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.

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 show has alot going for it, and could have produced some very compelling television. But, it appears political correctness, and image enhancement are more important these days.

For one, the characters are unbelievable to the point of absurdity. In the most recent episode, the female special-agent-in-charge of the Richmond field office, visits a bar (which she, apparently, does every night), drinks herself silly, picks up a guy and takes him home and lets him tie her up during sex, without ever knowing what his name is.

The next morning, she cannot remember much about the encounter, including whether he used a condom or not. It turns out, the guy she picked up could have been somebody wanted for serial rape in Florida. She confesses all this to a high ranking official of the Richmond police department, himself a former lover. He tells her he needs her to recover the man's used condom in order to identify him. It turns out he wasn't the serial rapist.

Apparently, the high ranking official of the Richmond police department doesn't seem to be concerned that her behavior disqualifies her for her position, and could very well cause serious problems for the agents working for her. I watched all this, and felt she didn't deserve to carry an FBI agent's badge, let alone be placed in charge of a major metropolitan field office. She's a freaking barfly.

The absurdity goes on and on: A female agent physically accosting a guy on the street because her and her husband are late dropping their kids off - this agent cries at the drop of a hat, yet she's telling another female agent "I'd go through a door with you anytime" (what a ridiculous cliche to be dropped in here);, the "cute & plucky" little female agent disobeying orders at the academy to overcome her fears, and the all important victim-sympathy angle - her young husband was killed on 9/11 at the pentagon. I mean, nothing wrong with stuffing in as many 9/11 references to ensure success, huh?

My god, why don't you just hit us over the head with a sledgehammer and call it a day? What is the point here? The over-the-top machismo behavior exhibited by the females in this show is just laugh-out-loud ridiculous. What is someone trying to prove here? And why are they trying this hard? Television shows are supposed to entertain us. It seems as if someone here is trying to "educate" us. The whole premise with the female agents in this show is done based on someone's political agenda, and far too many television shows are taking this route.

And as for the undercover agent - "Roy"; any half-decent crime organization is understandably overly paranoid about being infiltrated by undercover agents. Yet, here we seem to have this guy pretty much just show up, with very little suspicion or distrust evident. Criminal types would have seen and smelled this guy a mile away. He seems to look and act suspiciously when he is caught in a difficult situation.

This had real possibilities; a great look and feel to it. There was some very entertaining and gritty television possible here. Yet this is all frittered away by horrendous writing ,laughable characters and an out-of-control, over-the-top political correctness.

Unless this shows undergoes a major overhaul, I'm pretty much done with this mess.

"That's that with that"

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.

This show is as good as anything on American TV at the moment. But alas it seems to be getting shot down for reasons that people don't worry about in shows like 'The Sopranos'. Yeah Cohen is out of control. But wait a minute don't we read about high ranking Law Enforcement officials screwing up all the time? Sampson has a family and is trying to balance FBI life with being a parent in an increasingly loveless marriage. But wait a minute. Isn't Tony Soprano trying to manage his family life and fragile marriage with his violent crime life? It is more likely to me that a leading FBI agent could have a sex and alcohol problem than it is that a Mob boss openly goes to see a shrink twice a week and has been doing so for years. And Malloy's muscle. Hell they are actually quietly sinister. Not like the Sopranos where everyone of Tony's crew are bad-a-bing stand up comedians from Bensonhurst.

And Paymer as Malloy is frickin' marvelous. Lets face it if you had never seen him in anything before you would be impressed. But like i predicted 'Car Pool' will always be held against him. I'm sorry but if a 5ft tall Joe Pesci can be a tough guy then so can Paymer. I think its called acting. Anyway so what if Malloy isn't hard. He's evil and real smart and to be a crime boss thats all you need.

I'm happy to see a new take on organized crime that offers a more modest look on the life than the wisecracking 'Sopranos'. Hopefully this show will be given the time and scope to reach the potential it undoubtedly has.

Will it reach the heights of the Sopranos? No chance. Infact its probably reaping the backlash of that show's popularity and dominance. But would Donovan Stubbins kick the $hit out of Tony Sope and his crew. NO doubt.