S01.E02: Crash Course

[WendyCR72]

Talia forces Nolan to confront his personal moral instincts in order to be a good cop after he encounters a kidnapping victim. Meanwhile, Lucy is temporarily placed with a new training officer who tests her patience, and Jackson must confront his failures head-on if he wants to be an officer.

[Skycatcher]

Guess I'm not cut out for another NF relationship run. Dropped out during the cutsey bedroom scene.  I'll be intrested in what y'all have to say.

[shapeshifter]

Maybe I'm too old for this show.
When Nolan started punching the kidnapper and they cut away to his girlfriend's horrified face, I said aloud, "That's it. He's done," meaning off the force, as well as dumped by girlfriend (even though he is the lead of a show titled The Rookie).
But no. He got praised all around, including, for the first time by the kind-of-justifiably ageist boss.
Come to think of it, though, that fits with the actions of the plethora of cops on trial here in Chicago.

Edited October 24, 2018 by shapeshifter

[ketose]

It seems like this show is trying to walk the line of "this is how cops are supposed to act" and "real cops are boring, time for ACTION and DRAMA instead." The destruction of property stuff reminds me of episodes of ChiPs where Ponch would either break his motor or have it stolen 2-3 times. The "slug" officer obviously proved himself early on and decided not to be an adrenaline junkie, like real cops without emotional problems.

They need to drop this facade of being realistic about officer training. The rookies take too many chances and that one guy is apparently going to keep cowering in the corner peeing his pants when he gets shot at.

At least the bride didn't end up winning with Nolan's lottery ticket.

[njbchlover]

7 minutes ago, ketose said:

It seems like this show is trying to walk the line of "this is how cops are supposed to act" and "real cops are boring, time for ACTION and DRAMA instead." The destruction of property stuff reminds me of episodes of ChiPs where Ponch would either break his motor or have it stolen 2-3 times. The "slug" officer obviously proved himself early on and decided not to be an adrenaline junkie, like real cops without emotional problems.

They need to drop this facade of being realistic about officer training. The rookies take too many chances and that one guy is apparently going to keep cowering in the corner peeing his pants when he gets shot at.

At least the bride didn't end up winning with Nolan's lottery ticket.

I thought that was pretty interesting, given the 1.6 billion dollar Mega-million lottery that went off after the show!  Imagine if he gave the bride a ticket for that, and she won!  

I'm enjoying this show!!  I love Nathan Fillion, and the other co-stars are very good - the only part I don't like is the romance - she's too young for him, and they don't seem to go together, except for sex.  The writers do seem to be packing a lot into each episode, but I guess it's necessary to give all three rookies their own story lines each week.  I feel like the show is a nice mix of funny and serious police work, and I really like weekly shows that have single episdoes~~ you don't feel out of the loop if you miss an episode and didn't catch up on On Demand.

Did anyone else get a "romantic" vibe between NF and the chief of police?  I just kind of felt the writers may be throwing something else out there.  

[shapeshifter]

1 minute ago, njbchlover said:

Did anyone else get a "romantic" vibe between NF and the chief of police?  I just kind of felt the writers may be throwing something else out there.  

Oy. I hope not. I didn't see it, but now that you mention it: Horrible shades of Beckett2.0

 

2 minutes ago, njbchlover said:

the only part I don't like is the romance - she's too young for him, and they don't seem to go together, except for sex. 

My daughters have all tried the dating-older-men thing, and it never worked out because of the lack of commonalities. Still, I've seen it work in other couples. I finally realized I just don't like it here because it will damage her career.

[voiceover]

I actually ended up liking the "I'm in it to write tickets" cop.  It's good to Know Yourself, and he certainly does.  And obviously, not everyone can be Teh Cowboy on the job -- how fucking tedious would that be?

I think Talia's my favorite character so far, but I'm glad that Nolan visited the girl's hospital room.  I can imagine her need to learn her abductor's fate -- and also be able to thank the one who saved her.

[BlakesMomma]

22 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Oy. I hope not. I didn't see it, but now that you mention it: Horrible shades of Beckett2.0

 

My daughters have all tried the dating-older-men thing, and it never worked out because of the lack of commonalities. Still, I've seen it work in other couples. I finally realized I just don't like it here because it will damage her career.

