Christmas Flashbit!

☽ We have a couple video links for you! CBS has done a really good job with their promotion for Flashpoint which will be returning in January, and Sailor Moon fan CloverPhuu has made a wonderful AMV of Usagi/Serena and Mamoru/Darien to Amy Jo Johnson's Dancing in Between which was used at the end of the episode Attention Shoppers. Enjoy!

UPDATE: Re: BIG BIG Flashpoint Roundup!

Flashpoint Predictably Returns to Canadian Television on January 9th!

As we reported last week, CBS announced Flashpoint would return to the airwaves on January 9th. It took what seemed like forever for CTV to announce that they were going to follow suit . More importantly, it seems like Stephanie Morgenstern (Sailor Venus #1) and Mark Ellis barely got a break - because new episodes are going to air immediately after the last four from last season air! Seriously, if we lived in Toronto, we'd visit the set and bring the cast and crew pizza, hot chocolate, and home-baked Christmas cookies as a token of appreciation for their hard work! Enrico Colantoni, who plays Sargent Gregory Parker on the show, had a few positive comments to say about the rise in popularity of Canadian TV shows on US networks. We encourage every reader of this blog in North America to tune in when the show returns - once again, you will not be disappointed with these new episodes! In fact, one of our last posts just below this one has a spoiler from one of our readers in New Zealand, where TVNZ aired the first season in entirety!

And just for you Amy Jo Johnson fans, she had a baby girl! Little Francesca Christine was born on December 1st, weighing 7 lbs, 1 oz. Her middle name honors Amy's mother, who tragically passed away in 1998 of uterine cancer, just as she was about to make another big acting milestone in Felicity. Amy wrote a very touching tribute to her mother in Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul: on Tough Stuff which we recommend all of you read if you haven't already. She was already a star before she entered in this world, as Flashpoint was shot during Amy's pregnancy! On behalf of all the readers of Moon Chase, we congratulate Amy and her fiance Oliver Giner on the arrival of their new bundle of joy!

BIG BIG Flashpoint Roundup!

☃ ☾ Hey Lunarians! ☽ Expect updates to be sporadic for the next couple weeks, it's getting very busy behind the scenes! But we just had to update you all on Stephanie Morgenstern ♀ (Sailor Venus #1) ♀ and Mark Ellis' Flashpoint! Tangentially, I have discovered new ASCII codes and am having way too much fun with them tonight... you may want to increase your browser's text size to see full detail! ☃

BREAKING NEWS: Flashpoint Returns Much Earlier Than We Expected!

Many industry insiders since we wrote our last article had predicted that Flashpoint would return sometime in February occupying the slot once held by the now canceled The Ex-List (of which the latter we predicted not too long ago). Today, CBS announced that it would return on January 9th, on Fridays at 9 P.M. in that timeslot that we had predicted! Venusians will just have to wait until a little after Christmas to catch the new episodes. As of this writing, CTV has not announced an airdate, however we would not be surprised if a press release from CTV ended up in our inbox tomorrow morning. We predict that they will air it at the same time (yay for "Reverse Simulcast"!) We here behind the scenes have managed to see the unaired episodes and we loved them so much that we are going to tune in when they air on television - and we encourage all our readers to do the same and to please support the show just the same as you did this past Summer and Fall! We really love these next episodes - and we'll tease you a little bit. Ed Lane grips with balancing his work, old ghosts, and family life, OMG THERE ARE BOMBS COMING AND YOU GET TO SEE SPIKE WORK, and umm... Sam and Jules. Not saying any more about those two! Tune in to find out more! A VA will appear on the show in one of these episodes - Robert Bockstael (Prince Diamond from the R-Season). Stephanie also makes a brief appearance as well. We look forward to seeing more of these stories come to life, and hopefully more VAs appearing on the show! We've got our fingers crossed in the hopes that Terri Hawkes (Sailor Moon #2) might appear somewhere on the show.

A Spoiler and a Flashbit!

We ran across a couple items in the news in the past week!

☀ Series Writer and Co-executive Producer Tassie Cameron remarked at a recent conference, "Basically, they asked us to make 13 pilots." This explains why the cops on the show didn't have many arcs that carried on from episode to episode. There was a short bit with Greg Parker and his son, the last few episodes get heavy dealing with Ed Lane and his family, and Sam and Jules get a little more involved towards the end of the season. It seems that this season , there is going to be a lot more with the characters and their continuity beyond the length they had in the first season. We learned of a casting call for a female actress! The role of Donna Hewson calls for a character who "is a 'triple A' Alpha female -- strong, outspoken, funny, compelling, complicated." "In her first episode, we see this tornado of a woman blowing past most of her male competition -- nailing every physical, shooting and combat test, impressing Ed and the rest of the team in an intense recruitment drive." She will appear in the first 4-6 episodes of the season, and we are guessing this is to accommodate Amy Jo Johnson's maternity leave (and we haven't heard if she has had the baby yet, Power Ranger fans). We're excited to see where this goes this coming February! Again, we will not post our new episodessummaries until they air on North American televisions.

☀ And one of the most completely random articles we caught on our radar has to do with the supplier of the training and the non-lethal weapons used on the set! Lamperd Less Lethal, a company specializing in less-lethal weaponry announced a few days ago that they once again had an agreement providing training and less lethal weapons to Flashpoint Season 2! Jim Bremner is serving as a consultant on the show, and he has posted a few pics behind the scenes of Flashpoint along with some testimonials from the cast!

Stephanie Morgenstern Appeared at Event!

Stephanie Morgenstern (Sailor Venus #1) just doesn't appear at the occasional convention to meet her fans - last weekend, she appeared at an event in Calgary as the guest speaker! She shared her experiences in conversation with moderator Carol Whiteman at the 10th anniversary celebration of Women in Film and Television (Alberta Chapter). And the best part is, her part in Sailor Moon was mentioned on the site (we all jumped out of our chairs in joy when we read that)! We admire Stephanie for branching out to organizations and filmpools like this , continuing to inspire and mentor other Canadians trying to make it in the industry. If perchance any of our blog readers were at the event and would like to share a few anecdotes, don't hesitate to contact us!

And for all you North American fans patiently awaiting the return of Flashpoint... we saw last week's episode. And even though we are EXPLODING with excitement waiting to tell you all what happened, we are restraining ourselves with anything we can in fairness to the cast and crew. We can't wait to see this air on North American screens, and dear readers, you will not be disappointed. It will be worth the wait :).

BREAKING NEWS: More Flashpoint Ordered!

Hot off the presses, we have just learned that Stephanie Morgenstern's (Sailor Venus #1) Flashpoint has just had another 5 episodes added to its second season, bringing Season Two's episode total to 18! We are so happy to have 5 more episodes of Flashpoint :)! Since we have a feeling that the four episodes that didn't air are probably going to be added to the North American run of Season Two, this brings the total to 22 episodes - that's a count that most seasons on primetime have, so we are finally getting a full season of Flashpoint! This deal was set in stone two weeks ago, but is just being made public now. Congratulations to Stephanie and her husband Mark Ellis on this achievement!

(P.S. did any New Zealanders catch yesterday's episode? We'd love to hear how it was!)

Flashpoint Rested for Only A Flash...

Haha, and the sad part is, I never get tired of cracking jokes including the word "flash" for this show... Flashpoint has been up to a lot since we last updated, so let's get to the roundup!

Sergio Di Zio in Award-Winning Play!

We don't normally talk about co-stars of Sailor Moon actors on this site, but we're making an exception because we love playing Six Degrees Of Sailor Moon! Sergio Di Zio , who plays Mike "Spike" Scarlatti (the bomb expert) on Flashpoint is starring in a play making it's rounds around Canada! He will appear in Scorched, a play about a mother’s last will and testament that sends her surviving twins Simon and Janine plunging into her past in a war-torn country on a journey in pursuit of their origins. She wishes for them to travel back to her country to find a brother they never knew about, and a father who is claimed to have died for the country. The show will play for the second time at the Tarragon Theatre in Toronto, it had a sold-out run in February of 2007 and won two Dora awards! Lyon Smith (Sapphire) has often worked behind-the-scenes with sound for many of the plays at that theater. Sergio will be playing Simon, described as"an amateur boxer with a short fuse" who resents his mother. The play is currently showing in Winnipeg at the MTC Warehouse until November 29th. All of you are encouraged to go see this if you can! In an interview with the Winnipeg Sun, he revealed that Flashpoint recently began shooting it's second season. Stephanie Morgenstern (Sailor Venus #1) and Mark Ellis didn't get much of a break in between it seems :(. Nonetheless, we look forward to seeing what harrowing situations the SRU is faced with episode 10 (first season, still unaired!) and beyond....

