S01.E03: Next of Kin

[Drogo]

Bobby and his team respond to an emergency at a children's birthday party that leaves lives hanging in the balance. The crew jumps into action after one of their own is involved in a devastating accident. Athena tries to cope with a tragedy that hits way too close to home and Abby is confronted with a life-changing decision for her mother and makes a connection with Buck

[Lady Calypso]

Well, that was marginally better than the first two episodes for me, but still not great. The show still feels like it's moving at lightning speed for me, in terms of getting to know the characters. 

I feel like we've known nothing about EMT Howie (I had to even look up his name because I'm sick of just calling him by the actor's name), we just met this supposed non-fiancee, and we're supposed to care for their relationship, I guess? Oh, and he gets injured in a near fatal crash because of him speeding, and then Nash has to try to convince said non fiancee/now ex of Howie to come to the hospital and she refuses? Ok? 

Also, does Nash actually have a wife and kids? I'm not sure if we're supposed to believe that or not.

We get about ten minutes total of Athena and her family stuff before she disappears until the end of the episode, where she's now going to stalk a teenage girl for bullying her daughter. Ok, I'd love to see what she's going to possibly do to a group of teenagers that won't get her ass in trouble. 

Abby also gets to pop into the episode for ten minutes as well, coupled with the probably obligatory Abby/Buck romance scene where Buck heroically stops doing his job in favour of talking to some chick he wants to bang and probably thinks is in her late twenties to early thirties instead of 42. 

That being said, I actually did like some parts of the episode. I did like that they didn't go the cliche route of Howie's girlfriend going to the hospital; even if I did find it cruel, it was nice that it wasn't just wrapped up in a nice little bow. Also, I was fully expecting Howie to be recovered by the end of the episode, so it was nice to see him still coming out of his coma and his fate still being less than certain. Athena and her husband had a nice conversation at the beginning. And yes, her daughter was momentarily stupid. I think we just needed more than two episodes to get to know the characters before throwing in an attempted suicide and a near fatal car crash and all of this stuff. Slow your roll, show! It's hard to care for all of these Life!Changing!Events! when I barely know the characters in the first place. 

At the very least, Howie's car crash and brain injury could have waited until, like, episode 10 or something. 

I mean, the show's renewed now so there'll be more chances to improve, I guess. Maybe I should just stop thinking about it and start accepting it for what it is.

[elle]

37 minutes ago, Lady Calypso said:

Well, that was marginally better than the first two episodes for me, but still not great. The show still feels like it's moving at lightning speed for me, in terms of getting to know the characters.

I popped in here to see what I missed during the missing dance shoes crisis that hit here.  Thanks for the point by point summary as you laid out what you did and did not like about the show!

41 minutes ago, Lady Calypso said:

Also, does Nash actually have a wife and kids? I'm not sure if we're supposed to believe that or not.

What was going on there?

Next week's preview: Man, if I was not already a nervous flyer!

[bilgistic]

This show is bonkers and I am here for it.

However...

Buck can go away annnnnny time now. He seriously stopped during an active rescue situation to chit-chat on the phone?!? People were still being pulled by his co-workers from the trailer while he was on the phone!

The bouncy house scene was crackers. I'm suspending disbelief that it would go sailing over the mountainside while weighed down with four people, or roughly 350ish pounds. At least the show acknowledged that more than one person would have to rescue the inhabitants of the bouncy house and showed the safety equipment being used. You know, instead of Buck shimmying out on the tree limb the house was hanging from and asking each kid to take hold of him so he could then climb back to cliffside with them on his back or some shit.

I wish the previews hadn't spoiled the rebar-through-the-head situation with Chimney(?). I don't understand why the truck hit him unless it was deliberate. Can someone explain that?

Special shout-out to Matt, Abby's brother. He was Matt on Melrose Place. I'm pretending that he survived MP and lives a quiet life some 20 years later.

[llewis823]

I thought they were saying "Jimmy" but I googled his character's name and it is Howie Chimney Han. So I guess they were calling him "Chimney". Guess we'll learn later on how he got that name. But I thought he looked familiar. When I did that above mentioned google, it said he played Judge Lance Ito in American Crime Story's "The People vs. OJ Simpson". 

First of all, I did think this episode was an improvement from the first two. I also agree with posters above in that they needed to show us more character development first. Abby's home life is really the only one we've been made privvy to. 

Also agreed - Buck wouldn't have really taken the call from Abby during an active call, would he? He may be a bit green, but not sure even he would not just call her back as soon as he could after he was done with that call.