But isn't that life? You make choices that have consequences, good or bad. Or maybe it's a lesson in why it shouldn't damage her career any more than it would his, and only because it goes against regulations, not because of any age issue.  She's been warned, what she chooses is her choice. We're seeing her struggle with the decision. Lucy Chen strikes me as someone who would have a lot more in common with a more mature guy than a lot of 30 year old guys I know. I have daughters Chen's age.

I don't know, I guess maybe it's just me but I've seen many other couples on tv that look far more - mismatched or age inappropriate - than these two. A recent example that comes to mind is Take Two.

[BlakesMomma]

Also want to say that I really like that they chose Melissa O'Neil for the Lucy Chen character. That they didn't choose some typical model looking tall stick thin actress, instead choosing a more "real" looking woman with some curves to her. 

[AnimeMania]

24 minutes ago, BlakesMomma said:

Also want to say that I really like that they chose Melissa O'Neil for the Lucy Chen character. That they didn't choose some typical model looking tall stick thin actress, instead choosing a more "real" looking woman with some curves to her. 

A police uniform takes the sex appeal right out of any woman regardless of how sexy she is.

[solea]

Am I the only one that caught two “Buffy” references? The Sergeant says to Nolan “Once again with feeling”. It’s not “Once More, With Feeling” but close. And also the pursuit through a cemetery. 

I liked this better than the pilot. A little less self-conscious. I’m still not sure if I like the humor/drama balance. I still think it veers too much into goofy rather than funny. 

I think we’re going to find that the fabulous house belongs to Nolan because he won the lottery in PA. 

[TWP]

I'm still thinking the show is beautifully cast and the actors are way better than the material they're given.  For me, it's Rookie Blue with better jokes.  And too many cases, not enough depth.  Chase, handcuff, take criminal to the station, lather, rinse, repeat.  I will say the montage of booking the criminals was cute.  (No way was Nolan's paperwork worse than the others. Rolls eyes.).  I hope they slow things down a bit and dig deeper.  The small amount of investigation being done makes me long for a PI-type show. (sorry). I would love it if Nolan's snarky attitude weren't stifled, because nobody does snark more entertainingly than Fillion.  The buffoonery doesn't work at all, though.

I think they're deliberately making the Lucy/Nolan relationship chemistry-free.  It's not going to last. I'm so glad.

Yep, John Nolan is a rich guy -- somehow.  Or his rich friend is a criminal or something and that will become an arc.

For me this was better than the pilot. 

Edited October 24, 2018 by TWP

[andromeda331]

I liked this episode better then the pilot. I do wish they slow down a little. I also wish Nolan had gotten in trouble for beating the suspect. I'm fine with him not getting fired and I do like what Talia said to him about learning not to do that and it being the hardest part. I imagine it would be really hard to hold back when face to face with the worse of the worse. Someone who kidnapped and chained women. But he still should have gotten some kind of trouble. I like Lucy. I don't really like Nolan and Lucy relationship mostly the lack of chemistry. Also I thought she'd break things off after she saw him punching the suspect. She seemed disturbed but it didn't happen.

[preeya]

Nolan/Castle once again cast in a buffoonery role.  Good intentions but AFAIC it ain't working.

[madmaverick]

Still liking it.  Again, I went into this with no expectations and think it acquits itself quite well as an entertaining, watchable network show.  It's not going to win any awards but it's fine for what it is.  Don't mean to damn it with faint praise but rare are the TV shows where I think it's doing something unique and exciting.  The writing is OK, probably could be better, but I'm still liking the characters and the dynamics so I'll keep watching. 

Talia is maybe my fave character so far (maybe cause she's my idea of what would make a good cop?) and while the lessons she imparts to Nolan may be a bit on the nose courtesy of the writing, they do sound like lessons that need to be imparted.  I also appreciated what the Captain said to Nolan.  I agree he should have been reprimanded for hitting the suspect, but police brutality and torture are rarely reprimanded as they should be on TV.  At least the Captain here said something to him for him to get the message, even if he wasn't punished.   I like the Captain character.  Too bad it's mostly a peripheral role in these shows.  And yes, in an alternate universe, I could dig Nolan and the Capt.