Flashpoint May Be Coming Back Earlier Than We Expected?

When Flashpoint abruptly ended last September with four episodes still left to air on CBS and CTV, many television critics and writers predicted the last few episodes would be a midseason replacement should CBS cancel a show. And it looks like that day is coming soon. Just a few weeks ago, the network canceled The Ex-List, which aired on a Friday night. Since then, the slot has been filled with re-runs of NCIS which have been doing well in the ratings, but it has been speculated by some critics that CBS will have to come up with a better solution. And they are predicting that Flashpoint is going to fill this timeslot soon between (ugh) The Horse Whisperer and Numb3rs. Keep your fingers crossed Moonies, we may be seeing the lost episodes of Flashpoint a lot sooner than we expected! Flashpoint is available on iTunes Canada for $1.99 an episode, or 23.99 for a Season Pass, which will allow you to purchase all the episodes for Season 1 (including those that are upcoming). For more information, iTunes Canada members can click here.

Anne Marie La Traverse and Bill Mustos Named Canadian Producers of the Year by Playback!

Our favorite Canadian media industry publication has just named Flashpoint's Anne Marie La Traverse and Bill Mustos Producers of the Year! More will be featured in Playback's November 24th issue, and we have our fingers crossed that the show will win more accolades in their December issue!

And Finally, Flashpoint in Poland!

We are some of the luckiest bloggers in the world for two reasons: we've gotten to meet and work with a lot of interesting people since this site started, and we have got one of the best international fanbases who interact with us often helping us bring news to the fans they wouldn't find anywhere else! One of these fans is Maciej Puka, who emailed us all the way from Poland to tell us a little bit about Flashpoint! The show has been part of Poland's nScreen VOD service for a few months now and Maciej tell us that this service costs $9 US ($30 Poland Zloty) a month, and the show is available in HD. What surprised us even more was when he told us that not only was the show dubbed in Polish, but subscribers had three versions to pick from. The English version (what we see on TV here), English version with Polish subtitles, and the Polish dub! This is really cool that Polish people have the choice to watch it in English if they want to! We encourage the rest of our readers overseas who know anything about how this show is delivered in their country to tell us about it! We would love to feature it on this site, as Flashpoint is probably going to take the cake for the biggest achievement by a North American Voice Actor (from Sailor Moon) this year!

New Interview With Flashpoint Creators!

Hey Moonies! Still no word on any airdates for the last four episodes, or if there will be a boxset released soon. Canadians can click here to purchase episodes on iTunes.

We came across an interview though that we thought you all might really like to read. Mike McPhaden, a contributor to the blog Running With My Eyes Closed recently got the chance to sit down with Stephanie Morgenstern (Sailor Venus #1) and her husband Mark Ellis to chat about Flashpoint. This is a really good interview because it shows fans from their point of view a lot of things about the birth of the series that even we didn't know (and we were one of the few blogs to cover the show extensively from the beginning)! We think you will all get a good idea of how hard they have worked to bring this show to life, from the extensive amounts of research, to the handshaking of many big names in TV, to finally moving from a Movie of the Week prospect to a series. One of the highlights of the interview was learning the different names that they tried to come up with for the show's title. Our personal favorite is their daughter's suggestion of "Bad Guys Run Away!" Perhaps that title could be used for a future episode (hey, we'd watch it :) )! Part one is located here, and part two is located here.

It's Probably Not Official, But Nonetheless...

We were very amused when we saw this t-shirt on eBay and we think every Flashpoint fan who reads this site needs one of those! You could subtly send a message to CBS and CTV with this shirt the next time you're bored out of your mind on a Thursday night because Flashpoint isn't on. There's no point to this post other than to show fans this shirt. Hey, when you're dry for Flashpoint news, anything goes!

BREAKING NEWS: Flashpoint NOT Airing on CTV This Weekend.

We here at Moon Chase have just learned that CTV pulled Flashpoint off of the schedule on Sunday. This is a complete surprise since an earlier media release stated that it was going to air this Sunday. Furthermore there does not appear as of this writing any scheduled dates for the four remaining episodes. We're not sure if this was at the request of CBS or the producers of another TV show. As always, when the show returns to the air in Canada or the United States, we will continue to post our summaries and ratings pieces.

Flashpoint is On Demand in Poland!

In our never-ending quest to tell all our readers about Stephanie Morgenstern's (Sailor Venus #1) Flashpoint, we uncovered another country that some of our readers can catch it in! If you subscribe to nScreen VOD as part of n Satellite Service, Flashpoint is available to you! There's even a cool trailer with some techno music in the background. We are not sure as of this writing if the show has been dubbed in Polish, but we have a feeling it's in English - we don't think there's been enough time to produce a Polish dub. Nonetheless, any of our Polish readers who want to clear this matter up, you are welcome to send us an email at Moonchasers@NOSPAMPLZKTHXWITHACHERRYONTOPgmail.com. We'd even love to hear your opinions on the show and post them at another date on this site. I'm not entirely sure how this service works in Poland, whether customers are charged a flat rate for VOD or if they are charged per purchase. Now we are looking to you Australia, Britain, and the others - please announce premiere dates for the show already!

Flashpoint Ratings September 18th

Flashpoint's season finale on CBS scored a record number of viewers in the United States - 9.66 million to be exact! The show was #1 in it's timeslot and 2.6/7 with viewers 18-49. Mark Berman is certain that the show will return on the network at a later time (and that was written hours before CBS made their announcement). This number was an all-time high for the series, and we couldn't be prouder! Even more surprising was a CTV Press release we found giving us the show's ratings ahead of BBM Canada! The show also hit a high in Canada with 1.46 million viewers, and the show peaked at 10:51 PM (9 minutes before the show ended) with a total of 1.66 million viewers. A total of 2.5 million viewers watched all or part of last night's episode. The show was #1 across all key demographics all across the country. While Anne Marie La Traverse and Bill Mustos seem to be getting all the credit in the media, we're a little dismayed there's little being said about the creators of the show, Stephanie Morgenstern (Sailor Venus #1) and her husband Mark Ellis. Without them creating the show, the producers wouldn't have this show to produce. So, congratulations again to Stephanie and Mark on a hit show, and many more episodes to come!

Flashpoint in a Flash: Season 1 - Episode 9: Planets Aligned:

I did something different this week - I threw in both the American and Canadian commercials in the breaks for those of you wondering what sorts of commercials air in the opposite country! We all loved this episode and we're sad that it's over in the US. Full summary after the jump!


