Yesterday here at CDL we started our 25 Days of TV Gems Countdown to help you guys get better acquainted with some great shows that are really worth checking out. Today’s gem is Flashpoint which airs Tuesday at 11pm on the ION Network here in the states. It’s a Canadian import that is in its’ fifth and final season and it truly does feature some of the best writing around.
Each episode of Flashpoint follows Team One of the Special Response Unit (SRU) as they race to keep the peace in the middle of a volatile situation. The show is filmed in Toronto and shoots in a really gritty way that often enhances the story lines that are played out onscreen. They are a team of snipers that are ready to shoot to kill if necessary but more often then not it turns into a very human drama. It’s not all gunshots and violence, but the stories often revolve around good people that find themselves in extreme circumstances that lead them to do something they would have never imagined possible. This “flashpoint” in their life where they’ve already crossed a criminal line and there appears to be no turning back. Team One functions as a voice of understanding and reason. They try to find common ground with the person in crisis and attempt to get them to willingly drop their weapons. If they don’t and the command “Scorpio” is called, they end up with a bullet in their head.
The characters are complicated and well written starting with Greg Parker, Team Sergeant & Head Negotiator (played to perfection by Enrico Colantoni). He is most often the calm voice of reason. He crawls into the minds of damaged people and tries to offer them a peaceful way out. Ironically enough, his uncanny people-reading skills could not save his own family. Ten years ago, Parker’s unconditional passion for his work burned out his relationship with his wife, and he turned to heavy drinking and aggression he couldn’t control. When she left, she took their young son with her, and Parker hit rock bottom. The empathy, gentleness, insight and sobriety he embodies today are a testament to the extraordinary effort he put into recovery. He believes the best of people, because he’s living proof people can change. He still has his share of demons, but he also has his son Dean with him again. Dean has decided he wants to follow in Parker’s footsteps and become a cop. This is not necessarily a life that he wants to see his son lead.
Ed Lane (Hugh Dillon) is the Team Leader and a sniper for Team One. He is strong and solid and absolutely committed to his job. He always does what he has to do but when Ed walks away, you see that the nature of this business is slowly eating away at him. He acts like he’s handling everything but looks very fragile once he is alone. Season five leaves Ed really wrestling with the internal price that he pays for being so effective at his job.
Mike “Spike” Scarlatti (Sergio Di Zio) is Team One’s tech wizard. He hacks computers, cracks codes and dismantles bombs that are ready to blow at any second. Julianna ‘Jules’ Callaghan (Amy Jo Johnson), is Secondary Negotiator and she’s often teamed with Sam Braddock (David Paetkau), who is cast as a Sniper. The two are an on/off couple that seem to be at their best when working together either on the job or in life. Every show seems to have a bit of a love story and for Flashpoint it’s Jules and Sam. You find yourself pulling for them to make it.
There are only a handful of episodes left of this series to enjoy and I can all but garuntee you that if you tune in now you’re going to DVR all of the old episodes to watch as well. Each one stands on its’ own and every single hour will leave you wishing that another new episode would follow it!