996 replies to this topic

[Lilybee]

This show seems to be a little Rescue Me and a lot Third Watch without the cops.

[Featherhat]

It was alright, but I thought it was very flat in places.

The fire and action scenes were good but the characters and their problems were fairly boring, even taking pilot-itis into consideration. I'm not sure I buy Jesse Spencer as a firefighter. His guilt over that guy's death was understandable, and his relationship with Severide one of the most interesting on the show, but his relationship issues with his resident girlfriend is already boring.

Rookie's only real hazing was being manipulated into hitting on the Lesbian, luckily for him.

Monica Raymund and Lauren German kind of feel like they've been asigned "the girl roles" on the show if that makes sense. I hope the drama of the possible mal practice suit doesn't drag on for a lot of episodes.

[jessied112]

I watched this on the weekend, as for some reason, Global had it On Demand already and although I didn't mind it, I don't know if I'll be sticking around. I think I was distracted by Jesse Spencer putting on an American accent which, to me, wasn't great because it sounded forced. Severide and a drug issue? Could be interesting but it could also go totally cliched. I didn't mind the rookie so much, mostly because he wasn't deemed incompetent, unlike most shows with rookies. I did like the action scenes, though. Those were pretty awesome.

[TV Anonymous]

When Casey held Severide hanging by his hand, I was thinking of "You go, we go" moment. But I quickly realized that they both first-billed stars on the show. But I could not understand Casey taking his helmet off in the middle of fire and falling debris.

[GG63]

Question for anyone in the know - do these kinds of fire departments actually exist? I was confused initially as to who was doing what and why the two main characters were butting heads. Yes I can be a little slow sometimes. By the end of the show I had figured out more and think I will stick with the show at least for a few more episodes.

Figured out Casey and the resident doc were in trouble as soon as he started talking to the widow. No surprises there except I almost thought they were going to reveal he was gay instead of "we're at different spots in our lives" route.

The ladies may have been assigned "girl roles" - yes I know what you're talking about Featherhat, but I really liked the scene with one of them and one of the firefighters in the locker room. Sorry I don't remember which ones, but it was the scene with the firefighter wrapped in a towel talking to one of the ladies. It was very low key, nothing sexual about it. It felt like a friend/buddy moment and I really liked that.

[NYC2007]

The ladies may have been assigned "girl roles" - yes I know what you're talking about Featherhat, but I really liked the scene with one of them and one of the firefighters in the locker room.

Although, their first scene with the guy with the gun was great. They didn't pass out or scream. Loved when they gave it to the cop outside.

I think I'll DVR this for a while and see how it goes.

[w2irt]

I really wanted to like this show. Frankly I don't give a hoot about the characters, they're all interchangeable at this point, but because I have a deep respect for the science and art of firefighting and the traditions and lore surrounding it. I've been a "buff" for over 30 years and have attended enough multiple alarms as a news photographer in the 80s and 90s to know basic fireground procedures. From a technical standpoint CF has the same problems that every firehouse-based show has had going back to Emergency! in the 70s. Namely this one big immutable fact: A major structure fire, especially in this case a 5-story multiple dwelling that's fully involved would not have three firefighting vehicles assigned. Hell, for the first scene, a simple house fire in an urban setting, a typical response is "3 & 2" (3 engines/pumpers and 2 trucks/ladders/aeriels), at least one chief if not two and a few support vehicles arriving later on. That counts as "one alarm." If each apparatus has 4 FFs assigned that's 20 right there for the first alarm. For a house fire.

Now, scale that up to the climactic scene in the series premiere last night. Let's say the fire DID get that bad before someone called it in. I'll give them that as dramatic license. OK, dispatch is getting dozens of panicked phone calls of "heavy fire". At this point FD knows they've got a barnburner on their hands. Chances are they'll send at least a deuce (second alarm) right off the bat if they're on the ball. That's 10 to 12 pieces of firefighting apparatus (engines/trucks) and nearly 50 warm bodies. First chief who rolls up and sees red stuff pouring out of every orifice is going to immediately escalate that to a 4th or 5th alarm. Guaranteed you'd have enough crews to contain that beast in relatively short order, and I'd wager they'd have had half of Lake Michigan pouring on that building within minutes in both an exterior attack (tower-ladders knocking down heavy fire from the outside) and interior (crews with handlines--1-3/4 and 2-1/2" lines). Smoke soon would be the major enemy.

