Robbery Homicide Division

infobox television
show_name = Robbery Homicide Division


caption = Sgt. Simms (Barry Shabaka Henley) & Lt. Cole (Tom Sizemore) "A Life of Its Own"
format = Drama
runtime = 1 hour per episode
creator = Barry Schindel
starring = Tom Sizemore
David Cubitt
Klea Scott
Barry Shabaka Henley
Michael Paul Chan
country = USA
network = CBS
first_aired = 2002-09-27
last_aired = 2003-04-21
num_episodes = 13|

"Robbery Homicide Division" (RHD) was an American police procedural television series on CBS, created by Barry Schindel with Executive Producer Michael Mann.

The show took an intense, no-nonsense look at the present-day Los Angeles Police Department's Robbery Homicide Division. Lt. Sam Cole is the driven chief detective of a squad that is dedicated to solving some of the worst crimes the city has to offer. There were several technical advisers who worked on the show: Chic Daniel, an LAPD living legend who served more than twenty years on SWAT; Robert Deamer, a specialist of gang enforcement who is one of the most decorated veteran of Special Enforcement Unit (ex-C.R.A.S.H.); and Lieutenant Todd Reinhold, an actual squad leader of Special Weapons And Tactics.

The series was originally titled "Metro" which was the division where the show was originally going to be set. Then, the title was changed to "RHD/LA" which was used for the fall schedule announcement. CBS ordered the final title believing that people would be confused about what "RHD" stood for.

In April 2002, Schindel, who wrote the pilot episode and created the show, left to focus on his duties at NBC's "Law & Order". Frank Spotnitz joined the show as an executive producer in May after "The X-Files" ended its nine-season run and then left in October reported because he decided that it "was not creatively the show that he wanted to be working on." [cite news
last = Schneider
first = Michael
coauthors =
title = Spotnitz transfers out of "Robbery Homicide"
work =
pages =
language =
publisher = Variety
date = October 4, 2002
url = http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117873759.html?categoryid=14&cs=1&query=%22Robbery+Homicide+Division%22
accessdate = 2007-02-08 ]

Thematically, the show was very reminiscent of Mann's film "Heat" in that it also dealt with a driven cop working the Robbery-Homicide Division leading a multi-ethnic squad. Stylistically, Mann has said that "RHD" was a chance to test out some of the high-definition digital cameras he would later employ to much greater effect on "Collateral" and "Miami Vice".

The show debuted on Friday at 10pm ET/9c to an anemic 8.41 million viewers. CBS gave "RHD" two chances to capture a wider audience by airing two episodes on Saturday night. The first tryout was unsuccessful, but the second Saturday airing on December 7, 2002 did capture a larger audience; garnering a 6.0 household rating, while its lead-in "The District" received a 4.3 in households. On average, the show drew 7.12 million viewers an episode.

Although "RHD" was critically acclaimed, "" had better ratings in the same time slot. CBS placed the show on hiatus after the December 7th episode. The series was cancelled after ten episodes. Mann told "Variety" magazine, "I guess maybe the show never found its audience." There was speculation that either HBO or Showtime would pick up the series. [cite news
last = Adalian
first = Josef
coauthors =
title = Eye closes "RHD" file
work =
pages =
language =
publisher = Variety
date = December 10, 2002
url = http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117877256.html?categoryid=1236&cs=1&query=%22Robbery+Homicide+Division%22
accessdate = 2007-02-08 ]

The remaining three unaired episodes premiered on the USA Network in April 2003. Currently, it can be seen on HDNet. In 2008, the series began airing on Sleuth.

Cast and characters

Episodes

TV Ratings

*Episode 1 (9/27/02) - Viewers: 8.41 million
*Episode 2 (10/04/02) - Viewers: 8.0 million
*Episode 3 (10/11/02) - Viewers: 8.0 million
*Episode 4 (10/18/02) - Viewers: 5.8 million
*Episode 5 (10/25/02) - Viewers: 6.8 million
*Episode 6 (11/01/02) - Viewers: 7.1 million
*Episode 7 (11/08/02) - Viewers: 6.8 million
*Episode 8 (11/15/02) - Viewers: 6.5 million
*Episode 9 (11/30/02) - Viewers: 7.8 million (Sat 10:40/9:40c)
*Episode 10 (12/07/02) - Viewers: 9.1 million (Sat 10/9c)

References

External links

*
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* [http://us.geocities.com/doughyo/robberyhomicidedivision.html Unofficial RHD Homepage]
* [http://www.lapdonline.org/detective_bureau/content_basic_view/6262 LAPD: RHD]
* [http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2002/Dec-29-Sun-2002/living/19905759.html ReviewJournal]
* [http://www.sltrib.com/2002/oct/10182002/friday/8101.htm SLTrib]
* [http://www.popmatters.com/tv/reviews/r/robbery-homicide-division.shtml PopMatters]
* [http://www.ew.com/ew/article/review/tv/0,6115,353040_3|71309||0_0_,00.html Entertainment Weekly]
* [http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/entertainment/television/4162437.htm BayArea: Mercury News]
* [http://www.entertainyourbrain.com/robberyhomicidedivisionrev.htm EntertainYourBrain]
* [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/12/20/DD65921.DTL SFGate]
* [http://www.epguides.com/RobberyHomicideDivision EpGuides: RHD]
* [http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/entertainment/4788759.htm BeaconJournal]