BREAKING NEWS: Flashpoint is Going To Oz!

Hours ago, news broke out that Stephanie Morgenstern's (Sailor Venus #1) Flashpoint is going to see the Wizard! We kid, we kid, but we could not resist making another Oz joke. Flashpoint is headed to Australia very soon on Channel Nine! Nine Network announced the acquisition via eNews media releases. Though no date is given, we're going to guess September or October for the Down Under premiere. So now all you Sailor Venus fans in Australia can finally see what all of us in North America are watching! We couldn't help but notice a glaring error in the article's title. The show is from Canada, not the United States. We hope someone corrects this soon. Congratulations to Stephanie Morgenstern and Mark Ellis again on their success!

Flashpoint Continues To Dominate!

Flashpoint's ratings for it's encore showing on Sunday pulled some good numbers! On CBS the show scored 2.6 out of 5, or for those of us who understand other numbers, 4 million viewers, which was 1 million more than a rerun of Desperate Housewives on ABC. In Canada, the show has been gaining lots of viewers in the 18-49 age group, and holding on to its numbers in the 25-54s. Both age groups are returning numbers in the 400,000s. Flashpoint's success in the United States has helped pave the way for other TV shows from Canada to cross the border. ABC is now collaborating with CBC on a pilot for a Montreal sitcom called 18 to Life. This one is about two 18-year-old neighbours who marry on a dare only to face criticism from their parents (YIKES!). Fox has also acquired the rights to produce a U.S. version of CBC's homegrown-now-international hit, Little Mosque on the Prairie. We're a little disappointed because a few VAs have appeared on the show with really good performances, and they probably won't be seen by any of their American fans. Maria Vacratsis' (Queen Metallia) performance as Mother Hamoudi was one to see!

In more random Flashpoint trivia news, Enrico Colantoni (Sgt. Gregory Parker, the negotiator) loves being back home in Toronto. He still has a lot of family there, and was recently quoted "I've always got somewhere to go on Sunday. There's always a warm place with pasta to eat at my uncle's house." Aww, isn't that nice to have somewhere to enjoy pasta with family and friends after a long week on the job! For all of you Pink Ranger fans, Amy Jo Johnson's song Dancing In-Between will be on this week's episode Asking For Flowers. We're really excited for this episode as the SRU has to face the tough choice of what to do with one of their own: an abusive cop's sister-in-law can't bear to see his battered wife in pain any longer. She takes matters into her own hands - with his gun. There is a short clip of the song on Amy's website, and CTV has also put up a page with all the music used in the series here. There's a mistake though, Episode 4 is not called Attention Shopper.

Flashpoint Episode 3 Ratings and International Distribution News!

We were able to find last night's episode's numbers pretty quickly! For the US, CBS won the timeslot but not the night. Flashpoint scored 1.7/5, but keep in mind that the show changed days only two days before, so next week should be better. We're really looking forward to next week's episode. CTV ratings for Canada reported 1.1 million viewers.

For the last two weeks, we had suspected something but we had stayed quiet. We had noticed quite a few hits coming from Europe to all of our Flashpoint posts and we had wondered and thought that it might have been something, and it turns out it was the thing we thought it was! Playback Magazine reports that international co-distributors Los Angeles' Alchemy Television and Germany's Tele München confirmed that the show had been picked up by the Britain's ITV and New Zealands TVNZ. Not entirely sure about New Zealand, but we know for sure Australia and Britain did get to see the Sailor Moon dub (in part at the very least) so to all our readers over there, the wait is over, Flashpoint is coming to you! 50 other territories are included in the deal, and some of them are France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Latin America and Scandinavia. We wonder if Stephanie Morgenstern (Sailor Venus #1) will have a hand in translating the series into the German language. A little known fact: She studied German in college and has translated the philosophies of Jung into English! There will be more confirmations this week and we will definitely report them as soon as they come in! Stephanie on the show's launch said "We could not ask for a better launch than this." To Stephanie, Mark Ellis, and the rest of the cast and crew, this show has far exceeded every Moon Chase! reader's expectations and we are really proud each one of you and the success you have achieved with Flashpoint!

