TiVo Community Forums Archives - Line of Fire

TiVoCommunity.com
(c)opyright 1995-2005 All rights reserved
indexcheckTC
This area is a static history of posts in the TiVo Community Forum Archive.
This archive history was made for the simple indexing of search sites like Google.

Pages:1

Line of Fire - 12/2 (spoilers)
(Click here to view the original thread with full colors/images)

Posted by: Chandler Mike

Didn't see a thread on this, so figured I would start one.

I don't always check out every new show that comes on, but something about this one seemed intriguing and I wasn't disappointed. I think it may have been the crime boss guy (David Paymer), knowing he was in it seemed pretty cool.

Anyways, I loved the show, and the characters had me hooked right off the bat, especially Leslie Bibb's role.

The whole FBI, crime syndicate seems interesting, and I'm looking forward to future episodes.

Mike

Posted by: desulliv

In the FBI you can't cheat on a test, but you can abuse your power after a fender bender.

Posted by: desulliv

That's that with that.

Posted by: desulliv

I'm only half way through this and figure the "new" mob guy has to be an undercover agent.

That's that with that.

Posted by: desulliv

Yep, he's an agent, alright. Not that bright either. Spend two years in prison to establish your cover and then risk exposure by contacting the head of the field office in a public restaurant.

That's that with that.

Posted by: TRILIGHT

You really do like listening to yourself talk, don't you desulliv?? :) I do like the "that's that with that" line and the mob boss is my favorite character. Very cold and business like.

Is there potential here? Sure! However, I could not help but notice the "women's lib" crap being shoved down my throat with a damn SPOON!!! Geeze!! I'm all for "woman in a man's role" bit but COME ON!!! It got so annoying, I went back and made a list...

Man can't handle the death of the agent. Calls woman who is stronger than him. Woman smokes cigarette and says she'll deal with it.
Little girl in car says "girls rule" after mom kicks ass on guy in traffic. Husband (man) can't take care of himself?
"It's a Man's World" playing overhead while the mob boss is speaking in the bar to crowd of men. (all BAD guys)
Man cheats on test. Woman calls him on it.
Woman wears clothes that show half her boobs during interrogation and then gets upset when man notices.
FBI review board for new female agent is made up of three men wanting to kick her out.
Man hits on woman and she turns him down. Asks her out again and doesn't seem to quit and she tells him to back off.
Mob guys stand outside of shop and talk about lead FBI woman being a "broad" and about "banging her" then killing her.
Woman at dinner gets disgusted that guy at bar is looking at her. Guy tells woman at table (about the other) "she probably sizzles in the sack"
Woman WAS going to suspend other woman for 2 weeks but then tells her to go ahead and come in the next day. Says "what the hell".
Finally, at the end... "Supermom" from earier gets on the MALE child for bothering FEMALE sibling then looks at husband annoyed and says "can't you do anything?"

Be right back... I think I still have some "women's lib" stuck in my teeth from when they were stuffing it down my throat. Geeze!

Posted by: dswallow

hehe... I thought this is one of the worst shows I've seen in a long while. Or I should say one of the worst first 10 minutes of a show I've seen in awhile, because that's how long it took for me to finally become disgusted with it and change the channel. I'd consider it a miracle if it lasted 3 or 4 episodes.

Posted by: Kicker3

I have to agree with DSwallow, I thought the show was horrible last night. I forced myself to watch the entire thing, thinking it would get better. Plus, I wanted to give it the benefit of the doubt since it is the pilot and we had to learn all the characters. But, man...I was bored out of my rocker with it. Maybe I am just spoiled with Sopranos and then it didn't help it came on after 24....not to mention I re-watched Scarface on Sunday night.

I did like the mob boss...but he was as mob bossish as he can get on Public TV...which isn't enough to truly be a cruel mob boss.

Posted by: uncleblaine

I thought it was a great show and will continue to watch.

Can anyone tell me who was singing "Blowin In the Wind" at the end of this episode? I love the arrangement but I don't know who it is.

Posted by: MacThor

I recorded it despite poor reviews because it's based in Richmond, a city I spent several years of my life in. I'm just curious how realistic they do the city. I never had the impression the mob was a big deal down there, in fact I was one of very few Italians ;)

There were definitely neighborhoods you did NOT go to, but not because of the mafia....

