Feral Jundi

   This is a weird show.  There is very real crime and law enforcement going on, but then you add this weird Hollywood Steven Seagal celebrity stuff, and you just kind of shake your head. But I guess it is a big enough hit to where they want this show overseas.  Now imagine if Chuck Norris did a ride along, or Steven either shot someone or got shot in a scene? I wonder if Steven will do those stunts and if real blood will be involved. Reality TV?…….yikes.

   The other funny deal with this, is the guy is from Michigan, and yet he turns on this cajun/Louisiana accent in prime Hollywood fashion, at just the right moments. Or when he is trying to get all Zen-like with everyone, I imagine the guys he is with are just rolling their eyes. lol –Matt

—————————————————————–

Steven Seagal and ‘Lawman’ are good for Jefferson Parish, Sheriff Newell Normand says

By Dave Walker, The Times-Picayune

February 24, 2010, 9:37AM

The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office has gone global thanks to the recent international roll-out of “Steven Seagal Lawman.”

courtesy of A&EThe star of the A&E reality show “Steven Seagal: Lawman,” in a scene for the series’ first episode.

Now airing in the UK, Israel, France, Turkey, Australia, Southeast Asia, Russia, Estonia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Finland, Sweden, Hungary, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Slovenia and soon to launch in Latin America, the series, which places action-adventure film star Steven Seagal and the A&E network’s reality-TV cameras on patrol with the JPSO, has resulted in “hundreds upon hundreds” of comments to Sheriff Newell Normand.

Coming from “law enforcement, county officials as well as individual citizens,” most are “overwhelmingly positive,” Normand said last week.

So signing on for another batch of episodes — the first season of which concluded Feb. 3 in the U.S. — was an easy call.

The A&E cable network, in conjunction with the production entities ITV Studios and Steamroller Prods., announced last week that shooting has begun for at least 16 more episodes, airdates undecided.

“Just yesterday I received letters from London, England, the state of Ohio, the state of Delaware, about how much they enjoy the show, the realism it depicts,” Normand said. “(They) enjoy the lighter side of the show as well, with some of the activities that Steven has engaged in while here.”

The positive nature of the feedback he’s received leads Normand to believe that his original motivation for green-lighting Seagal’s taped ride-alongs was sound.

“I believe it serves a good educational value for the public in understanding the trials and tribulations that the men and women not only of this department, but in law enforcement all over the country, face each and every day out on the streets,” he said. “I think it serves as a good educational tool, because I could talk about it a lot, but it doesn’t really mean anything until people actually see it.

“(Viewers) see the prevalence of drugs out on the street. They see the prevalence of guns that are encountered. They see the human side of not only the perpetrators but of the law enforcement agents.

“I probably give two, three speeches on average a week, and I can talk about it ad nauseam, but until people actually see it happening, they don’t understand the breadth and depth of it.”

Normand appears to be OK with the perverse appeal of the series among an undeniably substantial portion of its viewership.

Many watch for, and some concoct drinking games to accompany, examples of Seagal demonstrating near-superpowers of crime-spotting vision, spouting gibberish about Zen during firearms instruction, and rapping with suspects, perps and other citizens in an odd-for-a-Michigan-native Southern street patois.

“Whatever tickles the viewers’ fancy that causes them to watch the show,” Normand said. “If we go back to what my purpose of being involved in it is, (viewer) motivation is really of no moment. I think what happens, though, is that when you begin to look at the outcomes and what people are actually saying and the hundreds upon hundreds of letters that I’ve received from people all around the world now … the reality is that it seems to be overwhelmingly received.

“In fact, it’s ironic one of the few criticisms that we have of the show is that periodically people say they’ve noticed that our guys aren’t wearing a seatbelt.”

The series’ domestic popularity is undeniable, regardless of viewer motivation. It premiered to blockbuster ratings and maintained an episode average of 2.1 million viewers — the best performance by any new A&E show this TV season.

“Obviously, the public has enjoyed viewing Seagal and enjoyed viewing him in this role,” said Normand, adding that he hopes to ride that popularity to help the show delve into the societal issues — unemployment, literacy rates, single-parent households — that result in citizens coming face to face on a dark night with the dark knight of such feature film titles as “Above the Law,” “Under Siege” and “Hard to Kill.”

He also hopes that “Lawman” will deliver a broader depiction of Jefferson Parish life than viewers witnessed during the first skein of episodes.

“In conversations with A&E and the production company, I’ve expressed an interest to do more human-interest stories about the area,” he said.

Specifically, Normand hopes that the next run of “Lawman” episodes focus on “the more upbeat, positive things about why we all worked so hard to come back here after Katrina,” he said. “The fact that we have a fair and festival for every living creature that ever walked the face of the earth, (or) the reality that anybody that ever leaves this community comes back and says it’s one of the friendliest communities they ever live in, that we have these things to offer.”

Story here.