C-16: FBI

cases of an elite FBI team

Miscellaneous Comments: Sunday, May 17th, 1998. C-16:FBI was an above average cop show, cancelled due to a bad time slot and a network unsure of what to do with it.
Type of Series: Cop show. Not a flashy, clever one. Just a well made one, done the way cop shows should be done: good solid plotting, a fair share of action, interesting characters.
A case dominates each episode, and when they're not talking about that, the six regulars are trying to sort out their personal lives. All of them are likeable and nothing about the show seems phoney or forced.
Similar Shows: I'm not sure...
  • ER springs to mind, even though I can't stand it. I gave up on ER mid-way through it's first season and I've rarely been back since, but C-16: FBI seems to be that kind of show: the job dominates the episode and the lives of the regulars weave in and out through the action. Only, here, you have better characters and no repetition. Five weeks into ER I was already weary of the rigid format (running around, shouting, snippets of dull soap opera) but five weeks into C-16 and I'm really getting enthusiastic about it.
  • The other show that springs to mind is last season's quickly-cancelled Prince Street which also featured Christine Tucci and was also about a team of cops, but (based on the pilot - which is all that I've seen) it didn't have the same flair as C-16.
    When is it on?: In the UK Channel Five are showing the series on Fridays at 10:50, after the movie. In the US, where it was cancelled earlier in the season (Saturday November 15th 1997 saw the last of its seven screened episodes.), the final new episodes are airing Thursdays at 8, on ABC, beginning May 21st, 1998. If this were the land of dreams, then these final episodes would pull in very high ratings, ABC would change their minds, and new episodes would be made. Oh, well... here's hoping...
    A writing campaign is in full swing. It's the time of year for this kind of thing, I suppose (this time last year I was busy writing letters to get Dark Skies renewed. I wrote over thirty of the bloody things!!). If you've actually seen C-16, like it enough, want to get involved and are reading this page early in the Summer of 1998, then contact: Ms. Jamie Tarses, President, ABC-TV, 4151 Prospect Ave. Hollywood, CA 90027 and ask her to consider it, next season, as a mid-season replacement.
    Strengths: The cast. The writing.
    Weaknesses: The concept. Which reads like a tired cliché. Describe it, and it seems like it might be any old cop show, but the surprise is that they do it so well. Kinda like High Incident from last season. It has the same concept as millions that have gone before, but the quality is in the way it's handled. Which is why you want to keep watching it.
    Impressive Characters: All six regulars are likeable and interesting. Boss, hotshot, cynic, mother-figure and two rookies. Nice predictable mix.
    Impressive Actors:
  • Eric Roberts stands out as the team leader, all beard and charisma. And yes, even though he is another of those TV cops who is always disobeying his superior and bending the rules, you will like him and you will believe in him and root for him.
  • Angie Harmon (Baywatch Nights) is perfectly cast as the eager rookie being bullied by...
  • ...Zach Grenier as the tough no-nonsense agent. He reminds me of William Daniels on St. Elsewhere. Dr. Mark Craig was a bastard, he was dreadfully mean to his co-workers and wife, but you sensed where he came from and you ended up liking him. When Harmon's character is reluctant to voice her theories about a bomb other agents are defusing, Grenier's character bluntly tells her they will die if she's wrong. Result: she conquers her self-doubts and voices her deductions. Sure, he's scum for the way he did it, but you can see him making her a better agent. The two of them have an interesting dynamic. I suppose when you create a character like this, you hope for an actor capable of pulling it off, someone who won't appear like a complete bully, somebody the audience can like, even when pissed off at him. Zach Grenier handles the role with aplomb.
  • It's great to see D.B. Sweeney (of Strange Luck) as a TV regular again.
  • Likewise, Michael Cavanaugh (Fox on Starman) is a face I enjoy seeing on weekly TV. Here, he plays the boss always telling Roberts and his team what they shouldn't be doing.
    Impressive Episodes: So far, all the episodes are maintained an equal standard of quality. But the third one ("Radio FBI") was particularly good. A hostage situation like millions we've seen on TV before, but this one had an unusual twist (hostage/victim makings things worse to boost his ratings) and was very entertaining. And the fifth one ("Art of War") shown on Channel Five last Friday, and airing next Thursday in the US, had one of the agents playing mind games with a gang of thieves he had under surveillance. Sweeney was excellent as the overly confident Stoddard, turning the gang on one another to get to the hidden money. The climax, with one suspect about to die at the hands of another and C-16 about to pounce, was a good example of well written, involving suspense.
    Impressive Writers: Michael Duggan was previously involved with the excellent Law & Order, a sleeper hit on NBC. If ABC had followed their lead, aired it at ten on a week night and given it a full season (or two) C16, while not in the same league as Law & Order, could have been a major player in the years ahead. It sure deserved to be.
    Duggan was also involved with Earth 2 which I gave up on, mid-way through the season (during the two-parter, actually), but will probably finish sometime. Maybe.
    Less-Than-Impressive Characters:
    Less-Than-Impressive Actors:
    Less-Than-Impressive Episodes:
    Less-Than-Impressive Writers:
    Continuity: Yes. While cases are self-contained, and solved within each episode, the plotlines covering personal lives are continued from week to week.
    Episode Guide: There are a few episode guides out there, all much the same. HotBot or InfoSeek will bring them back to you. Just search under the name of the show.
    Reviews: No sites, that I could find, are reviewing all the episodes. Quite a lot of places have something to say about the series. Dennis Mahoney, UltimateTV Reviewer called it "a solid piece of serious-minded action drama, and a fine alternative to the shows it airs opposite: the putrid Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, and the mildly entertaining The Pretender." Comments I have to agree with, even though I like The Pretender a lot more than Mr. Mahoney obviously does!!!
  • A site dedicated to Cop Shows has an excellent overview of the series, and the reasons for it's poor ratings, in their Blue News magazine section.
    Other Info: C-16 Stakeout seems to be the site with the most up-to-date information on the show. In the words of Ann White, "Although stuck in time slot oblivion, C-16 has received great reviews and found a devoted following of fans" and her site seems like a great place for those fans to keep up with developments on their favourite show.
    Three Things I Really Like About This Series:
  • The cast. This is a group that works well together.
  • The action sequences. Nothing elaborate, mind you, but the tension really builds on this show. All of the episodes I've seen, so far, have had me on the edge of my seat.
  • Angie Harmon has a really sexy voice. Maybe that's a chauvinistic thing to say, I don't know. Maybe Ms. Harmon is fed up with people focusing on her voice, I don't know. But what can I say? It blows me away. It did on Baywatch Nights and it does here.
    Three Things I Really Don't Like About This Series:
  • The theme tune is kinda vague and forgettable. I dunno, I think all FBI should have big dramatic themes like the one Today's FBI had, back in 1981. But that's just me...
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    GRADE: B+

    Comments are welcome: rikerdonegal@hotmail.com

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