S01.E05: To Take a Hostage

[PrincessPurrsALot]

Quote

A concert promoter who is accused of defrauding his customers and vendors takes hostages in a restaurant. Tommy sends Cooper and Diaz to manage the situation until she can arrive. Also, Tommy must navigate the politics of the L.A. City Council when two members refuse to sign on to her new budget proposal.

Original air date 2020.03.05

[Bulldog]

This show is the perfect example of the star elevating the material.  It would be nearly unwatchable with a lesser actress than Falco in the lead.  

[shapeshifter]

I don’t recall ever seeing the not- hostage taker switcheroo before. Has this been done on another show previously?

[Raja]

Some infuriating unforced errors. They actually had an officer with Sergeant's stripes and Captain's bars seemingly standing guard on the press secretary before the call to the hostage. You would think that nobody on the production ever worked on a show with uniformed characters before or any consultant on hand is trying to stop Tommy 

[Starchild]

11 hours ago, Bulldog said:

This show is the perfect example of the star elevating the material.  It would be nearly unwatchable with a lesser actress than Falco in the lead.  

I haven't really watched Falco in anything before and so haven't had the opportunity to develop a strong loyalty to her.

Contrast that to Michael Emerson, who's so far been keeping me watching "Evil."

For that reason, her presence just isn't enough to keep me watching such an unremarkable show. There's only so much time in a day and already so many high quality shows demanding attention. 

I'm done with "Tommy", but for those of you still watching, enjoy!

[shapeshifter]

48 minutes ago, Starchild said:

 

12 hours ago, Bulldog said:

This show is the perfect example of the star elevating the material.  It would be nearly unwatchable with a lesser actress than Falco in the lead.  

I haven't really watched Falco in anything before and so haven't had the opportunity to develop a strong loyalty to her.

The only other time I watched Falco was that miniseries on the Menendez brothers, and I wasn’t watching because she was in it, so not “loyal fan,” but I did respect her skill and talent, and I always appreciate someone who speaks clearly. 
I am continuing to watch because of what she and her character bring to the screen. If I can’t have a woman in the White House, at least I can watch a fictional woman COP in fictional LA.

At least for now. 

[ShortyMac]

Man, Tommy has dealt with a lot of crazy shit already! Protests, mudslides, hostages, dead officer, bomb threats...

[Raja]

I am sure that the real life LAPD is fuming, even the LA Times has been bragging about their diversity and a force that meets the demographics of the city for over a decade.

[preeya]

2 hours ago, ShortyMac said:

Man, Tommy has dealt with a lot of crazy shit already! Protests, mudslides, hostages, dead officer, bomb threats...

And she's been victorious in all of the above. At some point the writer's will have to write a fail because no one wins all the time.

[Raja]

16 minutes ago, preeya said:

And she's been victorious in all of the above. At some point the writer's will have to write a fail because no one wins all the time.

She didn't get 500 more cops to make LAPD diverse. The ex Chief's coattails had more power.

I am out of watching this show live it has gone second tier after my tryout 

[Starchild]

1 hour ago, preeya said:

And she's been victorious in all of the above. At some point the writer's will have to write a fail because no one wins all the time.

And of course she gets the highest firearm score since the Korean War, because "star of the show."

That one took me right out of the story, even though I predicted it. I guess I didn't expect them to actually do it. 

[auntiemel]

4 minutes ago, Starchild said:

And of course she gets the highest firearm score since the Korean War, because "star of the show."

That one took me right out of the story, even though I predicted it. I guess I didn't expect them to actually do it. 

Well, to be fair, it was the highest score of any incoming CHIEF since the korean war. So her score is the best of, probably, like, 15 people, tops. And the others likely didn't have the motivation to train like we saw her doing.

[JayDub]

Typical CBS. We started with a simple show and now there are a lot of plates in the air to make the show all of a sudden hard to follow to discerning viewers.

I'll watch this season but the future to me doesn't look promising.

 

[Raja]

3 hours ago, auntiemel said:

Well, to be fair, it was the highest score of any incoming CHIEF since the korean war. So her score is the best of, probably, like, 15 people, tops. And the others likely didn't have the motivation to train like we saw her doing.

