S01.E01: Pilot

[Drogo]

The series premiere introduces the first-responders and 911 dispatchers, including Det. Athena Grant; firefighter Bobby Nash; and dispatcher Abby Clark, who spends her days fielding emergency calls at the 911 call center while desiring to know what happens after she sends help.

[janeta]

Eh, ‘Emergency’ did it better.

[break21]

The first opening was great - and it fell apart.  DOA.   So many good leads wasted.

[Lady Calypso]

Yeah, so my Wednesday nights are pretty empty, so I'll probably watch some of the show, but my god, was I irritated by so many of the characters. Shitty writing, completely absurd calls, and are we going to be stuck with the Firefighters for it? We barely got the actual dispatchers, and Angela Bassett's character was only touched upon before we got forced with Punk Douche and Alcoholic Peter Krause. 

Also should have let the actor who plays Punk Douche keep his British accent. He would have been slightly more tolerable with it.

See, their first mistake seems to be not centering the show around dispatch, which is at least very different. Instead, it seems like we'll be stuck with mostly the firefighters. Why couldn't they have also thrown in the other responders in too? How about actual police? How about actual paramedics? Why couldn't we rotate through those people while maintaining focus on the dispatchers? Again, we've already seen a bazillion cop and firefighter shows. There's absolutely nothing new with those stories. But dispatchers? Man, they could have found a way to really make this show unique. 

[SnoGirl]

I liked it better than Chicago Fire that’s for sure. It definitely had pilot issues but it could be pretty interesting. They definitely packed a lot in. 

I did like that the rookie listened to Athena at the scene, I thought for sure they were going to have him rush in. I did like that he grabbed the Mom before she walked into the house and then he put her into the truck. I also liked Abby and Athena working together, Abby definitely thought on her feet getting the robbers out of the house.

My favorite part was the end when the different departments interacted with each other. I hope we see more of that in the future. I do hope they expand the firehouse a bit. It actually seemed unrealistic we just saw the four over and over. You would think there would be more people in the truck. On ER you would see doctors, nurses and orderlies in the background. We finally saw some other firefighters at the end at the house.

[ShadowHunter]

I liked it enough it was not 100% perfect but a decent start. I will check it out again for a few more weeks before I make a final decision to stick with it.

The scene with the baby was tough and I am glad she (I think it was a girl) survived.

What type of immortality was Angela Bassett given?  

I liked Connie Britton which is nice since I didn't care for her in S1 of AHS.

The Pasta dinner looked good sorry they couldn't finish eating.

Not surprised the Husband said he was Gay.

The young puck kid I liked him with the baby and when they were going to the Hospital and again at the end but that was it. So that is a plus but for the other parts he had and his lack of knowledge about 1980's movies puts him at a minus.  He could have potential or not.

Hated the girl who was a half hour late to stay with the Mom. Few minutes of her and ugh.

[missbonnie]

I have a few issues with it but I'm going to give it a couple of more episodes to see if they pull it together. 

[Chaos Theory]

I actually thought this was pretty good.  It’s a bit predictable and procedural but it is also enjoyable.  Then again Ryan Murphy tends to get me in a way I can’t quite explain.

The young fire fighter guy who got fired then rehired is going to annoy me though.  

[BooksRule]

I'll give it a try.  I liked it as well as any pilot (which can be kind of rough and all-over-the-place sometimes).  The young rookie was annoying (he reminds me a lot of Street on the new 'S.W.A.T.'), but maybe he'll mature soon (maybe).  

I was glad to see Aisha Hinds (I think her character is a paramedic?) here.  I didn't even know her name, but I've liked her in everything I've ever seen her in (usually small parts, but she's a good actress).  Hopefully, we'll get a good backstory on her character.

I didn't pay attention to the opening cast credits, so it took me several scenes of Abby's mom to recognize her as Mariette Hartley.  I haven't seen her in a long time!  

