PILOT REVIEW: 9-1-1

9-1-1

Starring: Angela Bassett, Peter Krause, Oliver Stark, Aisha Hinds, Kenneth Choi, Rockmond Dunbar, and Connie Britton

Created by Ryan Murphy & Brad Falchuk and Tim Minear
Written by Ryan Murphy & Brad Falchuk and Tim Minear, Directed by Bradley Buecker

THE PREMISE
9-1-1 is a Ryan Murphy show masquerading as a Dick Wolf show and there's a lot of elements of both. It is centered on first responders in Los Angeles as they deal with harrowing situations on a daily basis. The first responders include field sergeant Athena Grant (Angela Bassett), fire captain Bobby Nash (Peter Krause), firefighters "Buck," "Hen," and "Chimney" (Oliver Stark, Aisha Hinds, & Kenneth Choi), and 911 dispatch operator Abby Clark (Connie Britton). Rounding out the main cast is Athena's husband, Michael Grant (Rockmond Dunbar) who just came out as gay to his wife and children.

THE REVIEW
If you've read my blog before, you know that I am decidedly mixed on Ryan Murphy. While I thought the inaugural season of American Crime Story was one of the best things to hit TV this decade, I have felt that his other shows I've seen from Glee to American Horror Story to Scream Queens to The New Normal to Feud all range from campy at best to self-indulgent trash at worse. That's what makes 9-1-1 so odd because there's a lot of it that feels more like a show in the Chicago universe than a Ryan Murphy vehicle. That's not to say there aren't some odd things (more on that in a minute) but it's awfully tame, some may even say mundane. For me though, this is more my cup of tea.

The all-star cast certainly makes a big difference. Veterans like Angela Bassett, Peter Krause, and especially Connie Britton elevate the show and make it more compelling than it probably would be with a less prestigious cast. In particular, Britton was commanding. At first, I thought they were grossly undervaluing her, but then her role in the final call of the episode (the break in) was vital to the story and made it the best part of the episode. Krause is also very strong here and he's always a likable performer in any role he's in even though his personality seems like a slightly more tortured version of his Parenthood persona.

I know Ryan Murphy has said that all these rescues are based on true stories and I'm not arguing that, but wow, the first two stories were just so ridiculous that it was hard to take it serious on any level. I mean, a baby in a drain? Seriously? The last story, centered on a break-in while just a child was home in suburban LA, was so much more compelling at heart pounding because I was engrossed in the story and not laughing at the absurdity of it. While I'm not going to knock the show for delving into the personal lives of the characters, I was not at all moved by the gay dad storyline. I'm not saying that isn't something families have dealt with but the reveal was just so poorly done and melodramatic. It felt completely out of place with the heart pounding feel to the show even for the most absurd cases.

WILL I WATCH IT AGAIN?
Yes. I'm captivated enough by the cast to give this a few episodes and we'll see if it can avoid some of the common Ryan Murphy traps.