You'd have half the south side's ambulances nearby (it IS a multiple dwelling unit after all), the Red Cross or other relief agency to provide temporary shelter and so on and so forth. Anybody who's ever seen a major fire on TV or had a house catch fire in their neighbourhood knows how many trucks and personnel are really there. For me, that's a big suspension of disbelief, there to create unnecessary drama and for me it failed. NBC did so more with ER. You had your hotties in scrubs and white coats while remaining reasonably true to urban emergency medicine, or at least enough so to keep it compelling. Not so with CF, and I'd love to hear from Chicago firefighters just how many rules and protocols were violated in just the first episode. I won't even get IN to the hideous abuse/misuse of FD radios, which would have been enough to put "otis" on suspension instantly, I'd wager, after his fight call. Funny as it was.

What DID I like? The nice shout-out to "Emergency" with Engine 51. My advice to the critics: Surround and drown this beast. "10-4, KMG-365."

[EndoKE]

I liked this show, it was okay and has plenty of pretty people, I might watch a few more times because nothing else is on except Couples Therapy and I can record that the next day.

[liz26111]

Question for anyone in the know - do these kinds of fire departments actually exist? I was confused initially as to who was doing what and why the two main characters were butting heads. Yes I can be a little slow sometimes. By the end of the show I had figured out more and think I will stick with the show at least for a few more episodes.

According to an article I read after I got confused on this myself, I learned a few do exist in Chicago. In a nutshell if I am understanding it correctly Severide and gang does the glamorous stuff. While Casey's gang arrives and sets up certain things so Severide and gang can go and do their thing. But that still does not answer all my questions about the set up though. And I could be totally wrong too.

Edited by liz26111, Oct 11, 2012 @ 11:25 AM.

[NYC2007]

While Casey's gang arrives and sets up certain things so Severide and gang can go and do their thing. But that still does not answer all my questions about the set up though. And I could be totally wrong too.

They said that Severide's group was Rescue. The rookie also explained a little bit about how they were a unique firehouse during the tour. I'll have to rewatch.

[w2irt]

While I can't speak for CFD's internal firehouse politics I would have to speculate, having known a good number of FFs in my life, that that kind of conflict would be more ball-busting cameraderie than serious dislikes between companies. Sure there are individual personalities involved everywhere, but I'd put money on supervisory personnel nipping anything nasty in the bud in this day and age.

As to companies themselves, most every firehouse has at least one engine company. This is a truck whose job it is to pump water from a hydrant (or other water source) and whose crews go into the fire building in direct firefighting and search-and-rescue roles. Putting the wet stuff on the red stuff and searching for and bringing out trapped individuals.

Maybe a half to a third of a big city's firehouses have a "truck" company (ladder company, hook-and-ladder or aerial company; same function, different name). Their job is to get the stick up in the air, get their men onto roofs to ventilate (the K12 saw and axes on the roof as shown last night) and after the bulk of the fire is knocked down, their jobs become primarily smoke ejection and "overhauling", or ripping down the ceilings and walls with long hooks (pike poles) to ensure there are no hot-spots left that could flare up and re-ignite the building. Then there are the rescue squads. These differ from department to department, and I'm not sure how CFD allocates their squads, but they're the guys who do the crazy-ass stuff or perform duties that are outside the purvue of engine and ladder companies. High-rise rescue, building collapse specialists, water rescue, highway rescue and so on. Consider it a similar rivalry to beat cops vs SWAT guys, or attending physicians to surgeons.

The big thing to remember in any situation like that, here in 2012, is crew resource management. You help your brother/sister. Period. And everything you do has to lead to that kind of bond, whether it's mess duty or backing up the guy on the nozzle in a rip-snorting worker. Ball-busting between companies is one thing. Downright animosity that could spill onto the job is another, and I seriously doubt any commanding officer would tolerate any crap in that regard.

