Rob Lowe in emergency service procedural set in Austin. I am so in.
"9-1-1: Lone Star" is supposed to be set in Austin but is almost exclusively filmed in Los Angeles. Angelenos are awesome. The original "9-1-1," set and filmed in LA, is awesome. So is Austin and I would love for this show to give the city more than an occasional cameo such as stock footage of Congress Avenue in front of the State Capitol. Even the attempts at Texanness appear flat or outdated. More on that later.
Ever since "Emergency!," fire stations have provided a great backdrop for television drama, regardless of location. These shows are about brave people serving their communities in dramatic ways. These folks put their lives on the line to rescue the rest of us from tragedies that can come from any direction and at any moment. Meanwhile these first responders are working out their own issues and relationships back at the station, out on the town, and at home. Both "9-1-1" and its new spinoff do this well, though the latter could do the "out of the town" bit more convincingly if they were shooting in L.A.
Rob Lowe stars as Capt. Owen Strand, who was one of the first responders to the World Trade Center on 9/11 because of course that tragic event has to be part of his heroic backstory. Maybe the producers don't "get" New York City any more than they "get" Austin because the uniforms say NYFD. Even this dyslexic Texan knows it should be FDNY. Anyhow, Strand has been tasked with rebuilding Station 126 in Austin, decimated months earlier by a fertilizer plant explosion. The sole survivor is dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder and has to work his way onto the team, which Strand is ordered to establish with diversity as a core value. And Strand does, starting with his opioid-addicted homosexual son, a Muslim woman who has issues with authority, an African-American transexual with an almost supernatural gift for threat assessment, and an apparently neuro-diverse Latino who repeatedly failed the written firefighter exam but is great at polishing stuff. Liv Tyler of LOTR fame plays lead paramedic Michelle Blake. Strand notes his own lack of diversity when offered the job. He does have his quirks and crosses, though. These range from an obsession with skin and hair products (So LA, am I right?) to two divorces plus a new and ominous diagnosis based on his 9/11 service.
So the show is diverse and funny and dramatic and filled with excellent actors. But is it truly Texan? Truly Austinite? No, but bless their hearts, they do try. Speaking of "bless their/your heart/s" this phrase is repeatedly and incorrectly used by a character in Episode 2. The dispatcher drawls and "y'alls" abundantly. In the pilot, Blake challenges Strand to honky tonk line-dance, which of course he nails. Thus in Blake's eyes this handsome Yankee has "earned his spurs." But I say, not so quick. Can he lay down some 12-bar blues on a borrowed battered Strat in a Sixth Street club? Does his brisket make you cry with joy? Is his barbecue sauce so great that HEB is constantly after him to let them bottle and sell it? Does his firehouse feast conclude with cobbler (made with Fredericksburg peaches and topped with Amy's ice cream) that is revelatory? As Bobby Nash, the "9-1-1" captain, can tell Strand, part of a station leader's job is to cook excellent meals for their crews.
For a fire captain from (sideways spit) New York City to be accepted in these parts, he'd best be able to rustle up more Texasness than the ability to imitate a dance move from the 1980 flick "Urban Cowboy." The whole country was line-dancing after that.
Perhaps the show runners like Ryan Murphy saw the "Welcome to Texas, now go home" bumper sticker. Ryan, that does not mean you. Y'all come back and stay awhile. Produce "9-1-1: Lone Star" on location here in the Lone Star State. We have a thriving film industry. We are up to the task of supporting an extended film production like "Lone Star 9-1-1." Austin and the surrounding Hill Country have many settings that would make excellent scene locations, ones that cannot be faked with any amount of Hollywood studio magic.
The wailing of a blues guitar and fire truck siren can make beautiful music together here.
The title to this post is a tortured reference to a line GOP lawmakers often say, "Don't California my Texas." By this they that any attempt to protect the environment or other dastardly liberal foolishness is rejected in the God-fearing state of Texas. Hogwash. Many of us ascribe to progressive values and all of us would enjoy a bit more Hollywood glamour here in the Hill Country and the economic boost it would bring. We'll teach you the real meaning of "Bless your heart" but you're not getting my cobbler recipe. That is precise.
"Lone Star 9-1-1" shows Mondays on Fox and the next day on Hulu.
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