Edited January 4, 2018 by BooksRule
Annoying typos

[numbnut]

I'm not a Ryan Murphy fan but tuned in anyway. The characters are so simplistic. I kept cringing and rolling my eyes. Would you flirt with someone right after they chopped off your pet's head? Ugh. I may be done with network TV.

[kaygeeret]

So I tuned in because of Connie Britton and Angela Bassett.

Liked both of them as I knew I would.

Not so on board with the young firefighter.

It is the pilot and because of the actors I will be back for more epis - -don't want to predict how many just yet.

I liked the home invasion story (as unrealistic as it was) because it highlighted an entire team working together - would loce to see more of that and of course Connie Britton.

Hoping the thing begins to jell.

[break21]

'Disappointed - you can't just say bye! and walk out the door for an AZ patient - your entire life turns around.

I was so let-down.

[LillyB]

Peter Krause is aging well

[preeya]

14 minutes ago, LillyB said:

Peter Krause is aging well

As is Connie Britton.

[Racj82]

On 1/4/2018 at 0:44 AM, preeya said:

As is Connie Britton.

We don't need to add Angela Bassett to this. She stopped aging in the 90s. So, it goes without saying.

Pilot issues as usual. I judge pilots on a huge curve. I enjoyed the show. Some interesting calls.

My biggest gripe is that fucking Rockmund Dunbar is never the lead on anything and he is one of the best actors out there. Soul Food, Prison Break, Terriers, Sons of Anarchy. He always kills it but he's also somehow always one of the lower billed stars minus soul food.

Edited January 6, 2018 by Racj82

[NJRadioGuy]

Dear ghods, what did I just watch? And why? As Break21 stated, a good start then it fell apart. By my calculations, Jack Webb and Ron Cinader are up to about 10,000 RPM at the moment.

Has anybody involved with this hazmat wreck of a show even bothered to do a day's worth of research into the fire service, EMS or dispatch? I'm just dreading their first working fire.

For those here who just watch action shows for fun but don't really understand what's going on, here are some of the most egregious WTF moments:

One FF (probie??) borrows a ladder truck--twice in one shift--and goes off solo? WTAF? PLUS he raises the stick up on his own, gets the outriggers down, balances it out, climbs on his own, etc? Are you effin' kidding me? Why was he not locked up after the first one, let alone the second!

Is Nash a Batallion Chief, an officer or rank-and-file firefighter? He rolls up in a Batallion chief's van, yet he doesn't appear to be a chief, and later rides E118.

So is the FD crew on Engine 118 or Ladder 118? There's a difference, you know. They can't be both.

Dispatchers for FD can only talk to FD apparatus. Dispatchers for PD can only talk to PD personnel. 9-1-1 call takers in an urban environment only interact with the public; they pass the call on to PD or FD dispatchers.

The level of wrongness displayed in that housebreak scenario defy every single bit of logic in all the assembled multiverse. One cop car with a single police officer on a call involving a child in danger? Seriously? There would be a sea of black-and-whites in the area.

EVERY smartphone transmits its location, within a 3 to 10 foot accuracy in most cases. The location shows up on a map before the call-taker even connects. It's done that way for exactly the reason shown tonight. Having the caller give his/her location is just to ensure ANI-ALI info is correct.

Since when can even a Batallion Chief terminate another firefighter, let alone his senior officer or training officer if he's a probie? Yeah, you could sit his ass for the shift and have HQ and the union rep there to do it in an emergency situation (like stealing a piece of apparatus to get a piece of ass). I can't speak for you, but I would refuse to work with that douchecanoe under any circumstances. He's a danger to everyone around him, as he so wantonly displayed. I can't even....

I did love the premise of the dispatcher never hearing how the call ends, and Nash in the confessional was great. Loved his character, and "Hen" Wilson (Aisha Hinds).

[janeta]

8 hours ago, preeya said:

As is Connie Britton.

Not *that* well--what did they say her character was supposed to be--42? No. (CB is 50.)

And Angela Bassett's character was supposed to have been 37 when she got married because she had baby rabies--her girl looks to be at least 12, if not older than that, so that would make the character pushing 50 or more? I agree; AB simply does not age. (She's 60. Damn.  I should look that good when i get to be that age.... hell, i should look that good *now*...)

