Line of Fire

Now that February sweeps are upon us, it appears that "Line of Fire" has been put on the injured reserve list for awhile if not banished from the airways permanently. It's too bad, because its 9th episode, (broadcast on on Feb. 3) "The Senator," is the best in the series so far, in my opinion. All three of the major story lines were compelling, and it's nice to see Jonah be a part owner of a minor league baseball team. I guess good things happen to those that are bent on revenge, I guess. Maybe he will be the George Steinbrenner of the bush leagues. I don't know if it's coincidence or what, but another factor that made this episode so good was the near or complete absence of the show's most annoying characters: chain-smoker Lisa, mother-to-the-world-Paige, puncher of the heavy bag Jennifer, and the one FBI dude who's always mad about everything. Hopefully, we'll see a new and improved version of this show in the future.

"Line of Fire" is a real quality TV show about the FBI department in Richmont. The characters are very realistic and the cast is spot-on! The viewers get a look into the "everyday" life of normal federal agents, but also a very good sense of the life for an FBI agent who is deep undercover. It is a show that not only depicts the work lives of the agents, but also their private lives and how difficult it can be to keep those two things separate. I would like to give an example of another show in order to compare the two, but I cannot think of another show that comes even remotely close to this on! There are a lot of TV shows about different law enforcement agencies, however this one is one of the best and most gripping. It had me glued to the TV. The only thing keeping me from giving it 10 out of 10 is that there is only one season, which is a huge let-down when you get "addicted" to a show. However, I cannot blame the network for canceling the show if the audience were not big enough. I just have to wonder what else the viewers could want in a show...

I don't know what to really say about this show. I loved the adds for it, and I'm a sucker for gangster movies and the like. I never would have pictured David Paymer as a mob boss, but he does a fine job. I felt like--and this is just after watching one episode--the mob syndicate aspect of the show has yet to fully develop its characters into three-dimensional people, unlike the FBI, who seem much more real so far. I really hope this doesn't become a kind of cops-and-robbers thing, following two opposite sides, yet always making you want the "good guys" to win, and bring down the "bad guys."

I would have never figured Richmond, Virginia for the setting of a long, drawn-out mob sting operation, but I like the idea for a change. Rather than the cold streets of New York or Chicago, or flashy environs of, say, Miami, they put a bunch of syndicate crooks in one-time capital of the Confederate States.

So far, while in pursuit of a low-level mob affiliate, an FBI agent exchanges shots with the crook and both are killed, right in front of the agent's partner. A young widow has just graduated Quantico, all in an effort to eventually make it to anti-terrorism and avenge the death of her husband in the Pentagon of 9-11. She's about to fill the shoes left behind by the afore-mentioned dead agent. Two agents inform a petty crack dealer his life may be in danger because of a tape taken from four days prior, when Malloy (Paymer) interrogated a man, beating him savagely with a lead pipe, learned he worked for the crack dealer, "Crazy Jazz," dealing drugs to Malloy's nephew, Jimmy. (The scene is probably the reason there's a "Viewer Discretion Advised" on this show.) Later on, newly recruited ex-con Roy, in a mad dash, shoots Crazy Jazz, threatens his buddy, and kills an innocent bystander, much to the chagrin of Malloy, and his lieutenant, Donovan Stubbin, who stood by as his friend went nuts. But apparently Roy is actually undercover, and it was all just a way of getting the dealer into Witness Protection.

The show definitely has potential, but only time (and ratings) can tell.

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