S01.E05: The Roundup

[WendyCR72]

Nolan, the rookies and their training officers get involved in a competition that pits them against each other. Officer Lucy Chen notices Officer Tim Bradford is obsessed with winning at all costs.

[mxc90]

Two times SWAT was called for assistance and they didn't bother show up.

The DUI crash was something out of "Chicago Fire". How did the man get impaled?

How can the Nell get back in her seat after her shift is over? Wouldn't her supervisor have a say in that?

So if the Nell gets a call about an armed robbery, she has to call Bradford first, and not placed the call to all or (nearest) units? Bradford put her in a stupid position that could have cost her job. 

Without the amount of shoot outs that goes on, I'm surprised we don't see anyone wearing bulletproof vests.

Lopez asks Jackson does he ever lose at any competition (as if nothing goes wrong with him). Did she quickly forget about his little issue of freezing when gun fire is around?

Did they have to kill the maid?

(The scene where Nolan and Chen were having lunch) from the close up of Nolan you can see Melissa O'Neil or somebody doing some weird movement on the side.

A potential shooting situation with the Russians and West somehow couldn't be a part of this?

Edited November 21, 2018 by mxc90

[voiceover]

I missed the opening credits (stupid This is Us one-minute overlap!!), and it's not on her IMDb page yet, but I'm almost positive the dispatcher was Sara Rue.

How smart is she, with her "I don't do 'complicated'!" brushoff. But I hope they bring her back.  Love her in whatever she does, and she'd be great antidote for that pole up Bradford's ass.

Loved the line about how Richard T Jones's character doesn't want to get bested by the shirtless-calendar club.

[mxc90]

27 minutes ago, voiceover said:

I'm almost positive the dispatcher was Sara Rue.

You are correct.

I am not sure if her lipstick was bad or she did had some procedure done to her lips.

[Reality police]

29 minutes ago, voiceover said:

I missed the opening credits (stupid This is Us one-minute overlap!!), and it's not on her IMDb page yet, but I'm almost positive the dispatcher was Sara Rue.

How smart is she, with her "I don't do 'complicated'!" brushoff. But I hope they bring her back.  Love her in whatever she does, and she'd be great antidote for that pole up Bradford's ass.

Loved the line about how Richard T Jones's character doesn't want to get bested by the shirtless-calendar club.

She was great! I can't help myself. Consider getting her together with Nolan. Wouldn't she be quirky and fun for him?

[BlakesMomma]

3 minutes ago, Reality police said:

She was great! I can't help myself. Consider getting her together with Nolan. Wouldn't she be quirky and fun for him?

I'd also love to see Sara back occasionally even just as the dispatcher. She was great!

Also really enjoyed finally meeting the elusive landlord (Currie Graham) and the scenes between he and Nolan. I'll take more of that too. Interesting tidbit that it seems Nolan has never really been single or on his own for any extended period of time. And the line from his friend "You've been 40 since you were 20". 

I really like that they give us off-work time with all the characters and that we're learning more about each of the characters episode to episode. 

I've seen tweets questioning why Nolan didn't do CPR himself on the drowning kid. I think if the Rescue/Fire hadn't been so close, he would have. But having them right there, they were much better equipped to help the kid.

I thought it was a great episode! 

[Reality police]

4 minutes ago, BlakesMomma said:

I'd also love to see Sara back occasionally even just as the dispatcher. She was great!

Also really enjoyed finally meeting the elusive landlord (Currie Graham) and the scenes between he and Nolan. I'll take more of that too. Interesting tidbit that it seems Nolan has never really been single or on his own for any extended period of time. And the line from his friend "You've been 40 since you were 20". 

I really like that they give us off-work time with all the characters and that we're learning more about each of the characters episode to episode. 

I've seen tweets questioning why Nolan didn't do CPR himself on the drowning kid. I think if the Rescue/Fire hadn't been so close, he would have. But having them right there, they were much better equipped to help the kid.

I thought it was a great episode! 

I loved seeing Currie show up too. Did he say he was staying around for a bit? I thought I did. Maybe just wishful thinking. 

[madmaverick]

So it seems that Nolan isn't secretly rich himself but really has a generous landlord/old friend.  Feels a bit out of the blue since I didn't expect the landlord to show up but still nice to see Nolan interact with someone who's known him a long time for a change.  However people feel about Nolan/Chen, at least I feel they are continuing to have mature conversations instead of melodramatic non communication/misunderstanding/hissy fits which are often the go to for "drama" purposes.

