Flashpoint (1.1)

Friday, July 11th @ 10 PM

CBS
Flashpoint - Season 1, Episode # 1 - "Scorpio"

When an enraged gunman takes a hostage in a public square, the team must take drastic action and deal with the consequences.

Manatee: (I'm solo on this one.)

Back on January 2008 during the WGA strike that plagued Hollywood, CBS made the announcement that they were "picking up" a Canadian television pilot. They were going to air the series on CBS. It was called "Flashpoint" and it was a desperate, reactionary move for cheap programming during a time when there was nothing new on television except for a few sparse reality performances. The show was already shot, they just needed to air it and rake in the advertising dollars. Then NBC followed in CBS' footsteps with a Canadian drama called "The Listeners" (which has yet to air). Some people wondered if this would be a new model.

Eleven days later, the strike ended, and CBS and NBC had two Canadian shows in their pocket. Let's be honest. I'll say what everyone is thinking, it's Canadian, how good can it be? Will it be a "House" or a "Grey's Anatomy" quality?

CBS has buried "Flashpoint" On Friday nights. This is a throw away time slot. Who watches television on Friday night anyway? Well, there is this little invention called the DVR and mine recorded "Flashpoint" Friday night and I watched it over the weekend, and I must say, I was pleasantly surprised. I was mostly surprised at how good it looked. The cinematographer, David Perrault, did a wonderful job - clean, clear and crisp images. The design was great - gritty, edgy, and dark when needed (Production Designer was John Dondertman). It looked like New York not Toronto (where they shot). The show also had a nice cast: Enrico Colantoni (we know and love him as 'Elliot'), Amy Jo Johnson (of "Felicity." Come on, who didn't love "Felicity?"), (cutie) David Paetkau, and a great performance from Hugh Dillion.

Overall the show is very consistent with CBS' programming, so it was a successful choice for them to distribute. It's cops, pretty/smart girls, and family and career drama. One thing I really liked about the show was the aspect of the sniper's job you rarely see on a Law & Order - the responsibility and stress that goes along with being a cop who kills a criminal, or 'potential' criminal. There was an eerie silence right after the shot was fired by character, Ed Lane. What a bold move. How often do you see a show comfortable with taking such a quiet pause? Every second now a days is littered with white noise or some sort of music, dialogue, or what have you.

Detective Olivia Benson (Law & Order: SVU) might get harassed by the Internal Affairs every now and then, but never before have you seen it on this level. You get investigated just as if you were a criminal yourself. Think of the stress and responsibility that goes along with taking a human life, any life - good or bad? Your comrades are congratulating you for doing a good job and saving an innocent life, but IA wants to make sure you didn't act prematurely... that maybe there was another way to work out this hostage situation. Friday's episode had a great emotional element that is sometimes missing from these 'cop shows.' A real internal struggle. You feel the psychological aspect of being on a hostage negotiation team - the action and the weight of it.

If you look up the creators (Mark Ellis and Stephanie Morgenstern) you won't really recognize many credits (unless you watch Canadian TV). But that's okay. They've molded some excellent characters, good action, and decent dialogue. I'm looking forward to next week. CBS scored a winner with this one (PS Friday's airing was #1 for the night, and Sunday's repeat beat out a "Desperate Housewives" repeat). My advice to you - watch it!

Let's hear your thoughts. Comment below if you watched the show.