...television programs that Denzel Washington in "Training Day" was a corrupt cop, or at least a "bad" one in the sense that he doesn't go by the book at all but takes the law into his own hands and bends it into whatever shape he sees fit to (the title referring to him getting a rookie cop with him to train up, who presumably -- knowing Hollywood -- will be shocked at his behaviour and get him to mend his ways [this is a pure guess, though]). I haven't seen it myself yet either, but I was going to -- YAN of those "Will Conrad get his butt to the theater before they take the film he's thinking of off the rolls?" cases...

Personally, I can quite believe that Washington, good actor that he undoubtedly is, blossomed up to a new level of greatness, getting a chance at *finally* playing something else than the Goody Two-shoes roles he seemed to be irrevocably stuck in. If nothing else, it's a nice change for the audience to *see* him as something else. Could be, of course, that this latter effect was enough to convince the Academy to reward him... But, hey, until we've seen it, let's give 'em the benefit of the doubt and assume it's the former.