It was damn thrilling, watching CBS's new show, "Fire Country," and completely surreal. Having spent 31 years working for CAL FIRE, it was a trip watching scenes that depicted eerily similar experiences to my own. But it was a good trip! Mostly. There were definitely one or two cringe worthy moments though.
I'm a huge fan of cop and firefighter shows - my favs are NBC's "Chicago Fire," ABC's "The Rookie," and CBS's "Blue Bloods." And I've watched each one from the get-go. But Fire Country is its own animal and that's a huge plus. The wildland fire element and the diverse types of job opportunities within CAL FIRE give it a lane of its own. I'm looking forward to seeing if the writers are able to expand the show's elements without complicating it. It might be hard to do. CAL FIRE has a Helitack (Helicopter) program, Air Attack (Air Tanker), Law Enforcement/Fire Prevention, Communications/PR and the Camp Program of course. Even the Command Centers (dispatch) have captains - uniformed men and women who came from field positions. This could create some cool opportunities for the creators and writers as the show moves forward.
I'm also a huge fan of Jerry Bruckheimer, one of "Fire Country's" Executive Producers. I was really excited to see he was involved with this project. So many of his TV shows, the "CSI" trio to "Cold Case," and movies, "Flashdance" to "Top Gun Maverick" are favorites of mine; favorites of millions of people. Not much that he puts his prints on goes south.
Want to hear a cool piece of synchronicity: Bruckheimer's original "Top Gun" movie had a serious following with a lot of us in CAL FIRE, maybe in the whole fire service, I'm not sure. For years in the late 80's and 90's we'd walk around quoting lines from the movie to each other. "Just a walk in the park Kazansky," when one of our friends was headed in for an important promotional interview; or "Talk to me Goose" when we were trying to get a pal to talk about something difficult; or one I used more than once, "Your ego is writing checks your body can't cash." That's a line his boss could have used on Bode Donovan, a lead character in "Fire Country" played well by Max Thieriot (SEAL Team) when he took off with a chainsaw, against direct orders, to save his buddies on the fire line. It looked cool and heroic on TV, but it's likely he would have been rolled up (sent back to prison) for that in real life.
The first episode begins with an introduction to Bode, an inmate in a California prison, as he is making his case for parole. When his request is denied, his attorney suggests he volunteer for the California Conservation Camp Program and become a member of a Fire Crew. The Camp Program is a real-life joint program between CAL FIRE and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). Their inmate Fire Crews are an integral part of CAL FIRE's suppression capabilities.
A fellow inmate, Freddy (W. Tré Davis does a great job with this character) explains the advantages of this Fire Crew opportunity to Bode as they share the bus ride with other inmates to their new home, Three Rock Camp, in Northern California. Freddy is a crack up. He's the much-needed comic relief in a high drama show and the things he does and says are authentic. The 'bear episode' while the Fire Crew is out training is hilarious and spot on!
As the episode unfolds, we quickly learn that Three Rock Camp is not the location Bode was promised. The Camp is near the town of Edgewater, a fictional northern California town. It also turns out to be Bode's hometown and the last place on earth he wanted to go. The reasons why begin to surface as the story moves forward.
In Edgewater, we're introduced to the local CAL FIRE Battalion Chief (BC), Vince Leone, played by Billy Burke (Remember Bella's dad in the "Twilight" movies?). He is one crusty dude and was immediately my favorite character: saying exactly what needs saying with little regard for the rank of the chiefs he's talking to. Even if that chief who outranks him is his wife, Sharon, played by Diane Farr (the cool FBI agent from "Numb3rs") and my second favorite character. Diane portrays the part well and I'm looking forward to seeing how they develop her character; how close to home it hits.
I actually worked with a couple of "fire gods" like Vince during my career. I sought them out to work for and learn from, eventually becoming like them. And, like Vince, not always to my advantage. But his character personifies the best of the best kind of Battalion Chief. You can see that he takes care of his people first and answers to management second. Two thumbs up to the creators for that character development.
Speaking of which, when you see the team of Executive Producers/Writers and Creators - Joan Rater, Tony Phelan and Tia Napolitano, all of Greys Anatomy success, it's easy to see why this show has so much potential. That is a lot of talent. And there is SO much potential for this show; I can't wait to see how things play out as the season progresses!
