Boomtown 

Each episode of this series, set in present day Los Angeles, examines one crime from many different viewpoints - uniformed cops, detectives, witnesses, the media, the fire department and ... See full summary »

Creator:

Graham Yost

Stars:

Donnie Wahlberg, Neal McDonough, Mykelti Williamson

Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy. Another 6 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Donnie Wahlberg	...	Detective Joel Stevens 24 episodes, 2002-2003
Neal McDonough	...	David McNorris 24 episodes, 2002-2003
Mykelti Williamson	...	Detective Bobby 'Fearless' Smith 24 episodes, 2002-2003
Gary Basaraba	...	Officer Ray Hechler 24 episodes, 2002-2003
Lana Parrilla	...	Teresa Ortiz 24 episodes, 2002-2003
Jason Gedrick	...	Officer Tom Turcotte 24 episodes, 2002-2003
Nina Garbiras	...	Andrea Little 18 episodes, 2002-2003

Storyline

Each episode of this series, set in present day Los Angeles, examines one crime from many different viewpoints - uniformed cops, detectives, witnesses, the media, the fire department and rescue squad, even the criminals themselves.

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Plot Keywords:

blood splatter | title based on song | suicide attempt | surprise attack | strangulation | 

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Taglines:

One crime. Seen from every point of view.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Official Sites:

NBC NBC Primetime

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 September 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Metrópolis

Filming Locations:

El Mirage Dry Lake, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

NBC Studios,DreamWorks Television,Nemo Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

45 min (24 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Donnie Wahlberg and Neal McDonough had worked together previously on HBO's Band of Brothers (2001).

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Quotes

Det. Bobby "Fearless" Smith: It's not understandable. Knowing this is being done to you by your fellow human beings is a betrayal of everything that is human.
Det. Joel Stevens: That's because it wasnt human. These guys crossed a line. I'd call them animals but animals wouldn't even do that.

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Connections

Referenced in Make or Break TV: EZ Streets (2008)

User Reviews

Intriguing idea, or so I thought

Boomtown had real possibilities. Take a crime & punishment procedural drama, but split up the story among the perspectives of all the people touched by the story - basically the criminals, beat cops, witnessess, paramedics, prosecutor, and cynical reporter.

I assumed this meant we'd get a Rashomon-style mosaic that gradually illuminated the Truth about what really happened and why. But apparently that's not what the producers had in mind. As we see the crime and its aftermath unfold through the various people's perspectives, it's really the same story. These diverse people all see the events happen exactly the same: as the events really, objectively did happen. They just react to the events differently.

That was a disappointing choice, IMO, as this intriguing story structure turns out to be more of a superficial gimmick than something with deeper potential. In fact, it ends up feeling much like every other crime drama out there, since their stories also devote a scene or two to the criminals, a couple to the cops, the detectives, the prosecutor, etc.

Perhaps to compensate for this, as we got to know the main characters over time the writers kept piling up emotional crises & relationship entanglements to their lives. It ended up feeling like a soap opera.

Apparently it got cancelled after a half-dozen or so episodes. Mercifully. Sigh.