I wanted to laugh at what was probably supposed to be the gag of the priest's cel phone going off in the confessional, except that--my hand to god--the priest conducting my mother's funeral was texting during one of the readings. -eye roll-

I'll probably watch a few more, unless there's something good on PBS.

[Chaos Theory]

I never gave two damns about realism on tv if it’s entertaining.  This isn’t reality tv (not that that’s realistic in the least).  When have action movies been the least bit realistic anyway.  Hell my favorite franchise at the moment Fast and the Furious boasts cars that fly for god sake.  So  guy who steals fire trucks to get layed and only gets fired a couple of times is perfectly fine with me.  It’s action movie fun.   

Connie Britton works in this and I hope she starts playing a bigger part because she is the draw for me.  

Honestly this is fun ass  nonsense. That will have the occasional heartwarming moments that will make me want to gag so I’ll need to call 911.

Edited January 4, 2018 by Chaos Theory

[break21]

I was wondering why Fox didn't promote it - it is a mess.  I guess some things look better on paper.  It will probably do ok in the ratings for last night and then fade away.  That much talent wasted.  And, the X-Files was a hot mess too.  

[Chaos Theory]

7 minutes ago, break21 said:

I was wondering why Fox didn't promote it - it is a mess.  I guess some things look better on paper.  It will probably do ok in the ratings for last night and then fade away.  That much talent wasted.  And, the X-Files was a hot mess too.  

It was promoted all over the place.  A lot on the FX network during American Horror Story.  I don’t watch Fox a lot so I don’t know about that.

[iMonrey]

I thought it was OK, but . . . it does seem strange that it's called 911 yet most of the story revolved around the fire fighters and the police woman rather than the 911 dispatcher. It's going to be a strange juggling act. And I thought the flushed baby in the pipe was ridiculously unrealistic. 

I already watch Chicago Fire so I'm used to TV shows taking artistic liberty with real life procedure, but good grief! That young punk taking the fire truck out to chase down a bootie call was just laughably absurd. You can only stretch credibility so far and that crossed a line.

[Lady Calypso]

6 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

I already watch Chicago Fire so I'm used to TV shows taking artistic liberty with real life procedure, but good grief! That young punk taking the fire truck out to chase down a bootie call was just laughably absurd. You can only stretch credibility so far and that crossed a line.

Exactly. I can only be thankful for Alcoholic Vet Firefighter not warming up to Rookie Punk at the end. 

I guess we're supposed to be rooting for Rookie Punk? I think we're supposed to enjoy the father-son dynamic of the two? Except I'm too annoyed by Rookie Punk to care. He's an awful character. I don't even care about his role with stopping the robber, though it was cool, because he's still a punk. 

This is a first real flop for Ryan Murphy for me. I typically like his shows in their first season (yes, even The New Normal). I haven't seen FEUD, or American Crime Story, but I've heard some good things about them. 

I'm just going to hope that it gets better. Pilots are always rough. This was just even more rough than most. 

[KateeBar]

I was pretty hopeful for this show, because I have enjoyed the heck out of Lethal Weapon (maybe I'm in the minority there? I haven't checked the forum lately). So I was hoping maybe Fox could pull off another fun, frothy action show, anchored by some pretty stellar actors. 

But this was pretty bad. Connie Britton is saddled with some terrible dialogue, and Peter Krause is saddled with that terrible rookie. I guess I am supposed to root for his redemption arc, but I felt like his bad acts were not redeemable, and I did not like the actor at all. Why are these women fawning over this guy? If he sticks around, I sincerely hope he comes on to exactly the wrong woman who kicks him squarely in the nuts. 

I'll watch a few, to see if it settles, because the cast has such potential. But whew. That was bad. 

[LillyB]

I enjoyed CB especially toward the end but I found the blue reflection on her glasses distracting.

[hookedontv]

5 hours ago, janeta said:

Not *that* well--what did they say her character was supposed to be--42? No. (CB is 50.)

