The Red Line - General Discussion

[ch1]

10 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

Of course not.  But people were speculating that they were getting interested vibes from the friend last week and that's before we knew anything about the friend beyond that he was a friend and Jira's teacher (I don't think).  This reveal means it might have been intentional.

I don't think they're going to end with them getting together.  I think they were potentially laying the groundwork should this series be a roaring success and "limited series" turned into "regular series."  Of course, with the ratings it's getting, that's not happening.

I think something is going to happen between them before this season is over.  They set it up with these last 2 episodes with Daniel finding the photos with Harrison and another guy, Jira saying he needs more in his life than worrying about her and Liam telling him why he and his boyfriend broke up.  I see something happening and Daniel beating himself up with guilt.

The 2 things that make me like this show is Liam/Daniel and Jira’s little club.  I love her friends.  

It’s a shame this isn’t doing well ratings wise.  I wonder if it would have benefited better on something like Netflix.  Putting it up against American Idol and GOT wasn’t the best decision.  

[Irlandesa]

10 hours ago, rhys said:

I missed something. Daniel lost his cool at the hearing/deposition(?) so the case for $3M is over? That can't be right.

No.  From what I understand,  they offered a settlement but Daniel's lawyer wanted to depose the cop before they agreed to anything.   During the deposition,  because of the outbursts,  they withdraw the settlement offer.  

So the case is still active but it's looking more like they'll have to go to court rather than settling out of court.

2 hours ago, SunnyBeBe said:

I missed the part just before the officer saved the lady from the train.  Was that a plant? Did it really happen or was it setup by his friends or the police? 

No. It was real.  But the police saw it as a perfect opportunity to show that the cop is a 'good' guy who just wants to help people. 

[Madding crowd]

I like the show but I’m finding a lot of the dialogue seems inauthentic to me, meaning I see actors and not real people speaking. I don’t feel that way when Jira is on and think she is an incredible actress.

I am hoping for something besides the expected in this series but so far, I can predict everything that is going to happen. 

[SunnyBeBe]

47 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

No.  From what I understand,  they offered a settlement but Daniel's lawyer wanted to depose the cop before they agreed to anything.   During the deposition,  because of the outbursts,  they withdraw the settlement offer.  

So the case is still active but it's looking more like they'll have to go to court rather than settling out of court.

No. It was real.  But the police saw it as a perfect opportunity to show that the cop is a 'good' guy who just wants to help people. 

That's just not very believable, imo.  A better story would be if someone set it up that way.  You know, to take the heat off the police dept.  I just can't buy it. 

[Irlandesa]

1 hour ago, SunnyBeBe said:

That's just not very believable, imo.  A better story would be if someone set it up that way.  You know, to take the heat off the police dept.  I just can't buy it. 

Those kinds of rescues are probably not common in general but I find it far easier to believe a random coincidence than the police putting the cop and a citizen in a highly dangerous situation like that one just for good PR.  If nothing else, I think they'd want to hide the guy who killed the black doctor and signal boost someone else.

[tinderbox]

I, too, missed the last 20 minutes.  Thanks for catching us up.  

[SunnyBeBe]

I certainly do believe that a police officer could save a person from the train, but,  under those circumstances.......come on?  Too coincidental for me. 

[KLovestoShop]

I wouldn’t put it past Paul’s nasty, skeevy father to have set up the whole El thing, in order to take the heat off Paul.  I mean, come on.  Of the thousands of Chicago Police, HE just happens to be right there?  Doesn’t cut it for me. 

[SoMuchTV]

On 4/30/2019 at 4:46 PM, MVFrostsMyPie said:

I feel like there's already enough real-life drama as there is though... why can't the teacher just be there as a supporting character and not another spoke in the drama wheel? I feel like the writers are better than that to stoop to say, Grey's Anatomy status with the extra unnecessary drama. I guess we'll see, but I'm just not getting that vibe.

LOL [after watching episodes 3 & 4] - is it "Grey's" enough for you yet?  What else will we get?  An airplane crashes into the courtroom in the big trial (cause you know there'll be one)?  A measles outbreak among the peewee basketball team?

17 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

I liked the second episode better than the first episode but the end got cut off.  What happened at the end tonight?

In addition to what others have said (and I think this was near the very end), as Daniel was going through the  boxes of paperwork, he came across one of those photo-booth strips showing Harrison (looking about his current age) with someone who was not Daniel.  More Drama!  (I make fun, but I'm still in.)

Oops @ch1 mentioned the photos earlier - sorry, missed that before I posted.