I'm not minding the Nolan and Lucy relationship.  I think the writers wanted to give Nolan some kind of home life without bringing his son/ex wife so being in a relationship with Lucy gives him those sounding board scenes, and another source of dramatic conflict.  Maybe because I like the 2 actors individually, I don't mind seeing them play a couple at all, and in fact, I would say the scenes they've had so far lend to their credibility.  The age thing doesn't pop out to me at all; they feel compatible.  I've always thought the maturity gap and values gap were more relevant to compatibility than age necessarily.   No doubt the relationship's going to blow up in their faces down the line (because DRAMA- guessing something like Lucy breaks up with him and then he gets shot or something ;)), but in the meantime, I'm enjoying it for what it is.

Like the stylistic gimmick where we get the 3 rookies showing us the same police procedure.

There were 2 times though when I thought Nolan easily could have been killed. One, when the suspect shot the gun right when he was outside his door.  Two, when he went down the narrow staircase from which the suspect had shot at him previously.  Not sure what the correct police procedure would be in these situations.  Also, I wonder at the reference to the body cam being turned off for West and his TO in the previous episode. I'd assumed body cams had to be turned on at all times, or don't they have to be?

Yes, I caught the Buffy references too.  

And I'm with the ones who think Nolan might be secretly rich.  He won the lottery and that gave him the impetus to start over in L.A. as a cop.  That, or yes, the friend is involved in something dodgy.  Digging the digs though heh.  Hope we'll see something of the home lives of the other cops down the road. 

[AnimeMania]

1 hour ago, madmaverick said:

I also appreciated what the Captain said to Nolan.  I agree he should have been reprimanded for hitting the suspect, but police brutality and torture are rarely reprimanded as they should be on TV. 

Even the take down was rougher than it had to be since the guy had stopped moving with his hands up.

 

14 hours ago, njbchlover said:

Did anyone else get a "romantic" vibe between NF and the chief of police?  I just kind of felt the writers may be throwing something else out there.  

I think the chief of police might have known him a long time ago, high school or college. I might be the reason she was willing to take a chance on a older rookie that other police stations might have passed on.

[Pop Tart]

15 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

My daughters have all tried the dating-older-men thing, and it never worked out because of the lack of commonalities. Still, I've seen it work in other couples. I finally realized I just don't like it here because it will damage her career.

I've seen it work (12 year age difference for my parents), so agree with you there. But, though I know Nolan's partner, Talia?, said that Lucy was endangering her career by being in a relationship with another cop and I sort of get that. Certainly that would have been the case in the past. But Nolan isn't her superior, they are exactly equal in rank and experience, so I can't imagine as a couple they would be a big deal to a police dept as big as this one in LA. If she was his training officer or vice versa or if they were even working directly together as partners? Sure, that's problematic. But otherwise? She's not hooking up with everything in a uniform. She's dating one guy who she met in police academy.

13 hours ago, solea said:

I liked this better than the pilot. A little less self-conscious. I’m still not sure if I like the humor/drama balance. I still think it veers too much into goofy rather than funny. 

I like the combination of humor and drama because I kind of think that's what being a police officer entails. Lots of weird, wonderful, wacky people out there to deal with, while also handling criminals - big and small - and the real-life drama that comes with having to deal with the whole world's emotional baggage. Oh and as someone who has been watching This is Us immediately before this, any ounce of humor is greatly appreciated. ;-) 

For both episodes I've sort of started them thinking, ah, this is nice, low-key entertainment, and by each episode's end I've found I've been genuinely drawn in emotionally (in a deeper way then I'm expecting).

[festivus]

I was watching New Amsterdam in this time slot but it was terrible so I switched to this show. Liking it so far, love that Melissa O'Neil is on it. I don't know how old she's supposed to be but I have no problem with her dating Nolan. My husband is 13 years older than me and I started dating him when I was 25. That was 27 years ago. Is Nolan supposed to be around 40? He looks older than that but eh, I can go with it. I looked up NF and he was born in 1971 so not that much of a difference.

14 hours ago, solea said:

I think we’re going to find that the fabulous house belongs to Nolan because he won the lottery in PA. 

I was thinking the house does belong to him but I didn't think about him winning the lottery. That would be interesting and I see why he'd want to hide that.