This. I immediately looked up Connie's age because I knew she wasn't in her early 40's. That put me off right away, but I found the show entertaining enough. I had no sympathy for the young mother though...  I'll be watching it again, I am always up for trying a new show. 

[rove4]

Why do the rookies always have to be so damn annoying? 

[ESS]

Thanks for putting up this thread!

I'm just going to copy & paste what I said elsewhere on here as well....

Well I loved this first episode...a lot was going on...Angela was amazing as usual love her character so far...her husband not so much; he's is such a jerk!! I wasn't surprised that he came out as gay though I kinda had a feeling after he started talking the way he did. I do wonder what will happen between them now...whether they'll divorce or what...

I really like Hen as well and Abby too..

that baby in that pipe omg that was intense! I'm so glad that it was okay and they found the mother too.

oooh that snake scene creepy I cannot stand snakes

the little girl Lily so glad she was found and okay...although I was like WTH at first when Abby was trying to "help" the robbers but then I realized what she was doing.

Next weeks looks like another intense one..I wonder why Athena & her husband are at the hospital I hope it's nothing with their kids...can't wait til next week!! what a premiere, I'm hooked. FYI: I'm only watching for Angela.

[Whimsy]

15 hours ago, NJRadioGuy said:

Dear ghods, what did I just watch? And why? As Break21 stated, a good start then it fell apart. By my calculations, Jack Webb and Ron Cinader are up to about 10,000 RPM at the moment.

Has anybody involved with this hazmat wreck of a show even bothered to do a day's worth of research into the fire service, EMS or dispatch? I'm just dreading their first working fire.

For those here who just watch action shows for fun but don't really understand what's going on, here are some of the most egregious WTF moments:

One FF (probie??) borrows a ladder truck--twice in one shift--and goes off solo? WTAF? PLUS he raises the stick up on his own, gets the outriggers down, balances it out, climbs on his own, etc? Are you effin' kidding me? Why was he not locked up after the first one, let alone the second!

Is Nash a Batallion Chief, an officer or rank-and-file firefighter? He rolls up in a Batallion chief's van, yet he doesn't appear to be a chief, and later rides E118.

So is the FD crew on Engine 118 or Ladder 118? There's a difference, you know. They can't be both.

Dispatchers for FD can only talk to FD apparatus. Dispatchers for PD can only talk to PD personnel. 9-1-1 call takers in an urban environment only interact with the public; they pass the call on to PD or FD dispatchers.

The level of wrongness displayed in that housebreak scenario defy every single bit of logic in all the assembled multiverse. One cop car with a single police officer on a call involving a child in danger? Seriously? There would be a sea of black-and-whites in the area.

EVERY smartphone transmits its location, within a 3 to 10 foot accuracy in most cases. The location shows up on a map before the call-taker even connects. It's done that way for exactly the reason shown tonight. Having the caller give his/her location is just to ensure ANI-ALI info is correct.

Since when can even a Batallion Chief terminate another firefighter, let alone his senior officer or training officer if he's a probie? Yeah, you could sit his ass for the shift and have HQ and the union rep there to do it in an emergency situation (like stealing a piece of apparatus to get a piece of ass). I can't speak for you, but I would refuse to work with that douchecanoe under any circumstances. He's a danger to everyone around him, as he so wantonly displayed. I can't even....

I did love the premise of the dispatcher never hearing how the call ends, and Nash in the confessional was great. Loved his character, and "Hen" Wilson (Aisha Hinds).

I came here to basically say all this. My husband is a fire captain. I couldn’t get past the rookie taking the fire truck and racing down public streets with the sirens blaring for a booty call and then the (captain? chief? Either way, WRONG color shirt) just up and firing him mid-shift from a civil servant position. Yeah. Ok. I rolled my eyes so hard at all of their scenes. I don’t think I can keep watching this. 

[iMonrey]

Quote

This is a first real flop for Ryan Murphy for me. 