And Athena stalking the teenagers...as someone said above - what could she possibly do to them that wouldn't get her in serious trouble?

But all this being said, I'm seeing improvement and will continue to watch.

[Lady Calypso]

1 hour ago, llewis823 said:

Also agreed - Buck wouldn't have really taken the call from Abby during an active call, would he? He may be a bit green, but not sure even he would not just call her back as soon as he could after he was done with that call.

Well, he did it twice last episode, so there's no surprise that he did again here. Granted, the second time last episode was not during an active call, but the first time was (or he was training). 

[break21]

I feel like I want to give Connie Britton a hug,

[seewillrun]

This episode felt very disjointed to me.  Scenes seemed to have no direction or cohesiveness. 

I am not a fan of the Abby/Buck thing, but if Buck takes a few minutes to think...he may realize that Abby is significantly older since she has a parent with Alzheimers.  Not that it can't hit early, but odds are that she is older.  It makes the difference in their situations front and center - he's worried about how to have sex with as many women as possible without getting fired and she's debating home care or a nursing home for her mom. 

I guess we are just getting bits and pieces of the Athena marriage, but last week Athena finds out her husband has met someone and now that someone is coming to the hospital while their kid is having her stomach pumped.  I do not think I would have responded by getting myself a cup of coffee.

[rwgrab]

11 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

I feel like we've known nothing about EMT Howie (I had to even look up his name because I'm sick of just calling him by the actor's name), we just met this supposed non-fiancee, and we're supposed to care for their relationship, I guess? Oh, and he gets injured in a near fatal crash because of him speeding, and then Nash has to try to convince said non fiancee/now ex of Howie to come to the hospital and she refuses? Ok? 

Yeah, that whole storyline with the non-fiancee was so strange to me.  Wasn't Howie talking with Buck in the first episode about how many "chicks" he scores with because of his uniform?  And now it turns out he has a serious girlfriend; one he's close enough to propose marriage to but who doesn't know that he can't cook?  Maybe she's just really unobservant, but that seems like kind of a stretch!

 

11 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

Also, does Nash actually have a wife and kids? I'm not sure if we're supposed to believe that or not.

Right?  So his family that's supposedly so precious to him hasn't come up at all until now?  

Haha, this show definitely has some work to do to figure itself out, but I am enjoying the Krause/Bassett/Britton performances so far. 

[Empress1]

12 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

Well, that was marginally better than the first two episodes for me, but still not great. The show still feels like it's moving at lightning speed for me, in terms of getting to know the characters. 

I feel like we've known nothing about EMT Howie (I had to even look up his name because I'm sick of just calling him by the actor's name), we just met this supposed non-fiancee, and we're supposed to care for their relationship, I guess? Oh, and he gets injured in a near fatal crash because of him speeding, and then Nash has to try to convince said non fiancee/now ex of Howie to come to the hospital and she refuses? Ok? 

Also, does Nash actually have a wife and kids? I'm not sure if we're supposed to believe that or not.

We get about ten minutes total of Athena and her family stuff before she disappears until the end of the episode, where she's now going to stalk a teenage girl for bullying her daughter. Ok, I'd love to see what she's going to possibly do to a group of teenagers that won't get her ass in trouble. 

Abby also gets to pop into the episode for ten minutes as well, coupled with the probably obligatory Abby/Buck romance scene where Buck heroically stops doing his job in favour of talking to some chick he wants to bang and probably thinks is in her late twenties to early thirties instead of 42. 

That being said, I actually did like some parts of the episode. I did like that they didn't go the cliche route of Howie's girlfriend going to the hospital; even if I did find it cruel, it was nice that it wasn't just wrapped up in a nice little bow. Also, I was fully expecting Howie to be recovered by the end of the episode, so it was nice to see him still coming out of his coma and his fate still being less than certain. Athena and her husband had a nice conversation at the beginning. And yes, her daughter was momentarily stupid. I think we just needed more than two episodes to get to know the characters before throwing in an attempted suicide and a near fatal car crash and all of this stuff. Slow your roll, show! It's hard to care for all of these Life!Changing!Events! when I barely know the characters in the first place. 

At the very least, Howie's car crash and brain injury could have waited until, like, episode 10 or something. 

I mean, the show's renewed now so there'll be more chances to improve, I guess. Maybe I should just stop thinking about it and start accepting it for what it is.

Me either. I was like "Are they real? Alive? Robots? Did she take the kids and leave, and they don't know that?"