I do appreciate that they are trying to do different things with the switch and now the competition to use as a framework to mix things up and to deliver more insight into the various characters.  I do like the variety of cases so I don't have time to get bored, but sometimes I do feel things move on a bit too quickly before they have a time to really sink in.  The foray into organized crime and the shootouts every episode can feel a bit much, but I guess they feel like they need to spice up the show.  But something like the homeless situation was more impactful to me (almost felt like Nolan was going to offer them a place for the night which Bishop would have vetoed naturally), and if they are serious about using LA as a backdrop, then they need to delve more into the serious homelessness there. 

Good on the dispatch lady for being smart and saying she didn't do complicated.  At least Bradford was honest with her about his marital status, but the whole bribing thing felt so wrong no matter his personal reasons.  I feel Lucy may have a point in that the other people in his life are indulging him too much in his connection with his wife.

The quiet scenes with Nolan and Bishop may be my favorite still.  I appreciate they have these honest conversations about the job and what it takes.  

[break21]

IMO - This was "The Rookie"" I've waited for.  

Great episode.   I think everyone finally got it together.

[shapeshifter]

When the guy Lucy seemed to be flirting with asked Nolan if she was single: Were we supposed to interpret that as everyone knowing that she had been seeing Nolan?

 

Currie Graham looked better than I've ever seen him.

 

I felt kind of sad for Nolan when he called out Lucy's name when he woke up in the middle of the night—or was it only because he couldn't imagine who else would be making a noise?

When he got his gun to investigate the noise, I thought:

• This must be how many accidental shootings occur, and
• Do cops IRL grab their guns in the middle of the night? And
• Shouldn't his gun be locked up when he's at home? 

Edited November 21, 2018 by shapeshifter

[BlakesMomma]

31 minutes ago, break21 said:

IMO - This was "The Rookie"" I've waited for.  

Great episode.   I think everyone finally got it together.

While I've honestly enjoyed every episode, I've found myself thinking each successive one was my new favorite episode. I do think they've found their rhythm. Really enjoyed this one. I'd much rather a series where the episodes get better than many I've seen where it's a great pilot but the follow through just goes downhill.

4 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

When the guy Lucy seemed to be flirting with asked Nolan if she was single: Were we supposed to interpret that as everyone knowing that she had been seeing Nolan?

 

Currie Graham looked better than I've ever seen him.

 

I felt kind of sad for Nolan when he called out Lucy's name when he woke up in the middle of the night—or was it only because he couldn't imagine who else would be making a noise?

When he got his gun to investigate the noise, I thought:

• This must be how many accidental shootings occur, and
• Do cops IRL grab their guns in the middle of the night? And
• Shouldn't his gun be locked up when he's at home? 

Well since the fireman asked Bishop this same "Is Lucy single?" question, so I'd say no. I think he was just asking those who knew her.

If I had a gun and thought someone was in my house, I'd be grabbing it in the middle of the night too. I'd say yes to locking up the gun if you had kids at home, but when you're a single adult living alone I'd think not. I bet a lot of cops keep it handy if they don't have kids.

[TWP]

My state has passed a law requiring firearms to be locked at home.  If they aren't and are stolen by an intruder and used in a crime, the registered owner can be liable.  So maybe Cali doesn't have that same law -- yet.  If I were a cop and dealing with the mob, I'd be sleeping with my gun.  

I kept thinking the Sara Rue character would turn into a stalker or something.  Personally I wouldn't blame her.  Bradford should have told her he was married BEFORE asking her to work an extra 3 hours.  And does she have a supervisor to prevent her from working extra?  Silly.

I like the show more, feel like it's found it's stride.  But I don't know if this is real or just me hoping for the best for it.

I'm so sad that Nolan didn't win the lottery, although I still wonder if he has secret money.  If not, what is he doing with such a rich friend? The back deck end scene was great. Salute to William Shatner/James Spader.

The roommate should stay, but only if they don't write him with a shady past.  This show needs a back deck ending.

[Moose135]

1 hour ago, madmaverick said:

So it seems that Nolan isn't secretly rich himself but really has a generous landlord/old friend. 

I thought he said that in the pilot, that a friend was letting him stay in the house.

 

1 hour ago, shapeshifter said:

When the guy Lucy seemed to be flirting with asked Nolan if she was single: Were we supposed to interpret that as everyone knowing that she had been seeing Nolan?

