Don’t worry, I’m still completely in love with The Old Guard. That’s not changing any time soon.
I briefly talking about this new-to-me fandom in Friday’s post. I’m not at obsession level with it, which I’ll explain why below. But it’s caught me, and I know exactly who to blame.
The show is called 9-1-1. It takes place here, in Los Angeles, following both Station 118 of the Los Angeles Fire Department, as well as a Sargent with the Los Angeles Police Department, and a 9-1-1 dispatcher. It also airs on Fox, though I’m watching it on Hulu.
As of last night, I’ve completed the first two seasons. And I’ve enjoyed it, for the most part. I think the cast is a great bunch that plays of each other very well. Some of the emergencies have been… lame, but most were entertaining. There is some uneven writing, mostly in the B-plots, but all in all, it’s not terrible.
I started watching simply because I was sick of the Monday night 9-1-1/9-1-1 Lonestar chat that would take place for like six hours on the discord I’m mostly on. I’d known about the show since it first launched, but I never gave it a second thought. I figured I was done with crime proctorial shows, thanks to the Criminal Minds/CSI NY burnout I’ve been dealing with for several years. But something about the chat caught me.
So, against my better judgement, I started watching. And after the first episode, I wasn’t completely sold. I could see the actors were trying, but they weren’t gelling. Not yet. But slowly they started to. And the storylines got less soap opera-like and more one the actual primetime tv level.
While I enjoyed season one, there was one character that stood out to me, and not in a good way. That character was Abby, who was the 9-1-1 operator, who made contact with rookie firefighter Buck on a call. Soon, their connection grows (unevenly), and almost too quickly, they are dating. Then, she takes a soul searching world traveling trip and leaves Buck in the dust. Okay, there’s more to it, but that’s the gist of it. Honestly, Abby, who was older than the then 27-ish year old Buck, was almost manipulative in how she got Buck. Maybe others won’t see it, but I sure did. And honestly, I thought I wouldn’t like Buck, after his behavior during the first episode (though he did quickly mature, because his actor deserves good storylines).
Actually, now that I think about it, most of the relationships are written unevenly. I’ve just completed season two, so I’m not sure if things change from her. Hen, a veteran firefighter and first female on the 118, lives with her wife, but their relationship, while loving, feels shallow right now. Not the fault of the actors, it’s the writing that I draw issue with. Buck’s next relationships also feel the same way. (Please, please, please tell me he dumps Ali in season three. She’s a damn idiot.). Buck’s sister comes to town, (which is whole other can of worms I’ll unpack in a second), and deals with the death (literally) of one relationship, and the blooming of another. Which was poorly timed. Hell, even newcomer Eddie, who starts in season two, has a relationship that dies in the same season. The only relationship that makes it through is between Sargent Athena Grant and 118’s Captain Bobby Nash.
Let me talk about Buck for a second. Because the season two finale did him dirty. Buck has spent all of season two becoming a better character. He makes mistakes and fixes them. He deals with his absent sister showing up out of the blue, helps her, deals with the aftermath of his brother-in-law’s death (who didn’t die painfully enough), and then watches finally get with someone who treats her right. It’s clear that everything he learned in season one, he took to heart. And then a firetruck flips because of a bomb, it lands on his leg, he barely gets any screen time, we only see a minor character with him at the hospital (not his team or SISTER), and poof, he’s home and healing. Yes, it’s a major injury, but I just described what amounts to ten minutes. Of the season finale. Where this accident was featured in the promotional material.
They did him dirty.
Honestly, they did the same with Eddie. The man is a Army Veteran, coming from Texas, with his young son, Christopher. His wife ran out on them when she finally broke after having to care for Christopher, who is cerebral palsy, while Eddie was in Afghanistan. Suddenly she’s back in the picture, but she just wants to see him, not get back together or really be a family again. Then poof, she gets hit by a car and dies like a day after asking Eddie for a formal divorce. Because the man with enough issues needs to see that. At least his friendship with Buck mostly well written. Buck easily becomes close with Christopher, and there are at least two comments about “his son” that he doesn’t deny. If the writers are teasing the fans with this bromance, I think they might riot.
The second season has a few episodes solely dedicated to the pasts of some of the characters. While I think it’s a good idea to fill in the backstories of characters, I wasn’t really impressed with how they did this. Flashbacks are fine, but the entire episode was dedicated to these characters, which many main characters not making an appearance if they weren’t around at that time. Hen’s story is empowering, and I really enjoyed the fact that she stood up to her former captain. Chimney’s was fine as well, though it didn’t explain the origin behind his name (real name Howard), and it was placed between two connected episodes with a cliffhanger. It just didn’t do it for me. Bobby’s episode (which is the second time we’ve had major flashbacks to his life before the 118) was also in the middle of two connected episodes, but it was at least more relevant to the currant storyline.
I’m complaining a lot, but I don’t mean to be. It’s all the issues I have with the writing. But there has been some good.
I have really enjoyed some of the cases they’ve been called out to. The banter fits, and the emergencies are varied but interesting. It’s not all crazy incident here and bomb threat there. There are also just general car accidents and fires and people making mistakes and asking for help. The variety is honestly very refreshing. And most (not all) really feel like they are down to earth instead of being spit-balled at a wall.
I’ve been warned that as a Buck fan, I’m going to have issues with the first half of season three. And I’m okay with that. If I could survive season six of Criminal Minds (the year the Powers That Be forced out AJ Cook in two episodes, dropped Paget Brewster to 16 with most of the B-plots revolving around writing her character out, and then hiring Rachel Nicols (no offense to her) to be the token blond girl for most of the season, with a horrifically written character), I can survive this. There’s this magic button on all the streaming players. It’s call the “move forward 15/30 seconds” button. And I will make use of it.
On the flipside…
The show gained a spinoff last year, and I’m not really sure if I want to watch it. I’m talking about 9-1-1 Lonestar. There’s just something about it that feels off-putting. I don’t know what. I know I have to watch it, because there is a crossover episode that just aired, so I have to bite the bullet at some point. But I’m really not looking forward to it. I guess it just hasn’t clicked with me yet.
Honestly, 9-1-1 isn’t a bad show. It’s good old fashioned TV. Not award worthy, but good enough to tune into every week (or, if you’re me, binge-watch two seasons in four days. Now to blast through the rest by next Monday, because I’d love to be able to watch it live with everyone).
I’m gonna get back to Febuwhump (which is suffering because of this show, I swear) and maybe treat myself to another two episodes once I finish. Maybe.
Until next time!