Totally agree that there is too much going on - the suicide attempt AND the pole through the head (HOLY SHIT) AND the mean not-fiancee are too much at once. The show has a problem with pacing. The performances, especially the ones of the three strongest actors (Angela Bassett, Connie Britton, and Peter Krause) are good, but the pacing is a mess.

Hello, Matt from Melrose Place! (He played Connie Britton's brother, which is good casting - they could be siblings.)

[vibeology]

1 hour ago, seewillrun said:

I am not a fan of the Abby/Buck thing, but if Buck takes a few minutes to think...he may realize that Abby is significantly older since she has a parent with Alzheimers.  Not that it can't hit early, but odds are that she is older.  It makes the difference in their situations front and center - he's worried about how to have sex with as many women as possible without getting fired and she's debating home care or a nursing home for her mom. 

He already knows, though. That's why he asked her how old she was in one of their conversations last week. She didn't give him an answer, but he picked up on enough clues to know that the answer is older.

[Xantar]

4 minutes ago, vibeology said:

He already knows, though. That's why he asked her how old she was in one of their conversations last week. She didn't give him an answer, but he picked up on enough clues to know that the answer is older.

That's assuming that he's observant and savvy enough to pick up on clues. I don't think that's a safe assumption based on the evidence we've seen so far.

I'm just here for the bonkers rescue scenes. Apparently some of them are based on real calls. Really, this show is just straight up rescue porn. The only family drama I care about is Athena, and that's because Angela Bassett is just so good. I genuinely think she could turn the dictionary into a gripping spoken-word performance.

[Racj82]

13 minutes ago, Xantar said:

That's assuming that he's observant and savvy enough to pick up on clues. I don't think that's a safe assumption based on the evidence we've seen so far.

I'm just here for the bonkers rescue scenes. Apparently some of them are based on real calls. Really, this show is just straight up rescue porn. The only family drama I care about is Athena, and that's because Angela Bassett is just so good. I genuinely think she could turn the dictionary into a gripping spoken-word performance.

He literally already put it together when she kept calling instead of texting and she didn't deny being older. He just doesn't know how much older.

[bilgistic]

14 minutes ago, Xantar said:

I'm just here for the bonkers rescue scenes. Apparently some of them are based on real calls. Really, this show is just straight up rescue porn. The only family drama I care about is Athena, and that's because Angela Bassett is just so good. I genuinely think she could turn the dictionary into a gripping spoken-word performance.

This is exactly how I feel.

[mojoween]

When Angela Bassett says “we’re going home.  Together,” you know what you do?  You get your ass home with her.  She’s just amazing but I also worry about her new vendetta.

I feel for Abby but it’s better to get your mother into full time care before something serious happens.  It’s a shit decision to have to make and either answer will feel like the wrong one.

I can’t imagine, no matter how tightly they strapped him, a ride on a flat bed was going to be good for Chimney’s head.

When they rescued the kids from the bouncy house I feel like the two who weren’t passed out should have been given neck collars before getting taken out, just to be safe.

[atiyah9369]

4 hours ago, break21 said:

I feel like I want to give Connie Britton a hug,

And push her glasses up on her nose LOL.

[llewis823]

4 hours ago, seewillrun said:

I guess we are just getting bits and pieces of the Athena marriage, but last week Athena finds out her husband has met someone and now that someone is coming to the hospital while their kid is having her stomach pumped.  I do not think I would have responded by getting myself a cup of coffee.

I wouldn't either. To me, that implies her husband had "met" someone quite some time ago to have developed that close of a relationship already. Then again, some people jump right in with both feet. Retroactively, when Athena told him last week that she could live in a sexless but loving marriage, his reaction really ticked me off. He claims to love her and people who really love each other can live in a sexless but loving relationship for health reasons, why not for this reason if he really loved her?

[AgentRXS]

On 1/18/2018 at 9:53 AM, seewillrun said:

I guess we are just getting bits and pieces of the Athena marriage, but last week Athena finds out her husband has met someone and now that someone is coming to the hospital while their kid is having her stomach pumped.  I do not think I would have responded by getting myself a cup of coffee.

I couldn't believe that scene. Both the husband and his boyfriend "ain't shit" for doing that. Why would either one of them think its OK for the boyfriend  to actually enter the hospital? The boyfriend needed to drop his ass off and and send a follow up text later. If he was the one who insisted on being there, the husband should have had enough sense to know now isn't the time. Especially since they both thought it was because their daughter was struggling with accepting her dad's lifestyle.