 

No, I think it was a natural question, if you are interested in asking her out to ask a friend what her status is so you don't look like an idiot.

 

36 minutes ago, TWP said:

I'm so sad that Nolan didn't win the lottery, although I still wonder if he has secret money.  If not, what is he doing with such a rich friend?

They could have grown up together, maybe gone to college together, and took different career paths, where his friend did quite well for himself.  From his friend's line "You've been 40 since you were 20" I took it that they have been friends much of their lives.

Edited November 21, 2018 by Moose135

[ratgirlagogo]

13 minutes ago, Moose135 said:

2 hours ago, madmaverick said:

So it seems that Nolan isn't secretly rich himself but really has a generous landlord/old friend. 

I thought he said that in the pilot, that a friend was letting him stay in the house.

Yes, this was said from the beginning.  I think some of us were just wondering if was going to turn out to not be true.

[femmefan1946]

Shout outs to Firefly-  "How do Reavers clean their weapons? They run them through the Wash."

And to Boston Legal sitting out on the deck watching the night sky.

The show has a great sense of place. The food truck. The street party. The shopping mall parking lot last week. Reminds me of DaVinci's Inquest where Vancouver was as much a character as any of the actors.

[CheshireCat]

1 hour ago, TWP said:

I'm so sad that Nolan didn't win the lottery, although I still wonder if he has secret money.  If not, what is he doing with such a rich friend?

Maybe the friend won the lottery? ;-)

In all seriousness though, why wouldn't he have a rich friend? There are a lot of possibilities how you can meet people and when it clicks, it clicks.

Edited November 21, 2018 by CheshireCat

[femmefan1946]

It's implied that they were friends in high school, and both went to university.

One part of a university education can be making good money - high tech, accounting, banking and stock market, real estate, law.

Enough that the friend (name?) is now a philanthropist.

Did Nolan complete his pre-law degree? Or did he drop out when he married his pregnant girlfriend? (He's 40 and his marriage was for 20 years)

 

I could not work out where I'd seen the dispatcher -- but she was Stephanie on Big Bang Theory, one of the better girlfriends. 

Pity they decided to make her 'hollywood ugly', she's really lovely. The character was a bit of a cliche, tech girl with quirky fashion sense. Glad she showed some backbone.

Edited November 21, 2018 by femmefan1946
more to say

[BlakesMomma]

1 hour ago, femmefan1946 said:

It's implied that they were friends in high school, and both went to university.

One part of a university education can be making good money - high tech, accounting, banking and stock market, real estate, law.

Enough that the friend (name?) is now a philanthropist.

Did Nolan complete his pre-law degree? Or did he drop out when he married his pregnant girlfriend? (He's 40 and his marriage was for 20 years)

 

I could not work out where I'd seen the dispatcher -- but she was Stephanie on Big Bang Theory, one of the better girlfriends. 

Pity they decided to make her 'hollywood ugly', she's really lovely. The character was a bit of a cliche, tech girl with quirky fashion sense. Glad she showed some backbone.

The dispatcher, played by Sara Rue, was also Nathan’s love interest in Netflix “A Series of Unfortunate Events” and also guest starred in the same American Housewife episodes Nathan did. 

[TWP]

6 hours ago, BlakesMomma said:

The dispatcher, played by Sara Rue, was also Nathan’s love interest in Netflix “A Series of Unfortunate Events” and also guest starred in the same American Housewife episodes Nathan did. 

And they seem to have become great TV friends.

[luna1122]

I deleted this show from my DVR but half-watched last nite. I'm not invested but Nathan F is so charming it's easy to watch him do whatever. Loved seeing Sara Rue, loved her shutting whatshisname down.  Was she supposed to be ugly? Yikes. Remember when she was the 'fat girl' on TV shows? She's neither fat nor ugly, like, even a little.

I'm a huge fan of NYPD Blue and am currently rewatching on Hulu, and hey, there's suddenly a bespectacled Currie Graham, lookin' like  a SNACK. Damn. I missed the set up and thought he was Nathan's (I watch this show so carelessly that I realize I don't even know the rookie's name) brother. At any rate, I might have to keep watching if he sticks around.

[Loandbehold]

Well, we know Lucy is 28. Makes me feel a little better about the Nolan-Lucy relationship (RIP).