Not ratings-wise, though. Did pretty well, Fox is probably happy with it. (Not saying that's any indication of quality, mind you - just that Fox won't consider it a "flop.")

Edited January 4, 2018 by iMonrey

[Chaos Theory]

1 hour ago, Whimsy said:

I came here to basically say all this. My husband is a fire captain. I couldn’t get past the rookie taking the fire truck and racing down public streets with the sirens blaring for a booty call and then the (captain? chief? Either way, WRONG color shirt) just up and firing him mid-shift from a civil servant position. Yeah. Ok. I rolled my eyes so hard at all of their scenes. I don’t think I can keep watching this. 

I guess its the same with doctors and most medical shows and lawyers and law shows.  I heard when CSI came on there was an uptick of people wanting to be criminalists only to find out the job was NOTHING like it was on TV.  Most "job" shows are nothing like they are on tv.  I guess people in the actual job can't really watch the show.  My cousin is an FBI agent and she just can't with any show that portrays the FBI.  ESPECIALLY Quantico,  

Me I like it.  But then I am lowly office worker who likes action and thinks Ryan Murphy is a genius.  So this was always going to be to my taste unless it was closer to Glee (which I hated).  

 

3 hours ago, rove4 said:

Why do the rookies always have to be so damn annoying? 

Job requirement?  More likely it adds drama to a show.  New recruit is very raw and a bit of a punk but has unlimited potential.  Will he succeed or burn out?  dun dun dun.  

Edited January 5, 2018 by Chaos Theory

[ESS]

Yeah I just read that the ratings were very high for the first episode. 

[Whimsy]

38 minutes ago, ESS said:

Yeah I just read that the ratings were very high for the first episode. 

There’s a lot of really talented actors in this show, so I understand the appeal. 

[roamyn]

Once Peter Krause “re-hired” punk rookie, I was done.  Only St. Gabby can get away w/that shit.

We already have Chicago Fire w/sexy Severide & Casey.  I thought I’d be seeing something more to do w/dispatching.

[NJRadioGuy]

If they can find their footing from a story-telling point of view they still have a chance to pull this off long-term. First responders—real ones, that is—are an integral part of everybody's every day newscasts, entertainment and (unfortunately for some) their daily lives. Even average people understand the very basics of how a FD operates, almost everybody has seen what a real fire scene looks like and how many firefighters and pieces of apparatus are on the fireground. Just drive around in any non-rural area and you'll see how many police cars, FD apparatus and EMS units respond to a pin job (accident with a victim trapped). Things like that. Joey the Bricklayer, Miranda the account executive and Tonya the high school kid all see this stuff every day in many cases. So when a piece of fiction throws up some unimaginable drivel masquerading as a story it rings false immediately and takes the viewer right out. There is no willing suspension of disbelief here when a probie snarfs the Truck for booty calls. I guess if they're content programming for viewers with room temperature IQs who get excited when they hear a siren, there's that. But competing for eyeballs at a time of Peak TV should mean something resembling good writing showing up on our screens 13, 18, or 22 weeks a year.

Chicago Fire has far more than its share of problems, and I rag on it constantly (St. Gabby, first of Her name), but that's practically a Jack Webb procedural compared to this. As I've repeatedly said over on that board, it's more than possible to tell compelling first responders' stories and still get the physics of firefighting correct, the intelligence of good coppers, and the medicine of EMS. Technical consultants working with writers to get the basics right.

Basically, I like to be entertained, but I don't like my intelligence insulted in the bargain. I get that for budget reasons Chicago Fire (and probably this show, eventually) can't show 12 to 15 pieces of fire apparatus, and have about 60 FF extras for every fire call. That I can handwave. Ditto for car wrecks, water rescues, building collapses, etc. But some of the crap they pulled in the 9-1-1 pilot was just egregiously bad.

