Direct from the pages of our brand new, just released, first annual, Fall TV Preview eBook appropriately titled “Thank Goodness It’s Fall” comes a closer look at NBC’s latest attempt to rekindle that ER magic with CHICAGO FIRE.
In A Nutshell: Executive producer Dick Wolf — he of LAW & ORDER fame — takes a shot at the territory trod by shows like EMERGENCY and RESCUE ME.
Names You’ll Know: Taylor Kinney (THE VAMPIRE DIARIES), David Eigenberg (SEX & THE CITY), Lauren German (HAWAII FIVE-0), Merle Dandridge (SONS OF ANARCHY) and Jesse Spencer (HOUSE M.D.) are just some of the familiar faces populating Chicago Firehouse 51.
What They Say: “This is not fire of the week,” swears Wolf. “It’s a character study about people who do jobs you can’t pay people to do.”
What Others Say: The Huffington Post’s Laura Prudom writes that it “boasts a great cast, but they’re all too busy talking in leaden, clichéd Procedural Speak, so there’s no joy, humor or personality. Based on the pilot, I’d say skip it, but I want to give it another episode in the hope it loosens up.”
What We Say: Maybe if it actually were a fire-of-the-week show, there’d be more intensity to it. As it is, we have a good cast basically going through the motions. We meet a lot of people very quickly, and unless you happen to recognize them from a previous role (it’s easy to spot Kinney, as he’s the one stripped down regularly), the faces, names and personal traumas can sort of blend together. There may be a good show in here somewhere, but right now, it’s all smoke, no fire. 
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