TVSquad

(S01E01) "You know why we're all here? It's about helping you." -- Sgt. Gregory Parker

Yet another cop show has blasted into our lives: Flashpoint, which premiered Friday at 10 PM on CBS. I'm not much for cop shows, and never got into all the CSI, Law & Order shows that continue to grace the airwaves. But I have to say, I was riveted to this one. Not as riveted as I am to 24, but you never know. We'll see how it goes.

It revolves around an elite emergency police unit in Toronto known as the Strategic Response Unit (SRU). The show was actually inspired by Toronto's real-life Emergency Task Force, and the series is filmed in Toronto, which gives it an authentic air and allows the city to shine in a way it hasn't before. Even in this first episode, we see beautiful shots of the architecture and urban landscape.

The SRU team handles all the nitty-gritty stuff -- hostage situations, gangs, bombs, suicidal teens, you name it. Because of this, they also have an impressive array of state-of-the-art weapons -- sniper rifles, tasers, flash-bang grenades, and a bunch of other stuff I've probably never heard of.

Flashpoint premieres Friday, July 11, at 10 p.m. ET on CBS, and yes, it's another cop show, but it sounds gritty enough to offer something interesting. The new summer drama stars Enrico Colantoni as Sergeant Greg Parker, Hugh Dillon as Ed Lane, David Paetkau as Sam Braddock, and Amy Jo Johnson as Jules Callahan.

The series follows the lives of a Toronto-based Strategic Response Unit (SRU), unique cops who go beyond the call of ordinary cops to rescue hostages, bust gangs, defuse bombs, handle state-of-the-art weaponry and, of course, risk their lives to save others.

I participated in a conference call this week with Colantoni, Dillon, Johnson, and executive producers Bill Mustos and Anne Marie La Traverse. Some highlights of the call:

When one of our favorite TV shows goes off the air, it can be devastating. However, many times, the cancellation is the birth of a spinoff. Sometimes it can be a great thing (Frasier) and sometimes not so much (AfterM*A*S*H).

Here are some of this month's spinoff ideas that I would love to see.

Mr. Hawkins Goes to Texas
After the conspiracy of the Cheyenne government was revealed on Jericho, Robert Hawkins (Lennie James) thought the hard part was behind him. He had no idea what was in store. As America tries to form a new governing body, they are desperate for honest men to help lead the way. With help from Mimi Clark (Alicia Coppolla), his personal assistant, Hawkins fights government bureaucracy with the same zeal that he fought domestic terrorism.

(S04E10) "It's always something." - Charlie

Great episode! I've always wondered when Don's team would encounter a situation right in their own building. While this wasn't on the grand scale that I imagined, this was still pretty damn good. Plus, you have to admit, right from the beginning it felt like a math problem. Two guys in a box. Sounds like the type of thing that was probably tossed around the conference room table when this show was originally developed. Sounds exactly like the type of thing that Charlie can take apart with theories and equations. And that's just what he did.

I'm sure Keith will talk about this more this evening when he reviews Veronica Mars, but I thought I'd just mention the following tidbit, just in case you want to warm up your DVR's (or those primitive VC...something-or-others).

There will be a mini-reunion of Just Shoot Me stars on tonight's episode of VM. Laura San Giacomo, who played Maya Gallo on the NBC comedy, will play a new client of Veronica's Dad, Keith. Mr. Mars is played by Enrico Colantoni, who portrayed Elliott Di Mauro on Shoot Me. On that show Maya and Elliott had an on-again, off-again romance. Tonight, San Giacomo's character will hire Keith to investigate her cheating husband.

One other thing to mention about tonight's Veronica is the appearance of Matt Czuchry. If that name sounds familiar to you it's because Matt stars as Logan, Rory Gilmore's boyfriend, on Gilmore Girls, which happens to precede Veronica on the CW Network's Tuesday night schedule. Creepy, isn't it? In tonight's episode he'll play the half-brother of Veronica's boyfriend, who is also named Logan. Wow, double creepy.

Hey Veronica Mars fans, don't get mad at me, it's not me saying it! It's Donna Freitas over at Beliefnet.com ("the religion and pop culture blog"):

"Each week, as the latest episode comes to a close, I am eager to see the previews of next week's scenes -- yet I'm always left with the feeling that something is missing from the series as a whole ...week after week, Veronica Mars, without fail, delivers incredible snappy dialogue from all its quirky characters, yet there is still an emptiness behind these words and conversations."

Readers: agree or disagree? I was a huge Buffy fan, but I've only seen a couple of eps of Veronica Mars (even though it seems like the type of show I'd love).

[via TV Tattle]