The Mysteries of Laura

My initial review was on the pilot and I said this has the makings of a decent show. It has a great cast, great location, limitless crime stories to take from real life and fictionalize.

I still stand by my "pilot episode" review in which I said it was irritating. I don't care if a cop has kids and a soon to be ex husband, that's fine. But the kids were so cartoony and cliché it was just painful to watch.

The characters in the police part are great, but NBC needs to either cut the kids part in the show to a bare minimum, or stop with the ridiculous behavior that they are trying to pretend people's kids get up to. I mean, everyone's kids are naughty at times, but these kids were so OTT I wanted to turn it off.

Well, since the initial pilot episode this show has improved weekly, to become a pretty strong police procedural type show. Debra Messing is a good actress and the rest of the cast has grown on me since the pretty poor first episode.

Maybe NBC has some people watch the first few episodes and give feedback as it seems the kids are featured much less, and that is how it should be - they are too young to be of any great use in the plots of a detective show anyway.

I'm going to see how this show goes for the rest of the season run - I have upped my rating to 7.

My only real peeve is PLEASE stop her from wearing the baseball cap backwards - I don't know when that became passé but for someone her age, it was a LONG LONG LONG time ago!

7 out of 10 - probably the most improved show from a pilot - doesn't usually work this way, usually they go more downhill!

In one sentence: It's not a show you will hate, but unless you are a hardcore Debra Messing's fan you won't like it either.

It's an action comedy (supposedly), about a soon to be divorced police woman with two rebellious little kids, who is tough, and tries to balance her professional life with her personal ordeals.

There is a crime to solve, and the criminal is very elusive, but you won't feel any actual mystery. It is overwhelmed by the little gags and the little personal dramas of the protagonist.

The show it's not really funny either.

Messing is presented as a tough, like Dirty Harry tough, police woman who wears a ...raincoat and doesn't give a crap about police procedures. She drinks alcohol on duty, she eats over the dead bodies at the morgue, and... well...you get it. There aren't any scripted jokes in the show so far. No one-liners or catch phrases. If you think that the awkward smile of Messing after she returns an ...$385 bathing suit she just used in a swim-pool party is funny, than you may like this show. For others I think it's a waste of time. And it's a long time! Each episode lasts 42 minutes (I was expecting a 21 minutes show).

Overall: Not to be hated, but I think it's time wasted.

First of all, this show is a comedy. Some reviewers don't seem to realize that.

Those who criticized the performance of the kids in the pilot have a point. They were over the top. But that is a very small part of the show; in the second episode, the kids barely show up.

But Debra Messing is very enjoyable in this show. Imagine Kate Beckett without Castle. It's the same type of light comedy mixed with real crime mysteries. Even when Laura is mixing it up with suspects, she is adorkable and fun to watch.

She wants to get her soon-to-be ex out of her life, but they work together, so she must endure his personality on a daily basis. This seems somewhat trite, but they pull it off. Her other coworkers are quirky, so the tone remains light. I enjoy it.

Update 10/31/14: Now that we have seen a few episodes of this new show, it is consistent in its humor, while presenting actual crime solutions. But this is not "Elementary", so don't expect much more than light fare. Robert Klein just appeared as Laura's father--a great casting coup!

I love this show and it is such a great show you don't have to worry about your kids walking in on. It has its serious moments and great comedy. She always gets the criminal, but in her own snazzy way. We need more shows like this one! There's too many drama filled, cuss word filled shows out there that kids should not watch and this is one my son can play in the room while its on and we can just relax. Hope they don't cancel it! All the characters are unique and perfect in the show. <3 By far one of my favorite new series out on TV today. <3 Mysteries of Laura is fantastic! And they have to keep it around. 10 stars! I live how she is always herself, and no matter what she can figure out who committed the crime. She has this way of attention to detail that just shows how smart she is. Some may think this is too silly a show but I think that is what makes it so great! Shows don't have to serious all the time, and this show's comedy is perfect. Not stupid funny but actually lol funny. I laugh so much that my husband started watching with me and now he likes it. We introduced my sister in law to it and she is a die hard sci fi fan and even she loves it now!

Debra Messing is a person who plays quirky characters. Some viewers will never like her. She isn't deadpan, she isn't mean (see: House). She is however good with her timing and a good actress. The show's premiere was a bit weak but still enjoyable but this is typical of pilots/premieres - you have to be introduced to characters. However, over the last two episodes, the characters settled down into their roles and the 3rd episode was wonderful. Critics - as usual - will loathe a show that doesn't fit a specific mold and to be sure, this show doesn't. They hated many other successful shows such as House for Hugh Laurie being "too mean". We all ended up loving him. If this show is given that chance, we will also grow to love the characters. People expect blockbusters for pilots and this is why so many shows fail, but if these shows go for blockbusters, they leave for the show not maintaining that hype or never introducing them.

So my review is to watch the 2nd to 3rd episodes and watch the season progress, it definitely got better after episode 1. Pilots are almost never anyone's favorite shows. Even Friends pilot was panned. Unfortunately, as of right now - with all the critics headlines of "BAD SHOW!" (some of which who admittedly only saw commercials... how do they get those jobs if they aren't watching the shows?), the outlook is a bit bleak.

This show will need lots of social media and fans to overcome those headlines and the iffy pilot.