The First 48
The First 48
TV-14 | 03 June 2004 (USA)
SEASON & EPISODES
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  • Reviews
    CrawlerChunky

    In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

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    PiraBit

    if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

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    Bergorks

    If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

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    Isbel

    A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

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    Regarding

    I am a bona fide fan of the true crime genre, but this show is not satisfying to me at all, and I thus stopped watching it some time ago. Every episode, every segment is almost invariably the same thing: a drug deal gone wrong resulting in some not-so-innocent guy shot in an inner-city parking lot. Cops investigate, put pressure on "homies" of the dead dude, and come up with the name of the shooter. Yawn. After the umpteenth time rehashing the same scenario, I have had it. Not to mention that I have never liked the voice of the narrator or the editing between segments that purposely leaves the viewer hanging. I have also never found that the "48-hour" gimmick adds any tension to the proceedings. It's merely an irritating intrusion.

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    Lechuguilla

    One of the more credible "reality TV" series, "The First 48" (which refers to the first 48 hours of a crime investigation) shows real detectives investigating real crimes. All POIs are real. There are no actors, no script.Each episode lasts about 45 minutes, and begins as the crime investigation begins. The episode then ends with the identity of the perpetrator. In between, cops query neighbors, talk strategy among themselves, search databases, make phone calls, and analyze forensics. It's gritty work. Most of the time, cases are solved, but not always. Usually, the criminal leaves obvious clues, as he or she is not very smart.Color cinematography is fine. Images are clear and sharp. Given the docudrama approach, editing is important. All the episodes I watched had fine editing. In voice-over, a narrator describes what's going on and why, to help guide viewers.My only complaint is that some episodes are sewn together in one long sequence. You get the setup for "Loved To Death" (for example), only to be interrupted by the setup for "Unmasked" (a different episode). Then during "Unmasked", the program switches back to "Loved To Death". This back-and-forth presentation of two episodes is annoying. It kills each story's continuity.I'm not fond of the "reality-TV" genre. But here, the action is not contrived. And there are no Hollywood "stars", mercifully! Overall, "The First 48" is a fine series that at least tries to introduce some reality into a film genre that historically has been way too glamorized.

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    ccthemovieman-1

    I've seen maybe a dozen of these episodes and I'm impressed. All of them are interesting but be warned many of them are not uplifting. I find I can only watch them sporadically because often it's a downer.....but that's real. Nothing is glamorized here; you see what it's like to be a homicide detective in some of the toughest parts of big cities.Some of the cities that are prevalent in these stories include Memphis, Dallas, Miami and Detroit. I've also seen Kansas City, Cincinnati and a few other places. no matter the city, the stories are fairly similar - somebody committed murder, a few suspects try to lie their way out of it, some finally admit it, but some cases remain unsolved. There are not always satisfying endings because some cases simply are too tough to solve or police don't have enough evidence to convict the apparent killer.We also learn that being a homicide cop requires a number of things most of us don't have, and you better be really dedicated to the job or you won't last long. My hat's off to these people, who are trying to see justice served. If you want to get a taste of of what it's like being a cop in mostly black or Hispanic neighborhoods, this is your show. Many of the police or black or Hispanic, themselves. All of them are interesting. For those who will never come close to living in neighborhoods shown in this series, it will open your eyes to a violent world..Note: since I can't find this particular episode listed here on IMDb, I've tacked in on to the general review of the TV program. This episode was titled "The Wrong Man/Five Points Payback." 'Another Sad Story'That is how Sgt. Tony Mullins, lead detective, sums up "The Wrong Man" case in which an innocent man is shot to death. He wasn't the target, but the killer missed and hit him instead. Mullins and his peers see a lot of this kind of thing: "another sad story" as people's lives are snuffed out routinely, many times over trivial instances.This shooting took place at a busy intersection in Memphis, Tenn., and the police have a hard time in the beginning collecting evidence. That's because it's raining out and getting worse. A lot of evidence is being washed away so time is especially critical. Witnesses say a gray Chevy Caprice was seen driving away after the shooting.Once the cops find the car, a lot more progress is made and eventually the case becomes a manhunt for two brothers: Johnny "Main" Peterson and Sammy "Pookie" Peterson. It takes over three weeks for them to be found, the key help in the case being their sister, "Diamond."The second case in this episode is in Dallas, Texas, where police get a 911 call about a shooting in a parking lot of an apartment complex. Two men are found shot: one is dead and the other rushed to the hospital. Soon, it's related that the latter will be paralyzed for the rest of his life. Who shot them and why? Det. Dale Lundberg and his crew investigate. The dead man is Sabas Vargas, a Mexican national and father of two. The case, in a nutshell, winds up being about drug running up to Nashville, Tenn. Bad blood between a couple of guys over a girlfriend - not drugs - is, allegedly, the reason for the bloodshed.A key tip in this case comes from another cop working the Narcotics Division who hears about the Vargas shooting, sees the Tennessee plate son the van in which the men were shot, and puts two-and-two together.Here's the bad news. As of the end of the show, the killers were still on the loose. This case hadn't been solved.

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    John Wilkes Booth

    The First 48 is police work as it is, without the high production values (light filters, Massive Attack tunes, and clean crime labs) and professional writing staffs. The documentary style brings the viewer right into the investigations and presents the Job better than Dennis Leary ever could.Each episode, as far as I can tell, is divided into two separate story lines that follows the course of two cases in different cities. Dallas, Phoenix, Kansas City, Detroit, Memphis and Miami tend to dominate the series. It would do the show well to expand to other cities, yet to be CSIed like Seattle, San Francisco, Chicago, Buffalo, Houston, New Haven, and Montreal even. These cases are not always resolved in the critical first two days of an investigation, and this lets the public audience in on the life of Homicide detectives.The life entails long shifts without sleep, spent following leads and witnesses that often times don't have anything to offer the investigation. When the cases are brought to trial, the evidence and the story tends to present itself serendipitously and when the cases go nowhere the show remains resolved. Homicide Detectives invest their lives into those of the Dead, and it becomes clear how important their work truly is for safety and protection of the rest of us.The better fictional police shows on Network Television, Cable and HBO, like CSI, the Closer, the Wire and the Helen Mirren PrimeSuspect series follow the precepts of the First 48. Bad things can happen and cases become cold and forgotten, buried underneath new homicides. Despite this, the First 48 is refreshing because it shows the Police as human beings, subject to the imperfections that most Television shows fail to recognize or portray as more than caricatures, artificial dialogue devices and empty.The series is well-edited and paced. It has pleasant time-lapse photography of cityscapes to serve as transitions to contain the 'action' within an hour-long show, and the separate cases breaks up the monotony. If you are looking for non-stop action, thrilling car cases, and low-cut sweaters; this show is not for you.Its real. Its boring, but its Real. A&E has another terrific show to compliment its catalogue and its a lot less preachy than Dog: The Bounty Hunter.

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