Matt and Emily (Ron Livingston and Rosemarie DeWitt) are the best team the FBI's Crisis Negotiation Unit has. They talk to the bad guys and defuse whatever crisis has arisen -- hostage situations, bomb threats, stalking cases. They've also been sleeping together for three months -- strictly against FBI policy -- and now their boss (Gina Torres) knows about it, because Matt blurted it out to the world during one of his negotiations.
This is the most schizophrenic show in years, alternating between crisis scenes and romantic banter that's lifted straight out of Moonlighting. The negotiation scenes are tense and dramatic, and the interplay among the team feels realistic. Matt and Emily manage (most of the time) to rein in each other's more impulsive, reckless side. The conflict between the CNU and the trigger-happy cops of the Hostage Rescue Team is sharply drawn; the CNU isn't only negotiating with the bad guys, they're also negotiating with the HRT for more time to reach a peaceful resolution. In the lighter romantic scenes, Livingston and DeWitt are a terrific pair, completely convincing as a couple trying to balance their illicit romance with the stress of their jobs; their dialogue is sharp and funny.
But the two halves of the show don't mesh well, and you could get whiplash from the abrupt changes in tone and style. I like these actors, and I'd be happy to watch them in either of the shows that have been flung together here, but the writers need to blend the two more smoothly if the show's going to have any chance of surviving.
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