The US finale begins with the SRU swarming around a seemingly peaceful house. A woman recites a passage from Milton over and over again, Greg tries to contact someone in the house, and the SRU makes their way into the basement. A man shows up with a gun in front of the woman, and says “your time is up” REWIND! We’re now 8 years ago, and a girl named Penny is camping out in the backyard with her dad looking at stars with her telescope. The dad goes back inside to get some snacks, as she sings Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and someone appears behind her. She thinks it’s her dad who returned pretty quickly... fast forward to today. Penny has now grown up and awakes from her bed. Her walls are covered with murals of construction paper of the outside world. She tries to look out the window, but her ankle bracelet buzzes. On her desk, she transcribes Milton’s Paradise Lost. Back at SRU headquarters. Greg walks in and signs a female officer’s letter of recommendation for a tactical operations course. He looks at letters to his son that have all been marked return to sender. He remarks it’s just the way it always is. Back at the woman’s house, the phone rings as she is transcribing Milton. She sees it is Gerald, and she answers the phone. He tells her he has a surprise for her, and hangs up. He opens his car’s door and there’s a little girl inside. At a gas station, the attendant is watching the news (CTV News nonetheless!) and learns of a little girl who has been kidnapped 12 hours ago. Gerald walks in with the girl, and asks to use the restroom. She gives them a key. At the SRU, Jules is hesitant to sign up for a Psych evaluation, and Greg just wants everything to be copacetic (in order). Jules says she doesn’t agree with the questions, because there’s no right or wrong answer. Greg says that they are only human, and that they are going to get things wrong. At the gas station , Gerald returns the key and pays for the gas. The attendant notices the kid’s a little too scared, and she offers him a free lollipop. She swirls it in the air to look at the kid’s chin, and there’s a birthmark there that matches the description given on the TV. As she gives back change, she notices a gun under Gerald’s coat. She calls 911, says she has found the missing girl, and runs out to get the license plate. The SRU is on the scene and finds out who the car is registered, and a home address. They suit up! Gerald returns back home, and kisses Penny as if she is his. The girl walks into the kitchen, and Gerald takes off her cap revealing pigtails. He simply says “Honey, this is Lily”. ROLL CREDITS! Commercials! In the US we saw some ads including for some Kohl’s sale and Pizza Hut’s new pastas. And the premiere of NCIS, a show which none of us on staff cares about. Canadians saw commercials for CTV News, Bagelfuls, and Stephen Harper trying to convince Canadians he’s the better choice for Prime Minister (Yeah Right, I’m sorry but I don’t want Bill C-10 or C-61 taking effect). Back to the show! The SRU drives to Scarborough , while in the kitchen, Gerald praises Penny for the spic-and-span job she did cleaning. Penny asks why she is here, if it’s because she did something wrong... someone has a severe case of Stockholm syndrome. In the SUV, Ed and Greg talk about Greg’son. Ed urges Greg to go to Dallas to go see him, as it’s the only way he’ll recognize he still has a father that cares. At the house, Gerald puts an ankle bracelet on Lily, and forces her to thank him. He tells her the rules of the house, that she isn’t supposed to go near a window, or the bracelet will buzz. If she leaves the house, a wire will be tripped and she will be shocked dead. He lies to her and says the police will hurt her bad and it’s better to die. The SRU arrive at the house. Her dad told her over the phone that he has to keep her safe this way and asked him to bring her here. Gerald continues to lie to Lily when she pokes holes in his story. He forces Penny to make her lunch. The SRU gets a profile about Gerald. A contractor built this house especially with all windows frosted. He was in jail for a couple months years ago, and has no weapons registered. Gerald explains to Lily the rules are there to keep her safe. Penny wants to take her around the house rather than Gerald, and they get into an argument. Lily tries to run and is buzzed. She hugs Penny, and Gerald throws Penny in the closet for a time out. This Gerald character sure is twisted...Penny recites a passage from Milton. The SRU sets up snipers outside the house as Gerald shows Lily around. He notices motion detectors going off outside the house and the phone rings... this is where our episode began. Greg talks to him and asks him and the occupants to walk outside the house. Gerald threatens him and says he will kill Lily if anyone enters the house. As the SRU enters the house, he gives Penny a gun, and she knows what to do. Commercials! An awkward commercial about restrictions from T-Mobile, Hot Pockets Paninis, and JC Penney. Canadians saw commercials for Grey's Anatomy, Cinnamon Pecan Special K, and Winners. Back to the show! Greg tries to call Gerald again as Penny and Lily go upstairs to Penny’s room. Gerald hugs and kisses Penny, promising he will be back in 2 minutes. Penny doesn’t want Gerald to leave her alone. The SRU doesn’t know what to do to save the girl, but they eventually decide to roll under the garage door to enter the house. Lily helps Penny tip furniture down in the room. One member uses a special scanner to check the walls for surprises. The make their way through to the kitchen and around the living room. Wordy finds a box for a dog collar. Greg thinks there’s an electric circuit around the house for containment, so some members go to disable it. Ed and Wordy head to the basement, as Jules and Sam wait outside Penny’s room. They use a small camera to see inside the room, and they see Penny and try to identify her. They look around for Duglin and they don’t see him. Ed and Wordy yell in the basement for Gerald to freeze, but to no avail. Jules sees the transcripts of Milton, and Sam remembers his Dad when he sees the book. Lily shoots at Jules, Greg tries to get snipers to surround the room as Ed goes looking for Gerald...and him and Wordy find a tunnel in the basement?! They don’t know where it leads. The officer from the beginning of the episode, Kira, identifies the girl as someone who was abducted 8 years ago, and matches an age enhanced picture. Commercials! Quaker Oats, Macy’s Shop For A Cause, and Aflac Insurance. Desperate Housewives’ Kathryn Joosten appears in a Yoplait commercial and there’s a McCain-Palin ad. Change is Coming? This commercial doesn’t really tell me what they stand for... Canadians saw ads for Zellers, Iron Man on DVD, and Sheryl Crow’s Canadian tour. Back to the show! Police cars arrive at the house, as does an ambulance and an armored truck of sorts. Greg tells Jules to talk to her, because Penny needs to hear a female voice after spending 8 years at the hands of a man. Jules is scared, but Greg helps her out with advice on how to talk to her. Greg calls Spike to help out Jules and Sam. Jules works slowly to try to get Lily, but Penny freaks out and shoots again (but the SRU is safe). Lily asks how the SRU knows her name, and Penny tells Lily to keep quiet. Jules tries to get Lily to put the gun down. Penny panics and asks for Gerald, and Jules agrees to find out. She learns he has escaped through the tunnels. Kira tells Ed and Wordy that they are headed to a deserted brick factory. As they are making their way through underground railroad tracks, a man appears from the other end and shoots. Outside the house, Greg talks to Penny’s parents who seem happy that she is safe after these 8 long years. Lily wants to leave, but Penny has identified completely with her captor. Penny tells Lily a twisted story about Anne Frank, and that they can’t leave for the same reason that she couldn’t live her house. Jules tells Penny that they don’t know where Gerald is, and Penny thinks they are lying. She quotes Milton again, that without him there is no life. Lily tries to get away from Penny saying that Gerald made the story up and that she wants to go home. In the tunnels, Ed and Wordy chase Gerald. Jules promises Lily her parents are flying up from Sault Ste. Marie and that they will not hurt her. Lily runs, but Penny threatens to shoot her. Commercials! The US saw commercials for the Special K Challenge, a trailer for Righteous Kill, Lowe’s, and a Maverick ad for McCain and Palin. Canadians saw commercials for Without a Trace, Michael McCain, an apology from the CEO and President of Maple Leaf Foods about the Listeria outbreak, urging Canadians that their machinery has been sanitized, and Egg Farmers of Canada. And we’re back! Sam wants to shoot Penny to free Lily, and Greg wants Jules to stand down, but Jules tells Sam to wait. She talks to Penny in a language she can understand about choice, to let Lily choose where she wants to be. Lily chooses the SRU, and Spike grabs her and takes her to safety. Penny finally goes to the window, not being buzzed by the wire, and squints at her first glimpse of sunlight in 8 years. She watches as Lily is put onto a gurney. In the warehouse, Ed and Wordy are on the hunt for Gerald. Ed recognizes the gun he is using and counts bullets, wondering where the sixth one is in the hopes that while he reloads, he can have a chance at getting Gerald. At the house, Penny sees her parents through the blinds. They call out to her, but she moves back into the corner. Ed and Wordy encounter Gerald, and tell him to put the gun down and come to them or else in 5 seconds they will go to him. Gerald says that they don’t understand, that this is not the way he wants it to be. Ed asks what he wanted, and Gerald says he just wanted to be happy just like everybody else. Ed says he isn’t like everybody else and asks him to put the gun down. He says without Penny there is no life, before shooting himself in the head. Ed remarks that’s the 6th bullet, and walks over to Gerald. At the house, Jules talks to Penny, but once again finds herself at gunpoint while trying to reason with Penny. Greg says it’s Sam’s call to shoot. Jules makes one last attempt to help Penny , and says she wants to help her remember the girl she used to be. Greg asks her parents for memories when she felt joy and love. Jules hears all of this and tells Penny in a tone that she identifies with. Penny eventually breaks and Jules tells her there is a great big world out there that is much prettier than her room. She drops the gun, and Jules and Sam help her outside. Still slightly deranged and not used to the outside world after 8 years, she walks slowly to her parents. Greg tells Jules that he made her proud, and although she wasn’t perfect, she was human and she did just fine. Jules offers to buy Greg a drink, but Greg says he’s going to go away for the weekend. At the SRU, Kira has a ticket to Dallas ready for Greg. Back in her old room, Penny looks through her telescope, and says “the stars are still there”. The episode ends.

