SPOILER ALERT
If you have found yourself trapped in the endless whiplash that is the network drama 911, I will preface that this review will contain spoilers. However, if you either do not care or are a newcomer, welcome to my review of 911 season nine that will probably be better written than the show.
INTRODUCTION
I started watching the show last January and have sat through all eight seasons, and just from that, I can say this show is pure entertainment. In no way is it meant to be realistic or artistically interesting: it is a simple show detailing the lives of different first responders (firefighters, police officers, and 911 dispatchers) in California. The main cast consists of:
- Angella Basset as Athena Grant
- Peter Krause as Robert “Bobby” Nash
- Oliver Stark as Evan “Buck” Buckley
- Aisha Hinds as Henrietta “Hen” Wilson
- Kenneth Choi as Howard “Chimney” Han
- Jennifer Love Hewitt as Maddie Han
- Ryan Guzman as Edmundo “Eddie” Díaz
- Anirudh Pisharody as Ravi Panikaar
- Tracie Thomas as Karen Wilson
- Corinne Massiah as May Grant
- Elijah M. Cooper as Harry Grant
As many know, Bobby Nash, the captain of the 118 fire station, controversially died last season from super E-bola. According to showrunner Tim Minear in an interview with TVinsider, “It was a creative decision.” He goes on to explain how, since it is a first responder’s show, it was realistic to have someone from the main cast die, given that no one had in eight seasons. This was not received very well by the audience, i.e., me. It was a lazy writing decision to start the plot jump after eight seasons of random story lines. At the beginning of season eight, the cast fought a tornado of bees; so, the idea that Bobby had to die for the show to be more realistic is absurd.
Clearly, the focus on realism has come in full clutch in season nine, where the sky is falling on beat to the song Ordinary by Alex Warren. Nevertheless, I want to give the show the benefit of the doubt, as most long-running shows come up with borderline psychotic plotlines to gain an audience. So, for my review of the first three episodes of season nine, I will stick to three categories: plot, characterization, and entertainment value.
EPISODE 1: “Eat the Rich”
The first episode has a time jump of six months, making the audience assume the characters’ off-screen struggles after the death of Bobby. The episode begins with a commemoration to Bobby by renaming the 118 fire station to “Robert Wade Nash Memorial Station.” Right off the bat, the audience is aware that the characters are still grieving. Chimney, the new interim captain, said, “When I think of Bobby, I picture him here in this building: manning that stove, gathering us all around the table, taking a team and making it into a family.”
The episode goes on to establish early character dynamics with characters Athena, Eddie, Hen, Chimney, and Buck. A lot of the situations and dynamics are repetitive of previous plotlines, especially the recurring fact that Buck is jealous, like he was in season seven. Even so, it is entertaining to watch.
In the second “act” of the episode, the audience is introduced to Tripp Hauser (Mark Consuelos), who is a Walmart version of Elon Musk. Essentially, he gets eaten by a whale while on a conference call with his employees about his unpopularity with the public. For whatever reason, Maddie dispatches the firefighters of the 118 to respond to the whale call. Eddie ends up jumping off a bridge to save Tripp, and Hen ends up reviving Tripp on land.
“You saved me from that fish,” said Tripp.”It’s a mammal, sir,” said Hen. Tripp ends up using Hen for his brand to prove he is a good person by sending a “normal” person to space. The episode does a good job at explaining all of these events randomly, but it is nonetheless entertaining.
EPISODE 2, “Spiraling”
This episode picks up right after episode one and establishes the idea that both Athena and Hen are going to space. “Why do I want to go to space? I have no earthly idea,” said Athena. It is clear that Hen is being used as an anchor to Athena’s character in the show. Without her husband, Bobby, there is little connection between Athena and the rest of the cast. Even after eight seasons, Athena had rarely interacted with the rest of the 118 fire station until last season. Personally, I feel like mixing up character interactions could save the show and allow plotlines to progress naturally.
Hen and Athena’s trip to space immediately goes wrong because of a “geomagnetic storm”; Marvel levels of delusional vocabulary, but alright. This means there is space trash crashing into satellites that are powering the A.I. on land, so technology is majorly malfunctioning. The scenes jump back and forth between the people on the ground and. the people in space. Buck ends up trying to keep an eye on Athena’s son, Harry, by bringing him on their 911 calls. “He’s kind of freaking out. I figure it’s better he does that with us than with Hen’s kids,” Buck said to Chimney. It is obvious that this action is correlated to Bobby telling Buck last season that everyone will need him before dying, and it is good for his character development.
This show isn’t terrible with its characterization; however, it tries to pull off large-scale action scenes in exchange for continuing past character arcs. For example, taking a character like Maddie, who is settled, and making a serial killer come after her for no reason. While that is all good and grand for entertainment purposes, it leaves the other ten characters just sitting around like non-player characters. Then, plotlines get summed up in five-minute montages.
With its plotline, this season didn’t look promising at first, but has shown some growth with characters like Athena, Eddie, Buck, and Chimney. In general, satisfying plotlines combined with character development is what creates entertainment.
EPISODE 3, “The Sky is Falling”
The third episode continues the cliffhanger from the previous episode: fire from the ship threatening to kill Hen and Athena in space. Karen, Hen’s wife, has more screen time than usual, and she is being used to further the plot. Karen is a rocket scientist, and she is the person on the ground helping Hen and Athena up in space while grappling with her own emotional turmoil. “He’s getting ahead of the story,” said Karen in response to Tripp speaking about the potential loss of all the people he sent to space on the news.
Another character gaining some character points is Eddie. Since Hen is in space, he is the 118’s sole paramedic. During this episode, there is a lady with her legs trapped on a subway train due to the crashing space debris. As water begins filling the subway and her organs start failing, Eddie believes the only way to save her is to perform an amputation on her leg. Chimney immediately refutes this decision because it’s not what Bobby would have done. “Just because you don’t like it doesn’t mean it’s not the right one,” said Eddie.
This episode did a really good job of having Bobby continue to haunt the narrative and bring up turmoil in plotlines for everyone differently. For example, Chimney feels newfound guilt and shame while Eddie is being more himself. This episode was by far the most entertaining because it had all the characters showcasing their emotions slowly, not just in five-minute montages but in both indirect actions and direct statements.
SUMMARY
Overall, I think the show is as unrealistic as ever, but the changes made might be for the better. I enjoy seeing how other characters can get more screen time now that Bobby is out of the picture. The plotlines and characterization that will come from his death are unknown, but hopefully, the show can utilize them. As far as entertainment value, I’m going to say it is a ten out of ten. As long as colors and pictures are in front of me, I assure you I am entertained.