[Jaded]

I haven't seen the pilot. I did watch this episode and am still not sure if I liked it or felt meh about it. If there's an inbetween that's where I am. There were some things I liked and others that made me feel uncomfortable.

For anyone else who's seen the cop show Hunter the car thing in this episode reminded me of how Hunter had issues keeping his and McCall's patrol cars in one piece too.

[dargosmydaddy]

I've enjoyed both episodes so far, and I know I always have to be willing to somewhat suspend disbelief when watching TV, but I'm having a big time problem with the fact that the guy who got shot is being cleared to return that soon. I'm unclear of the exact timeline of the two episodes, but it didn't seem like much time had passed at all, and considering his rookie spent only two days, tops, paired with the slug, it seems like it's less than a week, at most, between Tim getting shot and returning, and literally three days between getting released from the hospital and returning. The guy got shot in the stomach area, I believe it was mentioned that he was in the ICU for at least a little while, and then boom, he's back? Seriously? Either make him get grazed/ less seriously injured, or allow for the passage of some time. 

[Guest]

First episode was much better than this. But I’ll keep giving it a few more chances and hope it improves.

[shapeshifter]

3 hours ago, Pop Tart said:

18 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

My daughters have all tried the dating-older-men thing, and it never worked out because of the lack of commonalities. Still, I've seen it work in other couples. I finally realized I just don't like it here because it will damage her career.

I've seen it work (12 year age difference for my parents), so agree with you there. But, though I know Nolan's partner, Talia?, said that Lucy was endangering her career by being in a relationship with another cop and I sort of get that. Certainly that would have been the case in the past. But Nolan isn't her superior, they are exactly equal in rank and experience, so I can't imagine as a couple they would be a big deal to a police dept as big as this one in LA. If she was his training officer or vice versa or if they were even working directly together as partners? Sure, that's problematic. But otherwise? She's not hooking up with everything in a uniform. She's dating one guy who she met in police academy.

I'm assuming that the female TO is warning Melissa O'Neil's character against having a relationship with Nolan because eventually one might out-rank the other and/or because their superiors would have to avoid pairing them together, etc.
Plus, right now I'm watching a rerun of The Closer's "Live Wire" episode, in which Daniels and Gabriel break up. Hooking up did their careers no favors.
And, IRL, there's a couple in my workplace whose relationship causes all sorts of problems, but, to be fair, separately they each cause problems too.

[femmefan1946]

I hope they keep the 'terrible driver' trope. It's pretty funny. Dial it back a bit though or Nolan would be bounced for being to expensive to employ.

I liked that the work to rule TO volunteered to guard the kidnap victim while everyone else went rampaging off.

I like that there are a lot of stories and that they end with the arrest.  We may see a few courtroom scenes later on.

I'm not clear why 'dating' a fellow rookie would be bad for Chen career. They are equals after all.

[One4Sorrow2TooBad]

18 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

A police uniform takes the sex appeal right out of any woman regardless of how sexy she is.

I don't know, Amy Pond looked pretty sexy in her police uniform,lol. 

[voiceover]

4 minutes ago, One4Sorrow2TooBad said:

I don't know, Amy Pond looked pretty sexy in her police uniform,lol. 

Yeah but IIRC that skirt was hella short! bwah

I like the previous poster's suggestion that Lucy is Nolan's sounding board.  Maybe as the season progresses, it'll be Talia instead.

The age difference doesn't squick me too much -- though as a slightly-older contemporary of NF, I despair of getting edged out for younger models.  It's more a case of "Don't shit where you eat".  A universal truth.

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, femmefan1946 said:

I liked that the work to rule [traffic ticket writing] TO volunteered to guard the kidnap victim while everyone else went rampaging off.

I was so sure he was going to be an ironic red shirt. I'm glad he survived to go home to his wife and kids.

[MissL]

Ok I love Nathan I do but...why does he keep getting older but his female costar/love interest stays the same age? He's 47, she's 30 and it's just so freaking typical of Hollywood to do this.  I hope you are all right and the relationship ends soon.

 

The whole "I'm staying in my rich friends home" made me think of Magnum PI actually (old school Magnum not the new one because that new show is crap).  I think the friend is real and is going to be a running mystery for a while.