I loved the newborn rescue. Just great, and as much as I don't want it to have been based on a real incident, I'd bet money it was. The suicide was equally terrifying/heartbreaking. The snake lady rescue started off as a fun little B-story, but when that POS probie up and butchered the snake without trying less lethal means I was disgusted. For that alone I will always detest that character—that is, if I stick with this show. Same as with Cruz on Chicago Fire. He let someone burn up in a house fire in season one. A really bad guy, and someone who deserved Something Bad to happen to him, but not that. Not by a firefighter.

And the pool rescue at the beginning: You don't shock flat-line (asystole), damnit!

[thuganomics85]

Well, that was something!

I was certainly entertained and the cast is stacked as hell; not just heavy hitters like Connie Britton, Angela Bassett and Peter Krause, but even the supporting cast had some of my favorites like Aisha Hinds, Kenneth Choi, and Rockmond Dunbar; and I certainly can turn my brain off over inaccuracies.  But everything was just so over-the-top and insane, that I just wonder where can they go from here?  It's only the pilot episode, and we have had everything from them saving a baby that was flushed down the toilet, having to decapitate a snake, and showdown to save a girl that ends with them fire hosing the baddie as he flees.  I mean, after this, what is next?  Are the next episodes going to be a bit more grounded, which could risk feeling boring and slow?  Or are they going wretch this up to the point that it will feel full-blown comical?  I get trying to make your pilot rememberable, but it already feels like they threw everything but the kitchen sink here.

Also, yes, the rookie sucks.  I'll give Oliver Stark credit for a pretty decent American accent, but I'm already over that character.  I was almost wishing they would go completely dark and have Peter Krause toss him off the roof, after he busted him with the snake lady.

Fun seeing Charles Baker (Breaking Bad's Skinny Pete) as one of the burglars, although I wish they went full-blown fanservice and had the other one be the actor who played Badger.

I'll give it a few more episode at least.  If nothing else, it's nice to have another firehouse drama again after finally having enough of Chicago Fire (and the other Chicago shows.)  Plus, Connie Britton!  And Angela Bassett!

[memememe76]

I thought it was a lot of fun. Those interactions between the girl and CB were intense. I like the intense calm CB displays.

I pretty much like everyone except the Rookie. But there is almost always one. I will keep watching.

[Laurie4H]

I don’t know how anyone could watch this after the whole driving through traffic with his sirens on to have sex in the fire truck.  We turned it off after that.  I’m no prude but it was completely disrespectful to first responders.  They had to go there in the first 10 minutes of a pilot?  Is that what it takes to get people to watch shows these days?  Hollywood is so up in arms about woman being disrespect but then put in scenes like this?  I’m all for a good romantic/sex scene but come on.

[Lady Calypso]

Oh, I realized another thing that kind of bugged me a lot and hope that it doesn't continue in future episodes. When the firefighters, in particular, are out on calls, they have no problem casually conversing with each other in front of other people. I noticed it when some of them, including Athena, were out for the baby call and they were knocking on doors, which didn't bug me all that much. But the snake call, in particular, caught my attention in a bad way because they were just casually chatting while the girl was being strangled. Kenneth's character, in particular, seemed to not care as he chatted about being afraid of snakes in front of her. 

ETA: I probably won't go back and watch the episode, but I might be mistaken on the firefighters bit. I think they were paramedics.

[Whimsy]

4 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

ETA: I probably won't go back and watch the episode, but I might be mistaken on the firefighters bit. I think they were paramedics.

I don't even know where this is set- but I believe they are both.  Where my husband works, for example, the firefighters are the first responders to every call so they all have basic first aid type training with some of them full-fledged paramedic training but it's not mandatory.  I know some towns/cities it's even more intense and the firefighters are literally both FF and paramedics.  I think that's what's going on with this show.  I believe they're both. 

I just don't really get what the heck Peter Kraus's character is supposed to be.  I think maybe just a more seasoned/veteran of the fire station?  Maybe a lieutenant?  I don't know anything about lieutenant's because my husband's fire department is smaller so there are privates and then some Captain's, an Assistant Chief (forget his actual title) and then the Chief.  If PK's character is a Captain, he would have a white shirt and he wouldn't be in the truck.  There's no way he's the Chief. I just really can't figure him out.  I'll probably watch another episode just so I can figure that out.  IMDB doesn't say, just has his character's name.  I thought I heard someone reference his rank, but I thought they said Chief and there's no way in hell. But, I wasn't really paying attention so I probably misheard.  

