Reviewing Movies

Recently I finished watching the first season of this show currently offered at $19.99 the set. Police actioners have been a staple of broadcast TV practically from its inception. What is unique about this series is that it combines storylines that follow the lives of five officers from a single precinct with those of 2 paramedic squads as we have seen in Emergency and their brother fire station under the umbrella of Station 55. Yes, we get to see police chase scenes on foot and in vehicles, we hear plenty of sirens and see fires, we get down and dirty with the paramedics; but we also follow the lives of the patients who get treated and the perps who get arrested. More particularly we get to see the human and not so heroic side of the personnel in all three services and the effects their work has on their personal lives.

To provide us a window into the action we get to follow the experiences of a rookie Cop, Ty who is following in the footsteps of his father who was killed on the job as he is paired with his father's former partner and begins to learn that his father may have been a dirty cop—on the take. Also a rookie paramedic who in a profession that cares for people is totally self-centred and without compassion for the patients he treats. For the action junkies this series has more than its share of drama but it also has its share of babe-magnets who frequently strut their stuff in and out of uniform. There are no naked buns as are famously displayed in other shows but bedroom and shower scenes aplenty. It also has actors no one would account as sexy.

What made this series unique is the fact that it showed its characters as ordinary human beings who can be called upon to perform heroic acts despite their very human foibles. They have gambling addictions, child care issues, and marriage breakdowns. They have problems getting dates and the challenges their shifts provide maintaining relationships. They also work in professions where injury is always a present danger and since they drive emergency vehicles encounter drivers who fail to yield. In one scene someone parks in front of the fire hall entrance and all to frequently they smash out the windows of a vehicle blocking a fire hydrant to establish a connection.

Nor was this series shy about confronting police corruption, unnecessary force, and conflicts with internal affairs. We see street prostitution and drugs from the point of view of enforcement and the paramedics who have to deal with overdoses and the victims of rough sex. The city of New York is definitely one of the characters in this piece and we often get to see her at her worst. People in 'nice' neighbourhoods don't usually have brothels next door or tenement fires, drop by the fire hall for medical treatment, or have drug dealers on their sidewalks.

It was the humanity of this show that drew one into the lives of its ensemble cast and the fact that they were presented as fully developed human characters not paper actors. Despite its large cast the effort to keep track of all these people seemed worth the effort. All these characters had continuing story lines which successive episodes built upon. Police stories have come a long way since Officer Friday neatly wrapped up a case in 15 minutes or half an hour each week.