And why the hell are they writing  it as  if that POS is the best Athena can get? No way would a woman looking like Angela Bassett struggle with finding a man. It's one of the many unrealistic things written into this program.

I also hate the way Howies gf was written. Why didn't she just tell him she wasn't in love with him during the proposal and end it then? They still could have written in the car accident--he still would have been distracted and upset over the breakup. Why unnecessarily make her look like a total bitch?

I just can't with Abby and the Rookie. If they are phone buddies, then why the hell haven't they informed each other of their work schedules? I can't imagine a real life fire-fighter taking a personal call on-scene.

Edited January 19, 2018 by AgentRXS

[mojoween]

At the dinner with Tatiana when Chimney was throwing out food and regaling her with stories of his imaginary rappel I was thinking “wow this guy is a real douche”.  Then he proposed and was he just going to lie for the rest of his life?

I’m not sure if the show was trying to make him sympathetic, but it backfired on this viewer.  

[mojoween]

I’m rewatching with my hubs and it sounds like we’re supposed to think that the “9-1-1 what’s your emergency” is Connie every time, but when she called Buck at the last scene she was clearly still at the birthday party because she was still wearing that unflattering dress.

Also there is no way Aisha Hinds’s character could have gotten to the truck driver to tackle him.

[thuganomics85]

I'm starting to think the writers spend the majority of their time thinking of what insane crisis they can put for the opening rescue acts.  Bouncy castle on the loose? To be fair, I guess it's possible that could actually happen, but the whole thing was taken to the extreme as expected.

I'm all for fleshing out the side characters, but all of Howie's stuff felt like it belonged in a much later episode.  The third episode is way to early to have relationship drama when we barely even know anything about him and his girlfriend, and then put his life on the line, which I assume will take him out of commission for a while. Is Kenneth Choi doing something else as well?  Either way, no one really came out looking good here.  Tatiana should have just flat-out ended it for good once she realized she didn't love him back, but from what we've seen of Howie, he exaggerates what he really does at work and can't even be honest with her about his cooking skills.  Not the basis of a healthy relationship there.  Also, I found it amusing that he was whining about not getting to do the big stuff, but so far, we've seen him freakout and bail each past episode over the snake and dogs.  If animals are freaking him out, I'm not sure I'd trust him to do anything too dangerous.  Really not seeing how Bobby is in the wrong about that.

Abby's stuff was pretty by the numbers.  Cool seeing Doug Savant as her brother at least.

So, Athena's daughter didn't overdose due to her parents issues, but because she has been getting bullied all this time.  And now Athena plans on stalking the bullies.  Oh boy.  That's not going to end well.  Also, her husband is a dick for letting his boyfriend come to the hospital.  Dude, that is so not cool.

[NJRadioGuy]

On 1/18/2018 at 1:10 AM, bilgistic said:

The bouncy house scene was crackers. I'm suspending disbelief that it would go sailing over the mountainside while weighed down with four people, or roughly 350ish pounds. At least the show acknowledged that more than one person would have to rescue the inhabitants of the bouncy house and showed the safety equipment being used.

That one was based on a real-life rescue, albeit amped up for Fox! TV! Drama! In strong winds, a bouncy castle with a large surface area could easily become a sail, so I don't chalk that one up to too much dramatic license. The rescue was actually nicely done. Roy and Johnny approve, I'm sure, although I'm still not entirely sure what the rescuers tied off onto. Stakes in the ground? Might have made more sense to tie off onto the truck.

Quote

I wish the previews hadn't spoiled the rebar-through-the-head situation with Chimney(?). I don't understand why the truck hit him unless it was deliberate. Can someone explain that?

Trucks carrying steel and the like have a shit-ton of momentum and don't stop easily. And when they do stop suddenly, the load will shift. Rods will fly forward. There's been many an impalement of sleepy truck drivers who drive off the road carrying steel rods. The truck stops, the driver stops, the rods don't.

Personal recollection follows.

100% true story here, of a somewhat-similar accident. Toronto, back in the mid-80s. I was an overnight police-beat reporter for a newspaper named after a celestial body. Scanners in my car, cameras in the trunk, press pass, the works. I'm sitting downtown and a call tones out for a PI accident (personal injury), man impaled through the head, on the 401 way out east. Easily a half-hour drive. I start out slowly, figuring it will take them a while to remove the body, get the coroner out to pronounce, etc. A minute later, the BLS crew calls and says the patient is alive and talking, and to rush everything they have to the scene. My foot finds the accelerator, which finds the firewall in short order, wherein I discovered that the top speed of a 1981 Toyota Celica on the Don Valley Parkway is about 110 MPH.