Flashpoint in A Flash: Season 1 - Episode 3: The Element of Surprise

Episode 3 summary after the jump! I'm getting better at blogging the episodes on the fly - I was only two minutes behind the live broadcast this time around (I wouldn't be able to do this if I wasn't able to rewind live TV). Big smiles everyone - and this doesn't mean you people on the west coast get to skip out on watching!



The Element of Surprise

We begin with what looks like an innocent man being held at gunpoint pleading for his life to a guy named Sean. The team is on the scene planning a solution to end this situation. They move in , set up some equipment. Another man in the room tries to swerve the gunman away, but ultimately he shoots... and REWIND! 3 hours earlier! We're at an Italian Deli and the young man is talking to his co-worker, Julia as they clean up. He shows her the big plush clownfish he bought for his niece's 4th birthday. He very shyly says he will swing by her place later. Back to SRU HQ. A mugshot is being passed around of the grand poobah of a drug gang, Sean Keenan. The team stages a raid. Braddock is a little too eager for this job, and tries to ask Jules out for dinner. She asserts to him that she doesn't want to lose what she worked too hard for, and declines. Then we go to a birthday party, where the young man (whose name is Jackson). We learn Jackson is a recovering addict, who has been clean for over 8 months. His sister declines to let him come in, and says that the $680 she gave him were saved up for his niece's music lessons. The team practices at headquarters for the upcoming raid and how they are going to apprehend their man. Jackson calls around to try to earn the money he owes his sister. He doesn't have much luck, but he ends up calling our grand poobah in question who says he can help him out. We have a bad feeling about this! Back at headquarters, another officer gives Ed Lane vague second thoughts about Braddock... ROLL CREDITS! We'd like to take this time to thank a very important person close to Stephanie Morgenstern for his support - we really appreciate it and it totally made our day when he told us we were the best blog for our Flashpoint coverage! We'll keep trying to do our best! Commercials! Dell's new line of computers looks sleek (but I'm going Mac in a year or so! ) Ugh Simply Orange... Back to the show! The team packs up and heads out through the streets of Toronto to an older apartment building. They encounter their gang insider who keeps them updated on what's going on. Jackson is walking through an alley and encounters a couple of gang members who want his shoes. He is rescued by another member who gets him out of the situation. He approaches the same building. We see another man walking though a hall making a phone call. Turns out he is an insider too. The team moves into position. Sean greets Jackson, and the second insider plays it cool with him. The insider is dragged into Sean's apartment along with Jackson, and the team uses a spy ball to monitor the situation. Those of you that heard Stephanie Morgenstern's and Mark Ellis' interview will remember that the spy ball is a remote controlled ball with a camera in it that they deploy wherever they want to monitor the situation. The negotiator wonders where the second insider is. They learn he is inside, and the group countdowns to the raid... and commercials! Gavin Rossdale is going to appear on this coming episode of Canadian Idol and Advil uses some pretty neat acrobats to show it's pain relieving properties. Back to the show! The negotiator notifies the team to hold back as their insider is still inside. Sean tempts Jackson with his worldly possesions, including cocaine. The team figures out a new plan of attack. The insider taunts Jackson so not to give up his alibi. Sean asks Jackson to have a seat, and the team evacuates construction crews below as they execute a more aggressive approach. Sean says he'll help Jackson out if he goes back to being a drug dealer, but Jackson refuses, knowing there is too much at stake. The one who rescued Jackson before calls up Sean and lets him know that there's cops on the scene. Instead of pointing the gun at the insider, Sean points it at Jackson. He pleads for his life, and the negotiator, Greg Parker gets Sean's phone number. This is where our episode began, and we see who Sean shoots - the insider! Commercials! I could go for some KD right now, and there's David Suzuki and his penguins again. The team calls for a silent EMT, and the negotiator and the first insider have an argument. The negotiator wants to negotiate, while the insider wants a full on raid. Jackson reveals that the insider was a cop who had once arrested him. Sean works out an alibi with him. Greg gets on the phone with Sean as he is flushing cocaine down the toilet. Sean tries to help out the insider, who advises him to get out, but Sean wants to stay inside. The team is still trying to figure out who Sean is and why he is in there. In between negotiation, the team learns about Jackson. Jackson watches Sean and waits for the right time to run. He takes the insider's cell phone and calls the first insider... and we cut to commercial. MMM Tim Horton's Iced Capp Supreme and Fitness Depot is having a floor model sale. Back to the show...Jackson talks to Ed Lane because he wants to help. Ed gets the insiders vitals, and tells him to put the phone down and leave it on so the crew can hear what's going on. Ed reassures Jackson that he's not at fault. Jackson hides the phone as Sean comes out of the bathroom and he tries to move the insider. The insider tells his name over the phone and leaves messages for his family. Sean sees Jackson moving the insider and the team raids the apartment. A shootout ensues and some members of the team rescue the insider - but Jackson is shot. Ed reassures him that everything is going to be okay, but unfortunately he dies. Sean is apprehended and taken away. Ed and Braddock have a fight over authority, and we learn Braddock accidentally shot his best friend in Afghanistan while they were on a mission. The episode ends and we see the team recover: Braddock cries looking at a picture of his buddy, Julia sobs outside the deli, Jules and Braddock leave the headquarters together. Ed drives up to Jackson's sister's house, to tell her the sad news that he is dead as she takes the clownfish out of the mailbox. Fade to black... We had read that Amy Jo Johnson was supposed to have a song playing at the end of this episode, but this song was sung by a male. Maybe next week? Next week's episode deals with a hostage situation involving a family with an abusive husband.

