"Flashpoint" (TV Series) Finale Episodes

[Mark_Nguyen]

We've had a few Flashpoint TV threads on over the years, btu now that the series is going out (on a creative and ratings high, I might add) Iw as wondering if anyone was still watching it after CBS passed and ION picked it up with CTV for this fifth and final season.

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/11/28/flashpoint-season-5-spoilers_n_2204827.html

I dunno if it was the "Canadian-ness" factor that kept me watching over the years, but as formulaic cop procedurals go this was always entertaining to take in. I found it at least as realistic as the average, even though that realism had ebbed as time went on (you KNOW it's Hollywood that made the team suddenly stop wearing helmets after the first season, just like on Stargate SG-1). It had a really good ensemble cast though, and seeing them face the consequences of having to take care of such violent crimes on a regular basis was always endearing to me.

Also, I have always enjoyed seeing a series shot in Toronto without having to disguise it as New York or Chicago or whatever just to placate the American networks. This season however was the first to actually SAY that they are in Toronto IN DIALOGUE, as if to say - what, you gonna cancel us now? As if all the establishing shots of the CN Tower and street name dropping wasn't good enough. :P

The finale is airing this week and next, and while they decided to end it on a crazy bomber style plot (to make it "big", of course), it still goes a way to showcase the cast doing what they do best. I'll be tuning in to these last episodes knowing that we AND the showrunners knew it would be the last, and for the show to go out kicking and screaming, since that's what it's about.

Mark

 

[Agent Richard07]

I watch the show sporadically and missed the first part of the finale. I'll have to watch both parts next week On Demand. Hope I remember.

 

[Christopher]

I started watching it mainly for Amy Jo Johnson (who always impressed me back on Power Rangers for her acting talent and charisma as much as her spectacular beauty, and who's an even better actress and no less gorgeous now), and to a lesser extent for Enrico Colantoni, but I've really enjoyed the writing and the mature approach to police work and the use of force. I love the way the team uses its wits, technology, negotiating skills, and compassion to prevent violence whenever possible, which is a refreshing change from your usual shoot-'em-up cop show. I agree, however, that it's been getting more melodramatic and over-the-top in the past season or so. I wasn't aware it was on its way out, though.

I think there have been indications of the show's Canadian setting before, in the terminology they use for government or judicial roles, regions or subdivisions of the country, things like that. I remember a mention of the Crown in some context last year.

I'm watching the show on Ion, and I don't think we're up to the finale yet, so please box spoilers. Thank you.

 

[Brikar99]

I usually wait until the seasons end up on Netflix, but it's a show I've enjoyed. It has a formula that it sticks to, but it's still very solid. And as Christopher said, it's nice to see a show that's a little more oriented toward not having violence solve the problem.

Don't they wear patches on their arms identifying them as Toronto police? Or at least Canadian?

 

[Danny99]

I finally got to watch the finale. Except for the final scene, it was a great finale.

I missed a few episodes though, what happened to Raf?

 

[Mark_Nguyen]

Dunno if this qualifies as a spoiler, so:

Spoiler: Flashpoint Season 5

In the season opener, Ed is forced to shoot a teenager when a negotiation went bad, which Ed has to deal with for most of the season. Raf was on the team on that time, and at the end of the episode he reveals that the world he's in on Team One has far too many shades of grey, and resigns. I'm wondering what the production reason was behind his departure, as I thought he was a great character and was fitting in well with the team.

Anyway, Raf is replaced the following week by former fireman Leah, who had originally replaced Lou in Season 2 but then disappeared without reason (they said she was on personal leave or something) at the top of Season 3. We learn that Leah had been off helping her family in Haiti for two years following the earthquake there. It was odd since Team One was suddenly a man down and just stayed that way for the remainder of the series (Raf replaced Wordy, who'd been diagnosed with Parkinsons earlier) without explanation, much like how they used to consult with a civilian psychologist and then stopped as well.

And regarding the finale itself:

Spoiler: Final Spoilers

I quite liked it. It was a straight-up actioner with little of the negotiating or psychoanalyzing they normally do, which is a switch, but they stayed true to the show concept even though the primary plot was nothing special IMO (abused student blowing stuff up, whatever).

Cameos by most of the important secondaries with the notable exception of Raf. Wordy is always fun to see. I didn't expect them to kill Donna - I know it ups the stakes, and frankly in a finale ANYONE can get killed, but she was a great supporting character even after she left Team One. She was married too, and that wasn't mentioned.