Posted by: desulliv

You're right TRILIGHT. I should have made notes and then made one longer post. :D

You made some excellent observations re the women's roles, but I don't share your view on the mob boss. He's just a little too cool, I guess.

That's that with that.

Posted by: cpalma

quote:
Originally posted by MacThor
I recorded it despite poor reviews because it's based in Richmond, a city I spent several years of my life in. I'm just curious how realistic they do the city. I never had the impression the mob was a big deal down there, in fact I was one of very few Italians ;)

There were definitely neighborhoods you did NOT go to, but not because of the mafia....

I'm not sure "Malloy" (David Paymer) is supposed to be Italian (sounds kinda Irish to me). There are other mobs out there besides the Italian mob.

The show was just OK. I'll give it another couple of watches (what's left after they took off NYPD Blue?) I still have 4 episodes of 24 to catch up on so if it's bad that's where I'll be.

Didn't catch all the women's lib stuff, but now that it was pointed out to me, you're absolutely right. I'm a woman and I'm all for strong women characters, but that was so blatant it was ridiculous.

Oh, and one more thing....That's that with that.

Posted by: TRILIGHT

quote:
Originally posted by cpalma
Didn't catch all the women's lib stuff, but now that it was pointed out to me, you're absolutely right. I'm a woman and I'm all for strong women characters, but that was so blatant it was ridiculous.

I'm glad I didn't offend you and I hope I didn't offend others. I've got no problem with women doing the same job as a man if they're able. I was in the military with some women who could easily kick my ass! hehe :)

I'm usually one who chooses to "suspend disbelief" to enjoy a show. I give a lot of latitude sometimes to give a show a chance. It takes something fairly obvious to pull me out of that and this show definitely did it. A lot of "man is a pig. woman should take over." mentality going on.

Posted by: Rob Helmerichs

I'm not giving up on the show yet--it's well-made and well-acted--but my biggest complaint is that it seems to be aspiring to the Sopranos/Shield league, and is acting as if it's there, without actually having earned it. So far, there's really no there there; it seems like just posturing.

But I'll give it a little while to see if it develops some muscle to go with its attitude...

Posted by: Steveknj

quote:
Originally posted by MacThor
I recorded it despite poor reviews because it's based in Richmond, a city I spent several years of my life in. I'm just curious how realistic they do the city. I never had the impression the mob was a big deal down there, in fact I was one of very few Italians ;)

There were definitely neighborhoods you did NOT go to, but not because of the mafia....

That was one of the things I thought that was strange about the show, Richmond being the selected setting. I have never lived there and have only driven through the city a couple of times, but it doesn't strike me as a place where a mob syndicate would have very strong footing, especially for THAT many FBI agents being assigned to shut it down. Being a NY/NJ person, I always think of either drug lords or the mafia being in the really large cities, I had a hard time buying Richmond as a place where they are going to have an FBI/Mob turf war.

I was very disappointed in the pilot, but I'll give it one more try before I delete it off my SP list.

Posted by: brahamt

Well, I, for one, loved it. I did not catch the women's lib stuff the first time around, but as you mentioned it, it did seem excessive. That said, I don't really care. Every good show has to have a definitive point of view.

Posted by: lpwcomp

The format (covering both the mob and the cops) reminds me of "Crime Story". I hope it ends better. The ending of "Crime Story" was, IMHO, a bit silly.

Posted by: jcd0312

I reminded me of a knockoff of "The Wire" on HBO. I'll keep my SP for a while though to see if it grows legs.

Posted by: ADG

Not what I'd hoped for, but I'll give it a while. Always liked David Paymer, but I just don't see him in this role. One thing I didn't like was how obvious it was (at least to me) from the very start that the newly released "mobster" was an agent. The "shooting" was just too obviously a setup and the intro to Paymer's character was, imo, too contrived.

But okay, it's just one episode and will likely (hopefully) improve.

Posted by: TRILIGHT

quote:
Originally posted by ADG
One thing I didn't like was how obvious it was (at least to me) from the very start that the newly released "mobster" was an agent.

A lot of people have said this but it did not occur to me. I can only assume it's because I do not really have a lot of exposure to the genre so I'm not really "expecting" anything or looking for something. I'll continue to give it a chance. Hell, it's not as bad as the Tracy Morgan Show! I liked his skits on SNL but that show is just plain crap! I'll give LoF a couple of more episodes to impress me before I kill it.