This episode was definitely different than the other two. We saw more tension between the team and it's rookie member, which had a big role in how the conflict was resolved. The team members definitely had a sense things didn't go as planned and they were frustrated with it. It seemed as if the wrong person had lost their life and they have given the team a lot to think about. We look forward to next week's show!

Breaking News: Flashpoint Being Moved To New Timeslot on CBS

Hey Moonies: Before I start this article I know a few of our readers (and probably then some) are a little concerned with us covering Flashpoint more than anything else as of late. I'm trying really hard to catch up with other updates but if I have an article that's going to be several pages versus one that's a couple of paragraphs, I'm more inclined to work on the shorter one and get it up faster, and nibble slowly at the other one. Plus, if other VAs had bigger ventures we'd be giving them the same amount of coverage too. At Moon Chase, we don't favor one star over another because we have such a diverse group of readers so we try to find a happy medium and please everyone. A few key players involved in the production of Flashpoint have been reading this blog and that also adds a little more pressure on me because I have to make sure that I catch everything as much as I can so that I'm keeping them interested too (and up to speed on where fan buzz is going). Putting this together does take a lot.

Back to the topic at hand: CBS announced earlier yesterday that Flashpoint and Swingtown are swapping timeslots as of this week. We have a feeling this is because Swingtown wasn't as successful as the network had expected. Flashpoint is now moving to Thursday nights at 10PM EST (check your local listings), and Swingtown is taking over Flashpoint's old timeslot. Now as of this writing, CTV has not made an announcement if the show is going to switch timeslots on their network too. CTV shows Law and Order: Criminal Intent on thursdays during the timeslot that CBS is moving it too. This could mean potential trouble for the Canadian ratings, as those Canadians with cable are likely to watch the show on Thursday and skip the Friday airing. This would skew the numbers and could also put the show in some uneasy situations if a second season is ordered because of a potential decreased success in Canada. We will keep you posted if CTV decides to change the timeslot.

EDIT: Today, CTV also announced that it was moving the show to the same Thursday timeslot as CBS! It also looks like both networks are keeping the encores on Sunday evenings. And we can also report you numbers for the second episode's viewership! 7.1 million viewers in the United States, and 980,000 viewers in Canada caught the show last Friday!

Stephanie Morgenstern Comments On Flashpoint

This morning's Montreal Gazette featured a story about Flashpoint by Brendan Kelly. Kelly writes that he is dismayed by the show's lack of promotion in Quebec. Quebeckers typically take a lot of pride in anything produced by personalities from there, and Stephanie Morgenstern (Sailor Venus #1) was raised in Montreal. She even acted in a French sitcom, La Vie, La Vie. Last week when the numbers came out for the premiere, we were really happy to hear of her success with the show, but we wondered why all over Canadian television it was always the executive producers Bill Mustos and Anne Marie La Traverse appearing and not the creators. The Gazette was able to get comment from Stephanie about the show. She has a lot of really good things to say about how she and Mark present the stories each week, and we've pasted her bit after the jump!