This was a fitting ending to a great run on two networks which far exceeded anyone’s expectations! The series is not over on CTV yet, so we’ll be keeping up our coverage of the last four episodes for all of our readers all over the world, who can’t watch the episodes or who just want a sneak peek. It’s a little odd though that the networks both chose to air commercials for just one candidate on both sides of the border rather than balancing out with the others. We also open up our inboxes to any of our viewers around the world where Flashpoint is premiering - if you read a story or learn about ratings, we would love to hear how the show is doing in your country! Don’t hesitate to send us an email at moonchasers@NOSPAMPLZKTHXWITHACHERRYONTOPgmail.com.

BREAKING NEWS: CBS Finally Renews Flashpoint!

We were ecstatic to come home from our day to finally hear the news we were waiting for! Many media outlets are now reporting that CBS has indeed renewed Flashpoint for 13 episodes next season! We would like to take this time to thank every fan who supported this show from the beginning. We have been reporting everything we possibly could about this show since last Fall, and seeing news like this really makes us jump for joy - we are elated with the success that Stephanie Morgenstern (Sailor Venus #1) and her husband Mark Ellis have achieved with this show, and we couldn't be more proud. We think that of all the North American VA stories that we have reported so far, Stephanie's has been the standout of this year - for a Canadian TV show to hit it big after such a long time on a US network is no small feat! We absolutely loved last night's episode, and although the fate of the last four episodes of the season are unknown as of this writing on CBS, we were so happy to hear it went out on a high note scoring 9.66 million viewers last night! We can tell you that CTV has moved the show to Sundays, and on September 28th the episode "Eagle Two" will air. According to the press release, the summary reads: "the SRU is handling a routine VIP protection shift when a bomb goes off. Realizing the bomb was a distraction tactic so that the VIPs wife could be kidnapped, the SRU attempts to find her. The kidnapping turns to horror when the wife is found alive - with a remote-controlled collar bomb around her neck." We'd like to extend congratulations on behalf of the staff and readers of this site to the cast and crew once again on a job well done and continued success - and we will be here just as much as we were this season next year! We will also continue to be there for all of you with summaries for the last episodes airing on Canadian television.

P.S. Last Night's Summary and Ratings will be up later this weekend.

BREAKING NEWS: Flashpoint Autographed Script Up For Charity Auction!

We just found out about this and we think that this is the ultimate for any of our readers who are Flashpoint fans (you all are, right :Þ ? ). An autographed copy of the script for the episode Scorpio is up for an auction , and bidding starts at $75. It was also signed by the production staff, including Stephanie Morgenstern, Mark Ellis, Marie La Traverse, and Bill Mustos. The proceeds from the auction go to a good cause, the Minorities in Broadcasting Training Program. This is a special non profit organization formed in 1992 to provide training opportunities to minority college graduates in TV/radio news reporting and news management. This is a collectible worthy of any Flashpoint fan's collection!

To Our New Zealand Readers: Flashpoint is Coming to You This Week!

This entry is just for our New Zealand readers - we just learned of a premiere date for Flashpoint on TVNZ's TV2! Flashpoint will premiere at 8:30 PM on Wednesday September 17th! There is even a teaser trailer with a really cool sparkling purple logo. We've been reading some rather lukewarm articles from TV critics there, and some of the things we have read are really unfair to the show. So to our New Zealand Moon Chasers and their friends - please give the show a chance. There is a lot more to the show behind the banter which TV Critic Tom Shales deems is "bouncy and bonhomie". We'd like to let him know the show worked very hard alongside retired members of the police force this show is based on to get their details right. And there is a lot more substance to "perky" Jules and "Stubble Boy" Braddock. The first episode is not as great compared to the rest that come, but the show will and does get better. It's unlike most cop shows on TV. And it has done really well on CBS in the US with high ratings and lots of viewers. It's one of the top rated TV shows here in Canada too. If ever at all you want to read a spoiler for an episode before you watch it, feel free to check out our detailed summaries on each episode - but you'll get a lot more out of it if you catch the show. By watching the show, you're also supporting Stephanie Morgenstern, who is a favorite among fans for her performance as the first Sailor Venus. You'll even get to see the face behind the voice in the first episode as she plays the hostage! So please, give this show a chance. Normally we don't care for shows like CSI, NCIS, and Law and Order, but we were all pleasantly surprised with this one and we hope you will be too.

Flashpoint Ratings: September 12th

Still reeling from the surprise of Thursday's announcement that next week's episode will be the season finale, we read some very encouraging news from TV Expert Marc Berman, who doesn't think that this is the last we have seen of Flashpoint on CBS. He reports that Flashpoint pulled in 8.5 million viewers and a 2.2/6 rating with viewers 18-49. Watch this space, we will post Canadian ratings as soon as they are available!

EDIT: Flashpoint is the 6th most popular TV show in Canada, and scored 1.289 million viewers!

Flashpoint in a Flash: Season 1 - Episode 8: Never Kissed a Girl

Stephanie Morgenstern and Mark Ellis continue to bring out a better show each week! Full summary after the jump!


We begin with one of the coolest shots this entire season. The camera backs away from a Toronto courthouse. We hear sirens, see people running out the doors, a police car pulling in, and then another, and then the SRU SUV, a judge and a lawyer running in between, policemen, paramedics, and then the caution line, along with the rest of the public. We hear a voice shout “YOU LIED JUST LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE” and Ed Lane in plainclothes has a gun to his head. How did Ed get involved in the line of fire?! Greg is trying to rush the SRU who are walking along ceiling beams to get into the courtroom. There is also a security woman in the room being held hostage with Ed. The gunman says, “Your time is up”... and REWIND! 3 hours earlier: our gunner walks out of the house, and one of the two men on the porch wishes him good luck with his lawyer today. We’re actually 90% sure that this is a house around Dufferin Mall in Toronto. He rips down posters with his face on them on street poles that say “Watch your children this convicted felon is living in our neighborhood”. He looks around in disbelief at the myriads of posters everywhere else. Back at SRU HQ, Ed gets his rifle primed and ready. Greg walks in saying he should only use one shot to the head, before praising him that he is his number one guy. Now the bad news, Ed is being sued by the son of the man who was killed in the first episode. Stephanie Morgenstern briefly appears in a flashback of the moment the gun went off. Ed’s a little shocked. At a lawyer’s office, our gunner (whose name is Michael) receives some bad news about the prosecution playing some dirty tricks in his wrongful conviction 11 years ago. Things go from bad to worse when the missing evidence from the files means that he can’t file an appeal to clear his name. Greg reassures Ed the team is behind himn 100% and his lawyer will get him out of this but Ed is stunned that he is being called to the courthouse today. He can’t understand how someone doubts his job after all that happened that day. Greg tells him that it’s all a part of grieving. Michael’s lawyer tells him he doesn’t have the time to file an appeal, and we learn that he was in jail since he was 15. All Michael wants is to have his name cleared to his family and the public so he can truly be free. Mpho Koaho’s performance is powerful! He leaves the lawyer’s office. Outside the courthouse, Ed’s lawyer walks him through what will happen and that he will get him out. Michael calls under a fake name to the prosecuting lawyer’s office, and finds out he is busy in court all day. So he goes over there to get some answers. He walks inside, is checked by security, and an officer discovers an ankle bracelet. He is called on it, but he turns away to grab a gun from another officer and hollers at everyone to put their hands up and not to move. He fires at the roof before he runs through the halls. ROLL CREDITS! __________. Back to the show! The camera shows us downtown Toronto from overhead, before sailing over the courthouse. Ed is interrogated in a library about what happened the day he pulled the trigger. The security guard is instructed by another one to put the room under lockdown, as there is someone with a gun running loose in the building. Ed asks if there is anything serious going on, while the lawyers argue over when to reschedule this hearing. Ed flashes his badge and asks for the door to be unlocked. He leaves. Ed calls the SRU to find out what is going on, and he looks around for Michael. Michael is now on an upper floor, looking around for the prosecutor. We skitter between Ed trying to take control of the situation, and Michael on his manhunt. He runs into the security woman chatting on her cell phone and holds her at gunpoint. Ed approaches them! He complies with a frustrated Michael, dismembers his gun, and gets on his cell phone to talk to Greg about what is going on. Greg pulls up outside the courthouse, and Ed relays the message that he is looking for a prosecutor. Greg picks up he is being held at gunpoint, and the SRU has to deal with Ed being stuck in this situation. _________. Greg assures the team that even though he doesn’t have his gun, he’s going to be okay. He sends Wordy to find the prosecutor, Jules to ID the gunman, and Spike and Louis to go in the building. Ed talks to Greg for a minute, but has to hang up. Greg looks at some plans and finds out where the prosecutor is, and they decide to confine him in there before taking him. Some members go up to clear out the room, while Ed tries to learn something from Michael about why he is there. The SRU moves up the stairs, as Ed answers the phone to hear about options. They are leaving an ear wig for him on the prosecutors table. Ed says to go to Courtroom 7, and puts himself in further danger by telling Michael to take him instead over the security woman. Wordy arrives to the courtroom and clears out the room, taking the Prosecutor aside. Jules sees that Ed is now handcuffed and they all worry more. Ed stalls until the absolute last second when a senior is lifted away to an exit. And now we are where the episode began. In another library, Wordy tries to ask the Prosecutor what he did, or if he knows anything about the man holding his buddy hostage. Jules learns that Michael was convicted of the murder and rape of another teenager in 1997. Michael gives Ed an ultimatum: 15 minutes to get the Prosecutor to him, or else he dies. Jules gets more information on the victim as Ed asks the security woman to distract him for a minute while he puts the ear wig in. Ed talks to him and learns that Michael was convicted with a supposed confession he never made. He connects to him as he’s trying to defend his own actions. The SRU plans to break in the courtroom through the roof and sets up a sniper across the street. We see a dramatic change in Ed, he is no longer the macho man in control, but one who is broken and questioning his own decision. The girl Michael was accused of killing was his only friend - which meant a lot to him since he was the only “black kid in the class”. We hear of his sad tale and Ed and the security woman sympathize with him. Jules finds holes in the Prosecutor’s story, and the SRU is ready to jump in. Other snipers plan their shots. Ed subtly moves Michael under the balcony. Jules tries to dig up more dirt on the prosecutor, and Ed finds out that someone who spent only minutes with Michael in the cell made up a fake story about how she died. Ed continues to try to get him to put the gun down, begging him. Spike jumps down on the balcony and throws a smoke bomb as they jump down and hold Michael at gunpoint. Ed leaves with the Security Woman, as a electric guitar mix of the theme song plays. Michael is held at gunpoint as we go to commercial while he is still holding the gun. Jules learns that the Prosecutor pulled some shady tricks in the case. Ed confronts the Prosecutor with a cassette recorder, and talks to him about some other cases wherein false confessions were conjured. Ed goes back in the room against Greg’s wishes to talk to Michael to get him to lower that gun. He tells him that there’s enough evidence for an appeal, and he doesn’t want anyone to die today. Michael tells a part of the story that no one knew, and that was that he was not the last person to see her alive. Ed assures him that they will make sure he goes to justice. Michael puts down the gun... the montage begins. Ed asks for his name as he is driven away by police. We also hear another fantastic song , Lost At Sea, from the actor who plays Ed, Hugh Dillon. He wrote this song especially for the show, and I really hope that the full version of this song is released. It’s a sad ode to his character. Michael lights a candle at Katie’s grave, lays a pink lily, and walks away. Next week: Flashpoint’s Season Finale?! The SRU rescues a child held captive for years, but soon has more than it can handle when they find she is not the only child the kidnapper held. We can’t wait!

