Standoff – I like this show a lot. I like the dynamic between the two main characters and it has Gina Torres (Zoe from Firefly and Serenity) in the cast. Ron Livingston plays Matt Flannery, one of the top crisis negotiators in LA. Rosemarie DeWitt plays Emily Lehman, Livingston’s love interest as well as his partner. The two are the people who are called in when a hostage situation is happening. They are a great team. Matt really connects with the people he is negotiating with while Emily is so quick and smart and she does a lot of the behind the scenes theorizing to back Matt up. The team also includes Frank, head of a SWAT team, Lia computer expert, Duff member of the swat team and Cheryl the Supervisor Special Agent in Charge. Matt and Cheryl used to be partners, I think maybe more at one time. So in addition to negotiating with kidnappers, extremists and snipers these folks have to negotiate with their own relationships.

I heard a complaint that the negotiation got wrapped up on one episode so quickly. Well Duh! It is a TV show. I like it for the characters and not so much for the accuracy of the situations. It is a very entertaining show and I suggest you give it a try.

Last week’s episode built some good character backstory on Matt, and this week touched on a little more. This show has had me hooked form the first episode.

Standoff – This is a great show. It has Gina Torres, does it need anything more? Seriously though, this show is great – with the right amount of suspense, action, tension and humor. It’s a really interesting concept following the negotiators through their crisis.

Last night’s episode was interesting – I enjoyed the cooperation between the FBI (the agency highlighted in the show) and the Los Angeles Police Department while they searched for the sniper and baited him into conversation with hostage negotiators.

I also love how the relationship between Flannery & Lehman isn’t cheesy or overly dramatic. In fact, they have hardly have any physical contact on the show since an episode early in the series where they began their relationship. It’s clear that they care about each other, but it’s not an in your face relationship that they are forcing down our throats. I like that. I really like the characters.