For Morgenstern - who plays a terrified hostage in the first episode - Flashpoint is much more than a standard-issue police procedural show.

"What we're delivering are universal human stories," said Morgenstern, who was born in Switzerland, raised in Montreal and left our town for Toronto after studying English and German at McGill.

"From one episode to the next, at the heart of it is always one desperate or frightened person who did not expect to be facing a tactical team, living the most terrifying moment of their life," added Morgenstern, whose previous credits include roles in Maelstrom and The Sweet Hereafter.

"I think people respond to that. Some of the stories are about career criminals, but more of them are about ordinary people who've been pushed to the edge because of something they desperately believe in whether it's saving their daughter's life or protecting a brother.

"In addition, there's the way that the team responds to these emotional incidents. Emotions go right through their bullet-proof vests. You can take off the vests at the end of the day, but what's gone into your eyes or ears, you can't get rid of that. You've had a front-row seat to the most frightening moment of someone's life and you can't shake that at the end of the day."

Breaking News: Flashpoint Being Considered For An Extended Run

Last Friday at the Television Critics Association's Annual Summer Press Tour, CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler admitted that she was both surprised and gratified by Flashpoint's early success. She also had this to say: "It started as an aberration of the strike and it's turned into something terrific. We have a great relationship with CTV and the producers. We're pleased with the numbers." The production has encouraged CBS to take a closer look at international productions. She also added that the network is considering extending the order beyond 13 episodes if the show continues its success.

On another note, the ratings slipped for last Friday's timeslot, but we probably have a hunch that a good number of viewers were out watching The Dark Night. Last week saw 8 million viewers, and this week saw 7.5 million viewers. Courtesy of Media Week, here are the numbers for CBS. It's thought that more viewers turned in during the second half after a story ended on NBC's Dateline.


10:00 p.m.

ABC – 20/20
Viewers: 4.41 million (#3), A18-49: 1.4/ 5 (#2t)

CBS – Flashpoint
Viewers: 6.75 million (#1), A18-49: 1.4/ 5 (#2t)

NBC – Dateline
Viewers: 5.94 million (#2), A18-49: 1.5/ 5 (#1)


10:30 p.m.

ABC – 20/20
Viewers: 4.86 million (#3), A18-49: 1.6/ 6 (#1t)

CBS – Flashpoint
Viewers: 7.46 million (#1), A18-49: 1.6/ 6 (#1t)

NBC – Dateline
Viewers: 5.76 million (#2), A18-49: 1.4/ 5 (#3)

Flashpoint in A Flash: Season 1 - Episode 2: First In Line

Gomen Nasai (translation: Sorry) readers! I posted this late at night and in a rush and I forgot that some readers do not appreciate spoilers! Full summary of last night's episode after the jump!



