Boomtown had real possibilities. Take a crime & punishment procedural drama, but split up the story among the perspectives of all the people touched by the story - basically the criminals, beat cops, witnessess, paramedics, prosecutor, and cynical reporter.
I assumed this meant we'd get a Rashomon-style mosaic that gradually illuminated the Truth about what really happened and why. But apparently that's not what the producers had in mind. As we see the crime and its aftermath unfold through the various people's perspectives, it's really the same story. These diverse people all see the events happen exactly the same: as the events really, objectively did happen. They just react to the events differently.
That was a disappointing choice, IMO, as this intriguing story structure turns out to be more of a superficial gimmick than something with deeper potential. In fact, it ends up feeling much like every other crime drama out there, since their stories also devote a scene or two to the criminals, a couple to the cops, the detectives, the prosecutor, etc.
Perhaps to compensate for this, as we got to know the main characters over time the writers kept piling up emotional crises & relationship entanglements to their lives. It ended up feeling like a soap opera.
Apparently it got cancelled after a half-dozen or so episodes. Mercifully. Sigh.
I assumed this meant we'd get a Rashomon-style mosaic that gradually illuminated the Truth about what really happened and why. But apparently that's not what the producers had in mind. As we see the crime and its aftermath unfold through the various people's perspectives, it's really the same story. These diverse people all see the events happen exactly the same: as the events really, objectively did happen. They just react to the events differently.
That was a disappointing choice, IMO, as this intriguing story structure turns out to be more of a superficial gimmick than something with deeper potential. In fact, it ends up feeling much like every other crime drama out there, since their stories also devote a scene or two to the criminals, a couple to the cops, the detectives, the prosecutor, etc.
Perhaps to compensate for this, as we got to know the main characters over time the writers kept piling up emotional crises & relationship entanglements to their lives. It ended up feeling like a soap opera.
Apparently it got cancelled after a half-dozen or so episodes. Mercifully. Sigh.