Doesn't Nolan have kids? Didn't he wait for the kids to graduate before the divorce?  Are we going to see their reaction to this? So he has kids close to his girlfriends age?  I mean I half paid attention to the pilot but I think that he did.

[Moose135]

22 minutes ago, MissL said:

Doesn't Nolan have kids? Didn't he wait for the kids to graduate before the divorce?  Are we going to see their reaction to this? So he has kids close to his girlfriends age?  I mean I half paid attention to the pilot but I think that he did.

Yes, he has at least one, a son I think. And you're correct, he and his wife waited until the son graduated high school before getting their divorce. 

[jaimesommers]

7 hours ago, madmaverick said:

Still liking it.  Again, I went into this with no expectations and think it acquits itself quite well as an entertaining, watchable network show.  It's not going to win any awards but it's fine for what it is.  Don't mean to damn it with faint praise but rare are the TV shows where I think it's doing something unique and exciting.  The writing is OK, probably could be better, but I'm still liking the characters and the dynamics so I'll keep watching. 

This exactly sums up my feelings! 

[chaifan]

3 hours ago, femmefan1946 said:

I'm not clear why 'dating' a fellow rookie would be bad for Chen career. They are equals after all.

The vibe I got off of Talia's warning to Chen was that she won't be taken seriously by the other guys if she dates other cops, that they'll assume she's there just to get a boyfriend/husband and isn't serious about becoming a police officer.  This isn't uncommon in many male dominated fields - it's a horrible double standard, as the guys don't get any negative reputation from dating a female co-worker.  It wasn't so much relationship advice as it was career advice. 

[BlakesMomma]

8 hours ago, Pop Tart said:

I've seen it work (12 year age difference for my parents), so agree with you there. But, though I know Nolan's partner, Talia?, said that Lucy was endangering her career by being in a relationship with another cop and I sort of get that. Certainly that would have been the case in the past. But Nolan isn't her superior, they are exactly equal in rank and experience, so I can't imagine as a couple they would be a big deal to a police dept as big as this one in LA. If she was his training officer or vice versa or if they were even working directly together as partners? Sure, that's problematic. But otherwise? She's not hooking up with everything in a uniform. She's dating one guy who she met in police academy.

I like the combination of humor and drama because I kind of think that's what being a police officer entails. Lots of weird, wonderful, wacky people out there to deal with, while also handling criminals - big and small - and the real-life drama that comes with having to deal with the whole world's emotional baggage. Oh and as someone who has been watching This is Us immediately before this, any ounce of humor is greatly appreciated. ;-) 

For both episodes I've sort of started them thinking, ah, this is nice, low-key entertainment, and by each episode's end I've found I've been genuinely drawn in emotionally (in a deeper way then I'm expecting).

I really like that they build the intensity and emotion as each episode goes on. I've found both hours so far flew by for me. 

The scene with the bride was really touching and one of my favorite scenes of the episode. I actually liked the second episode better than the pilot, it had more humor in it. 

[shapeshifter]

12 minutes ago, BlakesMomma said:

I really like that they build the intensity and emotion as each episode goes on. I've found both hours so far flew by for me. 

The scene with the bride was really touching and one of my favorite scenes of the episode. I actually liked the second episode better than the pilot, it had more humor in it. 

Agree with both of these^^.

I just gave up on one of the new shows I was watching, but I'll probably stick with this one at least through the first season—unless they continue to have scenes with Nolan punching bad guys in anger—but I got the impression he wouldn't do it again.

[AnimeMania]

5 hours ago, One4Sorrow2TooBad said:

I don't know, Amy Pond looked pretty sexy in her police uniform,lol. 

Considering she wasn't an actual police officer but a kiss-a gram person dressed as a police officer. Strip-a-gram police officers are also very sexy.

[Spaceman Spiff]

13 hours ago, Pop Tart said:

But, though I know Nolan's partner, Talia?, said that Lucy was endangering her career by being in a relationship with another cop and I sort of get that. Certainly that would have been the case in the past. But Nolan isn't her superior, they are exactly equal in rank and experience, so I can't imagine as a couple they would be a big deal to a police dept as big as this one in LA. If she was his training officer or vice versa or if they were even working directly together as partners? Sure, that's problematic. But otherwise? She's not hooking up with everything in a uniform. She's dating one guy who she met in police academy.