Edited May 6, 2019 by SoMuchTV

[preeya]

22 hours ago, Misslindsey said:

I believe the show ended with the police guy who has been riding with Paul (sorry, I cannot remember his name) deciding to send the video of the shooting to Daniel. They showed him putting the tape in an envelope and putting Daniel's address on it. 

I must have missed something. How did he even know about the tape and how did he get it??

 

5 hours ago, SoMuchTV said:

LOL [after watching episodes 3 & 4] - is it "Grey's" enough for you yet?  What else will we get?  An airplane crashes into the courtroom in the big trial (cause you know there'll be one)?  A measles outbreak among the peewee basketball team?

In addition to what others have said (and I think this was near the very end), as Daniel was going through the  boxes of paperwork, he came across one of those photo-booth strips showing Harrison (looking about his current age) with someone who was not Daniel.  More Drama!  (I make fun, but I'm still in.)

Oops @ch1 mentioned the photos earlier - sorry, missed that before I posted.

3

I thought the "other guy" in the photos was Paul's friend from school. I could be wrong but that's what I think I saw.

[SoMuchTV]

4 hours ago, preeya said:

I thought the "other guy" in the photos was Paul's friend from school. I could be wrong but that's what I think I saw.

Hmmm. I thought he looked Asian. I could go back and check, but I'm sure they'll make sure we know next week.

 

4 hours ago, preeya said:

I must have missed something. How did he even know about the tape and how did he get it??

They showed him sort of lurking outside the vcr room when Paul was in there, then later showed him going back and getting it.

But it does seem like a stretch that he would even put the pieces together to look for it.

On the other hand, wasn't anyone looking for security footage in the original investigation? "Was there a security camera?"  " yeah but there was wasn't a tape in it. "  "okay, fine."

[TigerLynx]

7 hours ago, ch1 said:

The 2 things that make me like this show is Liam/Daniel and Jira’s little club.  I love her friends.  

I like that Jira and her friends look like actual teenagers in high school, not like they are models from New York in a fashion show.

Paul is a fucking moron.  I don't know why Vic (copy lady) tried to help him.

[Misslindsey]

4 hours ago, SoMuchTV said:

They showed him sort of lurking outside the vcr room when Paul was in there, then later showed him going back and getting it.

I saw the scene where he went in to look for the tape and thought I missed something about how he knew there was a tape or knew to look for anything in that room. I guess I did not miss anything about how he figured out Paul was hiding something.

[preeya]

13 hours ago, TigerLynx said:

Paul is a fucking moron.  I don't know why Vic (copy lady) tried to help him.

Yes, Paul is a moron, but Vic being his partner, thinks she's doing the right thing. That said, the tape will haunt them and likely bring them both down. Doing something illegal as a measure of help generally doesn't work.

[ch1]

Regarding the tape, am I the only one who wonders how the hell Daniel is going to watch it?  

[SoMuchTV]

52 minutes ago, ch1 said:

Regarding the tape, am I the only one who wonders how the hell Daniel is going to watch it?  

If he doesn't still have a vcr at home, I'll bet he can find one in the AV room at his school.

Edited May 7, 2019 by SoMuchTV
not "AD", "AV" room!

[TigerLynx]

2 hours ago, preeya said:

Yes, Paul is a moron, but Vic being his partner, thinks she's doing the right thing. That said, the tape will haunt them and likely bring them both down. Doing something illegal as a measure of help generally doesn't work.

Having your partner's back is one thing.  Covering up a murder is something completely different.  Vic isn't a good cop either.

Paul, like a lot of criminals (yes Paul is a criminal at this point), just couldn't keep his mouth shut.  He talked himself right back into the mess he was trying to get out of.

2 hours ago, ch1 said:

Regarding the tape, am I the only one who wonders how the hell Daniel is going to watch it?  

I appreciated that the writers actually had Paul ask where to find a VCR.

I'm glad the cop finally sent the tape to Daniel, but I wish it hadn't taken him so long to do so.

There are far more good cops than there are corrupt cops, but a cop shooting an unarmed suspect in the back is what people remember.  They might not like getting a ticket for speeding, they might appreciate it when they hear cops broke up a drug ring or rescued a hostage, but cops killing unarmed people will be remembered even if the media attention goes away.

[biakbiak]

I didn’t buy the lawyer immediately withdrawing the offer after Daniel’s “outburst,” it would be plain to any decent     lawyer that he just wanted to vent/answers and having the deposition sealed could have been part of the settlement. I would have found it slightly more believable if it came after Paul saved the woman but it seemed unrealistic at the time especially given the relatively “small” settlement. 