BREAKING NEWS: What's Happening With Flashpoint?

Hey Moonies - I have watched yesterday's episode but I won't be able to blog it till later tomorrow. At the end though, I noticed something a little peculiar. CBS has announced that next week's episode will be the season finale. 13 episodes were shot this season, and it looks like the last four will not air as of this writing. We don't know what is up with CTV at this moment. We have a feeling this is because of new shows premiering on the network next week, but this leaves us all wondering when the last four will air. It doesn't make sense to us that the network would be rejecting the show in it's entirety, from what we read the show helped CBS win the ratings handsomely last night. And readers, we did not forget about Fox's abyssmal Hole in the Wall. We will be posting our full opinion on that mess later this weekend.

As always, once we find out what will happen with the show we will let you know. We have a feeling that the episodes whether they air or not will be released on iTunes along with the others already there. On the bright side, we learned that one of the creators of Flashpoint, Stephanie Morgenstern (Sailor Venus #1) has been coined a "creatrix" by one blogger, who spotted her at this year's CFC Barbecue! This is a super elite event held by the Canadian Film Centre, and invitees are big players in the industry, from actors, to producers, and everyone in between. We are so proud of all of her achievements since her VA days and in a way we also feel that Sailor Venus has achieved her dream of being an idol and schmoozing with the best people in the industry through Stephanie's work (bizarre how the actor and the character are intertwined!).

Please Support Flashpoint!

Hey everyone - I'm still trying to get my laptop back up to speed (I'm almost there, just a few programs left to go!) but I'm trying to juggle a new semester and now this horrid cold which took my voice away today. Hopefully this weekend I will have energy again! Anyway, Flashpoint is coming back to both networks in it's original timeslot, and I caught a trailer for the episode this morning during the news. This one takes place in a courthouse and there's a hostage situation. A wrongfully convicted man fears his name may never be cleared. There's a couple cases in Canada that deal with almost the same sort of wrongful convictions that came up in my mind and the episode may be partially based on them. One is the sad story of David Milgaard, and the other is of Steven Truscott. It's very important (especially for all of you in the United States) to watch this show from now until the end. If you can't watch the show but are recording it, try to watch it on the same day. Readers of this site need to do their best to keep up the ratings of the show until CBS makes an announcement about the new season. Check your local listings and/or CBS and CTV for more information!

Breaking News: Another Rerun for Flashpoint :(

I (along with many of the rest of you Canadian fans) was looking forward to a new episode of Flashpoint tonight. It seems at the last minute CTV changed their website to show that they were going to play Attention Shopper instead of Never Kissed A Girl. Flashpoint was also not on CBS for the second week in a row, probably due to the Democratic and/or Republican conventions happening now. We here at Moon Chase are slightly dismayed at this, and unfortunately can't bring you a new summary for tonight's episode. We're all gonking along with you :s.

Flashpoint in a Flash: Season 1 - Episode 7: He Knows His Brother

Another hard hitting episode, and we’re sure all you Braddock fans will love this one! Full summary after the jump!


