squad with firm, convincing expertise. The very nature of the cop show configuration brings a stocklike quality to ensembles that really can't be helped. But the acting and interaction here is of a consistently high quality and the scripts back them up with plausible crime-scene scenarios. The show is also improved by the kind of personal asides that augment character development without intruding on the kind of realism Detroit 1-8-7 is trying to capture. In addition to the scored musical cues, the episodes are packed with pop songs that are heavy on soul, contemporary rock, and classic R&B, also adding to the urgent sense of street-wise. The DVD package is completely bare bones with no special features or commentary tracks. Fortunately, the episodes speak for themselves, both individually and as a collection that tells the compelling and believable story of a cop shop and its grey-shaded shopkeepers. As a final aside, Detroit 1-8-7 is one of those shows that suffers more than most from the strictures of network standards and practices and the FCC. Because the production is so vibrantly realistic, it rings more glaringly false when the dialogue is limited to TV-approved bad words. The only thing that sometimes feels disingenuous about these cops and criminals is the way they talk. Who knows how Detroit 1-8-7 could have flourished if it had found a home on cable? --Ted Fry

Product Description

What does it take to be a detective in one of America’s toughest cities? Follow one homicide unit as Detroit’s finest reveal the crisis and revelation, heartbreak and heroism that characterize these inner city cops in Season 1 of Detroit 1-8-7. Headed by Lieutenant Maureen Mason, a strong-willed single mom struggling to balance home and work, the team is made up of quite the firing squad. There’s the damaged but driven Detective Louis Fitch (Michael Imperioli) along with his new partner, Detective Damon Washington. Detective Ariana Sanchez is the sexy and beautiful rising star in the department who teams up with narcotics undercover cop John Stone. Last but not least, Sergeant Jesse Longford is the 30-year veteran who forms an amusing match of experience and enthusiasm with his partner, Detective Vikram Mahajan, a fully Americanized son of Indian immigrants.

Disc 1 – approx 213 minutes
1. Pilot
2. Local Hero/Overboard
3. Nobody's Home/Unknown Soldier
4. Royal Bubbles/Needle Drop
5. Murder in Greektown/High School Confidential


Disc 2 – approx 215 minutes
6. Lost Child/Murder 101
7. Broken Engagement/Trashman
8. Déjà Vu/All In
9. Home Invasion/Drive-By
10. Shelter


Disc 3 – approx 172 minutes
11. Ice Man/Malibu
12. Key To The City
13. Road To Nowhere
14. Beaten/Cover Letter


Disc 4 – approx 171 minutes
15. Legacy/Drag City
16. Stone Cold
17. Motor City Blues
18. Blackout

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars ;0) February 15, 2011

By Lady Raven RAVE! TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Blu-ray

This is another good cop show. I love that they are not focus on one set of cops but the division. It has a feel of The shield and Law and Order without the Order, it tackles 2 story lines/murder mystery a episode instead of one throughout the episode. The season has been going good for a while and hope it comes back for a second season. Also have to say Michael Imperioli is holding his own and is doing some good acting in this show, he did a couple of episodes of law and order a few years back so I'm not surprise, good job to him and the cast.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The 2010/2011 Primetime Schedule has certainly been laced with quality drama. April 13, 2011

By Mr. Alan Chivers

Format:DVD

I like my television drama (especially when it is well produced; written; and cast.) ABCs "Detroit 1-8-7" is new to our primetime schedule here in Australia - currently being aired on Seven/Prime, and the pilot episode was enough to get me hooked. With David Zabel, of "ER" fame involved in its production, I am not surprised by its exceptional creative visual and sound quality. The show's documentary style of filmmaking and soundtrack captures the perfect tone of Detroit - similar to how "Law & Order" and "NYPD Blue" captured the tone of New York City; "Homicide: Life On The Street" captured the tone of Baltimore; and "SouthLAnd" captured the tone of south-central Los Angeles, "Detroit 1-8-7" is another new show in the line, including CBSs "Blue Bloods" and NBCs "Harry's Law" giving me such great viewing pleasure. Indeed, it appears we may be heading into a revival of what Robert J. Thompson has defined as the Second Golden Age of Television Drama. I'll applaud and throw bouquets if it gets a DVD release!!!!

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing Stories and Characters June 1, 2011

By Joanne Powell

Format:DVD

Detroit 1-8-7 was my favorite TN show. I'm sorry that it will not be returning. The stories were more interesting than usual. But I especially enjoyed the development of the characters. I will miss them.