Episode 2: First In Line

Here we go again with our coverage and episode summaries of Stephanie Morgenstern's (Sailor Venus #1) and Mark Ellis's hit show, Flashpoint. We begin in an operating room. A man is dying, and standing over him is a man with a gun ready to fire. We see Gregory Parker attempt to negotiate with the man telling him he doesn't have to do it, and the man yells "YES I DO!" and he looks like he's about to pull the trigger ; and rewind! We are taken to 2 hours earlier where the man (Jack Swanson) is sitting with his daughter Phoebe, who is ailing at her home in a nursing unit. They reminisce about a fishing trip years ago. They get a page with the news of a new heart. The SRU breaks in the new Rookie who proves everyone wrong in his first simulation. Back to the man's house - Ruby, her nurse prepares her to get in the car to rush to the hospital with her father. As he is speeding, he is caught by a policeman who soon empathizes with his situation and escorts him to the hospital. At Toronto's Mount Sinai Hospital, they prepare her for surgery, where the administration notifies Swanson that a computer glitch has bumped his daughter off the list for a much older man. He walks away, but pulls a fast one taking an unaware security guard's gun and turns on the hospital staff declaring "The Heart Belongs to Phoebe!" ROLL OPENING! And Commercials! Why is the ad for Swing Vote so corny? Rickard's White Ale is sponsoring this week's closed captioning. And the show returns! SRU prepares for a trip to the hospital and takes off in two black Chevy Suburbans. The Administrator tells Swanson again that the heart isn't Phoebe's, and he makes his way to the O.R. with the gun, and the intent of shooting the man who is going to be receiving the heart. The Suburbans arrive at the beautiful entrance of Mt. Sinai and they head inside, setting up a command post in the Security Room. Jules takes over, and a nurse comes in telling them what happened. The crew goes silent, and a little unsure what to do. Greg is sent off to start negotiations as they have only an hour left before the heart is no longer viable. The crew works out a plan, but as the negotiation starts, Jack gets a little uneasy. Commercials! I want some Szechuan style chicken from KFC. And some Kraft Dinner. Back to the show! Greg is still negotiating with Jack. Jules learns that Jack might be feeling guilty over the loss of his wife in a car accident where he was driving some time ago. Greg tries to soften the situation by asking him a few questions about his family. The heart arrives, and the clock is ticking. We're lead into this awkward scene where the negotiator convinces Jack to check and see if the patients are okay because the crew can't tell from the cameras very well. The Forensic Psychologist Luria arrives on the scene. The crew sends the rookie out to ... go to Tim Horton's for coffee? Errm... isn't this supposed to be a tense situation -_-'. More planning ensues, and a paramedic brings the heart into the hospital, and the rookie lets him in. This is a big mistake because as soon as he enters the CICU, he surrenders the heart to Jack. Now things are complicated. The man is wheeled into the OR, and Jack fires... at an officer coming from behind! OH THE SUSPENCE AND COMMERCIALS! David Suzuki reminds everyone to turn the AC one degree higher to save enough energy for 38K homes among a bunch of penguins. Blargh who cares about Canadian Idol?! Back to the show! Jack is sorry about shooting the officer, who is okay thanks to his vest. Greg works his words to get the heart to the Doctor to make sure the heart is okay... and it works. The Doctor can examine the heart but only if he stays in front of Jack. The negotiator manages to get Phoebe out of the situation by saying she is going to be prepped just in case. Jules accompanies her. And we have less than half an hour left on the heart. Luria catches Sam and informs him on his mistake lighting up the fire. She suggests he takes her fishing rod up to the girl. Greg and Jack talk about car racing. We learn that Greg's son is with his ex-wife and he hasn't seen him in 9 years. We see a softer side of Greg who tried to change his life for his family but in the end, just couldn't. Jack wants Phoebe to have her life. 15 minutes left for the heart... Greg reveals to Jack that Phoebe is not getting the heart. Jack breaks down and Greg tells him that he just has to let go and Phoebe will get a heart eventually. The conflict seems to be at an end... but then Jack makes his way into the OR. How will this end? After the commercials of course. Those Pedigree puppies are cute ~ next time I am in Toronto I want to visit Ward Island. Back to the show - the snipers are in position. Greg has minutes left on the heart, and lies to Jack saying the heart is damaged and it's no good, in a last ditch effort to get him to drop the gun. The Rookie comes in with his daughter's fishing rod, and Greg gives it to Jack. Jack enters another room where he thinks his daughter is, but she is not there. He is swarmed from all angles by members of the SRU. Jack catches on to the lie, and he is taken into custody. Greg walks out of the command post disturbed and drives off. Jules watches as the man who got the new heart is wheeled off... but wait, there's a change of plans, Phoebe is getting the heart, and the man tells the nurse "it wasn't his turn". So a somewhat happy ending, and Greg visits her as she recovers and gives her Capretti's autographed racing glove. Greg sits with Jack in his jail cell, where he breaks down. Commercials ~ eww Simply Orange and African Lion Safari looks like fun! And next week's episode features the SRU dealing with gangs and drugs.

This episode was a definite improvement on last week's premiere. Amy Jo Johnson's and Enrico Colantoni's characters definitely had more substance. We thought the scenes where they sent off the rookies to Tim Horton's in the middle of the situation and when Jack asked around if everyone was okay were a little awkward. Nonetheless, the ending wasn't as grim as last week's and we really look forward to next week's episode!

