Police dramas have time and again proven to be viewer favorites on television, so it is no surprise that every season or two, a new one enters primetime network scheduling. With shows like CSI (and spin-offs), Law and Order (again, with spin-offs) and NCIS (and now, you guessed it, a spin-off) eating up a huge chunk of the viewership, the popularity of this type of show does not seem to be fading anytime soon. In the never-ending struggle to score the next #1 smash hit, CBS introduced a new series entitled Flashpoint in 2008. Set in Toronto, Flashpoint follows a Special Response Unit (SRU) of the Toronto police force. This unit, similar to the more familiar SWAT unit, is a first response team that deals primarily with hostage situations and other high-tension moments.

Like other shows of the genre, Flashpoint not only covers the situations that the team responds to, it also delves into the daily lives of the team members. However, though the series claims to focus on the human cost of their chosen occupation on the individual team members, this element never fully develops in the first season. There were just enough snippets to keep the viewer interested, but I never really felt a connection to the team, never really developed an emotional investment. As for the situations themselves, well, to call the show formulaic is perhaps a bit harsh, but that is really the best descriptor that I can use. Out of the initial thirteen episodes, only one or two had situations that did not include hostage negotiation. I understand that hostage negotiation is a large part of what this unit does and it makes sense to show these situations more times than not, but this team also takes down gangs, defuses bombs and performs tactical entries. Add to this, that almost every criminal is portrayed in a sympathetic manner. It is absolutely true that bad things happen to good people and sometimes, good people are forced to do the wrong thing to get the right outcome, but certainly not every criminal falls into this mold. Aside from these complaints, the show is technically well presented. The use of a former SRU member as an advisor is readily apparent in the tactical elements of the show and the cast all portray their roles nicely, especially Enrico Colantoni, playing the unit's commander, Sgt. Greg Parker.

I really wanted to like Flashpoint, and truth be told, I did enjoy the show on an episode-by-episode basis. However, as an on-going series, there was something missing. The rinse-and-repeat hostage situations began to get old by the end of Season One. I have read that the series branches out a bit more in subsequent seasons, so perhaps the producers caught this trend and corrected the course of the show. Also, the lack of true character development away from the tactical moments left me a bit underwhelmed, but again, I have heard that this has improved with subsequent seasons. I do appreciate the niche that Flashpoint attempts to fill in the crime-drama genre, and Season One is not a bad start. If the aforementioned issues are resolved, there is good chemistry between the actors and the scripting seems to be well done. With formulaic episodes and the dreaded Friday primetime slot, Flashpoint is not being given a fair shake by CBS, but a bit more creativity in the situations presented and more character/audience cohesion should bolster the series, giving it a shot at garnering some viewers.