Edited by w2irt, Oct 11, 2012 @ 12:02 PM.

[thuganomics85]

It was decent, I guess. Certainly not the best pilot this season, but not the worst. All the fire scenes were well-done and the actors were solid, even if I can't remember any of their names besides Casey and Severdie. The plots have definitely been done before; the guy with a painkiller problem, the couple on the outs, the rookie, the guy who is in trouble financially, the "She's a lesbian!" reveal, and someone in ethical trouble, but that's kind of pare for the course with these types of shows.

I like Jesse Spencer enough, but I did have problems not just thinking of him as Fireman Chase, with a bad American accent. Eamonn Walker was a solid presence as always. The two women characters sort of reminded me of that Lana Parrilla's character was on the first season of Boomtown. It was nice seeing Lauren German is something else besides that horrible Lori on Hawaii 5-0.

The Rahm Emmanuel cameo was a bit much.

[Dowel Jones]

I'll give them that as dramatic license.

Keep in mind the production costs of showing an actual fireground scene (renting all that equipment, etc.). Also, certain rules have to be broken in order to show the actors' faces (critical to the show). In real life, most FD chiefs will scream at their personnel for not wearing SCBA with facemask. It's a huge liability issue. That said, I thought it was a decent opening with the requisite number of subplots: the burned chief, the second guessing on medical practices (with the involvement of the union rep, wow!). When Mayor Emmanuel actually showed up on cameo, I immediately thought of [The Incredible Hulk[/i] (the Eric Bana/Jennifer Connely version), which originally featured a cameo of Mayor Willie Brown of San Francisco. Unlike Emmanuel, he ended up on the cutting room floor.

[extracat]

I tuned in for one reason and that's Jesse Spencer. I thought he gave a solid performance and I don't think his American accent is bad at all. I thought there was a lot going on in the episode and I'm looking forward to more character development. I read an article on the ratings this morning and it said that while Nashville had higher ratings, Nashville lost a lot of viewers in the 2nd half while Chicago Fire maintained its viewers in the second half. The article said that was a good accomplishment, especially for a show on in that time slot.

I hope the show keeps Jesse Spencer on my TV for another 8 years or so.

[irishmaple]

To my surprise, I liked this. I'd read unflattering reviews and my expectations were not high. I put it on in the background after work and I ended up totally absorbed. I watched maybe five episodes of House so I don't really know Jesse Spenser. I do seem to remember he had a lot more hair, which brings me to my biggest complaint. The paramedics' flowing hair drove me nuts. It was so unprofessional and unhygenic. I thought the show had some sense when the dark-haired paramedic tied back her hair before approaching the shooting victim but that proved an anomoly. I really hope they do something about that.

The rest of the episode was very entertaining. The opening tragedy was horrible, and I can see why it would leave emotional scars a month later. Given their work environment, it seemed the animosity between Casey and the rescue guy could cause a serious problem so I was relieved that they seemed to make peace by the end of the episode. The rookie seemed to know what he was doing and I'm glad his inexperience wasn't played for easy laughs. I don't find incompetence cute or endearing. The guy who lost his house to foreclosure was really familiar but I can't recall when I've seen him before. I didn't recognize his name in the credits either. I've liked Eamonn Walker since Oz and he just had a guest arc on StrikeBack, so I hope this show works out for him. I'll check it out again next week.

[rove3]

I liked it enough to keep watching. The fire scenes, whether realistic or not (and I don't much care either way) were pretty cool, the acting was solid IMO, and the man candy wasn't bad.

[liz26111]

I watched maybe five episodes of House so I don't really know Jesse Spenser. I do seem to remember he had a lot more hair, which brings me to my biggest complaint.

I did not like House but Jesse Spencer on this show is great and totally hot. His hair was longer on House than here. I like it so much better now.