Breaking News: Flashpoint Numbers For Sunday Are In!

Hot on the heels of yesterday's breaking news about Stephanie Morgenstern (Sailor Venus #1) and Mark Ellis' Flashpoint sailing to the top of the ratings for Friday night, we have learned the ratings for the Sunday encore. In the United States, 5.6 million viewers watched it, and in Canada, there were 625,000 viewers. For those of you keeping a running total, this brings the weekend's total to 13.7 million viewers for the United States and 1.7 million viewers for Canada. These are absolutely phenomenal numbers for the show's debut and we wish the cast and crew the best of luck for coming episodes! We hear this Sunday focuses on Ed Lane, the team's negotiator. Lane is played by Enrico Colantoni, which some of our readers may recognize from Veronica Mars. He played Keith Mars. This is also Enrico's second venture with a Sailor Moon VA - in 2001's AI: Artificial Intelligence, he played The Murderer. The film also featured Sabrina Grdevich (Sailor Pluto #1, Ann) as the cyborg in the film's beginning scene.

Breaking News: Flashpoint IS #1 !

Happy tears everyone! Stephanie Morgenstern (Sailor Venus #1) and her husband Mark Ellis' new TV show Flashpoint is a big hit in the United States! Nobody predicted this because CBS did not do very much promotion for the show compared to CTV which had commercials running frequently, as well as behind the scenes stories on etalk. A whopping 8.13 million viewers tuned in for Friday's premiere, making it the top rated show in households for that evening! The show also scored first with adults aged 25 to 54, and adults 18 to 49. Canadian numbers are expected to be released sometime today. All of our stories covering the show even from the very beginning stages are becoming very popular, and the summary we posted of the first episode is the article people are reading most at this site. Late Friday night we had to add in a Flashpoint tag so people would be able to access the stories a lot easier. On behalf of all the staff at Moon Chase, we would like to thank every Sailor Moon fan who watched the show on Friday and Sunday, and also to every fan who went out and promoted the show on blogs, websites, forums, and by word-of-mouth. We did it, and we definitely helped bring the show to the top in very difficult circumstances. We had heard from several sources in and out of the industry that the show was a desperate acquisition from CBS , that it was likely going to be canceled within a few episodes and the only reason the network cared was because they wanted something new in case the Writers Strike wasn't resolved. But we never lost faith because we've caught most of Stephanie's work and she always put in a lot of effort to make the best production she possibly could. Congratulations to Stephanie and Mark, and thanks again to all the fans!

EDIT: Canadian ratings are in and here they are quoted from CTV. CTV also congratulated the cast, creators, and creative team behind the show!

Across Canada, the series delivered 1.11 million total viewers, 140% more than the next closest 10 p.m. competitor, winning both its time-slot and the night. The series premiere also finished #1 in Adults 18-34, Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54 demos.

The episode was #1 at 10 p.m. in each of Canada's three metered markets; Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary. Nationally, the audience grew in its second half-hour, peaking at 1.26 million viewers.

BREAKING NEWS - Flashpoint to Repeat Tonight!

Hey Moonies - meant to update yesterday but didn't get the time to. Stephanie Morgenstern's (Sailor Venus#1) Flashpoint is going to get a second chance on CBS and CTV tonight - check your local listings. It will probably be at the same time it aired on Friday. Please tell everyone you know who didn't catch it on Friday to watch it tonight. Maybe you could even throw a viewing party, where everyone brings in some Sailor Venus relic to cuddle up with on the couch ^_^. There is a rumor going around that if the show does better with ratings tonight, it may be moved permanently to Sunday.

Flashpoint in A Flash: Season 1 - Episode 1: Scorpio

Read our episode summary and opinion after the jump! Since this was written as the show aired, there's no paragraph formatting. Readers, feel free to leave your opinions on the show after the jump!





