With Bosch Amazon shows it can make great TV too

Now that there are two full seasons available to stream from Amazon it just might be time that you spent some of yours with a great drama full of mystery and intrigue? Bosch is another of those realistic Los Angeles police detective dramas like The Closer that became Major Crimes or Murder in the First from TNT (Turner Network Television from the United States). Streaming now on Amazon for most regions.

Titus Welliver is Harry Bosch an older and much the wiser LAPD homicide Detective who’s personal life gets mixed up with his cases on a very frequent basis. Harry’s home is the perfect match for who he is. This is a man who does not need anything more than he has. A man who has the greatest view so never needed a TV.

Happy to relax in his castle atop the hill overlooking his city. Harry is separated from his wife in his mind, but divorced on paper. She is played by Sarah Clarke, who lives in Las Vegas with their daughter Maddie played by Madison Lintz who is always asking the right questions, and subtly letting Harry know what is going on in her home. Harry is forced to deal with issues with his ex, and gets to spend some time to be with and worrying about his daughter when his work gives him reasons to travel to Vegas to follow his most recent investigations. Harry works for the Los Angeles Police Department under Lieutenant Grace Billets played by Amy Aquino who you can tell is always on Harry’s side, and truly believes in his gut, and his experienced eye.

Lieutenant Billets keeps Harry moving in the right directions, and keeps him from letting things distract him from the truth. Harry gets a new partner when we first enter the story Jerry Edgar a very sharp goal oriented young detective with aspirations of a much higher roll delivered well by Jamie Hector. Jerry is not sure from the start about Harry’s gut or his experience, though it does not take long for these two to form a tight team and Jerry does prove to be as good as he thinks he is even in the wrong kind of shoes. Above all of them we have the Deputy Chief Irvin Irving who wants to ensure he is chief sooner than later while he watches out for his son as his career is just beginning with the force. Yet one further level up we have Richard O’Shea the very eager to become mayor District Attorney willing to do what ever he must.

The bullpen at the office is full of all sorts of great characters as well like the two older detectives “Crate and Barrel” who are only around because they have been around so long and are always good for a joke, good or otherwise. Harry the man is a character who feels real. Harry comes across as truthful and fair, all the while never letting fear keep him from protecting the people he loves or the people he has been entrusted to protect and serve.

Here is what I posted on IMDB back in February of 2014 after watching the original pilot episode:

“This is a very solid drama with a great cast. Still dealing with a situation from a case 2 years earlier Bosch the hard boiled, but seemingly very together homicide detective spends every free minute he can get back on the job whether he is allowed to or not. The pilot is very good, it has a Low Winter sun vibe, but less dirty cop-ish, and all LA. The supporting cast are mostly veterans, and even some child actors you may recognize. All in I found that I Enjoyed this first take, and hope that the show continues right where it is, I can see very little that could need improving. I recommend this to anyone who likes the realistic shows like True Detective, and Banshee. Not so much action, but the heart is there.”

At the time I gave Bosch nine out of ten stars, and to date seventy two of eighty people agree so it is a good place to start. That was then though, and now nineteen episodes later how do things stand up?

Really well. Would be my answer. The first season was fantastic with the layers and all of the intrigue, there are secrets here that we only get to see the threads of to start. As we watch Harry dig and pull to get the truth out of these dark disturbed people the real stories start to unfold further out. The first season is a murder investigation with many different leads, and some dark figures trying to pull strings to manipulate their own ends. By the end of Season one Bosch is on suspension for allegedly assaulting his Captain, but luckily there may have been witnesses who like Harry.

Which leads us into the second season with Harry coming back from some time away, and getting pulled into more than one case. All while trying to get some quality time in with his daughter, and figure out what is going on with his ex-wife the professional gambler with a bad habit.

So that is the basic premise that all of this is tied around, and those are the characters along with some very bad people that you will also meet along the way. Bosch is a great drama with a very adult theme which will keep all but the most fidgety of folks entertained for nine or ten hours. The music is mostly just mood enhancing background stuff with no vocals, and the Jazz and soulful Blues that Bosch loves to listen to as he looks out from his very open living room or drives around the city. The lighting is realistic, as are all the sets. Most of the shots are outside in Los Angeles proper with the city shot from a lot of great angles. The scenes indoors were also deeply real, showing the rich folk’s mansions to the average person’s apartments.

I really can’t recommend Bosch enough. If you enjoy your drama in fulfilling binges, then this is one binge you won’t want to purge. So if you haven’t already you should really sign up to Amazon, and start streaming today.

If the plots seem at all familiar the original idea actually comes from three of Michael Connelly’s novels: City of Bones, Echo Park, The Concrete Blonde, Trunk Music, The Drop, and The Last Coyote Season 3 already approved, and in pre-production based on the latest novels The Black Echo, and potentially parts of A Darkness More Than Night.