I remember Max Thieriot from his earlier movies, "The Pacifier" and "Nancy Drew" and fans of "SEAL Team" will know him right away. His looks lend themselves well to the part of Bode, and his portrayal of an inmate asking for forgiveness was well done. But there was something a bit off putting about the level of intensity that occurred a couple of times in this first episode. His machine gun style of speaking through a couple of heated interactions left me rewinding to understand what he was saying. And the level of anger or intensity didn't quite resonate with the dialogue in the scene. Hopefully this will smooth out as we get to know Bode in the upcoming episodes.
The scenery is beautiful; the locations they found in Vancouver to shoot look a lot like northern California. Nice job. Though Occidental, the small Sonoma County town where Max Thieriot actually grew up, part of his inspiration for the show, is less mountainous and timber covered, there are a lot of similarities. Including the small-town attitude of not wanting to be told what to do! Vince, the Battalion Chief, alludes to this when a fire breaks out near Edgewater and he asks to have the local bar closed. He wants the residents to evacuate, not hang out at the bar. Great scene!
Gabriela Perez, played well by Stephanie Arcia is the daughter of Bode's Fire Captain, Manny Perez; Kevin Alejandro is well cast in this role (think "Ugly Betty" and "Luciefer"). He reminds me of several Fire Crew Captains I worked with at the Camp.
Gabriela is an Olympic athlete trying to decide what direction her life should head next. Towards the end of the episode, she helps the people of Edgewater as a fire approaches their town, afterwards telling her dad how amazing it was to feel a part of something. Uh oh. That's how it all begins. For me too. My seasonal firefighter job for CAL FIRE (1982) became an amazing 31-year career. But I saw more than one co-worker react the same way as Manny when a daughter broke that news of wanting to become a firefighter. We'll see how Manny handles Gaby's decision in upcoming episodes. His line though during this exchange, "fire burns everything around it but water saves it" was one of the cringey bits; awkward dialogue.
Some things I hope to see:
When the alarm goes off, three pieces of equipment roll out the door of Station 42. That's 6 - 10 personnel at the station. But we only see two firefighters at meals, two firefighters putting the engine back in service after a call, etc. Where are the rest of the fire house personnel? Looking forward to some Chicago Fire like group banter in upcoming episodes.
The two firefighters we do meet, Jake Crawford (Jordan Calloway) and Everly "Eve" Edwards (Jules Latimer) did a fantastic job of showing what genuine firehouse friendship and camaraderie look like. The crew is your second family and the writing and acting displayed this well. With one cringey exception: the line Eve has after they talk about their friend Riley dying. This is the same Riley that Jake and Bode end up fighting about on the fire line and Sharon and Vince end up sharing a sad moment about at home. So we're learning that her death is part of why Bode is in prison.
But Eve's line, "we're afraid to get close to someone because what if we do and they die" just felt weird. There are a plenty of reasons Firefighters hold back from more intimate relationships. Goodness knows I had more than my share. But a fear of loving someone because they might die isn't really one of them. Firefighters are addicted to the adrenaline rush of the danger. And when you combine being put in life threatening situations on a regular basis with living together 24 hours a day sometimes weeks at a time, well that's pretty much the perfect recipe for a bunch of twenty somethings to fall for each other! Even if it isn't on some deeper level. A hard part about relationships for some firefighters, the ones that are married to their job, is trying to have something meaningful with a civilian. That's why so many of us have relationships with other firefighters, which is depicted well in "Fire Country."
I'm not going to pick apart the technical errors, much. But one thing that is going to rile a fair share of actual firefighters is what we call grooming standards, facial hair, hair length etc. The guys can not have any facial hair, other than a well-trimmed moustache, because the face mask on breathing apparatus won't seal. And everyone, gals and guys have to have their hair off their collar; either cut short or pulled up. Both Vince and Sharon Leone's hair styles wouldn't be allowed.
All in all, "Fire Country" is an awesome show!! I may be a little biased but I also watch a lot of these kinds of shows. And this one could go a long way! It's got great creators, writers and producers, a very well-cast crew and complex and exciting subject matter. I can't wait for Episode 2!
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