Sunday Star Off to a Fine, Half-Right Start
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Sunday Star Section: Entertainment Ad Value: RM 16,957 20-Jun-2021 Size : 468cm2 PR Value: RM 50,873 Off to a fine, half-right start ON THE AIR Review by DAVIN ARUL Off to a fine, half-right start WE just can't get enough disaster on TV, not when it's served up with respective struggles to fit in - and juicy trimmings of character-driven Like its forerunner, 9-7-7: Lone Star is so packed with sphincter again, incongruously and drama and topped off with a little unexpectedly it seems to be Judd's mound of soap (opera) suds. tightening emergencies that its scattershot attempts to cover grief and PTSD that provide the And if one series like, say; the most honest and spontaneous of cop-firefighter-dispatcher success every band of the rainbow seem quite unnecessary. the shows emo moments. 9-1-1 hits the spot with fans of that These, of course, jostle for sort of offering, well, why not have attention with but often have to two? take a back seat to the assorted So it is that we find ourselves emergencies and disasters that whisked away to Austin, Texas, for keep the 126th busy. 9-1-1: Lone Star (Texas' nickname Just five episodes in and I've being the Lone Star state, as it was been, erm, "treated" to bizarre falls, once an independent republic), a an eating contest gone horribly spin-off that features the same 'Listen, we need wrong, a fire at a bull semen stor winning formula and a lot more some kind of age facility tornadoes and then- besides. Maybe too much more. trail of havoc, a brawl at a male balance for this The premise goes like this: stripper club, and the weaponisa- Austin's Firehouse 126 suffers a partnership to tion of an arthritis patient. horrific loss, losing all its work. So, your Yes, really. firefighters but one. missing sister Face it. As much Lowe, Tyler and To rebuild it, the city authorities 口》 storyline takes Co. put in solid showings shoulder seek out New York fire captain odd-numbered ing the enormous burdens the crea Owen Strand (Rob Lowe), the only episodes and the tive team has placed on their shoul man to have done just that when illness I'm hiding ders, its the plethora of far-out he lost his whole crew in the 9/11 from the crew emergencies that really keep us attacks. gets the even tuning in (or swiping to the next Long story short, the initially ones, deal?, - episode). reluctant Owen packs up and relo Handout Halfway through its debut sea cates to Austin with his son TK son, Fm already convinced that the (Ronen Rubinstein), also a firefight showrunners have recaptured this er, in tow. Owen is hiding an illness Strickland (Brian Michael Smith) scene where he introduces his team exactly with warm bodies then aspect of 9-1-1's winning formula from TK, who is himself recovering and dyslexic immigrant Mateo to the benefits of moisturiser. certainly with neuroses, anxiety quite early on. from an emotionally and physically Chavez (Julian Works) on board. Rounding out the gang, more or and the potential for high drama. As for whether or not Lone Star's traumatic experience. And by the time the 126's sole less, are Judd's 9-1-1 dispatcher And make no mistake, the show- broad spectrum of characters can With the operative word given surviving original member, Judd wife Grace (Sierra McClain), who is runners/producing team (including live up to all the diversity and by his superiors being “inclusive”, Ryder (True Blood's Jim Parrack), agonising over her husbands Ryan Murphy; Brad Falchuk and inclusiveness that seems a little Owen sets about building a team comes back to work, it dawns on internalised agony; and Emergency Tim Minear from the original, as forced, all I can say is, they that - well, let's just say he doesn't you that this self-avowed redneck is Medical Services captain Michelle well as Lowe and 9-1-1 star Angela shouldnl really have to try that disobey that order. the minority on the crew. In Texas. Blake (Liv Tyler), whose backstory Bassett) clearly intend to put every hard. In no time at all, he gets As for Owen, well, I'm beginning involves a missing sister and the one through the wringer here. hijab-wearing YouTube sensation to think only Lowe could pull off man she thinks murdered her There's Owen's illness, TK's Seasons One and Two of 9-7-7: Lone Marjan Marwani (Natacha Karam), the character's throwback metro- sibling. emotional issues, Michelle's rage, Star are available on Disney+ trans firefighter/paramedic Paul sexual traits - like in one hilarious Ifs a packed firehouse, if not Marjan, Mateo and Paul's Hotstar..