[kirkola]

18 hours ago, TigerLynx said:

Having your partner's back is one thing.  Covering up a murder is something completely different.  Vic isn't a good cop either.

Paul, like a lot of criminals (yes Paul is a criminal at this point), just couldn't keep his mouth shut.  He talked himself right back into the mess he was trying to get out of.

I appreciated that the writers actually had Paul ask where to find a VCR.

I'm glad the cop finally sent the tape to Daniel, but I wish it hadn't taken him so long to do so.

There are far more good cops than there are corrupt cops, but a cop shooting an unarmed suspect in the back is what people remember.  They might not like getting a ticket for speeding, they might appreciate it when they hear cops broke up a drug ring or rescued a hostage, but cops killing unarmed people will be remembered even if the media attention goes away.

For me, the "appreciate the cops" thing hits me every time a rain storm takes out a traffic light on the highway.  It's just something extra to see that poor lone officer standing in the storm directing traffic.  That has to be on the list of worst assignments. 

Within the show, it's nice to see a balance of good cops, bad cops, and brotherhood cops.  The good: Puerto Rican cop (though I think he should be mailing the tape to the news media) and the female cop that Tia ran into.  The bad: I'll reserve for Paul's Dad and the cop-boss that Tia went to who said "wrong precinct". The brotherhood: Paul's female partner and the cops that got into Tina's face.

As for Paul, it's probably too soon to tell where he stands.  They could be planning some sort of redemption arc for him or letting him rot in bad guy camp. 

[mythoughtis]

On 5/7/2019 at 12:15 PM, TigerLynx said:

Having your partner's back is one thing.  Covering up a murder is something completely different.  Vic isn't a good cop either.

Paul, like a lot of criminals (yes Paul is a criminal at this point), just couldn't keep his mouth shut.  He talked himself right back into the mess he was trying to get out of.

I appreciated that the writers actually had Paul ask where to find a VCR.

I'm glad the cop finally sent the tape to Daniel, but I wish it hadn't taken him so long to do so.

There are far more good cops than there are corrupt cops, but a cop shooting an unarmed suspect in the back is what people remember.  They might not like getting a ticket for speeding, they might appreciate it when they hear cops broke up a drug ring or rescued a hostage, but cops killing unarmed people will be remembered even if the media attention goes away.

I was of the opinion that Paul was going to do the right thing once he watched the video until he 1) panicked when it was lost and 2) blamed the victims family for grieving. I was impressed with his anguish about ‘ you told me it was a good shoot’ when he first heard she’d stolen the tape.  But then he had to go ruin it by his actions. 

I’m not impressed with the thin blue line of harassment, but I find Tia to be less stellar and more self-serving than maybe I am supposed to. 

I’m with the doctor’s family and the teachers’ co-workers. I especially like the high school friends. 

[mojoween]

CBS what the hell. I get it was my own damn fault for not checking for a sporting event to extend the recording last week, but then I try to watch On Demand and it’s for pay?  Not free even though it’s a network show?  Thank goodness I already have the CBS app but I sure would have rather watched on TV than an iPad.

Do you want people to watch this show or not?

I seriously hope the show does not go there and make Harrison a cheater.  That’s just stupid.  Also, Harrison, why are you using a photo strip as a bookmark in a room that Daniel goes into if you were a dirty cheater?

I was thinking the same thing Daniel was during the deposition...Harrison was a doctor, not a mister.

Golf is supposed to end at 6 today.  We’ll see.

[TigerLynx]

2 hours ago, mojoween said:

I seriously hope the show does not go there and make Harrison a cheater.  That’s just stupid.  Also, Harrison, why are you using a photo strip as a bookmark in a room that Daniel goes into if you were a dirty cheater?

I hope they don't either.  However, it's starting to look like they were going to see if the ratings were good enough to make it a TV series/show instead of just miniseries.  So they have thrown in some soap tropes (the dead spouse being a cheater is one of them) just in case.

I would prefer it just be a miniseries that deals with the original premise.  Especially, since there is no grey area as to what Paul did.  He didn't walk into the store, and identify himself as a policeman.  Harrison didn't argue with him, or refuse to put his hands up, etc.  Paul just walked in and shot Harrison in the back.  If there had been some kind of confusion, Harrison not understanding, or something, but there wasn't.  Harrison never even knew the police had arrived.  He was trying to help the store cashier, Paul walked in and shot him.

[rhys]

Hmmmm...how did the media connect the dots between Jira and Tia? I didn't see that coming even though the adults should have kept their mouths shut about it.

