Memphis Beat Missing Notes?

Wednesday, July 21, 2010 by AmberLily

A few months back when I first heard that TNT was going to have a detective drama called Memphis Beat, I got all excited. The Birthplace of the Blues is such a colorful backdrop to do this type of show that it seemed a recipe for success. But, we're a few episodes into the first season now and there has been almost no view of Memphis' seedier underbelly. They've covered BBQ, Southern beauty pageants, and a couple of story-lines that have worked in some (totally fictional) musical celebrities but only one with drug dealer's family? Um, huh?

So far, there have been no bar fights, no gangs, no prostitution, no politics. And what's worse from from my ex-exotic dancer-who-lived-in-Memphis perspective, there have been absolutely no encounters with strippers or visits to any shake joints! Why is Memphis Beat being so stingy with the salacious stories? I get that the show hasn't set out to be deliberately unwholesome, but to leave all of that out isn't very genuine, because Memphis really is a major city with all of complications that major cities have. Quite frankly, it's making the show dull and flat. If they can't find a way to make it a bit more dirty, I'll have to stop watching. The new season of Mad Men comes back this Sunday, after all. Mmmm, tasty, tasty Mad Men...

Anyhoo, if you're up for reading what Memphians are saying about this show, head on over to The Memphis Flyer to see each episode reviewed. And don't forget to take a glance at the reader comments for some extra giggles. I literally laughed out loud when I saw a native say: "It's starting to resemble 'Glee' but with grown-up rednecks." Yup, I second that opinion.

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4 comments:

    On July 29, 2010 at 12:40 PM Bob said...

    I've enjoyed Memphis to some degree. But I really miss Justified which recently ended it's first season. Timothy Oliphant is so smooth and can be so very bad ass. If you missed it I think re-runs can be found on TNT.com

    Enjoyed my first visit. I'll be back...

    On August 6, 2010 at 9:57 AM AmberLily said...

    Yes! I tweeted often of Justified when it was on. It's our replacement for The Shield. Isn't Timothy just Oliphantastic? *muah*

    On August 8, 2010 at 7:54 AM Area_Man said...

    best club ever: platinum plus. too bad it's gone

    On September 3, 2011 at 8:22 AM Hoot Brooks said...

    i enjoy memphis beat - but it certainly doesn't take advantage of the fact that it's on cable

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