He Knows His Brother

We begin at the family breakfast table. A son begs his dad not to get angry, but the patriarch slams a bowl of cereal shutting him up. The other son pulls a gun, and a maid dials the police. We hear a gunshot go off, and the father has been shot in the arm. The SRU over a bullhorn calls the family to stand still as they break in and the son runs off… REWIND! 2 hours earlier, and the sun hasn’t risen yet in Toronto. The SRU is running maintenance on their equipment, and Braddock minds a couple newbies who are in charge of monthly cleanup. Jules asks why Braddock isn’t upstairs training, and as Braddock reads the paper, he notices something that hits him. He leaves the room in a huff, and Jules sees the headline: 3 troops in Afghanistan are dead. Cut to a glorious mansion, and the son with the gun (who’s name is R.J) is climbing the walls to get in through a window. He makes his way into his brother’s room and wakes him up. Braddock calls one of his army buddies to find out what happened, and we learn that it was one of his army buddies that died. And that he wasn’t killed in the line of duty, but instead committed suicide. Braddock is shocked, and his army buddy tells him he won’t be going to the funeral. R.J tells his brother Simon that he is no longer at military school, and suggests that he runs away with him to escape the family. Simon says he has a future at some prestigious universities and their mother comes to their room and calls them down to breakfast. And here we are where the episode began. The father belittles R.J and is angry – he asks him to pay back every penny. R.J. was a delinquent and the family has tried everything to put him on a straight path. They argue about what Simon’s future is, and Simon tries to stop the argument, and the cereal bowl is slammed. R.J. pulls the gun… and… ROLL CREDS! After the break, we are shown some very beautiful shots of Rosedale Valley. This is one of the nicest areas in Toronto! We are back at the table and R.J. is threatening his father with a gun that’s a family heirloom. The maid calls the police… Jules tries to talk to Braddock and console him as he throws a few punches to a punching bag. Braddock tells Jules that his army buddies had a deal: if they commit suicide, they no longer mean anything to them because they gave up just like that. The alarm goes off, and Braddock asks if Jules is driving. The SRU gets into motion…Simon asks R.J. to give him the gun, and to go back to school, but R.J. says he can’t go back. Sirens go off, and R.J. gets scared. Ed Lane goes to talk to the officer and learns he’s new on the job. He scolds him for sounding his sirens. We learn that R.J.’s Dad, Rolland Strachan is a famous defense attorney and his family was rich from the times of the goldmines. Inside the house, Rolland tells his son that the gun was used by real men and that he can’t do anything with it because he’s a coward. R.J. fires the gun. Simon begs him for the gun again, but as the phone rings with a call from the SRU, R.J. runs away into the ravine behind the house. Braddock manages to catch him running among a flurry of smoke bombs. Braddock chases him for a little before he calls a manhunt. Commercial Break! The SRU is mobilizing in the ravine behind the house, and they learn that there are bystanders in the ravine. Spike reveals an acoustic detector to find anyone moving in the area. They work out their search patterns, and Greg Parker gives him a short profile of R.J. The SRU starts searching quad by quad. Dr. Luria gets on the phone with Greg, and she goes to the military school to investigate. Rolland is moved out of the house on a stretcher, and tells Simon to remember who he is. The SRU is searching in the woods, and Spike is a little scared of the woods. The SRU spots two girls hiding in the woods. Braddock talks to the family. Simon tries to protect his brother. But Braddock points out a big fault in his story based on where the bullet was. Simon says he will tell the truth, but runs to his room to call R.J. to see where he is. R.J. makes him an offer to meet somewhere at noon. The SRU learns that R.J. has a few army tricks up his sleeve with a few stolen gadgets. Simon tries to leave, but he is stopped by Braddock. Greg says that his phone has been tapped, and they know that he’s talking to his brother. Dr. Luria tries to learn more from the military school’s principal, but she learns nothing without the parents’ consent. One of the cadets mopping the floor asks if it’s about R.J. and Luria goes to talk to him. The SRU arrives at a seemingly abandoned trailer and they quietly enter thinking R.J. is in there. Jules fires tear gas into the window, as they enter. Ed discovers that his cell phone is in the trailer, and they find a piece of foil with crystal meth. Commercials! Greg tells Simon and his mother that R.J. was using Crystal Meth and that he is probably very mentally unstable right now. He asks Simon for more information, and the mother who can’t deal with this right now, sips her wine and advises Simon to leave before his father comes back. She says she is sorry she couldn’t do anything about him. Greg starts to leave the room when Simon decides to talk and tell them where R.J. is hiding. He rides with Braddock into the ravine to point out the location. The SRU goes through the thicket , and Greg tells Braddock to walk away from the kid. He gives him an on the fly lesson on how to talk to the kid and what to ask him. Dr. Luria is talking to more cadets at the school, and learns more about R.J. He’s a good kid, but turned to meth when he didn’t want to sleep anymore. He was good at chemistry, and learned how to make it. There was an altercation with the principal, and R.J. went ballistic on him. For standing up for his buddies, he got kicked out of school. Jules patches together a potential misleading footpath that R.J. has planned, and the SRU decides to go backwards to see what they find. Braddock asks Simon about how the father treated them growing up. R.J. is silent. Braddock tells him the story of a guy he knew who managed to turn his life around despite his upbringing. Simon looks at his watch, and Braddock asks if there is somewhere he needs to be. The SRU hears a shot fired and they know they are near R.J. Braddock points out the location and makes an attack plan. The SRU runs through the woods into another person, and they find out she ran into R.J. … R.J. is hiding behind a tree and fires a bomb at an SRU member who is down! Commercials! Spike was the one who was hit, and they learn it was with a homemade bomb, and once again he talks about how Romans don’t do well in the woods. Ed is angry, but Braddock wants to talk to Simon again. He knows brothers won’t turn on brothers, but Braddock thinks he can help. He reasons with Simon telling him that he has the chance to help his brother before more harm is done. Simon finally walks through the woods to find R.J. . He appears out from behind a bush, and Simon says that he shouldn’t have hurt that cop. R.J. is a little deranged and not himself and starts acting fresh. Simon says he is scared of R.J. We learn R.J. took the drugs to stop the nightmares, and that he wanted to just take Simon away from home. Simon remembered the time R.J. saved him from his father’s belt, and that he was never going to let him go. R.J. tries to run, but Simon tries to pin him down. The SRU takes him away, and Simon cries for them to let him go. Simon says he is sorry. Rolland arrives back home from the hospital, and Ed tells him he can’t come back to his house. He asks who he can call when he himself needs a big time lawyer. He leaves the house, and Ed tells Jules that R.J. is getting a psychiatric evaluation instead of going in jail because he doesn’t belong there. Jules says Braddock left for some personal matters. The montage begins, Simon visits R.J. in the hospital, but they can only talk to each other through a window on the door. Braddock drives up to a bridge over a highway and watches as his friend’s body as it passes below him in a motorcade, tears streaming down his face.

This episode showed a side of Braddock we rarely get to see, he is more than the timid guy trying to make his way up the ranks. The next episode, Never Kissed a Girl will air tonight, and looks really good! From CTV: Having served 12 years in prison for the murder of his teenage sweetheart, when he was 15 -- a murder he didn't commit -- Michael Jameson is finally free on parole.

Flashpoint Ratings: August 21st

Flashpoint's success continues in the United States and Canada! On CBS the show scored 7.29 million viewers, and was the #2 program watched that night! For adults between 18-49 that night, it scored a rating of 1.9/5. In Canada, BBM reports 1.177 million viewers and was the fourth most watched program that week behind the Olympics and their closing ceremonies, and CBC's National News.

Flashpoint Acquisitions!

Hey everyone: My laptop is very slowly coming back into being. Today if I get all my productivity software installed and running, I should be able to watch He Knows His Brother and get a summary up. We have more exciting news for all of our overseas readers in Britain and France! Britain's ITV3 just picked up the show and all 13 episodes are slated to air on their fall schedule! Jay Kandola, Director of Acquisitions at ITV3 said "Flashpoint was really this year's surprise summer hit on Network TV in the USA. The series already has made the unusual leap from Canadian TV to CBS in the states and now will find its perfect home in the U.K. when it arrives on ITV3." We encourage all of our British fans to watch this show when it airs! Et pour vous en France - regardez Canal Plus! Flashpoint est une série à guetter prochainement sur Canal plus. I am not sure when it will start but my guess would be in the spring at the earliest since the series would likely need to be dubbed or subtitled for the French market (and that takes at least a few months to do). Congratulations (et Felicitations!) to Stephanie Morgenstern and Mark Ellis on Flashpoint's continued success around the world!

BREAKING NEWS: Flashpoint Equipment Stolen?!

And blogging on this site reaches new heights: from a hotel computer -_-'. I just read in this morning's Globe and Mail that a truck carrying some important and expensive video equipment used for Flashpoint was stolen! You guys can read the story here. This is truly sad, and if any of our readers in the Toronto area see a big truck with some video equipment, please call the authorities! This show holds a special place in all our readers' thoughts because of the connection to Sailor Moon, and it's truly sad to see something like this happen after four years of hard work to get this show on the air!

BREAKING NEWS: Flashpoint Picked Up For Second Season in Canada!

OT: Moonies, I was able to find the time to work on 2 short posts in under an hour (a new record!) so this week is not entirely lost! Now onto the big news...

Flashpoint has just been picked up for a second season by it's Canadian network, CTV! In a press release this morning, the network announced it had ordered another 13 episodes to go into production in early 2009! We really hope the cast and crew gets a break after the first season ends - they have all worked really hard to make this show the hit that it is! It has consistently scored over 1 million viewers each episode in Canada, and even survived the Olympics! This release came out just days after the first season wrapped shooting! Susanne Boyce, President, Creative, Content and Channels, at CTV Inc. commented "Viewers have embraced Flashpoint and we are answering their call for more. The cast and creative team have delivered a series that not only entertains with high-intensity drama but with heart as well." In a joint statement, executive producers Anne Marie La Traverse and Bill Mustos said "We're extremely proud to have this opportunity to bring more of our homegrown stories to viewers in Canada and around the world." We knew right from the start that this could have been something big - and we continue to be so proud of everything Stephanie Morgenstern (Sailor Venus #1) and her husband Mark Ellis have achieved with their creation! Here's to many more! As of this writing, there has been no word if CBS has picked it up for a second season. We will keep you posted once we find out!

EDIT: (Tuesday) The Globe and Mail is reporting CBS greenlighted the second season, however we're a little skeptical as no one else has reported this.