If you are a person of delicate sensibilities, please stop reading here. If you're a twisted SOB with a truly warped sense of humour, read on, McDuff.

I get out to the scene before any other media and sure enough, Mr. Polehead is sitting in the driver's seat with a chunk of the top rail of a chain-link fence through his noggin, at about the same angle and position as it was portrayed on the show, only in his case, it entered through the front and was protruding about 5 feet behind him. He'd fallen asleep behind the wheel, veered off onto the shoulder, and kaplowie. OPP were managing traffic and I grabbed my pics of Mr. Polehead before being shooed off. Then it got "interesting."

The discussion began between Scarborough Fire and EMS on how to get him out and how to safely transport. You can imagine how tense this was for all concerned. They decided to cut the pole off with a sawzall a few feet in front and behind his head, and get him to a level-one trauma center to do the pole-ectomy. But how to transport safely was the question. Big, big FD veteran, about 400 pounds of solid muscle with no neck, who I'm sure bench-presses linebackers in his spare time, comes up in full kit. His deadpanned suggestion: cut the pole to a specific length, and hang it up in the back of the Rescue Squad box truck, like a hangar bar in a closet, and just let him dangle all the way to Sunnybrook (making the appropriate visual raggedy-dance moves). "It'll just loosen up for the docs, aye?" Everybody, and I mean everybody in earshot breaks out laughing like mad. He clapped the EMS supervisor on the back so hard he had trouble catching his breath, and he goes back to his men to keep working on the vic.

Well, they get the guy on a stretcher, get him to the ER in the ambulance, the pole-ectomy goes smoothly, and he walks out of hospital a week or two later with only a slight speech impairment and a funny walk. Miracle, really. I got my pics, but they only ran a general scene picture in the paper. I did manage to sell the image of the guy still in the car, fully impaled, to a U.S. Tabloid and made a shit-ton of money off it. Still got a tearsheet of it in my files somewhere, too, but sadly the negatives are long gone.

[NJRadioGuy]

41 minutes ago, thuganomics85 said:

Bouncy castle on the loose? To be fair, I guess it's possible that could actually happen, but the whole thing was taken to the extreme as expected.

Dramatic video from 2015

Happened again two years later, with 5 kids in April 2017. https://www.today.com/video/5-children-hurt-after-bounce-houses-are-blown-away-by-strong-wind-917302851973

[bilgistic]

2 hours ago, mojoween said:

I’m rewatching with my hubs and it sounds like we’re supposed to think that the “9-1-1 what’s your emergency” is Connie every time, but when she called Buck at the last scene she was clearly still at the birthday party because she was still wearing that unflattering dress.

Also there is no way Aisha Hinds’s character could have gotten to the truck driver to tackle him.

This is a really dumb thing that bothers me...anytime I've ever called 911 (prowler on my back porch, hearing gunshots, reckless drivers), the dispatcher answers "911, do you need police, fire or medic?" Is that a regional thing?

[NJRadioGuy]

52 minutes ago, bilgistic said:

This is a really dumb thing that bothers me...anytime I've ever called 911 (prowler on my back porch, hearing gunshots, reckless drivers), the dispatcher answers "911, do you need police, fire or medic?" Is that a regional thing?

Yup. Every department or county, etc, has its own protocols. Our local call centers ask "where's the emergency" on initial contact. They prefer to route the calls themselves based on your response. I like that way better, frankly, since when things have truly gone to shit, and it's the single worst moment of someone's life, they mightn't be thinking rationally. But if they're at home, most people will have their address memorized, or failing that, they'll just scream "someone shot my son. Hurry," or "my husband's having a heart attack," etc, and the call taker will know to respond PD and EMS for the first, or ALS (paramedics) and BLS (ambulance transport), plus PD for the arrest (and probably FD thrown in since they're usually second closest, after PD) to the automated location identification that's part of every phone line.

[Chaos Theory]

On 1/18/2018 at 2:03 PM, llewis823 said:

I wouldn't either. To me, that implies her husband had "met" someone quite some time ago to have developed that close of a relationship already. Then again, some people jump right in with both feet. Retroactively, when Athena told him last week that she could live in a sexless but loving marriage, his reaction really ticked me off. He claims to love her and people who really love each other can live in a sexless but loving relationship for health reasons, why not for this reason if he really loved her?

