TV Review: Flashpoint

By Kelly West: 2008-07-12 18:43:19

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1. BOB Says:
   July 12th, 2008 at 20:21

   Superfical. Poor casting and direction. Hostage showed little or no emotional tension. The new guy just arriving was not convincing. His skimpy beard and generally sloppy look would not be acceptable in an elite unit. The whole show has no hard "edge" (ie: Hill Street Blues or NYPD). Credibility is on the same level as CSI Miami...ZERO. I'll treat it accordingly by not bothering to watch it again in any time slot.

1. Jay Dees Says:
   July 14th, 2008 at 00:26

   At first, I really liked this show and it's cast. However after a while it went horribly and quickly..................stupid. I'm supposed to believe that there is a hostage situation where a squad of armored and heavily armed Officers arrive on the situation and all civilians in the area are allowed to mill around watching the proceedings and no one tells them to get out of there. Or one of those Officers goes into an elevator and lets everyone just stand around with him while he goes up. Then the Marksman on the roof suddenly starts to break down for no apparent reason even though he's a Pro at what he does. The Writers are obviously of low caliber and I doubt they have any sort of Technical Advisor available. Even a Boy Scout wouldn't have let this show fly. I give it six to seven weeks.

1. Sean Says:
   July 14th, 2008 at 10:09

   I didn't get a chance to see the show, unfortunately, but from the ads and what I've read of the plot synopsis, it seems that this episode was based on a real hostage taking that took place in Toronto in August 2004, which ended the same way. Check the link here:
   
   http://www.officer.com/article/article.jsp?id=16429&siteSection=1
   
   If you look at any pictures, you'll see civilians everywhere. Like I said, I didn't get a chance to see the episode, so it might have been a little bit more exaggerated.
   
   There's no real way to stop people from watching, unfortunately. Given that it was in Toronto, in front of a landmark like Union station, most people probably thought that it was a movie being filmed.

1. Robyn Says:
   July 14th, 2008 at 13:20

   I've read a lot of postings that are along the lines of "this wouldn't happen like this" or "people wouldn't react that way".
   
   This is directed at one comment I read.
   
   On the first point, yes it DID happen, exactly like that, about 3 years ago in downtown Toronto. It's what the episode is pretty much based on. Lone gunman, one hostage, busy financial area. People WERE milling about. Thousands of them. I was one of them.
   
   On the second point, that people wouldn't "react" that way and suddenly break down after shooting a guy in the head because it's his 'job'... Well, obviously that's the journey we're taking with the character, isn't it. It's not a question of whether he would or wouldn't break down. It's that he DID. The last time I checked, that was called 'writing'. Perhaps you're not familiar with it, but it's something that television writers do when they want to create a "story".
   
   If he shot the guy and felt all fine and dandy, it wouldn't be a story. It would be a video game.
   
   As for the Technical Advisor... you must have been watching a separate show. Half of the plot was process driven. You might learn some of it if you had watched instead of assuming that you knew it all and could write a better episode.
   
   So please, please, please, save your comments to yourself. You're dumbing down television and I, for one, don't appreciate it.
   
   

1. Ivan Says:
   July 14th, 2008 at 21:56

   Great response Robyn. I guess Jay hasn't been exposed to good quality tv. I thought the writing was fantastic. You could really feel what the officer was going through. I remember Hugh Dillon as the singer for the Headstones, i didn't know he could act. Another good canadian tv show that could make it to the US airwaves is Intelligence.

1. Sandy Says:
   July 15th, 2008 at 03:52

   What a load of crap! Touchy feely dramas are fine in their place but if you're a trained professional sniper it's just silly to think you've never even seriously considered the aftermath of killing someone until after it happens. Doh....shooting people in the head has consequences!!
   And the smart assed newbie who's boyishly handsome and gifted but troubled.....well there's a stereotype we haven't seen for at least the last 15 minutes.........
   These people need to make a choice - action drama or chick flick melodrama. The two make a lousy mix.

