Being a great fan of regular BBC programs, I was happy to hear that BBC America was going to produce it’s own scripted program. The show is Copper and it will have a BBCish run of only ten episodes.
Set in 1865 we follow the adventures of a bunch of less than wholesome people. Our hero is a Copper who uses brass knuckles and knives as well as guns. He splits the spoils taken from a group of bank robbers-after he and his fellow Irish police officers have killed them. He spends a lot of time in a whorehouse, but still seems to be the most moral fellow on the force. Ah, those were the good old days.
Copper is a good looking show, great costumes and sets, and a rugged group of actors you wouldn’t want to meet in a dark alley. There’s a wide range of people in Copper, from the poor living on the street to the rich living in mansions. Since it’s 1865 we also have a bit of intrigue with a number of black characters who are having a hard time with most of the white characters.
So far two people seem to be real good guys and they are both African Americans, one is a minister and the other is a doctor who is friends with our hero Corky-he does all of Corky’s CSI work for him. Everyone else has questionable morals at best.
Copper is still mostly a cop show, with crimes being committed and Corky using his brains to find out who did it. But there are larger issues a foot. Corky’s wife is missing and his daughter was killed while he was off fighting the Rebels. A rich man is trying to buy all the land in Five Points and his son is plotting against him. The doctor’s wife appears to be shell-shocked from some unnamed trauma. Then there is the interesting case of the ten year old girl that wants to have sex with Corky, but he is too much of a gentleman, even though the age of consent was 10 years old at the time.
There’s sex and violence and a bit of harsh language, all fitting for the people we meet in Copper. It’s a good show that leaves you wanting to see the next episode.