Grace & Frankie over on Netflix are telling a similar story but with more subtlety.     As much as I love Ryan Murphy he is not a subtle guy.  I don’t think he has the tact to write a story like this.    

I am not surehow I feel about an Abby and Buck relationship.  I have seen countless older guy/younger woman relationships so seeing the reverse would be nice but I am not sure if this one works on any real level.  

[Ohwell]

On 1/18/2018 at 2:03 PM, llewis823 said:

Retroactively, when Athena told him last week that she could live in a sexless but loving marriage, his reaction really ticked me off. He claims to love her and people who really love each other can live in a sexless but loving relationship for health reasons, why not for this reason if he really loved her?

I think it's pretty unlikely that two relatively young, healthy people would agree to live the rest of their lives in a sexless marriage, so I didn't have a problem with his concerns.

[Laina]

I just started watching this show last week, and am enjoying it so far. Athena and Abby are my favorite characters so far.

As for the guy who had the pole or whatever through his head, I don't feel sorry that his girlfriend or bed buddy broke up with him. We've seen three episodes and he's already proposing. Don't care for that at all.

I don't have much of an opinion on the others yet. I need to see more of them before I form an opinion.

[MissGradenko]

A lot of things in the show remind me of something you might see on 1,000 Ways to Die or something. I’m not sure if I like the show yet. I don’t feel like I’m learning much about the characters. The show is moving very fast. It’s only been three episodes and already we have a central character clinging to life.

It’s interesting, that’s for sure. I’m definitely going to give it a chance. Maybe the pace will slow down, I’m not sure. I feel like it’s too early.

[Laina]

I like the show so far, but like you've said @MissGradenko, I want to learn a lot more about these characters. I want to become invested in them. Though for me, Athena and her family are already tugging at my heartstrings with all of their issues.

Edited January 21, 2018 by Laina

[MissGradenko]

Oh, @Laina, I felt so heartbroken for Athena. I couldn’t imagine being a mom who found her child like that, and dealing with the issues she’s going through with her husband. When he came to the hospital with his date, I felt for her. Wow. To probably see a person he was with made it more real for her.

I’d really like to see the pace slow down a little bit and learn more about each character. It’s only been three episodes so there’s definitely time and I’m hoping this is just the reeling people in phase. The first episode gave us a synopsis, but I can’t wait to learn more.

[Laina]

I wanna see more of Athena and her family, and I want to see more of Abby, and her family/her scenes with the home assistant lady. I like Abby and the other woman's friendship.

I could see a nice friendship with Abby/Athena/home assistant lady.

Oh wow, it's already been renewed for season 2. Was renewed on the 16th.

[In a dream]

I kind of like the pace.  It's certainly different than most shows and I don't find my focus wondering while I'm watching.  I also don't mind not knowing all the backstories on each character.  It keeps it interesting and I'm sure, in time, we'll know more than enough about each of them.  Not a fan of the Buck/Abby story line; he is a young cocky guy and the pairing of the two doesn't seem to fit.  I do love Athena and how her character has kept her cool, whereas I would have lost it a couple of times already.  The 'boyfriend' at the hospital would have certainly gotten a not so nice response from me.  I also like the Aisha Hind's character.  She reminds me of an old coworker I had that was the best damn cancer nurse I'd ever seen.  I hope to never see the non-fiance again, I wouldn't have kept my mouth shut with her either.

[Clanstarling]

On 1/17/2018 at 10:10 PM, bilgistic said:

I wish the previews hadn't spoiled the rebar-through-the-head situation with Chimney(?). I don't understand why the truck hit him unless it was deliberate. Can someone explain that?

I guess I missed the previews, but as soon as I saw the rebar in the truck, I knew someone was getting impaled. It is one of my top driving phobias - I  hate being behind (and now, I guess, in front of) anything that carries poles of any size - from rebar to logs.

As for the truck hitting him, having had a similar accident once, I think it was likely that he was following the tail lights as he was driving, probably was far too close - given that they were both speeding and it was a crowded freeway, and didn't realize they weren't in the lane and didn't have time to stop. Physics will jam you up no matter how good of a driver you think you are.

Edited January 21, 2018 by Clanstarling

[iMonrey]

Quote

I'm just here for the bonkers rescue scenes. Apparently some of them are based on real calls. Really, this show is just straight up rescue porn.

Agreed. The rebar through the head was just gruesome. But beware - if they run out of money at some point, they'll have to start relying on character stories and that's the show's obvious weak spot. I watch Chicago Fire and 911 is reminding me of the great rescue scenes they used to do back when they had better ratings and a bigger budget.