No Flashpoint Summary/Ratings Today or Tomorrow

Hey Moonies - I have to be out of town till the end of the week so I am unable to do the summary or the ratings reporting until Sunday night at the very latest. Technically I'm out for the whole week, and thanks to the magic of timed posts it seems like I've been here a lot this week! For those of you fans in other countries who have been following our Flashpoint coverage very well, I won't keep you in the dark , I will have something up by Monday - I'm as addicted to the show as you are, and as long as my PVR doesn't fail there will be something. For those of you fans who are able to watch the show and would like to post a quickie summary , feel free to do so in the comments!

Behind the Music of Flashpoint

We here at Moon Chase think that it's really awesome that Stephanie Morgenstern's (Sailor Venus #1) Flashpoint is showcasing a lot of indie talent by playing their songs during the montages at the end of the episodes. CTV has a great page that has the names of the songs used and links to all the bands. But did you know that two of the cast members are indie rockers themselves?Amy Jo Johnson, who plays Sargent Julianna "Jules" Callaghan, has released a few CDs of her own, original music over the past few years. She has even played a singer in a made for TV movie, we recommend all readers to check out the movie Sweetwater: A True Rock Story if they can - her performance in that movie was so perfect! I actually have her rendition of Motherless Child on my Zen Micro. Last week's episode, Attention Shopper featured her song Dancing in Between. It's an older song, and was released on her album imperfect in 2005.

Hugh Dillon, who plays lead sniper Ed Lane on the show, was once a staple of Canadian radio with his former band, the Headstones. They broke up in 2003, and Dillon formed a new band, the Hugh Dillon Redemption Choir in 2005. Their upcoming album, Works Well With Others hasn't had a confirmed release date yet, but we can tell you that Paul Langois of The Tragically Hip recorded some tracks with them. Hugh wrote a song especially for Flashpoint called Lost at Sea, and it will be featured on next week's episode (#8), Kissed a Girl.

Did You Spot A Catsy in Last Week's Flashpoint?

Wow! We ALMOST missed this one, and we wouldn't have caught it unless we didn't catch the episode streaming on the internet (because the creds are too tiny to read on the TV screen)! Flashpoint's episode last week had a second connection to Sailor Moon! Playing a young mother, trying to assist the SRU in identifying the teenagers of the Winchester Gang, was none other than Alice Poon! She played the villian Catsy in Sailor Moon R! We pulled a screengrab off CTV's site so you could all see her in action! We will keep you posted should any other VAs appear on the show!

Flashpoint Ratings: August 14th

The ratings are just trickling in for the US, but very slowly. Flashpoint scored 6.31 million viewers (of course, beaten by NBC's Olympics coverage) with a 1.6/4 among 18-49 year olds and a 4.4/7 for CBS overall during that hour. Hopefully there will be more released soon, so watch this space. As usual, we still don't have last week's Canadian ratings.

EDIT: It seems we got everything! Hurrah! Flashpoint continues to get more viewers than CSI!

EDIT 2: Hot off the presses are last week's Canadian ratings!

EDIT 3: Flashpoint scored 1.186 million viewers, and was the third program watched overall in the country that week behind CBC's The National and The Olympics!

Flashpoint in A Flash: Season 1 - Episode 6: Attention Shoppers

This was the best episode of Flashpoint we've seen so far! Full Summary after the jump! This episode did have a lot of skin so for those of you chibi-Moonies up too late at night, please don't sneak around and watch this episode, okay? ^_^


Attention Shoppers
We begin with shots of Toronto at night, and closing in on Eaton Centre... ahh the home of Richtree, the best eatery in Toronto! Gregory Parker’s voice is heard over the intercom as we see shoppers sitting down in a line in the floor of the mall, being searched before they are escorted out. And lurking in the fitting room of a store, is a trembling girl who dials her telephone. Her name is Tasha and she confesses to her mom she killed a girl, and tells her mom she is sorry... and REWIND! Jules leads the SRU to their locker rooms as they chat about music and steaks and get into their gear (warning, you see a little too much of Amy Jo Johnson so don’t watch younger chibi-Moonies!) Now we are at Tasha’s home, where she tries to get her depressed mom out of bed. She seems like a nice girl. She walks out of her grungy apartment to find insults spray painted all over the front. As she walks, she is teased by some other girls which she ignores. Back at the SRU, Ed answers the phone and it’s for Jules from Scott Scarlatti who wants to know if she’s free for a date tonight. It’s a very awkward situation and Jules just nods her head without speaking. The SRU practice dragging Ed around the room. At the mall, Tasha talks with her boss about why she hasn’t been herself lately, and she avoids answering the question saying it’s just her usual stresses. Tasha is confronted by the other girls in the restroom, and we learn that she confessed something to the cops. The gang leader slams her against a stall door, and pushes her around. She’s on the floor being beat up and her hair is being cut by the leader... girls can be so mean! Another girl shows her a gun as the leader threatens her, somehow the gun is dropped, Tasha picks it up and fires it, shooting one of the members. She runs off , and the gang members run after her to seek revenge. THEME SONG! Oh boy, this looks like it’s going to be an intense episode. Commercials! Macy is having a 1 day sale and it’s nice to know everyone can enjoy Oreos! The SRU drives to the mall , and they find out that the girl who was shot was a gang member with a tattoo on her arm. The SRU goes up the glass elevator and realizes they have a tough task ahead of them. Tasha is sobbing as she walks through the mall and looks at her kiosk. The SRU starts questioning shoppers, and they learn that there are teenagers running around the mall. Greg says not to control the shoppers just yet, and they learn that they are all part of the Winchester Crew. Jules sees the hair on the floor and senses there was a forced makeover. She suspects that there’s another victim and that it’s a little personal. And we are taken to the beginning of the episode, where Greg makes his announcement to get all the shoppers out of the stores. The mall is in lockdown. The girls pledge to kill Tasha. Jules finds her backpack and narrows down the high school. Through the security tapes, the SRU identifies the shooter and everyone goes looking for her. Tasha sees the SRU with their dogs and runs. She is spotted and cornered. One of the other gang members spots her and fires the gun, sending the shoppers in a panic and Tasha escapes. OH @#$%! Commercials! Oh who cares about Swiffers and Tropic Thunder... we wanna see how this all ends! The SRU runs through the mall and Wordy gets a gang member. The other two are on the loose, and Tasha is hiding in a fitting room. She is crying, can’t stand the sight of her hair, and takes the gun out from her pocket. The girl lies Tasha is the crazy one and says she is shot in the arm, Ed pulls up her sleeve and sees the gang number. She is now forced to tell the truth about the gang members. Jules uses a thermal scanner to locate two people under a table... not their suspects, but they tell them to put the cameras back. The girls steal some clothes from a store to change their appearance and split up. The SRU is at an advantage because Jules knows how girls work and how they can get revenge! The SRU puts the pieces together and find out who Tasha confessed to the cops about. Tasha is in the fitting room leaving a message for her mother. Luria is outside Tasha’s apartment, and sees the graffitti. She walks inside, to Tasha’s room, which looks just like any normal, happy, girl’s room. Sadly, it’s the tidiest place in the house. One of the girls trips an alarm in the mall, and soon they are both led off by SRU. Tasha’s boss calls her cell phone, she says she is sorry but she won’t say where she is. Tasha holds a gun to her head. As the SRU moves into the store she is hiding in, she pulls the gun to her chest. Commercial! Crystal Light will pump up your water and that guy in the Arby’s ad reminds me of the Nanny from Kevin Hill. More members of the SRU move into the store. Jules and Braddock move into the fitting room, and they find the gun, but Tasha is gone. She escaped through a vent. Ed Lane tries to get some more words out of the girls. Jules is the only one who can fit through the vent. Tasha’s boss tries to say Tasha is a good girl, despite where she lives. Jules catches up with Tasha who is moving towards the roof of the mall. I’ll bet anyone who has been to this mall hasn’t seen it in this way before! Tasha makes her way outside and is ready to jump off the ledge. Future Shop is in the background! Jules learns that she was raped, and drops her gun to try to talk to her. She remarks that she has never seen someone who is ready to die put up an awesome fight. She asks what happened today, and she moves in next to Tasha. Jules talks her through it... I’m not going to say too much more because this really was a great moment in the series and every reader needs to watch this episode! So Tasha agrees not to jump and moves to give her hand to Jules, but she slips! Of course, this is when the trailer ended and we all thought she was going to die... but Jules saves her, and the SRU pulls her up. Commercials! KFC has a value menu, and Papa Murphy’s Pizza looks good. It’s a new day in Toronto, and we hear a piano play the Flashpoint theme song. Tasha is sitting on a stretcher, and Jules talks to her. Tasha asks why Jules did that for her, and she says that she doesn’t go down without a fight, just like her. She leaves her with the paramedics, and walks towards the rest of the SRU, and finally Amy’s song begins to play! Tasha’s boss gives her a hug, the SRU packs up back at headquarters. Braddock walks in on Jules clad in a towel, and he says he was worried about her. He looks at her bruised shoulder, and asks her out to the diner for breakfast, and she agrees. Fade to black... Next week’s episode is about a Military School student who is kicked out and he turns the guns on his high-pressure family.

