Line of Fire

When this show came on it blew my mind. It was dark, gritty, and at first better even than 24. David Paymer was a classic cold-blooded villain and Leslie Hope was great against type of her 24 character, nail-tough.

In one episode, everything changed. It was when the FBI was pursuing a criminal pregnant woman, who ultimately abandoned her newborn in a dumpster. The baby was found alive and well and the episode had a warm, happy ending. No, I am no sadist who enjoys the sight of dead babies, but the whole point of a series like this is to show us what we do not want to see, along the lines of Saving Private Ryan.

With each successive episode it lost its edge, the fate of so many good shows. In less than a season, really half a season, it went on the journey NYPD Blue took over the course of a decade, throwing in curse words and partial nudity to appear gritty, but really becoming all too soft. I loved the show, then I was glad to see it canceled.

Paige Van Doren (Leslie Bibb) and Todd Stevens (Jeffrey D. Sams) are FBI trainees in Quantico. They get assigned to the Richmond office headed by Lisa Cohen (Leslie Hope). Roy Ravelle (Anson Mount) is undercover in the local mob run by Jonah Malloy (David Paymer). Donovan Stubbin is the top lieutenant who vouched for Roy. Agent Sampson is struggling to balance family and work. The show opens with Agent Sommers and bookie Charlie killing each other during a foot chase. Sommers' partner Amiel Macarthur arrives late to the scene.

I really like this police drama. I especially like the back and forth between cops and criminals. It has the sensibility of a The Departed. Maybe a more compelling opening killing could stretch out the investigation for the whole first season. The show does lose me in episode eight. It's way too convenient to have Sampson's daughter taken hostage. It may be more reasonable if Sampson isn't right there. It doesn't help that the girl gets shot two episodes later and almost dies. They really have it out for that girl. The show needs to pick one story or the other. They can't have both. The last episode feels a bit orphaned like something that could be stuck into the schedule at any time. All in all, I love this show. I also understand its problem as a pre-binge show. There is too much serial element to be just a regular network cop procedural.

Network: ABC; Genre: Crime Drama; Content Rating: TV-MA (for strong language and violence); Classification: Contemporary (star range: 1 - 4)

Season Reviewed: Complete Series (1 season)

Rob Lurie's 'Line of Fire' follows a war that erupts between the Mob and the FBI. The show has an interesting set-up to this: a foot chase between an agent and a mobster ends when a member of each side gets off a shot at the same time, effectively killing each other. Lurie is the hack movie director of corny fluff such as 'The Last Castle' so at first I was pleasantly surprised with this offering.

The groundwork is set for this to be a great show. The formula is familiar but the characters are solid and well developed. That acting is outstanding. David Paymer, a longtime favorite of mine, is terrific as mob boss Jonah Malloy. Paymer is given a catch phrase that perfectly fits the character: "That's that with that". Thanks to the show's short life it will surely become a favorite among cult TV quotes.

Everyone else plays 2nd fiddle to Paymer, but the strongest of which is Leslie Hope. Hope got a lot of flack for her damsel-in-distress role in the first season of '24' but now she proves without question what a great and powerful actor she really is. Had the show focused more closely on her and Paymer that might have been the fuel it needed to strike a fire. Leslie Bibb (an intriguing post-9/11 character) and Julie Ann Emery (in a nice little domestic role reversal) also stand out. There's also the closeted homosexual agent in the mix, now requisite in this type of show to give it the appearance of "edge".

'Fire' looks good and has a classy, if slightly off kilter, intro. Finally, I though, a good, adult crime series. One where the emphasis is on characters and their struggles and not a jittery camera. But, as much as I want to love it, 'Fire' never seems to get off the ground. I waited until the very end for the writers to dig in and feast on all this show's juicy potential. Suck the lemon dry. What's the point in having such great characters and great performances if you aren't going to do anything with them? Each episode is like a microcosm of the series. It will start out with a gripping premise and then wander off, get lost in itself and end up going nowhere. It's rejection of the "gritty cop drama" school of cinematography is refreshing, I like the languishing '70s look, but it's often too slow and unfocused to stay interesting. It started out great, it had everyone in the palm of its hand with deliciously evil characters, noble questionable heroes and premium cable language and violence (Did you ever want to hear "s***" on network TV?) and then lost its grip. A more creative technical staff could have tightened up the mountain of technical problems that made this show so dry and monotonous.

The final episodes (aired by ABC as a 2-hour event movie in a shocking display of respect toward the show) where actually quite good. Great concept, well acted, but like all of them, it meandered in the long middle act into ground so familiar I lost interest. Fortunately, my patience was rewarded and it ended with a bang. Literally. A round of applause is deserved for pumping fresh and impressive life into the time-tested car crash set-piece.

Oh well, we'll always have the catch phrase. Thankfully, it wasn't shoved down our throat. NBC could learn a thing or two. In 5 years people will be saying it and it will be an obscure reference to a 1 season series called 'Line of Fire'. That's that with that.

* * ½

Having now seen the first two episodes of Line of Fire, I'm convinced that this series will be a top drama this season. It pulls no punches and taps directly into the real life complex interplay between mob and FBI. The characters are well developed and the acting is as good as it gets. Brian Goodman, for one, has jumped into this role with a passion and his instinctive moves are just enough for his bad guy character. Kristin Snyder is compelling and compassionate as the First Lady of the mob. For me, the two best shows currently airing are 24 and Line of Fire.

This could develop into an interesting program. The use of Richmond as a backdrop is refreshing. The city offers locations more interesting than the housing projects of Baltimore. So far, the location scenes and the references to Richmond have been accurate. I hope this continues.

Believability suffers when you see an FBI killed while standing straight up in front of a bad guy with a gun instead of going for cover. And later when, a bunch of bad guys jump out of car with guns on what should be a busy dock, but there is no one to notice.

Leslie Hope as the SAC, could become one of the best female police characters currently on TV if given the chance. The female trainee agent is made to hate. I hope she becomes a more believeable character.