17th Precinct

Last updated

17th Precinct
Genre
Created by Ronald D. Moore
Starring
No. of episodes1
Production
Production location Vancouver
Running time44 minutes
Production company Sony Pictures Television

17th Precinct is a police procedural television program created by Ronald D. Moore. In a modern world where magic supplanted science, the unaired pilot featured two non-intersecting stories: the death of a city executive at the hands of a wrongful convict, and the introduction of terrorists who are devoted to the destruction of magic. Moore developed the series with Sony Pictures Television for NBCUniversal, bringing with him several of the stars of his reimagined Battlestar Galactica franchise as cast members. The series was pitched in September 2010, the pilot was ordered January 2011, NBC passed on the series in May 2011, and the unaired pilot was leaked in December 2011. Reviewers mostly liked 17th Precinct, commenting on its innovativeness despite its police procedural roots.

Contents

Plot

The series takes place in the American city of Excelsior [1] (shot in Vancouver, [2] modeled on San Francisco), [3] in a world where science was never "invented", and instead of using "oil, electricity, [and] coal", mankind relies on plant- and fire-powered magic to run society. [4] The police of Excelsior's 17th Precinct use spells to collect evidence and information, they defend themselves with "magic discs", [5] and they psychically access "the stream" (a smokey light beam) for information, printouts, and newspapers. [6]

Unaired pilot

Donald Pynchon, Excelsior's executive prophet (a city government official concerned with making and interpreting city-wide prophesies), is murdered in a North Beach back alley on September 23, 2011. Detectives Longstreet and Bosson (Bamber & Callis) are tasked with the case and determine that his murder was intentionally brutal, and it was unobserved due to a magical charm which deadened sound in the alley. It turns out that fifteen years previously, Pynchon was in Mendocino, California when, relying on a prophetic vision, testified against Lionel Dixon on charges of rape and murder. Dixon received a life sentence of magically reliving his victim's final experiences. After Dixon was acquitted thirteen years later, he was magically given a new life as a child (Quinn Lord) in an effort to make up for the mistaken identity; Dixon instead was driven to murder both Pynchon and the acquitting judge.

Unconnected with the Pynchon case, DCI Wilder Blanks (Walker) begins seeing visions related to the Stoics, "a group dedicated to the destruction of magic" in favor of "reason, rationality, and [...] science"—a laughable prospect, but one about which they are deadly serious. Twelve years previously (1999), the Stoics committed a series of murders to further their cause, but have neither been seen nor heard from since. Blanks retrieves DS Mira Barkley (Channing) from her dissatisfying work in another precinct to help with the Stoics; Barkley was his partner during the previous Stoics case. Blanks partners Barkley with rookie detective Jimmy Travers (Long) due to the latter's potential as an intuitive savant. Investigating a nuisance case in an apartment building, Barkley and Travers unwittingly allow the Stoics access to murder an otherwise protected tenant, a college professor of "advanced magical engineering and biology with an emphasis on power plant design." In the dénouement, it is revealed that the Stoics use "mechanical, rather than 'true' magic" which nothing in their world can defend against; the professor was killed using the Stoics' means, something called a bullet.

Production

Ronald D. Moore (photographed in 2013) created 17th Precinct. Ronald D Moore - Comic Con 2013.jpg
Ronald D. Moore (photographed in 2013) created 17th Precinct.

17th Precinct was created by Ronald D. Moore [7] and produced by Sony Pictures Television. [8] Moore's development of 17th Precinct was part of a two-year deal with Sony Pictures Television to "create and executive produce series projects for broadcast and cable through his production company Tall Ship Prods." [9] When Moore pitched the show to NBCUniversal in September 2010, it carried a pilot and penalties price tag of US$2 million (equivalent to about $2.8M in 2023). [10] In January 2011, NBC ordered a pilot from Moore and Sony. [11]

Cast

Moore brought several actors with whom he'd worked before into 17th Precinct, particularly from the reimagined Battlestar Galactica franchise. [3]

Release

On May 12, 2011, NBC announced that they had passed on 17th Precinct for their fall 2011 season of shows. NBC instead ordered a full season of another program featuring a supernatural angle on the traditional police procedural genre, Universal Television's Grimm. [7] [8] [12]

The unnamed pilot episode of 17th Precinct was leaked online at Vimeo in the last days of December 2011. [1]

Reception

Charlie Jane Anders with the science-fiction blog io9 called Moore a "master of world-building", describing Excelsior as a richly described setting. [3] They lauded its freshness in spite of its police procedural genre, saying that it was "bursting with new ideas" and "[r]ejuvenated a whole new genre". [5] Airlock Alpha also commended 17th Precinct for incorporating a fresh take on the police procedural genre, though also felt the pilot introduced too many characters and concepts. [8] TG Daily thought the concept was cool, though they felt "the execution could use a little polish". They also specifically lauded Bamber, Helfer, and Callis, while not being overly impressed by the supporting cast. In the end, they would have preferred 17th Precinct over Grimm. [6]

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References

  1. 1 2 Potts, Kimberly (December 30, 2011). "'17th Precinct' pilot - 'Battlestar' reunion - pops up online". Chicago Tribune . Los Angeles. ISSN   2165-171X. OCLC   60639020. Archived from the original on December 31, 2011. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
  2. ↑ Kelly, Suzanne (June 29, 2011). "The uncharted journey of Ronald D. Moore". CNN. Archived from the original on August 8, 2012. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Anders, Charlie Jane (April 26, 2011). "What's Ron Moore's new magic procedural show really about?". io9 . Gawker Media. Archived from the original on January 11, 2012. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Unnamed". 17th Precinct. Season 1. Episode 1.
  5. 1 2 Woerner, Meredith (December 29, 2011). "Watch Ron Moore's fantasy cop show 17th Precinct, and see what we missed out on". io9 . Gawker Media. Archived from the original on April 11, 2019. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
  6. 1 2 Droege, CB (December 31, 2011). "The end of 17th Precinct". TG Daily. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
  7. 1 2 Goldberg, Lesley; Rose, Lacey (May 12, 2011). "NBC Adds to Series Orders With 'Awake,' 'Playboy,' 'Grimm'; Rejects 'Wonder Woman,' 'A Mann's World,' More". The Hollywood Reporter . ISSN   0018-3660. Archived from the original on January 1, 2012. Retrieved December 3, 2021. The network adds to its four pickups on Wednesday, renews "Parenthood" and "Harry's Law."
  8. 1 2 3 Hinman, Michael (December 29, 2011). "Broken Pilot: 17th Precinct". Airlock Alpha . Archived from the original on January 9, 2012. Retrieved December 3, 2021. Could the 'Battlestar Galactica' reunion actually pulled it off?
  9. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (May 3, 2010). "'Battlestar Galactica' Creator Ron Moore Signs With Sony Pictures TV". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on March 2, 2012. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  10. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (September 1, 2010). "NBC Nabs Magic Drama From Ron Moore". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on November 9, 2011. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  11. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (January 19, 2011). "NBC Picks Up Ron Moore Drama Pilot". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on August 15, 2011. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  12. ↑ Goldberg, Lesley (December 29, 2011). "'Battlestar Galactica' Reunion '17th Precinct' Pilot Surfaces Online (Video)". The Hollywood Reporter . Janice Min. ISSN   0018-3660. Archived from the original on September 3, 2016. Retrieved September 7, 2019. The mystical pilot from Ron Moore and starring Jamie Bamber and Tricia Helfer that NBC passed on in May has popped up online.
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