[athelyna]

20 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

Agreed. The rebar through the head was just gruesome. But beware - if they run out of money at some point, they'll have to start relying on character stories and that's the show's obvious weak spot. I watch Chicago Fire and 911 is reminding me of the great rescue scenes they used to do back when they had better ratings and a bigger budget.

This show is definitely reminding me of the start to Chicago Fire with the good rescue scenes and lots of really rushed plots for the characters.

I don't like the idea of a Buck/Abby romance, but I don't know that I hate the idea of them being phone buddies who have a platonic relationship based around similar work stresses.  

I wish they would do more with Abby working her job - I feel bad about her home life but I'm not interested in a show about what to do with mom drama.  I am wondering how many more episodes til she's at work and gets a call and realizes it's coming from her home.

Is Chimney's actor listed as a regular?  I can't imagine him coming back to work anytime soon, and even if he doesn't have major brain damage I can't imagine the fire department letting him back to work without a lot of retesting and proving he isn't brain damaged.

[Clanstarling]

38 minutes ago, athelyna said:

I wish they would do more with Abby working her job - I feel bad about her home life but I'm not interested in a show about what to do with mom drama.  I am wondering how many more episodes til she's at work and gets a call and realizes it's coming from her home.

Having gone through her experience, I don't have a lot of desire to see it on the screen. Then again, it's a little hard to dramatize dispatchers jobs visually, despite the fact they're very dramatic and hugely stressful.

[jhlipton]

On 1/18/2018 at 6:45 AM, break21 said:

I feel like I want to give Connie Britton a hug,

On 1/18/2018 at 8:34 AM, mojoween said:

I feel for Abby but it’s better to get your mother into full time care before something serious happens.  It’s a shit decision to have to make and either answer will feel like the wrong one.

I want to slap some sense into Abby.  My mom has dementia (but thankfully not Alzheimer's) and we kept her in her home as long as we could.  But now she's in a great Senior Center and thriving. Sometimes taking care means letting go.  I kind of wished that Carla the IHSS lady had said something like that.

8 hours ago, In a dream said:

I also like the Aisha Hind's character.  She reminds me of an old coworker I had that was the best damn cancer nurse I'd ever seen.

Aisha Hinds plays "Hen", the female firefighter.  Cocoa Brown plays Carla the IHSS lady.  Both are awesome.

On 1/19/2018 at 2:59 PM, thuganomics85 said:

Tatiana should have just flat-out ended it for good once she realized she didn't love him back, but from what we've seen of Howie, he exaggerates what he really does at work and can't even be honest with her about his cooking skills.

Heree's what may have happened: She's enjoying a Friends With Benefits relationship she thinks is a Big Damn Hero until he proposes.  She doesn't say no; she's just not ready.  After he leaves, she's cleaning up and finds the dinner  he said he made in the trash, and wonders what else he lied about.  I think this is when she realized she cared for the fantasy version of Chim, not the real guy.  Then his boss comes over and tells her "I'm not judging you", completely ignoring what she just said and completely judging her.  At that point, she probably justs wants to be as far away as possible from this whole crew.

[mojoween]

4 hours ago, athelyna said:

Is Chimney's actor listed as a regular? 

Kenneth Choi is in the opening credits so I guess he would be considered a regular?

[jhlipton]

2 minutes ago, mojoween said:

Kenneth Choi is in the opening credits so I guess he would be considered a regular?

IMDb has him in 13 episodes, which would make him a regular. 

[Ailianna]

On 1/18/2018 at 9:54 AM, rwgrab said:

Yeah, that whole storyline with the non-fiancee was so strange to me.  Wasn't Howie talking with Buck in the first episode about how many "chicks" he scores with because of his uniform?  And now it turns out he has a serious girlfriend; one he's close enough to propose marriage to but who doesn't know that he can't cook?  Maybe she's just really unobservant, but that seems like kind of a stretch!

He didn't say "chicks"--he used her name and said Tatianna was the one he tells enhanced rescue stories to since they turn her on.  It was a relationship, of sorts, from the beginning.

15 hours ago, MissGradenko said:

A lot of things in the show remind me of something you might see on 1,000 Ways to Die or something. I’m not sure if I like the show yet. I don’t feel like I’m learning much about the characters. The show is moving very fast. It’s only been three episodes and already we have a central character clinging to life.