[Lady Calypso]

7 minutes ago, Whimsy said:

I just don't really get what the heck Peter Kraus's character is supposed to be.  I think maybe just a more seasoned/veteran of the fire station?  Maybe a lieutenant?  I don't know anything about lieutenant's because my husband's fire department is smaller so there are privates and then some Captain's, an Assistant Chief (forget his actual title) and then the Chief.  If PK's character is a Captain, he would have a white shirt and he wouldn't be in the truck.  There's no way he's the Chief. I just really can't figure him out.  I'll probably watch another episode just so I can figure that out.  IMDB doesn't say, just has his character's name.  I thought I heard someone reference his rank, but I thought they said Chief and there's no way in hell. But, I wasn't really paying attention so I probably misheard.  

I looked on the 9-1-1 wiki to see, first off, the names of the characters, but also their occupations. According to wikipedia, Peter Krause's character is a fire captain. Not sure how correct it is, but that's what it says.

Also, yeah, Kenneth Choi's character and the other lady are firefighters/paramedics. 

[Whimsy]

29 minutes ago, Lady Calypso said:

I looked on the 9-1-1 wiki to see, first off, the names of the characters, but also their occupations. According to wikipedia, Peter Krause's character is a fire captain. Not sure how correct it is, but that's what it says.

Also, yeah, Kenneth Choi's character and the other lady are firefighters/paramedics. 

Hahahaha.  No.  My husband's a captain.  He doesn't go on the truck with the other guys.  If he's needed at a call (and that's not all the time, either, but he supervises three stations) he takes the SUV that has everything he needs to file reports, etc, in his truck.  Also, Captain's all wear white shirts (that's across the US, not just his department).  So, I'm highly annoyed lol.  I may decide to try to shut my brain off and watch this anyway since, besides the things that are not the actor's fault, I did like his performance and most of the others.

[Lady Calypso]

Also, I have another question for anyone who knows anything about law enforcement. Angela Bassett's character, Athena. Who does she work for, officially? Is she a police officer? Does her job primarily connect to the fire department? I know she had a partner at the beginning, but is she a superior officer who can go to calls by herself? I forget completely what happened during the house robbery. Was she on shift or going to shift or finishing a shift? Why didn't she have backup? I know they ended up coming in near the end of the episode, but why was she alone when confronting the robbers? 

Clearly I either need to just accept the show for what it is, or I might have to rewatch the pilot; clearly, I missed a lot.  

[bilgistic]

On 1/3/2018 at 10:46 PM, Chaos Theory said:

I actually thought this was pretty good.  It’s a bit predictable and procedural but it is also enjoyable.  Then again Ryan Murphy tends to get me in a way I can’t quite explain.

The young fire fighter guy who got fired then rehired is going to annoy me though.  

I thought it was bonkers and I kind of loved it for that. I watched it on a whim expecting to hate it because my deadbeat father was a career police officer and my deadbeat ex-brother-in-law is a firefighter/paramedic, so you could say I'm biased.

 

On 1/4/2018 at 0:44 AM, preeya said:

As is Connie Britton.

 

On 1/4/2018 at 9:43 AM, janeta said:

Not *that* well--what did they say her character was supposed to be--42? No. (CB is 50.)

When the show said Connie Britton is 42, I laughed. She doesn't look especially bad, but she doesn't look 42. Mayyyyybe 48. I say this as a 43-year-old who never goes out in the sun.

It would help if the show didn't seem to specifically try to make her hair look bad. It looked amazing on Nashville.

The show is set in Los Angeles, to answer a question upthread.

[Drapers4thWife]

I quite enjoyed this. It reminds me of ER with the vignettes of a bunch of emergencies padded with the personal drama of the workers. It wasn't great but so few pilots are (and the pilots that tend to be good, in my experience, have series which quickly fall apart ala Smash). So I'll definitely continue watching. 

