Gina Torres

Hostage drama "Standoff" should have been comedy

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - They’re young. They’re attractive. They’re in love. And they negotiate with hostage takers. That’s the capsule description for "Standoff," a series that is several moonbeams short of being "Moonlighting" in FBI garb.

The title refers both to the tense situations that local news directors pray for as well as the nonstop battle of the sexes waged by the two members of the FBI’s best hostage negotiating team, Matt Flannery (Ron Livingston) and Emily Lehman (Rosemarie DeWitt). Mixing the two types of standoffs, however, proves to be more than a little awkward.

In the opening scene, Matt has been on the phone for hours talking to a TV actor who just got the short end of a custody decision. The guy’s car is stopped in the middle of a busy intersection with both his young sons inside and he is waving a gun. Meanwhile, the FBI’s team of sharpshooters, led by trigger-happy Frank Perry (Michael Cudlitz), can’t wait to take target practice.

Thinking quickly, Matt tells the actor-turned-nutcase that Matt has his own problems because he has been sleeping with his partner for three months and now that he has shared this little secret, boy oh boy is he in trouble. It works. The hostage taker gives up, though it is anyone’s guess whether Matt struck a nerve or the guy just couldn’t stand to hear any more.

The series premiere suffers from a catalog of problems longer than most demand lists. Although members of the cast bring solid credits from previous work, their efforts can’t overcome the material here. Chemistry between Matt and Emily only is lukewarm. The talented Gina Torres plays their boss but has little to do but fuss and fulminate at all the department rule-breaking that she has to put up with. Head sharpshooter Perry has a trigger finger so itchy that he borders on caricature. Even the guys who take hostages aren’t particularly compelling figures.

Given the cartoonish nature of Craig Silverstein’s script, the whole concept might have worked better as a comedy, but it’s too late for that. Or maybe not. Fox only supplied a single episode for review so you can’t really tell where this show is headed.

Exec producer Tim Story directed the pilot and succeeded in making the episode as visually exciting as possible. And you can’t fault the Angel, whose music complements the action nicely. But the best technical credits on the lot can’t solve the nagging problem that comes from mixing romantic comedy with life-threatening hostage takers, particularly when the script fails to do justice to either concept. That said, the best reason to watch, at least in October after the baseball season, will be to avoid having to change channels when "House" comes on.

Matt Flannery: Ron Livingston

Emily Lehman: Rosemarie DeWitt

Cheryl Carrera: Gina Torres

Frank Perry: Michael Cudlitz

Lia Mathers: Raquel Alessi

Duff: Jose Pablo Cantillo

Executive producers: Craig Silverstein, Tim Story, Glen Mazzara; Co-executive producers: Juan Carlos Coto, Linda Gase, Jonathan Glassner; Consulting producer: David Levinson; Producer: Marc David Alpert; Director: Tim Story; Teleplay: Craig Silverstein; Director of photography: Charlie Lieberman; Production designer: Stephen Marsh; Editor: John William Heath; Music: the Angel; Casting: Robert J. Ulrich, Eric Dawson, Carol Kritzer, Roger Musenden.