This in my opinion was the best episode so far of the season - it’s too bad it was aired out of order. You can tell at the end when Jules realizes she has feelings for Braddock. It was a very hard hitting plot and given how bullying has become such a HUGE issue in schools these days all over North America, it was nice to see that there is always a way out of these gangs, no matter how ugly the situation becomes.

Flashpoint Ratings: August 7th

Good news readers, BBM finally released last week's Canadian Flashpoint viewer ratings - go check them out here!

We have some very exciting news out of the US to report this morning with respect to the show's ratings from last night. Flashpoint was the second highest rated show last night, behind the two-hour finale of Fox's So You Think You Can Dance. The show scored 7.17 million viewers, and for the first time since it's rescheduling to Thursday nights, it had garnered 260,000 more viewers than the CSI encore which preceded it! Congratulations to the cast and crew of Flashpoint! The show also scored 2.1/6 with viewers 18-49. We don't expect to hear from BBM with Canadian ratings until at least next week.

EDIT: BBM finally posted the ratings on Friday, August 15th! Flashpoint is #3 in Canada behind So You Think You Can Dance's finale. The show scored 1.3 million viewers across the country!

Flashpoint in a Flash: Season 1 - Episode 5: Who's George?

Sorry it's a bit late - I just came back from our translator, White Tiger King's wedding reception. On behalf of the readers and staff, congrats Tiger! And thank technology for PVR's! Summary can be found after the jump!


We begin with a shot of Toronto's financial district on Bay Street, and eventually focus on a bank. Ed Lane is ready to shoot and we see a robber, clad in black exit the bank with a female hostage. Gregory Parker shouts to the robber not to do it, as he with his gun forces the hostage to her knees. Greg wonders what to do next... and REWIND! 2 hours earlier. Braddock is learning how to negotiate in a parking lot in a hypothetical scenario being played by the other SRU members. He fails to resolve the situation, and pretend gunman Ed Lane pretend kills a hostage. Greg tries to help Sam learn what he did wrong, but he avoids it. Next we are taken to a man talking on his cell phone in a car, asking for a few more days to get something done, but eventually he relents and says he will have it tonight. He loads up a gun and puts on a mask. This is our bank robber! Back at SRU headquarters, Greg tries to teach Braddock a thing or two about negotiating. Now we're at the bank, which is celebrating it's rise to the 2nd best performing branch in the downtown core from it's last place position. The bank's manager hands out some employee awards and everyone gets back to work. She takes aside a worker named Paul, and says he has to pull his own weight despite his personal troubles. Paul moves back to his work, and the manager makes mention of an error code with the door in the morning. She retreats to her office, and there's our gunman waiting for her. He demands $500,000, and he wants her to withdraw it and bring it back up to her office. He will leave, and no one gets hurt. She leaves to get the money as he moves to a window to watch. The manager calmly tells a teller there's danger, and the teller gets the message that there is a robbery. Another sounds the alarms, and people pilfer out the door... some don't make it as the robber heads down to the floor and takes the manager hostage at gunpoint. ROLL CREDITS! Hmm. It seems Kohl's is sponsoring Flashpoint now (but without that horrible Avril line plzplz) Worst Week looks a little stale. Back to the show - the SRU is called into action and heads to the bank. We learn our robber , the Monday Morning Bandit, had an override code and cut the video and audio security, and that he knew tellers were trained to be quiet and hand over the cash. They are dealing with a pro here. Greg assigns positions, but Braddock wants a higher one. Jules tells him to wait, he's not ready. The group gets into position, as we go to the inside of the bank where all the hostage are sitting up against the bank's counters with their hands behind their heads. Greg gets on the phone with the Bandit, who demands that the team get him a car by noon so he can escape. He gets the bank manager on the phone who pleads that they do what he says or they will all be killed.
Ed talks to another officer who reveals something about how these robbers work and use the subway to escape. Greg works with Braddock on negotiating, and he calls the Bandit again. Greg says that he will have what he wants if he cooperates and gives up the hostages. Greg realizes that he doesn't fit the typical antisocial profile, and the SRU has to change their plan of action. The hostages worry in the bank. The manager gets up and says she has to go to the bathroom and she tries to bargain with him. The bandit makes her sit back down again. Some SRU members head down to the subway. Greg notifies the Bandit that the alarm is going to go off again and that he should stay calm. Jules sets off the alarm and the team sets off a bomb in the subway that leads to the bank's basement. Greg realizes that this is not our Monday Morning Bandit, and the bank manager starts off a frenzy when she tries to get help for an asthmatic teller. The team is now face to face with the robber, who fires some shots in the air. Some team members get some hostages out, but the robber still holds the manager. They ask him repeatedly to put the gun down, and he won't. The SRU moves closer, but the robber drags the manager upstairs and reveals his face... It's GEORGE! Commercials! J.C. Penney is having a sale and who knows if Spray 'N' Wash is really that strong... Back to the show! The SRU now has feed from the security cameras but n sound. They find the unmasked George talking to the manager... a security guard tells Greg he was a former head of security until he was fired 2 months ago. Greg gets a file of information about him, and the forensic psychologist lets him know what to look for in the robber's psyche. Another teller tells Jules that the manager is a horrible boss, and a lot of people hate her for how she turned the bank around. Greg goes off to negotiate with George, and Braddock goes with Lane. George gets mad and says the team has half an hour to meet his demands or else the manager dies. He gives them an account number and that the manager is going to take him to a computer to verify the money has been received. Greg tries to take his mind off the manager, but it is futile and he hangs up. He tells the manager that it's not looking good for her... Commercials! Sears is having a sale and Harold and Kumar's latest hijinks are on DVD! Jules learns he has a wife, and another SRU member learns that the money is going to some business. Greg is on the phone with George again, and the psychologist heads to a nursing home for more info. The manager shows a different side to her ruthlessness and talks about how she doesn't like to fire people. She worked hard to only have to fire 7 people over 62. George hangs up and says "no more talking". He gags the manager, and Greg tells the SRU to prepare to act. Ed gives Braddock more guidance on the job behind the rifle. The psychologist calls Greg and we learn George's wife has Alzheimer's and will be kicked out of her care home because she does not have the money to stay there. We have a motive for the robbery now. Greg uses this to empathize with George, and it looks like he is ready to listen and give in. He asks to talk to his wife, and Greg doesn't know if he should or not. Greg allows it, and Mary and George start talking. Mary tells George she doesn't like to be alone and she feels like she is at fault. George says he has to go , and they tell each other they love them. He lets the manager go free, but she doesn't want to go. She wants to help him with his wife's situation. He puts on his mask and heads out with her out of the bank. Greg runs out of the truck to the front of the bank and the team materializes... Commercials! Kiefer is on Letterman and Swingtown looks creepy. And we are taken back to where the episode started. Greg talks to him to put the gun down and let the manager go. George stands up and points the gun to Greg. Lane tells Braddock to shoot, and George falls to the ground. Greg is stunned, the manager is left in tears as some soft, sad, and harrowing vocal music plays in the background. Braddock is stunned, and Greg walks over to unmask George. The psychologist tries to tell Mary that George is dead, but she does not understand. Back at HQ, Ed Lane tells Braddock it's all procedure when he was questioned. The attack may have been planned as George's insurance did not cover suicide, but did pay out if his death was caused by a third party. Greg asks Braddock if he is okay, and Greg himself is confused because he doesn't know where he lost the connection. Braddock offers to help, and Greg takes it as they go through the log together. End Episode! Next week is Episode #4 Attention Shopper - a woman with a gun has run astray in a shopping mall.

This episode was a little complex, and maybe because I'm a little tired I can't quite wrap my head around everything that happened. Next week's episode finally features cast member and former Power Ranger Amy Jo Johnson's Dancing in Between playing at the end.