I had the same thoughts as the poster above about Nolan keeping the gun in an unlocked drawer next to the bed.

Good to see Nolan actually has a friend outside the department. And a nice "hi" to Currie Graham. In fact, it would be nice to see the others having some life outside the job where they actually speak to other people. Even TO cop's wife is a former cop-turned-junkie.

And hello to Sara Rue. I knew I recognized her, but couldn't place the actress until I got here.  I also wonder about her agreeing to keep felony calls off-the-books. I can see doing it for something like a DUI (how many cop cars do you need on one of those calls), but not the armored car robbery or hostages at a house. And, it was just slightly unrealistic that she could just sit back down and work another three hour shift w/o supervisor approval or pushing her next shift replacement out of the chair. Still, it's obvious that TO knows her well enough to know what book she would like as a present. Maybe he should try for detective.

[BlakesMomma]

14 hours ago, luna1122 said:

I deleted this show from my DVR but half-watched last nite. I'm not invested but Nathan F is so charming it's easy to watch him do whatever. Loved seeing Sara Rue, loved her shutting whatshisname down.  Was she supposed to be ugly? Yikes. Remember when she was the 'fat girl' on TV shows? She's neither fat nor ugly, like, even a little.

I'm a huge fan of NYPD Blue and am currently rewatching on Hulu, and hey, there's suddenly a bespectacled Currie Graham, lookin' like  a SNACK. Damn. I missed the set up and thought he was Nathan's (I watch this show so carelessly that I realize I don't even know the rookie's name) brother. At any rate, I might have to keep watching if he sticks around.

I swear I posted this earlier today but it's not here. Weird.

It appears Currie Graham IS sticking around, which I'm happy about because I like seeing Nolan with a long-time friend his own age to talk to. So it seems you might have to keep watching lol.

Edited November 22, 2018 by BlakesMomma

[zoey1996]

I remembered Sara Rue from Impastor, and I've seen her pop up on American Housewife.  Glad she "doesn't do complicated!"

Good episode all around.

[Waterston Fan]

I liked this episode but I do have an issue with Chen/Bradford doing the armored car since I would think the supervisors would have asked questions about how they knew when dispatch hadn't called it in. 

I liked the dispatcher telling Bradford she doesn't do complicated then walked away but I bet she won't help him anymore. 

[shapeshifter]

On 11/21/2018 at 11:32 AM, Loandbehold said:

And hello to Sara Rue. I knew I recognized her, but couldn't place the actress until I got here.

On 11/21/2018 at 4:13 AM, BlakesMomma said:

The dispatcher, played by Sara Rue

It was a definite H!TG! moment--perhaps because of her Clark-Kent-disguise glasses.
I kept thinking of Keegan Connor Tracy from Jake 2.0.
I did not recognize her as Sara Rue from TBBT (when she was heavier), or from Bones (when she played a rather forgettable character), and I haven't really watched her other shows.

[Gothish520]

I've liked this show from the jump, but agree with @BlakesMomma that I've enjoyed it more with each episode. This week was really solid and I'm fully on board. 

Sara Rue, yesss, Currie Graham, hell yesss!

Also, Bradford is a hot mess but damn is he fine.

[BlakesMomma]

14 minutes ago, Gothish520 said:

I've liked this show from the jump, but agree with @BlakesMomma that I've enjoyed it more with each episode. This week was really solid and I'm fully on board. 

Sara Rue, yesss, Currie Graham, hell yesss!

Also, Bradford is a hot mess but damn is he fine.

It's funny the differing opinions, because Bradford does nothing for me. **shrug**

[newyawk]

This was the first episode where i felt that the show was beginning to find a groove and we are finally beginning to see more than one dimension to at least some of the characters.  I never was able to invest with Nolan and Chen, so the anguish each one was required by script to play out over the breakup did not resonate with me. But the characters in general are beginning to thaw out and take on more color, which is good. 

[TWP]

I think Sara Rue's look may have been a hat tip to A Series of Unfortunate Events.  If you click watch the video, the glasses and hair tied back are a bit similar.

Edited November 27, 2018 by TWP

[femmefan1946]

Dang! Now I have to watch ASoUE all over again, to be ready for the January 1st premiere of Season Three.

[jhlipton]

On 11/20/2018 at 9:55 PM, BlakesMomma said:

I've seen tweets questioning why Nolan didn't do CPR himself on the drowning kid. I think if the Rescue/Fire hadn't been so close, he would have. But having them right there, they were much better equipped to help the kid.

