Pubdate: Mon, 7 Apr 2008
Source: Michigan Daily (U of MI, Edu)
Copyright: 2008 The Michigan Daily
Contact: http://www.michigandaily.com/letters/
Website: http://www.michigandaily.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/582
Author: John Daavettila
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/raids.htm (Drug Raids)

TV SHOWS DETROIT'S WAR ON DRUGS

"DEA" is like "Cops," but 35 miles east of Ann Arbor.

Spike TV has strayed from its path of visual beauties and dudes 
beating the crap out of each other with its new reality show, which 
focuses on the Detroit division of the Drug Enforcement 
Administration. Cameras follow the officers through stings and busts, 
giving the public - and possibly other drug dealers - inside 
information on the drug enforcement system.

Sadly, though, there are no drunken car chases involving hillbillies 
and police officers, making the show more than a little boring. 
Despite the tense techno music and grainy film effects, "DEA" is 
nothing more than one hour of waiting in cars, chattering on 
walkie-talkies and more scenes of officers arming themselves than the "Iliad."

Drug busts are enjoyable enough to watch, but here they're too few 
and far between. It's obvious "DEA" can't fill an entire hour solely 
with ransacking drug-dealers, and even the presence of TV cameras 
can't entice the Detroit division to up its game a little bit.

The officers of "DEA" are your usual gang of cops: the rookie, the 
street-smart cop and, of course, the one named "Woody." But the show 
reveals an unexpected side of the officers as they give interviews 
about their families and the fear they battle with every new raid. 
They aren't Chief Wiggums, but the officers of the DEA end up being 
pretty likeable.

It's surprising how frank and open the officers are about their job, 
especially when it comes to their strategy of handling criminals. The 
cops use a method called "The Flip," which entails persuading the 
newly-arrested drug dealer to rat out their supplier in return for a 
reduced or terminated sentence.

The central question of the series seems to be, "Are we winning the 
war on drugs?" The DEA's answer is a pronounced "yes," but the show 
contradicts itself. How can we be winning if we constantly let the 
criminal go for revealing his supplier? If anything, "DEA" exposes 
the problems within the drug enforcement system.

"DEA" may show the excitement of drug raids, but it also shows the 
long periods of waiting and scheming by the officers. The likeability 
of the cops and the undercover actions of the Drug Enforcement 
Administration don't add up to much when placed next to a half hour 
of sitting in a van listening to a wired agent talking to a dealer. 
Even when the actual action takes place, it ends up being nothing 
more than three minutes of swearing, blurred faces and innumerable 
threats. Sitting through the majority of the show isn't worth it.

It's not easy to find the positives of "DEA" - unless you're a dealer 
looking for an inside scoop. TV has always been a place for viewers 
to escape their ho-hum matters while living vicariously through 
others and possibly getting a laugh along the way. But "DEA" doesn't 
do any of those things, and with its depressing premise and 
lackluster entertainment value, only a small demographic would find 
this enjoyable. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake