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CBS imports Hugh Dillon's 'Flashpoint' from Canada

Verne Gay | Off Camera

July 11, 2008

Reason to watch

Idle curiosity. "Flashpoint" is one of the rarest of the rare, an all-Canadian import that was ordered during the writers' strike when CBS execs were starting to think that even reality shows starring dogs didn't seem like such a bad idea.

What it's about Toronto - the real Toronto and not Toronto as some stand-in for, say, Brooklyn - has an elite group of cops known as the SRU, or Strategic Response Unit. Members rescue hostages, bust up gangs, and whatnot, while trying to get into the mind of the perpetrator, who could be either deranged or just plain coldblooded. Tonight, the SRU's Ed Lane (Hugh Dillon) is called in when a madman who speaks only Croatian takes a woman hostage.

Lane does what he has to do, and is ultimately supported by his superior officer, Sgt. Gregory Parker (Enrico Colantoni - that's right! Keith Mars, the father on "Veronica Mars"). The violent outcome ultimately forces Lane, a loving family man, to think hard about what he does and why he does it. That figures because he's an introspective dude who even gets "guilty about not feeling guilty."

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Bottom line Have a little sympathy for "Flashpoint," which must be a source of some pride for our friends to the north. Just imagine - a little ol' CTV show on America's No. 1 network, which probably has next to zero emotional investment in this. That's too bad, because there are commendable aspects to "Flashpoint," including Dillon, who reminds me of an utterly improbable cross between "The Closer's" J.K. Simmons and - ready for this? - Bruce Willis. He smolders, but it's a good smolder.

The first half is tautly produced, before there's a dramatic - and dramatically dull - downshift that'll get you ready for beddy-bye. Tonally, this is not a CBS crime show; it's a CTV one, or maybe a BBC one. For American tastes, that alone could be fatal.

Flashpoint

Premieres tonight at 10 on CBS/2