This is what I didn't understand. Why is it considered career suicide for her to date another cop? Is it forbidden in most police departments?

It was a also a bit over the top that Talia couldn't find another way into the house besides driving the car through the front door just to keep that gag running. I mean she chastised him in episode 1 for using the wrong tool to break into the hot car, so isn't using a car the wrong tool to break into a house?

Edited October 25, 2018 by Spaceman Spiff

[Raja]

1 hour ago, Spaceman Spiff said:

This is what I didn't understand. Why is it considered career suicide for her to date another cop? Is it forbidden in most police departments?

It was a also a bit over the top that Talia couldn't find another way into the house besides driving the car through the front door just to keep that gag running. I mean she chastised him in episode 1 for using the wrong tool to break into the hot car, so isn't using a car the wrong tool to break into a house?

Because she is a Boot and one of her classmates is probably among the first officers that she met. Socially she is looked at like the "badge bunny" at the bar in the pilot. Her own badge won't change that perception. 

Given a few years on the job after a failed relationship with a civilian and only then entering a relationship with another cop then she doesn't look like someone who joined the force to get an edge over other badge bunnies 

[CaptainCranky]

I gave this show two episodes to get hooked but that ain't gonna happen. Just another mindless cop show with the hook being an older rookie.

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, Spaceman Spiff said:

It was a also a bit over the top that Talia couldn't find another way into the house besides driving the car through the front door just to keep that gag running. I mean she chastised him in episode 1 for using the wrong tool to break into the hot car, so isn't using a car the wrong tool to break into a house?

Oh yeah. I hate it when posters refer to "lazy writing" that is really more like "necessary writing" or "expedient writing," but this felt like it might really be an example of "lazy writing." I get that they wanted her to drive the car into the house to complete the gag, but that was so unbelievable that we can't even complain that it was contrived. I wish it at least felt contrived. Didn't they even show Nolan shutting the locked front door in the first place? I remember thinking at that point: WTH? But maybe it was not so much "lazy writing" as cutting corners with the props? They could have had the front door accidentally close in an initial struggle with the kidnapper and Nolan, at which time the door is revealed to be a heavily fortified, bank-vault-styled door. Over on the media thread, someone complained that NF didn't tweet in support of the show this week. Maybe he was embarrassed by this stunt/gag's amateurishness. Too bad, because the bride bit was well done.

[Raja]

18 hours ago, madmaverick said:

 

There were 2 times though when I thought Nolan easily could have been killed. One, when the suspect shot the gun right when he was outside his door.  Two, when he went down the narrow staircase from which the suspect had shot at him previously.  Not sure what the correct police procedure would be in these situations.  Also, I wonder at the reference to the body cam being turned off for West and his TO in the previous episode. I'd assumed body cams had to be turned on at all times, or don't they have to be?

 

That reminded me of Blue Thunder, the movie not the TV series, when the first thing they did was disable the cockpit voice recorder.  I think that they are suppose to turn the camera on when initiating contact with citizens and not have every word recorded like pilots do. Especially with attorneys trying to get into their mindset, we would need to have silent robots in the car afraid of talking.

15 hours ago, Jaded said:

For anyone else who's seen the cop show Hunter the car thing in this episode reminded me of how Hunter had issues keeping his and McCall's patrol cars in one piece too.

In that case it was the first season when they were riffing off of Dirty Harry with the snide catch phrase after shooting someone. And like Inspector Callahan's bosses Hunter's captain didn't want a gunslinger in his office. by the third season they made Hunter a bit more serious and in the forth Metropolitan PD became LAPD  and the real life chief of Police was making cameo appearance. I would match season 3-5 of Hunter with any cop show of its era save Hill Street Blues.

 

Two major shootouts for Nolan already the dude is a bullet magnet.

[barbara321]

We love Nathan Fillion and think he looks good on this, but why are they having him do so much running?

[TWP]

10 minutes ago, barbara321 said:

We love Nathan Fillion and think he looks good on this, but why are they having him do so much running?

Lazy writing?  We must show that Nolan is old and tired and the best way to do it is to make him run.

