Third Watch: The Complete Second Season

Season Grade: B+

DVD Features Grade: C-

Overall Grade: C+

I'm not sure if it was the fact that ER and Law & Order were both at the top of their game at the time or if I was just burnt out on Cop / Trauma shows in general, but I never watched a single episode of Third Watch when it was on television. Of course last year when I got the first season on DVD and excitedly breezed through it in a single weekend I regretted that choice.

This is a fantastic show with great characters played by some seriously good actors. At the end of each disc I'm always happy and eager to pop in the next one to see where their lives and jobs will be taking them next.

I grew up in a family of Cops, Paramedics and Fireman but somehow the stories they told were never nearly as interesting as what we see Eddie Cibrian, Bobby Cannavale, Jason Wiles and Coby Bell get into and out of week after week. Of course maybe it's just because they are light years better looking than any real Emergency workers I've ever met… wait, yeah, that's definitely the reason.

For anyone who hasn't seen Third Watch the most important thing to begin with is that this show has an enormous ensemble cast consisting of 10 series regulars playing Cops, Firemen and Paramedics. This being the case, you can go entire episodes without seeing one of more of these people so if the only reason you're watching this show is because of a specific cast member or character, then you're going to be disappointed every couple of weeks when they are not featured.

The beauty of watching it on DVD however, means that when you start to watch a show and you realize it's a 'Doc's life' episode or a 'Davis' Dad' episode or even the worst of the worst, the dreaded 'Centers around Carlos' episode you only have to endure it for an hour or so before all of the really interesting characters come back.

More than anything else I think it's this aspect of the show that sets it apart from other hour long dramas set against the back drop of New York City Emergency Services; these characters don't all work together so some of our lead characters barley know some of the others. In most dramas everyone is connected and familiar in some way shape or form, but here the division between the different units of service is abundantly clear.

Another interesting aspect of this show for me is that my favorite characters to look at are not necessarily my favorite ones to watch. The four actors I mentioned earlier are hands down the eye candy for this show and everyone knows I love me some eye candy; but oddly enough my favorite episodes are

the ones that feature Skipp Sudduth as Officer John "Sully" Sullivan and Molly Price as Officer Faith Yokas. Not only do they both actually look like real everyday non-Hollywood-ized cops, they are by far and away the most layered and real of the cast.

Michael Beach as 'Doc' is a fantastic supporting character in the show but when the spotlight is on him… it can get ugly. There is one episode called where he is practicing some kind of martial arts in a dojo that literally made me wince. Then there is another called Four Days… just think of that one as this show's Crash except not nearly as powerful.

Then there's the episode The Ty That Binds (get it? 'Ty' – cause his name is 'Ty Davis Jr.') where Davis (Coby Bell) discovers his dad had another child with another woman. Stories about his father and his family for some reason never go anywhere for me and this one was no exception.

And the absolute biggest waste of time ever was The Self-Importance of Being Carlos – this is the previously mentioned dreaded Carlos Nieto (Anthony Ruivivar) takes the lead show. I can't even comment on how horrible this was. I know it served a purpose in that it was the only show of the season that highlighted this character, but I think that was done for good reason "” he's an ass and not fun to watch at all.

Thank God the season had amazing episodes like After Hours, A Hero's Rest, Duty, Requiem for a Bantamweight, Unfinished Business, Honor, Walking Wounded, Exposing Faith and …And Zeus Wept which made me almost completely forget about the few duds.

This season more so than the first, had a few episodes that fell completely flat and their follow through on some of the through lines during the season were less than impressive. For example in the episode, A Rock and a Hard Place (which incidentally was a good episode) Doc is accidentally shot and almost dies but then in the next episode, Requiem for a Bantamweight (a fantastic episode!) Doc is completely healed as though nothing ever happened. It's not a big deal but watching them back to back really made that fact stand out.

Then there's the problem with the troubled Jimmy Doherty (Eddie Cibrian) story lines that gets picked up and then tossed aside for episodes at a time. You almost have to watch these things one right after the other so that when they finally get back to it, you're less likely to have forgotten what it was that started it all off.

I don't want to spoil anything for anyone who hasn't seen the show or doesn't know anything about it but I have to say that Bobby Cannavale's major story arc this season was amazing and a highlight of the year as was Kim Raver's reaction

to it all. Those two actors did a great job with what they had to play.

My biggest complaint with this box set however is the special features, namely there really aren't any! Where are the interviews? The featurettes? Real life people sharing their stories about 'being on the job'? This show more than most could have tons of bonus features but sadly they decided to package it with a gag reel (which isn't really that funny) and some commentary and that's it. I found that to be very disappointing and is the only reason why the overall grade on this one is so low.

Should you buy this season? Absolutely yes you should. That is if you've seen and enjoyed the first season. If you've already seen this show and know it inside and out, there's nothing new for you to discover so for you guys I wouldn't say the need to purchase would be that urgent.

For my part as someone who is discovering this show only on DVD, I'm thrilled to have seen the second season and can't wait for the next season; which sadly seems to be about a year away from release!

Season Grade: B+

DVD Features Grade: C-

Overall Grade: C+