[Holliday]

I think I liked it enough. I was a little distracted by “There’s the annoying chick from Hawaii 5-0. And hey…that chick who punctured the kid’s heart played another stubborn character on Lie to Me. Wasn’t that guy on Trauma? And that guy? The new candidate? I think I’ve seen him on some of my L&O reruns. Wait, there’s Brady! I can’t believe he lost his house, poor guy. Finally, Chase…you’re still screwing up relationships? Get it together, man!

I'm convinced everyone else is from a show I didn't watch.

[Cinna]

The big draw for me is Taylor Kinney aka Kelly Severide...also seen in The Vampire Diaries, and one of Lady Gaga's videos (and in a relationship with her I believe). I know it's shallow, but he could just read the phone book and I'd watch. Aside from that, the show was pretty solid, and enjoyable escapist fare.

[w2irt]

I'll give them that as dramatic license.

Keep in mind the production costs of showing an actual fireground scene (renting all that equipment, etc.). Also, certain rules have to be broken in order to show the actors' faces (critical to the show). In real life, most FD chiefs will scream at their personnel for not wearing SCBA with facemask. It's a huge liability issue. That said, I thought it was a decent opening with the requisite number of subplots: the burned chief, the second guessing on medical practices (with the involvement of the union rep, wow!).

Yes, the production costs are high for something like that, but there have to be ways around it too, while still keeping it realistic. CG!, intercutting real FG long shots and so on. And yeah, I'd forgotten about the mask issue. Big no-no, you're quite correct!

I didn't mind the Rhambo Cameo. I think it kinda added something. If it was any network other than NBC it mightn't have happened, IMHO.

Now, going forward I just know three other things are going to happen/not-happen starting next week:

• Almost every week at least one company in the station is going to be featured at a major working fire. Not a smouldering basement, not a garage, nor a propane back yard barbecue, nor a restaurant's deep-fat fryer, or even someone who burned the pot roast, but a serious working fire that outside of TV Land would be at least a 3 or 4 banger. Reality: Fires like that, in 2012, are (thankfully) extremely rare.
• Our featured firehouse will inevitably be the first-due engine, truck and squad to every event south of the Loop. Reality: the chances of any one engine company being first-due to a serious working fire every few days is almost unheard of unless there's an efficient and accurate arsonist working the neighbourhood. A busy house will get all kinds of calls--more on that in a second--but very few major fires nowadays. Now that said, the truck will go to a lot more fires than the local engine (since there are fewer ladder companies in the city than engines), and the Rescue will go to pretty well every fire--while the enginemen are out doing inspections, drilling and so on. In real-world Chicago there are only 4 Squads: 1, 2, 4 & 7.
• The vast majority of the Calls Of TV Interest will be either spectacular crashes, water rescues and multiple-alarm structure fires. What'll never be shown are the hundreds of routine medical jobs, EDPs (emotionally-disturbed persons), drunks, ODs, smell-of-gas calls, arcing fuseboxes, "I've fallen and I can't get up" seniors, and so on, which make up the bulk of a real house's workflow.

Not to say any of this is bad television. Hell, the last thing I'd want to see is a week of burned food, car fires, strung-out junkies and fallen drunks. But still, it bears understanding for casual viewers. Or worse -- the inevitable drought. Weeks without a single decent call. 12, 18 or 24 hour shifts where the most excitement is a dumpster fire. I think Rescue Me did that and Emergency I know did it, so bet on it happening mid-season or next season here too.

Finally, anybody wanting a real feel of what the CFD goes through, in real time, here's a link to the Live Audio Feed.

Edited by w2irt, Oct 12, 2012 @ 12:34 AM.

[NYC2007]

I tuned in for one reason and that's Jesse Spencer. I thought he gave a solid performance and I don't think his American accent is bad at all. I thought there was a lot going on in the episode and I'm looking forward to more character development. I read an article on the ratings this morning and it said that while Nashville had higher ratings, Nashville lost a lot of viewers in the 2nd half while Chicago Fire maintained its viewers in the second half. The article said that was a good accomplishment, especially for a show on in that time slot.

I hope the show keeps Jesse Spencer on my TV for another 8 years or so.

