| TV, Films and Firefighting |
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| Note: The short-lived dramatic "Rescue-77" proved that programming about Fire and Rescue was indeed a workable and very popular theme. "77" did well in the ratings overall, with strong viewership in the 26- 55 year old range. However, WB is quick to note that its own target audience was 18-34, and without a strong showing in that specific demographic, they can't reap adequate ad revenues for such an expensive program. This series ran for 8 episodes in the spring of 1999. |
| (Hollywood, March 9, 1999) - Fire-Rescue TV fans rejoice. The wail of the siren and blast of the air horn will emerge once again from the speakers inside your Magnavox. Aaron Spelling, the King of entertainment television,has added fire and rescue to his list of successful program themes. But don’t expect another “Melrose Place” or “90210”. This new series shouts red-hot action! Beginning this Monday, the 9 o’clock hour, and the WB Network, are reserved for the millions of TV viewers who’ve been waiting for a first class series about the USA’s most respected profession. Spelling Television and the WB Network have responded to the call by presenting Rescue 77, the first fire-rescue drama since the ill-fated Fox series LA Firefighters. Many “real” firefighters referred to LAF as Baywatch in bunkers, and even die-hard fire TV fans like me allowed the series to die a quick, silent death. |
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| But Spelling and his command staff have rescued the once popular firefighting theme with a fresh, new program - one that picks up where the NBC classic “Emergency” left off. Rescue 77 offers plenty of dramatic action, and with Gregory Widen (“Backdraft”) as its Chief, the series is boosted with an IV injection of stark reality, tempered with an ample dose of firehouse antics and humor. |
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| Creator and Executive Producer Widen, whose list of successes include “The Prophecy” and “The Highlander”, brings new found regard to the fire-rescue theme. As a former Southern California firefighter and medic, he is to the fire-rescue services what Joseph Wambaugh was to law enforcement. He is the firefighters’ storyteller. |
| But walking our walk and talking our talk has been a tough sell in Hollywood, especially following the failure of “LA Firefighters”. “For years,’ Widen says, ‘the Fire Department was a cold idea for Hollywood, because they couldn’t get a firm hold on the concept.” So Widen went to work educating programming executives about the diverse roles that firefighters play, including EMS, rescue, haz-mat, wildfire, as well as structural firefighting. It’s interesting to note that Widen, whose 1991 blockbuster Backdraft remains the consummate firefighting motion picture, seems to prefer the look and feel of his new project, “Rescue 77”. “As fun as Backdraft was,’he says, ‘Rescue 77 is much more personal to me.” Personal because 77’s stories come from Widen’s early years as an EMT-P, practicing the art of street medicine. |
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| The show is based around a three-person paramedic team, assigned to Station 77, and commanded by a salty Captain Durfee, played by veteran actor Richard Roundtree. Oddly enough, Roundtree’s first starring television role was as a probationary firefighter in ABC’s 1973 series “Firehouse”. In “77”, Roundtree is everyone’s Captain, and he plays the role with convincing realism, revealing a character whose command is unshaken, even during the most demanding of incidents. |
| Rescue-77's ensemble cast |
| “77’s” firefighter/medics are a true to life mix, representative of this nation’s 1.5 million first responders -- one third professional, one third compassionate, one third undaunted. Led by Kathleen Ryan, played by Marjorie Monaghan (Law and Order, Babylon 5), Rescue 77’s crew finds themselves in the thick of the action, whether it’s a child drowning, a newlywed couple trapped in their car or a working house fire with fatalities. Ryan is partnered with firefighter/medic Michael Bell (Victor Browne) and probie Wick Lobo (Christian Kane), whose youthful vigor sometimes finds him in deeper than he should be. |
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| Marjorie Monaghan |
| Be forewarned, Rescue-77 is not born of the traditional Spelling mold, although his touch is evident. This program represents a radical departure for the popular programming group. |
| “People have a preconceived notion of Spelling shows,’ says Widen, “but Aaron has given us free reign in terms of the dramatic element.” It’s what Widen calls New Spelling. He adds, “The great thing with Aaron is that he understands what the show is about, and has embraced the drama and realism.” It’s rumored that Spelling and his partner E. Duke Vincent, love to hang out with the cast at the firehouse turned studio in Glendale. Proof positive that there’s a little firefighter in us all. Realism is the keyword when describing “77”. Unlike previous fire-rescue programs, where heroic rescues and dramatic saves were the norm, Rescue 77 provides the viewer with a first hand account of the darker side of our job. People die in this show, just as they do on the mean streets. It’s am unfortunate fact of life that’s tough on many firefighters and medics, but a reality of the job that we all must learn to deal with. And so has the cast. |
| Legendary producer Jack Webb once said, “It’s easier to teach emergency personnel to be actors, than to teach actors to be emergency personnel.” Someone at Spelling must have been in that class, because the production team has gone to great lengths to make character portrayals extremely convincing. Even the technical advisors, who usually serve in advisory roles, are seen on camera, and at times deliver an occasional line of dialog. Although Rescue-77 resembles the LA City Fire Department in tactics and look, Widen and the writing staff have actually created this nation’s largest department, The Los Angeles Fire Authority, a mythical consolidation of city, county and state agencies. In short, a management nightmare, and the fire buff’s dream. |
| Currenly in Production, Screenplay by Lou Angeli |
| Speaking of buffs, there are a few million out there who’ve managed to keep the home fires burning for the generation-old “Emergency”. But you won’t see any comparisons between the two programs here. Emergency was a very successful series, which applied R.A. Cinader’s tried and true cop-shop formula to firefighting. But our job as fire rescue personnel, and the TV industry, have changed considerably since “Emergency” first aired in the 1970’s, and suffice it to say, that E-fans won’t be disappointed in Rescue 77. As the firefighters storyteller, Greg Widen takes advantage of the soap box, that’s been placed before him. “I think that some fire departments do a disservice to themselves by not expressing their diversity to the public’, Widen says. “There aren’t as many fires as there were a generation ago, and people need to understand that firefighters do much more than squirt water.” So very true, because if we want to maintain current personnel numbers, we must prove to the general public that we are Jacks of all Trades. |
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| Rescue 77 is real life fire and rescue, a carbon copy of the majority of North America’s 35,000 departments. Spelling Television has created a program with substance, that portrays the men and women who devote their lives to fire, rescue and EMS in their true light, and at long last, does them justice. |
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| A companion side-bar piece to this review is entitled “Relating to Ryan” an interview with Actress Marjorie Monaghan conducted by Amy Steelman a firefighter and filmmaker. (click here) |
| Aaron Spelling |
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| Reviews and behind the scenes comments about this nation's most televised profession. by Lou Angeli |
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