Episode 1: Scorpio

So our episode begins somewhere in downtown Toronto, in medias res. Stephanie Morgenstern (Sailor Venus #1) is terrified and being held hostage by an older man with a gun speaking a different language. We see a mediator trying to calm the situation, and a sniper on the roof ready to pull the trigger... then we rewind to 2 hours earlier. Our sniper, Ed Lane (played by Hugh Dillon) is at home and tells his wife he has to miss her parents’ anniversary. He is picked up by his buddy, officer Wordsworth, and they sing asong “when constabulary duty’s to be done, to be done, a policeman’s job is not a happy one, happy one”. We’re then taken to a scene all too familiar to Torontonians, a TTC subway car. Our hostage taker is riding the train up to Osgoode station with his son, and kisses him goodbye. Of course, there’s haunting music playing in the background and we know something bad is going to happen, eventually. Then it goes to the training facility/home base for the Special Response Unit. We get a little taste of the banter between the officers interspersed with shots of the hostage-taker walking through a subway station , and eventually encountering his ex-wife who works as a caretaker in an office building. He shoots her in the head, and.. Roll Credits! Ahh, we feel so proud when we see “Created by Mark Ellis & Stephanie Morgenstern” on the screen. Commercials ensue. The hostage taker is now walking through a mall, encounters Stephanie (who could potentially be shopping for a Sailor V plushie, you never know) and he is confronted by a security guard. Both draw their weapons, and she is taken hostage and pulled out of the building. The guard calls for help, and pretty soon the whole square is surrounded by SRU forces. They all move into position, and the negotiator Sargent Gregory Parker (played by Enrico Colantoni) figures out what language the hostage-taker is speaking. The mundaneness of these few minutes where everyone moves into position is broken by elevator humor and Jules (Amy Jo Johnson) having to take the stairs to the top of the building. We learn that his ex-wife probably won’t survive the gunshot. Ed locks his sniper on the suspect and everyone runs their checks. Commercials - and the Joker looks a lot scarier in HD. Back to the show - the son is in the crowds and runs past the tape. Despite the best efforts of the Officer to calm him down, it is futile, and the situation leads Ed to shoot the suspect dead. Stephanie survives, but is visibly shaken and covered with blood. An officer takes her aside. Now the story begins: we see Ed go through many emotions as he deals with his conscience after killing someone. Commercials - Moore’s is having some sort of summer sale on menswear?! He is taken away by police who investigate the shooting, everyone around him assures him he did a good job. Jules meets Braddock in an odd encounter. Ed is in an interrogation room where he is “de-briefed” and joined by his lawyer as he is questioned by a detective. He’s interrupted by his wife who calls to see if that was him this morning. Ed is still in a daze after what has happened and the show cuts to his son at violin practice. He turns still after hearing what has happened from his mom. Back at HQ, he encounters the forensic pychologist, but he isn’t ready to talk yet and goes to shoot a few practice rounds. Commercials - now I want a Tim Hortons’ Hazlenut Iced Capp Supreme... ooh X-Files Trailer! The gang goes to a bar where there’s a retirement party happening. Everyone is introduced properly to Braddock, who is the newest addition to their team. Another member is promoted and they lose one. Everyone at the table is chatty except for Ed, who is still frozen from what happened. He heads to the men’s room to regain his composure. Greg walks in as he washes his face, and tells Ed that even though he says he is fine, he should count how many times he says it. A song plays, and there’s a montage of the son looking at his father’s body in the morgue, Jules at her door, Braddock in a hotel room, and Ed looking over a report and signing it. He finally comes home to a snowy tv screen, and he is greeted by his son who comes down the stairs. He holds his son as his wife looks on. Again, no words , only feeling. Commercials - Simply Orange juice is too bitter for my tastes... and a preview of the next episode. A father of a child waiting for a heart transplant turns his gun on the hospital staff.

Whoo! That was a mouthful, and now for our impressions. The show is definitely a welcome take on the cop show genre. Amy Jo Johnson is playing an all-too-familiar female action character, but we really hope that she has a bit more depth as the show goes on. The same goes for Enrico Colantoni’s character - his negotiation skills seemed a little empty this episode. We thought that the portrayal of Hugh Dillon's daze and anguish was very well done. But, this is only the pilot, and it’s hard for an actor in one episode to really know what their characters are like this early on. We look forward to the rest of this series, and we once again extend our congratulations to Stephanie and Mark from every Sailor Moon fan!

Flashpoint Premieres Today!