[NJRadioGuy]

21 hours ago, madmaverick said:

There were 2 times though when I thought Nolan easily could have been killed. One, when the suspect shot the gun right when he was outside his door.  Two, when he went down the narrow staircase from which the suspect had shot at him previously.  Not sure what the correct police procedure would be in these situations.

From an old friend of mine who was on the Toronto Police Force a lifetime ago, that scenario is precisely in their training. Armed perp in a basement. He said every single trainee who goes through the simulation "dies" in a paintball-splattered uniform if they go in alone or with a partner. There is (or at the time, was) one and only one correct response. Radio in for the ETF (Emergency Task Force, aka SWAT, aka the Extra-Tough F---ers).

I would also add that in close quarters, a shotgun blast is deafening so Nolan would have been disoriented, out of his element, and very definitely prey in that scenario.

On 10/24/2018 at 2:12 AM, AnimeMania said:

A police uniform takes the sex appeal right out of any woman regardless of how sexy she is.

Your mileage may vary. Mine certainly does :)

As for the show, I like it. I like procedurals (granted my background is more on the FD side of the ledger). If you're going to focus on a rookie patrolman and have any credibility in that regard then you've really got to show the routine calls, booking, traffic sumonses, etc. There's still plenty of good storytelling to be had there and I hope they go there. 

From the pilot, where the training officer goes "Bang. I've been shot, where are we?" I first saw it when I was a teenager watching Adam-12, only to find out from friends it's absolutely a very real-life training exercise. And speaking of Adam-12, this is honestly the first cop show I've seen in ages that comes close, albeit adrenaline'd up for the modern era. 

I hope they can keep it both fun and serious, and not fall into cliché hell. What I'm concerned with is what happens if the show is a runaway success audience-wise and it gets a second, third, and fourth season. He won't be a rookie by that point. Maybe this should have been conceived and marketed as a limited-run one-off series. Follow Nolan's journey from bank floor victim, through the academy, his time as a rookie patrolman, and finally his promotion to Detective.

As for the relationship with a co-worker, that's poison, plain and simple. Forget the age difference, dating a fellow service member (PD, FD, etc)  who's in your platoon, your watch, etc, is a recipe for Bad Things To Happen, especially if the relationship goes sideways later on, or one of the partners ends up as the other's subordinate after a promotion. I get it, fun TV drama and all, but it's a Bad Thing in my book. And if they're going to insist on it happening, I'm all for him dating the Captain. I like her.

[juliet73]

I like this show.  It's entertaining.  The hour goes by fast so I watch while I'm on the elliptical.  I was a bit worried this was going to be similar to Castle, but it's not...I actually think it's better.  It has a more serious tone and everything doesn't get neatly wrapped up at the end. 

I don't mind the age difference with the girlfriend but I wish she was in another dept - dispatcher, 911 operator, etc, just not a rookie on the same shift!!  And I agree, the chemistry is way better with the captain anyway. 

I don't like the actress who plays Talia. She was on Shades of Blue and I didn't care for her there either.  I think it's the way she delivers her lines.  She always sounds so condescending.   

I like Eric Winter's character even though he's a total dick.  I laughed when he said the ticket writing cop goes home for lunch because "he likes to eat Mac and Cheese in his undies."    

[Orbert]

How about that opening scene?  Random kid trying to break into a car, runs off when he hears the sirens coming, then the camera swings around to show us Nolan and Bishop in pursuit of a suspect.  Random kid is not seen again; he was just part of the set dressing.  I thought that was great.

We knew the bad guy was gonna be in there when West went inside.  Coincidence of the guy happening to be robbing the place as a cop shows up has been overdone, so the "coming of the restroom" angle was a welcome variation.  That fight, though?  I though West was a goner, but he's tougher than he looks.  A bit tougher than believable, really, as the bad guy landing some pretty good shots on him.  But I guess West still needed to redeem himself.  I thought that talking down the methed-up guy in the church would've done that, but this is TV.  More, more, more!

As usual, I'm here after most of the show has already been discussed, so I'm just trying to point out a few things that haven't been mentioned yet.

[AnimeMania]

6 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Didn't they even show Nolan shutting the locked front door in the first place? I remember thinking at that point: WTH?