I thought he was good too. I think he also seemed like the leader of the squad which is a good thing. Although I was waiting for him to start diagnosing while they were in the hospital.

[cosmom]

I keep thinking the thread title is Chicago Fire: Watered-Down Rescue Me

Tried to watch the pilot - just could not get interested in the show or characters. Maybe I'll try again on the weekend.

[liz26111]

I really liked this. I found Rescue Me to be way over the top and crazy for me the few times I tried to watch it. This show is more my speed.

I find Jesse Spencer's character here more relatable than on House. Another show I found to be crazy and over the top. I guess I like simpler shows.

Edited by liz26111, Oct 14, 2012 @ 2:31 PM.

[Dowel Jones]

The paramedics' flowing hair drove me nuts

Add to that the unshaven firefighter in one scene. That would get a chief's attention, trust me.
I also loved the scene where Candidate chases down the escapee driver while he's wearing turnout boots. NOT gonna happen, folks.
I'm still going to watch this show, though. It has potential.

[Shanna Marie]

I kind of liked the pilot. This is what I'd call "comfort food TV." It's not really challenging or thought-provoking, I probably won't be discussing it in great detail online, but it involves attractive people doing exciting things, and the "villain" (at least until the inevitable sweeps arsonist arc) is fire, so I don't have to deal with icky, evil people (sometimes I just can't face another serial killer or merciless gangster). After a rough day, it's kind of relaxing because running into burning buildings puts almost any other job into perspective. I type on a computer all day and make stuff up. I have it so very easy.

I was interested in seeing Jesse Spencer outside House, since I liked him there and thought he was rather underused. While I think he did a good job, I'm not sure this is the best role for him. He still looks younger than most of the actors playing teens on Glee, so it's hard to imagine him as a leader here. There's this odd kind of innocence about him, so he can have a week's worth of scruff and still give the impression of not being old enough to shave. I think I could have bought him as the rookie trying to earn the respect of the rest of the squad, or maybe even the newly promoted lieutenant adjusting to the new role, but as the established leader I find it hard to take him seriously. He looks like the baby brother of most of the men under his command. Is firefighting like the military where you can have young officers in command of much more experienced enlisted men?

[giftcard]

This is what I'd call "comfort food TV".

Exactly.

I was not impressed to see Hawaii Five-0's Lori on the show and really wish she and her partner would tie up their hair while working. As previously mentioned at least the partner did before attending to the gun shot victim. Although I was fairly horrified to see her putting her hair up while wearing her gloves. I'm sure I'll get over it considering all the delicious eye candy I have to look at. Hello, Mason Lockwood!

[corgi-ears]

You guys, did you see when that one dude ate the other dude's meat? I think they are going to start down the path of being friends after all. I'm so relieved.

[liz26111]

I did see that. But I am not sure if you are serious or not. I too was happy Mason ate Chase's meal. Sorry but having a hard time calling them by their show names.

Also, why is Casey wearing a wedding ring if he is not married? I cannot say I have seen or heard of a man wearing one when engaged. I really thought he was married until the scene wear Hailey came over and they talked. Also, all the press said he was estranged from his bff and wife. But they are not married. Not really a big deal but it still annoys me.

[Chas411]

It was ok, I'll keep watching but agree that while the action scenes were great, the only character who stood out to me was the rookie Mills. Everyone else I can't remember their names and found their personal storylines to be bland.

Has Jessie Spencer lost a ton of weight or something?

[Kel Varnsen]

Guaranteed you'd have enough crews to contain that beast in relatively short order, and I'd wager they'd have had half of Lake Michigan pouring on that building within minutes in both an exterior attack (tower-ladders knocking down heavy fire from the outside) and interior (crews with handlines--1-3/4 and 2-1/2" lines). Smoke soon would be the major enemy.

As far as this show compared to real life, it seemed strange to me that for the big fire at the end they didn't start spraying the building with water, until everyone had been evacuated. I know from a filming/continuity stand point, throwing making the building soaked with water, on top of being on fire would make it harder to shoot, but from a real life standpoint, would there be any reason to do that?