I was wondering if you've had ...

• Aug 8, 2008 04:00 AM ET
• by Matt Roush

Question: I was wondering if you've had a chance to watch CBS' Flashpoint, and if so, what do you think of it? I actually think it's an OK series that fits pretty well within CBS' crime-series lineup. I could see it on almost any night of their schedule and I think that with a few cast changes and some refocusing, the show could have a bright future. Sure, it'll never be an Emmy nominee (nor should it), but I feel it has potential. I do think, though, that it needs to be a bit more of a character-driven series and not so much about plot. I'd much rather see the personal lives of these characters explored and see how work affects their lives. Do you think this show has much future at all, or is it dead in the water? Where did this show come from? I never heard anything about this show being developed, and all of a sudden it was on TV, and I'm sure I would have known about a show with Amy Jo Johnson (whom I adored on Felicity) and Enrico Colontoni (whom I still watch on Just Shoot Me every day). Someone suggested that it may have been filmed in Canada or something — is that true?
Answer: Your line about Flashpoint being "an OK series that fits pretty well within CBS' crime-series lineup" says it all. The show is absolutely generic, and while it may fit in, it will never stand out, and that makes it something I'm unlikely ever to recommend — or, for that matter, to go out of my way to criticize. It just is what it is, and you'd think CBS has enough of that on the schedule already. But it's cost-efficient to be sure, being a co-production with CTV in Canada, where the show is filmed, and it's doing well enough that CBS has flipped the show with the fading Swingtown, and Flashpoint is now airing in first-run on Thursdays for the duration of the summer. While Flashpoint isn't on CBS' fall schedule, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to find it returning next summer or filling a gap at midseason if/when some new show fails.