And he still has some kind of Schwarzenegger / Eastwood type smartassed line after he cuffs them and they go to commercial.

That's kind of the point I was making in the OP...this is most CERTAINLY a "formula" show...starting with the ritual "Sunday dinner"...so it's a matter of whether or not a viewer can get behind the formula.

Not all good shows grab the audience at once. (Star Trek, anyone?)

Really was turned off by Ab Fab when I first saw it, then realized what a gem it was.

together. I'm not crazy about Wahlberg either. I think he does what he's supposed to do. I don't like the Selleck's father--not the character the actor, just something about him.

I like Selleck though. And Sami Gayle (Bridget Moynahan's daughter).

And the guy that plays the Mayor--he also plays on the Arrow which I watch too.

I've watched since the beginning. I think every season gets better the characters and all. I enjoy the show.

He's a bit of a wiseass and know-it-all and always has to be "right." He also inappropriately injects his unsolicited nonsense into almost every conversation...more than a few times the Selleck character has told him to butt out. I have not watched every single episode in the 5-plus seasons but what is generally done with a character like that, for "balance," is that they will devote one episode to showing a "softer" or more "likeable" side. I have not seen that episode. Even in the episode where they catch a bad guy he chased 40 years ago, I found myself rooting for the bad guy.

I'm guessing there are probably more than a few people who don't care for that character. I think the actor has something to do with it as well. He's a little too skilled at playing a jerk.

I started watching on Hulu but I love Amazon's X-Ray feature to get the names of all the great character actors that appear on the show.

* Great casting: Moynahan and Estes look like fraternal twins practically.

* Selleck started out with that subdued, low-key Vito Corleone presence but lately he's gotten a bit whiny.

* I want someone to pass ME some of those mashed potatoes.

* The "copaganda" is getting much heavier; cops who eff up are always a victim of circumstance, the only bad apples are those tied in with criminal activity, the Constitution is a hindrance to them protecting innocent citizens, all activists seem to be sleazy, villainous wheeler-dealers who get one-upped in the end with egg on their face, the old guy is always reminiscing about the good ol days of cops being able to run roughshod without answering to IA..... it's like someone telling Jack Webb to "hold my beer"

* I love the multiple storylines in one episode but lately they seem to overlap more--lazier writing?

* My GOODNESS, this is a violent show!

* How old are Frank and Henry supposed to be, given that Selleck and Cariou are like just a few years apart?

So far, while tapering off a bit, the writing's still solid so I'm still all in.