Stephanie Morgenstern (Sailor Venus #1) and her husband Mark Ellis' brainchild Flashpoint premieres tonight on CTV and CBS (check your local listings). We've read a little shaky buzz over the fact that the show is premiering on a Friday, and after reruns of Numb3rs. But most of the reviews we have read are very positive. This is why it's important for every fan who can to watch it tonight. I was planning on liveblogging it tonight but unfortunately I have to be somewhere when it airs. Nonetheless, I will have a summary up tonight, I'm recording the show and if that fails , I will catch it on timeshift at the very least.

We've learned a lot more details about the show in the last day. It costs nearly 2 million dollars to create each episode of the show, and to date is Canada's most expensive TV production. There are eight episodes finished , with five left to go. Stephanie Morgenstern appears in a few places throughout the series, and she and Mark spoke very candidly about the show in an interview with Blogtalk radio/TV Eh?. Mark even fills in during readings for parts that haven't been cast yet! Fans should definitely give this podcast a listen if they haven't already! The first episode Scorpio, is a twist of a real incident which happened in the summer of 2004. The show's story involves a Croatian man who is very disturbed over a divorce, and he takes an innocent woman hostage in the middle of downtown at lunch. The second episode, First in Line involves a hospital blip where a father learns a heart promised to his ill daughter has been given to someone else. The father then turns the gun on the hospital team leaving the SRU faced with a difficult decision. The third episode The Element of Surprise tells of how drug gangs tear apart families. Cast member Amy Jo Johnson (best known as Kimberly the Pink Ranger from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers) has a song that will be used at the end of the this episode, to the delight of her fans everywhere!

Again, this is a huge year for all the VAs of Sailor Moon and we here at Moon Chase really want to see them continue on their ventures (so that every year can be bigger than the last)! It's important for us fans to support them in everything that they do to the best of our abilities. So please, catch this show when it airs! We'd like to extend a huge thank you to Jay Navok at Genvid who has assisted us in promoting this show!

Flashpoint Update!

We are two days away from the premiere of Stephanie Morgenstern's Emergency Task Force drama, Flashpoint. While the show has no standalone official website, we have found that the networks sites each offer something different - and that they don't like to share. Exclusive content that CTV has can't be accessed from the US, and vice versa for CBS. Thankfully we have at least one member on either side of the border to have all our bases covered :). We're gonna try to liveblog the premiere as best as blogger will allow us to! The show is already garnering lots of positive buzz on both sides of the border.

CBS's site doesn't have a whole lot aside from cast bios, but they do have something that CTV does not: a 5 minute interview with the creators and the actors. Fans get to see Stephanie Morgenstern and her husband Mark Ellis talk about the show, along with the cast members and their takes on their characters. There's even some behind-the-scenes footage of the show and the cast learning more about their craft from real officers! The promo can be watched here, however it is not viewable on CBS's site by Canadians.

CTV on the other hand doesn't have any videos other than a short 1 minute teaser. But, they do have a lot of reading for those of you wanting to learn a lot more about how the series came to be. Fans can check out a bio of Stephanie here, and a very long story about how the show came to be here. Stephanie and Mark had been working on a film adaptation of their short, Remembrance, and we had almost thought that was abandoned in light of Flashpoint (thankfully, we read here that it wasn't!). We're disappointed Stephanie neglected to mention her role on Sailor Moon. Sailordees attended a convention in 2004 where she had the opportunity to meet her and she spoke highly of the show saying that it was such a starting point for putting Canadian talent on the map. And we all have to agree because every star on that show has gone on to bigger and better ventures (even we have a hard time keeping up with them all). Hey, if Amy Jo Johnson can get away with mentioning she was a Power Ranger, why be so shy?

Fans who are all over the world can check out an interview they did over Blogtalk Radio here. We are reminding every fan that reads this website in the U.S. or Canada to please check your local listings for this Friday night so we can all support Stephanie Morgenstern and congratulate her on this huge achievement! We wish her the best of luck with this series!

Quickie Flashpoint News

For anyone who wants more background on Flashpoint, it seems etalk is probably going to be doing a few special behind the scenes spots this week and next week. We encourage all our readers to watch the show - you may even see Stephanie Morgenstern (Sailor Venus #1)!