[oceanview]

On 4/29/2019 at 9:12 AM, zillabreeze said:

Very thoughtful post, KnotsLanding.  I agree on almost all, except the "limited" part.  I watch a lot of limited BBC productions and really like the genre.  Too often, as a series drags on, the writers run out of the steam or spark that made it great and it ends with nothing like the beginning quality.   

I love Chicago, so the photography and letting the city itself become a character is also enjoyable for me 

I see we'll only enjoy Corey Reynolds, (Dr. Brennan) in one more episode.  Presumably a flashback.  That's disappointing, as I'm a huge fan.

I'm in!  Truly hoping it'll be two hours every Sunday, too.  It really helps flesh out the characters better when it's not a chopped up commercial stuffed hour.

Corey Reynolds is great.  Loved him in The Closer.  I like the cast too, as I have now seen a couple of shows.  Sorry Corey won't be in it very much.  The twists and turns are interesting

[oceanview]

On 5/7/2019 at 11:06 AM, ch1 said:

Regarding the tape, am I the only one who wonders how the hell Daniel is going to watch it?  

Well, I am a dope.  I thought at first you were referring to Daniel being emotionally unable to watch his husband being killed.    Then I saw someone laughed at your comment, so I guess you were referring to the fact that VCR are outdated and hard to find one at home.  I still have one because I have lots of movies that we taped  years ago.  I know, boring!!!  I am really liking this show though

[TigerLynx]

I really liked Daniel and Jira in this episode.  They're are doing a great job of showing everything Daniel and Jira are going through.

I hate that the fact Tia gave Jira up for adoption might be used against her in the election, but I am not surprised.

I could not care less about Paul and his father.

[SunnyBeBe]

I'm still watching, but, I just find Jira's bio mom and father to be very naive when it comes to her welfare.  

Edited May 13, 2019 by SunnyBeBe

[mythoughtis]

57 minutes ago, SunnyBeBe said:

I'm still watching, but, I just find Jira's bio mom and father to be very naive when it comes to her welfare.  

They are very naive when it comes to political campaigns. Tia publicly goes after Gordon and his family... but thinks he won’t retaliate.  She wants to hide her daughter but has her over to the house multiple times, including overnight, and tells her small son this is his sister.  A son that is too young to keep secrets.   She should know she’s being watched by Gordon’s political supporters. 

Paul and his family come off very badly, as intended. The police come off very badly, as intended.  Surely, in real life, more of the police would at least be polite.  A innocent man died. now that the security tape is public some of those police ought to recognize who is in the wrong. 

There’s too much heavy handed political posturing/lecturing here.  I’ll watch the next episode because my spouse likes it, but I find myself annoyed all the way around. 

[TigerLynx]

Tia should have gotten out in front of the Jira reveal instead of trying to have it both ways.  Tia decided to let Jira and Daniel know who she was.  At that point, she should have just publicly acknowledged Jira.  Tia didn't do anything wrong by giving Jira up for adoption, but this is politics.  Gordon will used it against her, and because Tia is a woman people will judge her much more harshly than they will a man.  Gordon covered for his son, and sent an innocent man to prison.  That's not just wrong, it's criminal.

[SunnyBeBe]

What Tia is missing is that while the adoption was not wrong, it's something that a citizen might want to be informed of, since Tia is taking a strong stance in the shooting incident.  There could be an argument that she is not an unbiased voice in it, since, it involves her own bio family.  It looks like she is hiding the connection.  And, if she wanted her daughter to be making her voice know, staging protests, then she should have stepped away from public office and let her daughter be the one in the public eye.  To me, a person campaigning for public office should know this and since she doesn't, I'd not consider her ready for such a position.  

Edited May 13, 2019 by SunnyBeBe

[kirkola]

On 5/13/2019 at 10:50 AM, mythoughtis said:

They are very naive when it comes to political campaigns. Tia publicly goes after Gordon and his family... but thinks he won’t retaliate.  She wants to hide her daughter but has her over to the house multiple times, including overnight, and tells her small son this is his sister.  A son that is too young to keep secrets.   She should know she’s being watched by Gordon’s political supporters. 

Paul and his family come off very badly, as intended. The police come off very badly, as intended.  Surely, in real life, more of the police would at least be polite.  A innocent man died. now that the security tape is public some of those police ought to recognize who is in the wrong. 

There’s too much heavy handed political posturing/lecturing here.  I’ll watch the next episode because my spouse likes it, but I find myself annoyed all the way around. 

Tia is definitely too naive for politics.  Don't get me wrong, I like her standing up for herself and the people in the ward/district, but she is going about it all wrong.  There aren't any "private matters" in politics.  Her opponent would have already researched her and known she gave a child up for adoption.  She would have been better served getting in front of it in the beginning and acknowledging Jira. 

