Natalie Martinez

CHICAGO – ABC’s “Detroit 1-8-7” attempts to do for Motown what “NYPD Blue” did for the Big Apple by detailing the personal and professional lives of a group of tough cops in a very tough city.

CHICAGO – Tyler Labine’s lead character on the new FOX sitcom “Sons of Tucson” is not exactly the same as his ‘Sock’ from the tragically canceled “Reaper” but the two could easily be brothers. They have so much in common in their style and delivery that one almost wishes this was a true “Reaper” spin-off just so Ray Wise could make a guest appearance in the future. At least then I’d tune again. Now I’m not so sure.

CHICAGO – The Blu-Ray release of “Death Race” with Jason Statham and Tyrese Gibson tests the critical concept of reviewing the movie itself or purely its home presentation.

CHICAGO – While 2008’s “Death Race” makes no secret about being a remake of 1975’s “Death Race 2000” with David Carradine as the title character Frankenstein and Sylvester Stallone as his archrival Machine Gun Joe Viterbo, what’s perhaps less obvious but still clear is how the film steals from others.