Here I thought that they were referring to the two Chiefs brought in from out of state since the Korean War. One infamously never became a California police officer, the other is perhaps the most famous of this generation having lead the NYPD and LAPD

 

A third being an USMC General interim Chief in 1949 until Chief Parker, who lead during the Dragnet days had some command time as a Captain 

[auntiemel]

10 minutes ago, Raja said:

Here I thought that they were referring to the two Chiefs brought in from out of state since the Korean War. One infamously never became a California police officer, the other is perhaps the most famous of this generation having lead the NYPD and LAPD

 

A third being an USMC General interim Chief in 1949 until Chief Parker, who lead during the Dragnet days had some command time as a Captain 

Are those real, or in the world of the show? Because if it's the second, i zoned out during much more involved exposition than I remember at the moment! 🤣

[Raja]

17 minutes ago, auntiemel said:

Are those real, or in the world of the show? Because if it's the second, i zoned out during much more involved exposition than I remember at the moment! 🤣

Real world. But I guess the Chief Williams was the inspiration for the qualification story line

[Dowel Jones]

The LA City Council has 15 members.  Unless the proposal was up for a committee hearing, 2 votes isn't going to sink it.

The show is taking on Madam Secretary characteristics.  By that I mean that Tommy is involved in the details of everyday actions on the LAPD.  Wouldn't they have a watch commander or some operations person who would make the decision to call off the pursuit?  The policy is already in place IRL.  And she is the only one who can talk the crazy guy down.  You don't need 500 more cops out there if you're going to do everything for them. 

As far as the recalcitrant councilman was concerned, have the press secretary put out a release that refers to 'loyalty to previous leaders' as the reason for the no vote.  Let him explain that to his district. 

I had to laugh a bit at the end of the hostage drama there, when there was a quick shot of the restaurant door with a "Now Hiring" sign on it.  You think?

[pivot]

I liked the show overall but it is weird how few Latinos there are on this show. LA is almost 1/2 Latino but they tend to be nonexistent in shows that take place outside of maids and criminals particularly on CBS.

[possibilities]

It's just like how, according to TV, NYC has mostly white people and at most a token gay man now and then.

Edited March 7, 2020 by possibilities

[buckboard]

17 hours ago, pivot said:

I liked the show overall but it is weird how few Latinos there are on this show. LA is almost 1/2 Latino but they tend to be nonexistent in shows that take place outside of maids and criminals particularly on CBS.

I think Tommy has done a nice job of including people of color on the show.  I can't document all the criminals, but as far as the police go,  Tommy's assistant chief is an African American and so is her very competent administrative assistant/secretary.  Diaz is her main driver/assistant and the new tech officer is an Asian woman.  The councilwoman opposed to increasing recruitment of police officer was from a Mexican-American district and she was clear that  discrimination had to do with why her constituents were against more officers.  And Tommy's ex is African American and her daughter is biracial.

The guy (criminally) involved with the undocumented woman was Latino, but he was also a wealthy supporter of the mayor's (and may have been killed at the request of the mayor or his supporters.)  And didn't Tommy help prevent a racial incident between the police and the community by helping prove an African American young man was in fact innocent?

[Chaos Theory]

On 3/6/2020 at 5:50 PM, Starchild said:

And of course she gets the highest firearm score since the Korean War, because "star of the show."

That one took me right out of the story, even though I predicted it. I guess I didn't expect them to actually do it. 

 

On 3/6/2020 at 5:57 PM, auntiemel said:

Well, to be fair, it was the highest score of any incoming CHIEF since the korean war. So her score is the best of, probably, like, 15 people, tops. And the others likely didn't have the motivation to train like we saw her doing.

The show made a point about saying how the last dozen or so CHIEFS were pretty much grandfathered in.   A couple of them barely qualified as cops but they looked the part.   Tommy on the other hand has to not only pass the exam but do well otherwise half the LAPD would say she didn’t belong.    And she wasn’t wrong. 
 

But yeah she will eventually have to fail or at least break even.   But again if she failed every week half the LAPD. would be calling her an diversity hire and going to the next in charge.   So she needs to succeed beyond what everyone expected or wanted.....at least for the first half to three quarters of the season before she has the first major fail.

She has to be good at the job.   Before she she makes a terrible mistake.

Edited March 9, 2020 by Chaos Theory

[buckboard]

Chaos Theory wrote:

"So she needs to succeed beyond what everyone expected or wanted.....at least for the first half to three quarters of the season before she has the first major fail."

Perry Mason only lost one case in nine seasons, which he then won in appeals court.  If it's okay for Perry, it's okay for Tommy not to fail.

[MMEButterfly]

I don't want her to fail. I don't want magical solutions either. I want the emphasis to continue to be on her wisdom, know-how, and ability handling people.