1. Jay Dees Says:
   July 15th, 2008 at 14:17

   I thank God I don't live in Toronto if they allow innocent bystanders to possibly get in harms way. And as a Vietnam Vet., yes some of us did have emotional problems after the first few times however for the seasoned veteran, it was something we had to do and we did it without boo hooing about it. You did your job and moved on. Everyone is entitled to their opinion Robyn, even you. You might not appreciate mine but that's the great thing about living in the U.S., we can both have an opinion.
   and I still say, Flashpoint sucks (but thats just my opinion). I'll watch Dexter instead.

1. Chris Says:
   July 19th, 2008 at 14:48

   I apparently missed the first episode. I did see theon last night about the guy whose daughter needed a heart transplant.
   
   I found myself and my mind wandering during the middle 40 minutes as it was difficult to understand how the tension of the moment created in the first few minutes with the hospital administrator (the real world is that hospitals do make mistakes with such tragic consequences) was not used to further explain the plot or emotional linkage to the characters. The initial situation clearly developed an empathetic understanding of the father's mental stress.
   
   From that point on, even when Parker asked what was going on with the dad the reality of how he actually got there was never discussed. Duh. It was a storyline undeveloped, leaving the viewer with the desire to see how the script could create an innovative problem solving opportunity. Instead that chance was left on the table.
   
   Instead, the show kept up this fast paced overdone music underlay and the focus upon Parker's apparent intent "to be kind, sympathethic and truthful" falling on a tired script juncture, at that point. It left little room for expansion into the viewer's linkage to character development, one of the supposed values of the show.
   
   It seemed as if the "sweet" turnaround of the intended heart recipient came as an after thought together with the wrap up of the daughter's and father's reactions only partly resolved and quickly thrown in as the show was ending in a couple of minutes.
   
   Overall, I will watch it once or twice more to see if the story lines become more cohesive, the personalities actually develop into interesting characters and the overall production used the music, technology used in the deliberations of the SWAT team's tools and strategies, and photographic effects prove up to the task of bringing all the parts together. They must be given some space as this is the first shot for this hopefully worthy production team.
   
   That said, I like the characters, well most of them. I've liked Colantoni since his days on Don't Shoot Me and more recently his guest shot on Monk.
   The writer's seeming intersti in adding, now two characters, who are a bit "action and trigger happy" seems to have been thrown in as a dstraction for story impact. It isn't working in the absence of fuller development of the characters and stability of the environment in which you question why they are there at all.
   
   Further, I think the viewing audience will prove unwilling to endure a season where half of each show is Parker's "longing desire" to be sympathetic and talk people out of killling themsleves or someone else.
   
   There are better and more available literary skills and tools to use that don't require syrupy dialogue. It's not the intent that is the problem. It is the staleness and hollowness it brings without some attacament to the real issues going on in the "actor's" head.
   
   If, in fact, confidence and trust are a part of the game of negotiating hostage and terror scenarios. It's absence would also deprive the show of its ability for freshness and character development if not spent in strong script dialogue and story line premises.
   
   Literary devices are accesssible that do develop and reflect the real character and human kindness coming from experience and genuine naturalness.
   
   That's why you get the big bucks. It covers all that training you got at Yale, USC or whatever RTF or English literature criticism and writing classes you took.
   
   As far as the time slot is concerned, I think it's great. If you are watching TV at all on Friday night, it's a great followup to Numbers. Especially with the only alternatives being some tired shows or Leno, Letterman or ESPN's overly repeated scores and highlights of the day.
   
   The sports nerds, couch potatoes and lite beer parasites watching WWE or TNA Impact! aren't' gong to be able to absorb anything as emotionally challenging and personality-discovery-oriented as Numbers or FlashPoint anyway. Of course. ther is the Vlue COllar Review running for it's 2000th time.
   
   sg

1. Daniel Says:
   July 21st, 2008 at 15:07

   Incredibly stupid show. The acting is not good, below average i would say.
   The story lines are so unbelievable and unrealistic, this show is just not worth watching. Next.

1. God Says:
   August 2nd, 2008 at 02:08

   I've watched the first four episodes. I had high hopes for this show because I really enjoyed the old "SWAT" episodes. I have to say, this show blows. They have not killed anyone since the first episode. It's like watching a chick flick.

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