99 Words About … The death of cop shows

The epic awesomeness of "The Shield" may have ruined an entire genre.

Overlooked amid last week's benching of "Community," and the furor of its small-but-discerning fan base, was the demise of NBC's "Prime Suspect."

In a year that also saw the cancellations of ABC's "Detroit 1-8-7" and Fox's "The Chicago Code," the traditional cop show can't get arrested.

"Blue Bloods"? Family drama.

"Castle"? Will-they-or-won't-they romance.

"Hawaii Five-0"? Sun-drenched mayhem.

"The Mentalist" and "Unforgettable"? Freaky-brained character studies.

For straight-up policing, you're mostly left with TNT, its expiring "The Closer" and "Southland," which, coming full circle, also was dumped by NBC.

-- CHRISTOPHER LAWRENCE