PILOT REVIEW: Station 19

STATION 19

Starring: Jaina Lee Ortiz, Jason George, Grey Damon, Barrett Doss, Alberto Frezza, Jay Hayden, Okieriete Onaodowan, Danielle Savre, and Miguel Sandoval

Based on Grey's Anatomy Created by Shonda Rhimes
Created by Stacy McKee
Written by Stacy McKee, Directed by Paris Barclay

THE PREMISE
Station 19 is a spinoff of ABC's long time hit Grey's Anatomy but instead of being set in a hospital, it's set at a fire station, Seattle's Station 19. Although not a Grey's viewer, it appears a lot of the Grey's elements are here: romances, workplace drama, intense life or death situations, etc. Andrea "Andy" Herrera (Jaina Lee Ortiz) is a firefighter at Station 19 and working for her dad, Captain Pruitt Herrera (Miguel Sandoval). When he is confronted with cancer, he attempts to turn over the station to Lieutenant Jack Gibson (Grey Damon) before also considering his daughter. Rounding out the main cast are other firefighters at the station and police officer/friend of Andy's, Ryan Tanner (Alberto Frezza).

THE REVIEW
Probably about a minute into the pilot, I realized that one fire show is enough for me. I have been a loyal viewer of Chicago Fire since it premiered and I still maintain that it is underrated in quality and doesn't get the respect it deserves. No, it's not Mad Men, but it's consistently entertaining and the characters are very endearing. So while I seem to have enough room in my life for multiple legal shows or medical shows or cop shows, there doesn't seem to be room for more than one firefighter show and I was completely uninterested in the pilot.

It's not that it was a terribly acted or terribly plotted pilot, it was fine, it just wasn't for me. I had to roll my eyes when characters were secretly making out eight minutes into the first episode. I don't watch Grey's Anatomy but I know enough about it to not have been surprised by that revelation. I just don't think there's anything this show can offer that Chicago Fire can't and I'm already attached to the Chicago characters. For whatever reason, there seems to be less places they can go with this setting whereas a legal drama or medical drama seems much more likely to find a new angle. I remember being concerned back when Fire premiered that they wouldn't be able to find new ways to do fires every week. But they've done a good job with that over the years. I just felt with this show that there wasn't anything I hadn't seen before.

The performances were solid. I like Jaina Lee Ortiz in the lead role even if she seemed a little melodramatic at times. Miguel Sandoval was a standout as Ortiz's ailing father. I didn't find Grey Damon all that appealing and the story of him competing with Ortiz for the new captain position seems pretty gimmicky and an obvious set-up to future plot points. The rest of the characters were pretty forgettable. Fairly early on in the pilot, I decided that this wasn't going to become part of my regular rotation and I didn't bother to pay all that close attention to the many supporting characters and there was nothing they did that made it better. I don't know if this will appeal to Grey's Anatomy fans (early indications are mixed at best), but it's not for me.

WILL I WATCH IT AGAIN?
No.