He said something about needing a "CPR mask" -- which would be an apparatus the the firemen would have to do CPR mechanically and (probably) safer.  

see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pocket_mask and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bag_valve_mask -- I think they used the first one.

[Clanstarling]

On 11/20/2018 at 8:41 PM, mxc90 said:

Two times SWAT was called for assistance and they didn't bother show up.

The DUI crash was something out of "Chicago Fire". How did the man get impaled?

To be fair(ish), the cops cleared up the situation before SWAT ever arrived, so they didn't bother to show them arriving. Seems like there would be ramifications for calling them out, and then going ahead and handling things - at least for the armored car. Speaking of which, that's a serious design flaw to allow you to remove a gasket (or whatever, I don't know what these things are) in order to get spray into the locked compartment.

He was impaled because he crashed into a yellow fence made of metal rods.

[shapeshifter]

29 minutes ago, Clanstarling said:

Speaking of which, that's a serious design flaw to allow you to remove a gasket (or whatever, I don't know what these things are) in order to get spray into the locked compartment.

Good point. Hopefully it's not really possible (although it was a high point of the episode for me).
I recall on a Vince Gilligan podcast that he said they were careful on Breaking Bad to not give real information regarding the manufacture of meth.
I can't recall: Is there a regular police consultant for this show?

[mxc90]

18 hours ago, Clanstarling said:

To be fair(ish), the cops cleared up the situation before SWAT ever arrived, so they didn't bother to show them arriving. Seems like there would be ramifications for calling them out, and then going ahead and handling things - at least for the armored car. Speaking of which, that's a serious design flaw to allow you to remove a gasket (or whatever, I don't know what these things are) in order to get spray into the locked compartment.

He was impaled because he crashed into a yellow fence made of metal rods.

Ok! You have swayed my stance on slow ass SWAT but the impaled driver scene was a full serving of nonsense from the writers. For this guy to be impaled, one rod would have to be already in a downward position before the crash (as if someone threw a javelin). After looking again, the rod sticking from the driver looked much longer than other the rods making the fence. The results of that type of crash should have been the rods bent, pointing away from the car and the only thing touching the driver is the deployed airbag.

17 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I can't recall: Is there a regular police consultant for this show?

Officer Barney Fife.

Edited December 4, 2018 by mxc90

[femmefan1946]

 For this guy to be impaled, one rod would have to be already in a downward position before the crash (as if someone threw a javelin). 

 

Or a writer who still mourns Wash.

[Clanstarling]

6 hours ago, femmefan1946 said:

 For this guy to be impaled, one rod would have to be already in a downward position before the crash (as if someone threw a javelin). 

 

Or a writer who still mourns Wash.

Aw, now why'd you  have to bring Wash up and start my mourning again?

[BlakesMomma]

7 hours ago, femmefan1946 said:

 For this guy to be impaled, one rod would have to be already in a downward position before the crash (as if someone threw a javelin). 

 

Or a writer who still mourns Wash.

Too soon!

[TWP]

But you know the impaling was a symbolic Wash.  Too bad they didn't use Tudyk for the part.

[Clanstarling]

3 minutes ago, TWP said:

But you know the impaling was a symbolic Wash.  Too bad they didn't use Tudyk for the part.

Already saw him die as a good guy. I wouldn't want to see him possibly dying as a drunk driver. It would tarnish my memory. 😂

[TWP]

2 minutes ago, Clanstarling said:

Already saw him die as a good guy. I wouldn't want to see him possibly dying as a drunk driver. It would tarnish my memory. 😂

Did the guy in TR die or did they somehow get him to the hospital?  If Tudyk were cast and lived, it would be like Wash Groundhog Day, only this time he survives.  Cathartic.  And hilarious.

[HurricaneVal]

Sigh.  I tried to watch this episode off of On Demand last night, but after the first twenty minutes, Xfinity decided the episode was over and returned me to the On Demand screen.  Reading everything here makes me want to try watching it again.  Maybe I can get past the 20 minute mark this time!

[Clanstarling]

3 hours ago, TWP said:

Did the guy in TR die or did they somehow get him to the hospital?  If Tudyk were cast and lived, it would be like Wash Groundhog Day, only this time he survives.  Cathartic.  And hilarious.

They left it ambiguous, I think. Impalement is pretty dicey, but people do survive.