Posted by: appleye1

quote:
Originally posted by MacThor
I recorded it despite poor reviews because it's based in Richmond, a city I spent several years of my life in. I'm just curious how realistic they do the city. I never had the impression the mob was a big deal down there, in fact I was one of very few Italians ;)

There were definitely neighborhoods you did NOT go to, but not because of the mafia....

I lived in Richmond for 15 years, and most of it downtown, not in the suburbs. I agree with you for the most part, except that I ocasionally heard stories of a small Sicilian presence in the city, involved in mostly numbers and other illegal gambling rackets.

There's lots of organized drug crime in the city though. The FBI has been fighting it for years. When I lived there the drug-related murder rate was at an all-time high. Little kids were getting hit in drive by shootings. "The city continues to be one of the most violent in the country, according to FBI statistics released last week. In 2002, Richmond had 37.8 murders per 100,000 residents, a rate higher than those of Baltimore, Atlanta, New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago." (According to a recent MSNBC story)

It's not the Italians doing the shooting though. Most of the drug gangs are black and many are run by out of state drug cartels.

Posted by: BBQ Chicken

I can't believe more people don't like this show, I think it is great and almost as good as The Shield. The 2nd episode was really good and I hope that people will watch this so it doesn't get cancelled.

Posted by: MacThor

quote:
Originally posted by appleye1
I lived in Richmond for 15 years, and most of it downtown, not in the suburbs. I agree with you for the most part, except that I ocasionally heard stories of a small Sicilian presence in the city, involved in mostly numbers and other illegal gambling rackets.

What made you think I lived in the suburbs? Not every UR grad moved out to the West End, you know.... :) I spent my time in the fan, both the nicer (Grove Ave) and not so nice (Grace St) areas.

Posted by: cpalma

I watched show 2, but turned it off after 40 minutes. It's just not pulling me in. I would rather have NYPD Blue back!

In saying that, though, I am a huge Soprano's fan, so it's not the mob stuff that's turning me off. Malloy-has NO redeeming qualities at all!! and even the FBI agents are one-note characters. I probably won't watch next week.

One other note (hubby pointed out to me), there used to be a code (at least in the Italian Mob) that you left family (esp. wives and children) out of the business. Using that child was not a pleasant thing to watch (for me).

Posted by: ADG

Yeah, I thought the premise was very promising but everything is just so cliched. So far I haven't found the story lines either believable or engrossing - just silly - as is the character played by David Paymer. Too bad.

Posted by: Rob Helmerichs

One thing I find potentially interesting is that in her own way, Leslie Hope seems to be as bad as David Paymer. It could be cool if they have the Mob, Leslie Hope's FBI street gang, and the good FBI agents as a three-way conflict.

Posted by: DaveBogart

Can't decide if I like this show or not. One thing really bothered me in the 12/9 episode: The little kid being held at the brothel when the mob boss' wife comes in and asks what's up with the kid. Without ever hearing anybody call him Donnie she walks over to him and addresses him by name. Such a small thing but it really ruined the rest of the show for me.

Posted by: e30mpwrd

This is a 12/2 thread, not a 12/9 thread; please keep in mind that since we all have TiVo, some of use have not yet watched the 12/9 episode and didn't expect to find spoilers for it in this thread. Thanks!

Posted by: DaveBogart

As if that could possibly spoil anything. But your point is taken. I'm sorry.

Posted by: appleye1

quote:
Originally posted by MacThor
What made you think I lived in the suburbs? Not every UR grad moved out to the West End, you know.... :) I spent my time in the fan, both the nicer (Grove Ave) and not so nice (Grace St) areas.

:D I didn't assume you lived in the suburbs. (Just adding crediblity to my opinion is all. Glad to see another fan alumni!) I lived on Grove for a short time! And although I never lived on Grace, while in college I lived on Park, Floyd, Main, Franklin, and Pine for short periods of time. After college, I lived on Monument, the Boulevard, Stuart, and lastly on Patterson before leaving Richmond for good. I really loved living there and have a lot of fond memories. I still go back from time to time and visit some of the old haunts like Bogarts and Joe's Inn. Richmond's a cool town.