[milner]

I usually give a new show a few watches before dumping it.  But wow, this was bad from start to finish.   So sad with such a good cast.  I am willing to let some things go but not everything in every scene.  For instance in the home invasion scene, the rookie was to drive the firetruck with siren blaring to trick the bad guys.  Did he just happen to take time to hook up to a fire hydrant (if so, why)?  Because if not, where did the water come from?  Trucks pump water, they do not carry it.

Edited January 6, 2018 by milner
spelling

[mojoween]

I hated Veronica so much because I know how true to life that is in the home health aid industry.  Obviously there are good nurses out there, but there are also ones who are there to do the bare minimum and rob your grandmother blind, up to and including your grandfather’s urn that still had his ashes in it.

Ahem.  Anyways.  I wanted the rookie to stay fired, he had his chance and he blew it. And I feel like he and Connie are going to hook up and I’m already irritated at the thought of it.

[AgentRXS]

I'm solely here for Angela Bassett. It wasn't the worst pilot I've ever seen, but it wasn't good, for all the reasons that were mentioned above.  Hoping it gets better along the way.

[Whimsy]

11 hours ago, milner said:

Because if not, where did the water come from?  Trucks pump water, they do not carry it.

That’s actually not true. Pumper trucks hold up to 1,000 gallons. So, maybe they got one thing right? I don’t know enough about the types of trucks to know by looking at it if it was the right kind. 

[Raja]

23 hours ago, Laurie4H said:

I don’t know how anyone could watch this after the whole driving through traffic with his sirens on to have sex in the fire truck.  We turned it off after that.  I’m no prude but it was completely disrespectful to first responders.  They had to go there in the first 10 minutes of a pilot?  Is that what it takes to get people to watch shows these days?  Hollywood is so up in arms about woman being disrespect but then put in scenes like this?  I’m all for a good romantic/sex scene but come on.

I was about to give it up but a political debate over the coming out scene sparked a discussion elsewhere so I finished up to form my own opinion.  I was expecting a version of Third Watch with the Halle Berry 911 dispatcher from her movie grafted on not a FOX Lethal Weapon with fire fighters

16 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

Also, I have another question for anyone who knows anything about law enforcement. Angela Bassett's character, Athena. Who does she work for, officially? Is she a police officer? Does her job primarily connect to the fire department? I know she had a partner at the beginning, but is she a superior officer who can go to calls by herself? I forget completely what happened during the house robbery. Was she on shift or going to shift or finishing a shift? Why didn't she have backup? I know they ended up coming in near the end of the episode, but why was she alone when confronting the robbers? 

Clearly I either need to just accept the show for what it is, or I might have to rewatch the pilot; clearly, I missed a lot.  

She seems to be a field supervisor with the LAPD Topanga Division of the Valley Bureau, going by the Winnetka location of the home break in. It did seem odd to make her a Sergeant. I guess you get her to be a boss, but then she is alone. Better a senior lead officer, 2 stripes in LAPD like Malloy of Adam-12 after the late 60's early 70's LAPD reorganization. There she would be in charge and have a partner to play off against. Ideally the other cars from all over the Bureau would have converged on that neighborhood and as soon as things popp'ed off the helicopter (the LAPD has one 24/7 over the valley and another over the city basin) which she called to keep out of ear shot would have moved right in

22 minutes ago, Whimsy said:

That’s actually not true. Pumper trucks hold up to 1,000 gallons. So, maybe they got one thing right? I don’t know enough about the types of trucks to know by looking at it if it was the right kind. 

He used a ladder truck, or whatever the LAFD terminology for the booty call and an pumper engine for the hostage rescue.

Edited January 6, 2018 by Raja

[Whimsy]

2 minutes ago, Raja said:

 

He used a ladder truck, or whatever the LAFD terminology for the booty call and an pumper engine for the hostage rescue.

I probably would’ve been able to tell the difference but I had mostly checked out by the end of the episode. Lol