Then he does it again to another door when he is inside of the house. I was thinking to myself that his partner is not going to be able to provide backup if he keeps locking the doors behind him.

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, Orbert said:

How about that opening scene?  Random kid trying to break into a car, runs off when he hears the sirens coming, then the camera swings around to show us Nolan and Bishop in pursuit of a suspect.  Random kid is not seen again; he was just part of the set dressing.  I thought that was great.

ITA. That's the opening scene to a better show.
Why do I feel like I'm talking behind NF's back or cheating on him by saying that?

[JasmineFlower]

Still iffy on this show. This was definitely better than the pilot, but with the absence of the ultra bullying captain and the racist and sexist comments from Eric Winter, how could it not be? It was a low bar it had to clear and it did that easily.

I still think there's entirely too much going on in a single episode. Are they going to catch at least one kidnapper and one murderer every other day basically? One would think so given how these first two episodes are going and that is highly ridiculous. Last week we had crazy dad with kid about to die in car, domestic abuse gone wrong that ended in murder, drug bust shootout with a standoff that ended with cop shot. This week we've bride to be about to take a jump, roided up guy, bad dude attacking police officer, random woman who turns out to be a murderer, and accident victim is actually kidnapped woman and we find her kidnapper and fellow victim. Good grief, this is following just 3 rookies. This is a ridiculous level of activity.

I like Lucy's character. But having her miss her rude, sexist and racist spewing TO? That was a mega stretch for me. Sure, she might want to see more action than what the replacement guy who likes going home to his family safe and sound likes to do on the regular. But she was livid at his treatment in the last episode, she was boiling underneath even if she couldn't express it, you could see the outrage on her face at everything he did. Now she misses him? Give me a damn break.

[TWP]

27 minutes ago, JasmineFlower said:

Still iffy on this show. This was definitely better than the pilot, but with the absence of the ultra bullying captain and the racist and sexist comments from Eric Winter, how could it not be? It was a low bar it had to clear and it did that easily.

I still think there's entirely too much going on in a single episode. Are they going to catch at least one kidnapper and one murderer every other day basically? One would think so given how these first two episodes are going and that is highly ridiculous. Last week we had crazy dad with kid about to die in car, domestic abuse gone wrong that ended in murder, drug bust shootout with a standoff that ended with cop shot. This week we've bride to be about to take a jump, roided up guy, bad dude attacking police officer, random woman who turns out to be a murderer, and accident victim is actually kidnapped woman and we find her kidnapper and fellow victim. Good grief, this is following just 3 rookies. This is a ridiculous level of activity.

I like Lucy's character. But having her miss her rude, sexist and racist spewing TO? That was a mega stretch for me. Sure, she might want to see more action than what the replacement guy who likes going home to his family safe and sound likes to do on the regular. But she was livid at his treatment in the last episode, she was boiling underneath even if she couldn't express it, you could see the outrage on her face at everything he did. Now she misses him? Give me a damn break.

PCP, not roids ;-).  I agree with everything else.

I think Lucy and the racist TO will hook up and he'll decide he isn't so racist ;-). Hate is akin to love, you know.

[dargosmydaddy]

31 minutes ago, TWP said:

I think Lucy and the racist TO will hook up and he'll decide he isn't so racist ;-). Hate is akin to love, you know.

Other than his run in with the guys who beeped in the pilot-- which he played off as a training exercise/ mind game-- has he done anything else racist? He's definitely a piece of work, but I got the sense that he's doing/ saying most of what he's doing/ saying to test Lucy, not because it's his true personality. In the couple of scenes we've gotten where he's with the other training officers (both of whom are women of color, and both of whom seem to be friends with him), he seems gruff, insightful, and not particularly awful.

Edited October 26, 2018 by dargosmydaddy

[MrWhyt]

10 hours ago, barbara321 said:

We love Nathan Fillion and think he looks good on this, but why are they having him do so much running?

cause people fleeing from the police don't usually do it at a slow jog?

[Moose135]

1 hour ago, dargosmydaddy said:

He's definitely a piece of work, but I got the sense that he's doing/ saying most of what he's doing/ saying to test Lucy, not because it's his true personality.

Like he keeps telling her "Everything is a test."