I do like seeing how everyone ended up - Jules is off on mat leave and will not likely come back to SRU duty anytime soon; Sam is promoted to Team Three lead to presumably replace Donna. Ed's in charge of Team One with Spike and Leah. And Greg with his silver bullet gets promoted and assigned to training lead. It's a good ending showing the characters moving onwards and upwards, and I was happy to finish off this series in this manner.

Prior to the finale CTV aired a retrospective with the cast, and it was intriguing to see how personal this show was to them. They really were a family offscreen and on, and it showed. Enrico Colantoni mentions that the effect the show has had on police is immense - he'd be having coffee somewhere, and cops just walk up and flash their badge, simply saying "Thank you" - and that's great. Episodic as it is, this show does go a long way to show the consequences of police having to witness incredible acts of violence on a regular basis and how it affects them and their families. Bravo to 'em, Flashpoint will be missed.

Mark

 

[Star Wolf]

I think there have been indications of the show's Canadian setting before, in the terminology they use for government or judicial roles, regions or subdivisions of the country, things like that. I remember a mention of the Crown in some context last year.

There was never any doubt that the show was Canadian from the pilot shown in America as a Canadian vet back from Afghanistan was joining the unit. I gave up after the first season because of truth in advertising. On the CBS ads when it came on a spring replacement they must have pulled every second of the team running and pointing their weapons from the episode to use in the promo

 

[Mark_Nguyen]

To be fair, they DO run and point guns a lot. They're basically a SWAT team, with negotiating capacity built in. I'm going through the series from the start right now (halfway through the second season now - at the episode where... Lew... *choke*) and this really was a fun, very Canadian show to watch. Only without much of the passive-aggressive attitude, politeness, or self-deprecating humor we're known for.

However, while they don't explicitly hide the fact they were in Canada, in the first few years they never draw attention to it. Aside from the fact the CN Tower is prominently seen in most establishing shots for most episodes, for the most part you barely glimpse the little maple leaf flags on their uniforms, and the crown or other judicial giveaways are almost never mentioned. Sam was from JTF2, our military counter-terrorism unit, which was explicitly mentioned in the pilot. However unless you KNEW what JTF2 was, anyone could mistake it for some American unit. Likewise, Lethbridge, Red Deer or other Canadian city names they dropped could be mistaken for Anytown USA. They even send someone to a "Timmies" in one episode, which any Canadian will know, but it's phrased such that it could be any coffee shop.

In the third season onwards they really relaxed their policies and allowed more Canadianisms into the show. Maple leaf flags were now larger, and in red and white (instead of tiny and grey); the police cruisers became the ACTUAL ones they use in Toronto (albeit with the word "Toronto" above "POLICE" painted over), etc. AFAIK, it's only in the final season that they explicitly mention IN DIALOGUE that they were in fact based in Toronto.

And dang, they really had fun with the police gadgets in the early seasons! There were explosive entry devices, rolling camera balls, and epoxy-shooting guns for guys holding grenades! They even featured an Isreali-built "cornershot" weapon in one episode that mounted a Glock pistol in an articulating frame, which in concert with a mini video on the frame could shoot around corners. In later seasons they used fewer gadgets but high-tech crimefighting stuff was always a fun part of the show.

Mark

 

[Danny99]

The final scene's time jump was what got me. It was like they needed it to be that long just to show Jules and Sam's baby, which really wasn't that big of a payoff for me. It may be something small, but it really irked me.

 

[Christopher]

The finale aired in the US last night. I'm afraid I found it rather underwhelming. The plot was just too over-the-top, and the emphasis was on big action and danger and plot stuff rather than the more thoughtful and emotional stuff. Most of the character arcs just seemed to get glossed over or ignored in favor of bang-boom. After Ed's character arc this season about dealing with the consequences of taking lives, it seemed superficial to have the villain be such a lost cause and have Ed just shoot him down without a thought. It's like they were saying, "Aw, heck, forget all that angst, Ed's suddenly over it all and it doesn't matter anymore." And we didn't get any resolution for Dean or Clark, who mostly disappeared in part 2. I guess you could say most of that got wrapped up in previous episodes, but that left so little to deal with here, and the action focus felt superficial and unsatisfying in comparison. It also felt like an anticlimax for Greg. He had his finest hour in Part 1, with the speech he gave to the city, a perfect encapsulation of who he is and what makes him a great cop and a good man. And then here in the climax they stick him into a shoot-em-up situation with no negotiation possible, and it's a generic scenario that doesn't serve his character at all, that any action lead could've been plugged into. They blew all the good stuff before the finale, and that made the finale feel empty.