In an unnamed city, Sgt. Greg Parker (Enrico Colantoni, Veronica Mars) commands an elite Strategic Response Unit that is the first on the scene for hostage-takings, shootings, and other high-alert situations. Team members Ed Lane (High Dillon), Jules Callaghan (Amy Jo Johnson), and new addition Sam Braddock (David Paetkau) stick by the team as they work every day to save lives.

CRITIQUE

A vast amount of series on television fall under the category of procedural, and many of those involve police officers. New series today have a hard task ahead to distinguish themselves from the rest. One way to accomplish this is to narrow the focus of the action to a specific part of a profession, including policing. This new series’ premiere season succeeds in doing just that. Flashpoint is entertaining in its first season because the plotting is more unique than the usual action-drama and the actors are strong.

The sight of a dark uniform with boots, a rifle, and a bulletproof vest emblazoned with the word “Police” are a familiar part of the environment audiences see in countless films and t.v. shows but examining the day-to-day life of a SWAT team is new territory for plotting on television (as far as I know), and the high-stress situations they face are ripe for dramatic material. From the pilot, viewers see this, as Ed must deal with the climactic moment of a hostage situation in which he was ordered to resolve the matter by shooting the hostage-taker. The moment he shot, the man’s son ran up to him extremely upset and Ed thought for a second he had shot the wrong person. Thankfully, he didn’t but this story is tied in well with the season finale when the son becomes begins sniper-shooting himself to get to Ed. This is one example of the exciting plotting throughout the episodes.

Another touch I personally like in the series is introduced in the pilot as well, and that is the use of an “in medias res” beginning. Latin for “in the middle of things,” a bit of the story up to a point of major tension is shown and stops at the strongest instant, then the opening credits run. This type of beginning acts as a hook for the audience, practically requiring them to watch the episode to see what happened up to that point.

The actors are another inducement to watch the series. Colantoni has always been a performer who easily conveys compassion and authority, so he is very appealing here. Dillon, who is a Canadian actor, should probably have become more familiar to American audiences before this series, judging by his presence here. He is talented, masculine, and a good stoic counterpoint to Colantoni. Johnson (a former Power Ranger!) is also good, and the romance she and Paetkau are given to play is a nice subplot that balances out all the testosterone-fueled action. The first season of Flashpoint does an admirable job of setting itself apart from other police procedurals in the focus of it’s plotting, the strength of the production values, and the caliber of the performances.

THE VIDEO

The anamorphic widescreen picture (an increasingly common occurrence for television shows on DVD) is as perfect for the home viewing of a series as it is a film. In the case of certain viewers, this picture transfer may be better than the actual broadcast.

THE AUDIO

The only language track offered on this set is English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround. It is excellent for a show with an action soundtrack like this one. There is also a stereo format for the English track. Unfortunately, no subtitles are offered on the discs.

THE EXTRAS

Audio Commentary: Director David Frazee gives a track on the pilot, “Scorpio.” It is a fairly good one, though he is silent at times. He praises the actors a lot but with specifics that make it feel deeply genuine. He reveals that the pilot got 10 days to shoot, as opposed to the 7 that a television episode usually gets. Most interesting is the crane shots used to connect the sniper team members with the action down below, which he points out.

Flashpoint: Behind the Scenes-Season One: Behind-the-scenes footage and interviews from cast, executive producers, and the creators make up this brief doc. The stories showcased in the series are the main topic of discussion. I like when executive producer Anne Marie La Traverse talks about how sometimes the wrong people die and that is realistic.

The Human Cost of Heroism: This doc is also very brief and focuses on the way the actual police officers in the same kind of unit as depicted in the series deal with the high-stress situations they encounter every day. The cast and a tactical consultant give good interviews here. I especially like the way the cast references specific episodes.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Flashpoint offers audiences an entertaining first season through acting and plot, taking the police procedural somewhere fresher than it’s been in recent years. The exciting action works well throughout the episodes and the effect of the job on these characters is interestingly examined. Many will hope for the second season to appear quickly now after this solid first season of Flashpoint.