Special Report: Flashpoint vs. Swingtown

Special Report: How would win in a fight, Sgt. Gregory Parker or Trina Decker?
Someone at CBS has been reading Manatee & Marmot Destroy TV: The Blog. Check out Variety's article on the switch involving Swingtown and new comer Flashpoint. (We know a good show when we see it)

What do you think about the switch and what does it mean for the future of Swingtown? Comment below.

'Swingtown' swaps time slots; 'Flashpoint' takes over Thursday spot

Apparently flashing is in – and swinging is out – at CBS.

Eye net has swapped time periods for racy '70s drama “Swingtown” and more traditional cop drama “Flashpoint,” effective this week.

“Flashpoint,” a Canadian co-production, has been handed the more desirable post-“CSI” slot on Thursday nights at 10 p.m. “Swingtown,” meanwhile, will take over “Flashpoint’s” Friday 10 p.m. slot.

The Toronto-based “Flashpoint” has been a Friday ratings winner for both CBS abd CTV the past two weeks. Since its July 11 premiere, the show has averaged 7.6 million viewers on CBS. Its two telecasts have also averaged a 1.7 rating and 6 share.

North of the border, just over 900,000 Canadians tuned into episode 2 last Friday, more than double the next closest 10 p.m. competitor.

“Flashpoint,” from Pink Sky Entertainment and Avamar Entertainment in association with the CTV and CBS Paramount stars Enrico Colantoni and former Canuck rock star Hugh Dillon as members of an elite police squad and is the first Canuck series since “Due South” to air on “reverse” simulcast in the U.S.

“Swingtown,” meanwhile, has earned decent critical reviews but has struggled to find a ratings groove. Show has averaged 6.5 million viewers and a 2.2 rating/7 share among adults 18-49.

Flashpoint (1.2)

Friday, July 18th @ 10 PM CBS "Flashpoint" - Season 1, Episode #2 - "First in Line"

A desperate father turns a policeman's gun on a surgical team, demanding a heart transplant for his dying daughter.

Manatee: The Strategic Response Unit did not disappoint again this week (for the most part). I love how the episode opens into the action and then backs up. Though I'm sure there is a more creative way of telling the story, I enjoy the lack of a slow or boring teaser / set up. Show me the good stuff in the first 30 seconds. Again this week, the story was very emotional, and the performances were great. You really get a sense of what each character is going through. If you didn't feel for the father (Jack Swanson played by Henry Czerny) then you don't have a heart. The show deals with very intense situations in a very delicate and thoughtful way. The story makes you look inside - what would you do if you were in this position? Would you just say ok and go home with your dying kid? How hard would you fight? How unfair can life be? These are questions that, hopefully, you don't have to deal with now and never will. But it's a real test of character to think about yourself in these shoes and to answer honestly.

The fact that the drama revolves around this ensemble cast is also working for it. On a show like In Plain Sight, for example, each week's procedural story reflects Mary's personal issues, ie: her father's gambling issues, her love life, and so on. Here, with so many team members to choose from each week, we can relate personally to a different character. This week it was Elliot, ie: Sgt. Gregory Parker (Enrico Colantoni). His performance was excellent proving that just because you are a master hostage negotiator doesn't mean you lack feeling (though he did break the rule of not getting personal). The show is more believable with various characters to engage with each week.

My only concern with the episode was the ending where the patient (spoiler alert!) agreed to give the little girl (Phoebe Swanson played by Jordan Todosey) the heart at literally the last second. By giving up the heart in the last moments of the show it negates all the action preceding it. Why didn't he just give up the organ to the little girl in the first place? Wouldn't he want to keep the peace and the jeopardy that someone innocent in the hospital could die? Or was he just too selfish until he had an hour to think about it? Why not speak up sooner? There are two ways this would have worked better:

1- The little girl died while the team was still negotiating with the father. Tragic ending, I know, but at least the last 40 minutes of action aren't eliminated by one single sentence (which we don't even hear).

or 2- Keep the same ending but show the patient struggling with this negotiation as you do the other characters. If you were an older man, and people were arguing with guns over a heart for you or a young girl, what would you say? Maybe he should have struggled with the decision first, been a cocky bastard and wanted the heart. But then as he sees the little girl and the father's struggle maybe he starts to melt, maybe he tried to intervene but was not able to. It would have been more dramatic to see some struggle instead of an 11th hour decision to let the girl have her heart.

Aside from that small flaw, I still think the episode overall is some decently entertaining summer programming. How do you think this show compares to the short lived series Stand Off on Fox? That was also about hostage negotiators but seemed less dramatic and emotional, and more about stuff blowing up. I'll admit I was not much of an avid viewer of the show, so leave us your comments if you want to chime in.

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.