Jira comes off as incredibly naive too, but I suspect that's just "teen years" growing up with "doctor Dad" and "school teacher Dad".  Standing up for Tia in the debate was a incredibly stupid thing to do from a political stand point.  I do get why Jira did it, I just see how naive it was.

The problem with the police is that in real life, when something like the original shooting happens, they tend to rally around each other and present a unified force.  They might individually feel that an innocent died and that Paul was in the wrong, but it's still a matter of attack one, attack them all.  As the captain/commissioner (or whatever he was...I'm not well versed on the hierarchy) pointed out to Paul about the funeral, the police are looking at the optics now.  Sure they fired Paul, but plenty of people are going to assume that if Paul was bad, all cops are bad.  So the police department is doing damage control.

And maybe it's just that I grew up in the south, but it's not uncommon to see a certain segment of white dudes (minus the hoods) showing up at events simply to assert their dominance and self-importance.  And when that happens, the clash almost always ends up with the wrong people getting arrested.  I felt bad for Liam there.  But at the same time, it felt all too familiar.

[rhys]

Hmmm. That was...unsatisfying. I guess I don't know exactly what I wanted with the exception of Officer Evans's expulsion plus prison time. But the rest? Too much wrapped up with a big sparkly bow.

[ShortyMac]

I wish this was a full series/longer. It was really good. I would totally watch a prequel series of the Caulder-Brennans.

6 minutes ago, rhys said:

Hmmm. That was...unsatisfying. I guess I don't know exactly what I wanted with the exception of Officer Evans's expulsion plus prison time. But the rest? Too much wrapped up with a big sparkly bow.

I agree.

I'm okay with Daniel moving on, but, it seems too soon to be with the teacher; it was not even a year after Harrison, who he was with for ~20 years, died. I like that Jira admitted she wasn't 100% okay with it, because that's realistic. 

[TigerLynx]

I liked the flashbacks we got of Harrison especially the ones with Daniel and Jira.

This seemed like it was trying to be a finale, but also set up the possibility for a TV series if it got good enough ratings.

[SunnyBeBe]

I don't mind a happy, neat ending, but, .....IDK.  I suppose it did what it wanted to do. 

One thing that really made me laugh, was this odd thing they had Daniel do at the results party.  He was talking to Jira and her friends when his love interest enters.  Suddenly, like on cue, he runs his fingers through his hair as if to suddenly groom himself in preparation for his man....OMG...that is so cliche (Normally, it's women who go into sudden grooming like that on tv shows.). obvious and it totally took you from the scene.  I felt a little sorry for those actors.  I bet they struggled to get through that. lol

Edited May 20, 2019 by SunnyBeBe

[buckboard]

On 5/20/2019 at 12:09 PM, SunnyBeBe said:

I don't mind a happy, neat ending, but, .....IDK.  I suppose it did what it wanted to do. 

One thing that really made me laugh, was this odd thing they had Daniel do at the results party.  He was talking to Jira and her friends when his love interest enters.  Suddenly, like on cue, he runs his fingers through his hair as if to suddenly groom himself in preparation for his man....OMG...that is so cliche (Normally, it's women who go into sudden grooming like that on tv shows.). obvious and it totally took you from the scene.  I felt a little sorry for those actors.  I bet they struggled to get through that. lol

IDK, Sunnybebe.  It seemed pretty natural for anyone - man or woman - to run their hair through their fingers when they see the person they weren't sure would come has indeed arrived.  It looked pretty fitting to me.

What did you have a problem with, the fact that Daniel is a man or that he is a gay man?  Do you think the actors struggled with the scenes where they were kissing?


 

Edited May 21, 2019 by buckboard

[NateCon]

On 5/20/2019 at 9:36 PM, buckboard said:

IDK, Sunnybebe.  It seemed pretty natural for anyone - man or woman - to run their hair through their fingers when they see the person they weren't sure would come has indeed arrived.  It looked pretty fitting to me.

What did you have a problem with, the fact that Daniel is a man or that he is a gay man?  Do you think the actors struggled with the scenes where they were kissing?


 

I actually thought it was a deliberate acting choice rather than a script thing. This guy hasn’t dated for 20 years so of course he’s going to have some awkwardness at trying something new.

I thought that whole relationship was beautifully done, and totally believable. In fact, it’s the only time I’ve ever bought Noah Wyle in a romantic on screen relationship, which was an unexpected treat. I suffered through years and years of the awful, chemistry free relationships Carter was stuck in on ER.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Critics' Choice Award nomination!

Best Actor in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television – Noah Wyle