A drama about firefighters in a town known for its fire, “Chicago Fire” comes to us from screenwriters Michael Brandt & Derek Haas (“2 Fast 2 Furious,” “Catch That Kid,” “Wanted,” “The Double”).
It stars handsome Jesse Spencer (“House”), the fabulous Lauren German (“Hostel 2,” “Happy Town,” “Hawaii Five-0”) and the great Eamonn Walker (“Oz,” “Kings”).
It depicts the world’s best-looking paramedics and firefighters, but also perhaps the world’s least interesting. “Chicago Fire” isn’t even as compelling as “Third Watch,” let alone “Rescue Me.”
... what you really need to know about this saga of firefighters and paramedics is that it has no spark, no fire, it's utterly damp, it's on life support, it needs CPR, [insert your own tired pun here]. …
… The blazes aren’t very convincing, and neither are the intrasquad dramas …
... this is not "Rescue Me," the Denis Leary dysfunctional firemen show, by a long shot. The conflicts are more conventional, the sentiments more sentimental. But there is life-and-death suspense on the streets, some of it impressively staged; convincing ordinary detail in the station house; and a cast that has been clearly encouraged, in the Jack Webb-derived Dick Wolf way of things, to underplay. …
The San Francisco Chronicle says:
... given [Dick] Wolf's skill at defying the odds to make formulaic TV interesting, you'd expect his new show, premiering Wednesday on NBC, to be minimally worth a look. It isn't. …
... Everyone here, including “Oz’s” Eamonn Walker as the battalion chief, is working from the same medium-grim setting, with medium-grim dialogue, which quickly drags the story and action into the still-smoldering ruins of other fire-and-rescue dramas. …
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says:
... a derivative ensemble drama with no point of view at all. It’s the widget of TV dramas. …
... a garden-variety action procedural, with a crew of EZ-to-read characters and story lines that start at A and finish exactly where you expect them to, at Zzz. …
It can't have been easy to turn a subject this hot into a show that struggles to reach lukewarm. ... Carefully remove every shred of originality or excitement, and you're left with that kind of well-funded mediocrity that marks so many broadcast series. …
... if you’re looking for something groundbreaking in the procedural department, you’re not going to find it in this drama about guys on the Firehouse 51 truck …
... almost as drab as a pile of ash. …
10 p.m. Wednesday. NBC.