It’s interesting, that’s for sure. I’m definitely going to give it a chance. Maybe the pace will slow down, I’m not sure. I feel like it’s too early.

ER had a central character try to commit suicide and clinging to life in the first episode.  So it's not like this is without precedent. 

[MissGradenko]

1 hour ago, Ailianna said:

He didn't say "chicks"--he used her name and said Tatianna was the one he tells enhanced rescue stories to since they turn her on.  It was a relationship, of sorts, from the beginning.

ER had a central character try to commit suicide and clinging to life in the first episode.  So it's not like this is without precedent. 

I never said it was, and I’m not comparing it to other shows. I’m just saying I’m curious where they’re going with it this early.

[juliet73]

Chimney 's "girlfriend":    This is the first time she is mentioned or shown and the two of them act like they just met.  However, Chimney is purposing? 

I have a feeling Nash's wife left him and took the kids because he was an addict (alcoholic? I can't remember) and that's why he never talks about his family.

I'm over Abby taking care of her mom and I'm definitely over her having a crush on Buck.  I can't believe she calls him during a shift and asks if he's busy.  And he's all, "Nah, I'm on a call where I'm giving people CPR, but they can wait.  I can talk." So stupid!  At least he wasn't getting laid this episode.

Nice to see Matt from Melrose Place.  He and Abby did look like siblings.

I didn't care for Athena's husband's (I don't remember his name.  He'll always be C-note from Prison Break to me) date showing up at the hospital.  The boyfriend should have just dropped him off, but no ... he comes in.  C-note should have told him to go home and he'll call him later.  

Aisha Hinds is very underused.  

1 hour ago, Ailianna said:

ER had a central character try to commit suicide and clinging to life in the first episode.  So it's not like this is without precedent. 

Nurse Hathaway?  Originally she wasn't a central character.  If I remember correctly, she was only supposed to be in the first episode.  

[MissGradenko]

@Juliet73 That actually crossed my mind during the call. I would think someone who is a dispatcher would understand when people/fire/medics are on a call, they’re busy. That part was kind of dumb. I’m wondering what will happen when/if they meet. She never did tell him her age when he asked (unless I missed her saying it later on), and I wonder what Buck will think.

[jhlipton]

Seems to me that Buck is the kind of guy that if a person has a pulse and the right "equipment", he's down for it.  So he'll probably think of Abby as just one more notch.

[iMonrey]

I spent the entire episode thinking that guy's name was Jimmy. Chimney? Who the heck is called that? Does he smoke a lot or something? Seems like the writers got a little too clever/cute with the character names.

Edited January 22, 2018 by iMonrey

[Zoe]

21 hours ago, juliet73 said:

Chimney 's "girlfriend":    This is the first time she is mentioned or shown and the two of them act like they just met.  However, Chimney is purposing? 

I'm pretty sure she's the same girl as in the first episode.

[jhlipton]

4 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I spent the entire episode thinking that guy's name was Jimmy. Chimney? Who the heck is called that? Does he smoke a lot or something? Seems like the writers got a little too clever/cute with the character names.

It might be an approximation of his Korean name...

[bilgistic]

I figured firefighter...fireplace...chimney...?

Edited January 23, 2018 by bilgistic

[Calamity Jane]

On 1/19/2018 at 6:09 PM, NJRadioGuy said:

Yup. Every department or county, etc, has its own protocols. Our local call centers ask "where's the emergency" on initial contact. They prefer to route the calls themselves based on your response. I like that way better, frankly, since when things have truly gone to shit, and it's the single worst moment of someone's life, they mightn't be thinking rationally. But if they're at home, most people will have their address memorized, or failing that, they'll just scream "someone shot my son. Hurry," or "my husband's having a heart attack," etc, and the call taker will know to respond PD and EMS for the first, or ALS (paramedics) and BLS (ambulance transport), plus PD for the arrest (and probably FD thrown in since they're usually second closest, after PD) to the automated location identification that's part of every phone line.

I can vouchsafe that a serious emergency can seriously impair one's ability to think rationally.  Many years ago (1993), my husband had a seizure and stopped breathing. Speaking to the 911 operator was a nightmare - I could barely recall our last name, and our address had completely escaped me.  My 9-year-old daughter had to write it for me so I could relay it to 911.  I was better but still struggling when the paramedics arrived, but my thinking brain switched back on shortly afterwards.  It was a big lesson in what can happen when you are faced with a dire situation. Having the address of a landline come up automatically now is a great improvement, also GPS on rescue vehicles because our street is hard to find.