The Toronto-shot procedural Flashpoint has been an outstanding success in the annals of Canadian television. The series is a big hit with viewers in its native country and the 19 Gemini nominations that it received this year testify to the high regard Canada's industry professionals have for the show. Even more impressive, perhaps, has been the success Flashpoint has achieved in the United States. During its summer run on CBS, the first season w was the network's top original scripted series.  Not since Due South has a Canadian show achieved that sort of success in a TV landscape where procedurals breed like proverbial rabbits.
 
Flashpoint is now in its third season on Canada's CTV network. To coincide with this, the first season has been released on DVD by Phase 4 Films in Canada and CBS Television in the US (a Blu-ray edition is also available in Canada). The set contains all 13 episodes from Season One on three discs, together with a smattering of special features.

The Show

Flashpoint's premise is a familiar one. The show revolves around the assignments of a crack police unit and each hour-long episode is centred on their latest job. There are also occasional asides that relate to aspects of the characters' personal lives. The focus of Flashpoint is the fictional Police Strategic Response Unit (SRU), which operates in an unnamed North American city. The SRU’s role is to diffuse violent situations that typically involves hostage taking. These situations usually arise from circumstances where ordinary people are driven to desperate measures. In each case, the first resort is negotiation and the last resort is a bullet from a SRU sniper's rifle. Although the SRU home base is never mentioned, references to Toronto street names and Canadian icons such as Tim Hortons give away the series' provenance.

Flashpoint's tried-and-tested formula is undoubtedly part of the reason for the show’s success. It's been proven to work by procedurals over so many years that its familiarity is now a virtue. It isn't only the concept that Flashpoint has in common with other entries in the genre, though. The slick presentation and thumping soundtrack are particularly reminiscent of the CSI franchise. Indeed, anyone who doesn’t get the Canadian references would probably find Flashpoint indistinguishable from most Hollywood procedurals.

The writers of Flashpoint's have also employed several clichés of the genre. The include a jock father who isn't great with his kids (a.la. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit's Detective Stabler) and a woman officer who feels like she has to prove that she can cut it with the men (consider Cold Case's Lilly Rush).  When there is no pretence of originality, though, even clichéd characters are not inherently a bad thing. The important question is does Flashpoint do a good job of being what it aims to be?

The answer is yes. Flashpoint provides a rewarding combination of suspense and drama that is brought to the screen with intelligent writing and likeable characters. If anything, I expected more personal drama, given that I had heard that the series was notable for showing the strains imposed by intense police work of the sort that the SRU does. There are references to this but they tend to be restricted to brief moments at the end of individual episodes. In the first season, at least, there is little indication of the cumulative effects of the high stress life styles that members of the SRU lead. The upside of this, however, is that Flashpoint rarely descends into soap opera.

Where the cast is concerned, particular praise should go to Enrico Colantoni. Colantoni plays the SRU’s chief negotiator and leader, Gregory Parker and his performance earned him the 2009 Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role. Colantoni is an underrated actor who should be more widely known. He may be remembered for the role of Mathesar in the 1999 Star Trek spoof Galaxy Quest . However, he has also appeared in numerous television series, including Stargate SG-1, Veronica Mars, The Outer Limits, 3rd Rock from the Sun, 1-800-Missing, Law, & Order, NYPD Blue, CSI, Veronica Mars and Numb3ers. He was also impressive in the recent Canadian series ZOS: Zone of Separation. Perhaps it is his experience with procedurals that has made Colantoni an excellent choice for Parker. He has the charisma to hold your attention during his negotiations and a vulnerability that makes it easy to empathise when he is hurt by his failures (and it is one of the strengths of the show that he does sometimes fail). His likeability is also a credit to the writing, which makes Parker more than just a jock.

Jock shoes are amply filled, however, by Ed Lane, Parker's second-in-command. Lane is played with bald head and stern-face by Hugh Dillon, former front-man of the Canadian rock band The Headstones. Lane's is the face that most people probably associate with Flashpoint and he could be said to be the poster boy for the show's macho side. He belittles sentiment and resents anyone’s attempt to discuss his personal life. Thankfully, though, he is not always testosterone-driven. Despite the tough exterior, Lane is allowed moments of distress. He is a sharpshooter but he does not enjoy killing people when the job requires it. Dillon plays the role convincingly, although in the early episodes he generally doesn't have much to do except give instructions. Hence, he has few opportunities to show a range of acting skills. Like Colantoni, though, Dillon has a personality that holds the attention and he looks the part.

These two leads are ably backed-up by an ensemble cast that makes up the rest of the SRU, including Amy Jo Johnson as Jules Callaghan, the only woman on the team, and David Paetkau as Sam Braddock, the new boy who comes to the SRU after controversially being shipped home from Afghanistan. The cast works well together, but inevitably some have more to do than others.

Whereas the episodes of other procedurals often start with a teaser that depicts the crime, Flashpoint does things differently. The opening drops the viewer right into the incident that will be the episode’s focus with the SRU already on scene. Then, at a critical moment, events flash back to a moment in time when someone makes the fateful decision (the flashpoint of the title, perhaps) that triggers the incident. This approach is one thing that is original about Flashpoint and it is a creditable trademark. The writers have come up with enough tricky situations to keep it interesting without stretching the bounds of credibility too far. The series' production values and extensive location shooting also add to the sense of realism and many episodes a movie-like feel. These qualities, combined with suspense, humanity and intelligence, have deservedly kept Flashpoint from having the short shelf-life that afflicts sub-par procedurals in a flooded market.

The DVD Release

Although Flashpoint has been relatively successful in the United States, it is not mounting a serious prime-time challenge to the likes of CSI and Law & Order. Realistically, therefore, there is likely to be a limited audience for the show in the home entertainment market. The distributors evidently think this is so based on CBS’s decision not to release a Blu-ray version of the First Season in the US. Furthermore, there is little of substance for the diehard Flashpoint fan to enjoy on the DVD (or Canadian Blu-ray) release aside from the 13 episodes that comprise Season One. The special features comprise a a commentary on the pilot episode, "Scorpio" by director David Frazee and two featurettes: "Behind the Scenes of Flashpoint" and "The Human Cost of Heroism". The featurettes are superficial, clocking in at a mere seven minutes and 22 seconds and three minutes and 50 seconds, respectively.

On the technical side, the sound and video quality of the DVD are very good. Due to delay with the Blu-ray version, we were only able to review the standard definition release, but the image quality on that indicates that hi-def release would be the way to see this show.

The main gripe about the Phase 4 release (which is what we reviewed, so this may not apply to the CBS version) is about the packaging rather than the content. The DVD’s come in plastic sockets attached to a fold-out cardboard holder. This holder, which carries pictures of the characters, is attractive and works well as a disc carrier. The cardboard sleeve that it slides into,however, is annoying because it can be difficult to open the end with risking tearing or bending it.

Final Verdict

Overall Flashpoint is a superior entry in the procedural genre. Its Canadian origin adds interest, although it won’t be obvious to anyone unfamiliar with Canadian culture and landmarks. For fans of suspense, it is recommended viewing and should be seen on Blu-ray, if possible.