Deployed from Canada

In the first episode, a Croatian man who has just shot his wife holds a passerby hostage in a metropolitan plaza; the language barrier intensifies the tension, which is ratcheted up to high. I was glad that the show put its foot forward with an ordinary person gone haywire instead of the more usual "crafty serial killer leaving a trail of naked female bodies in wetlands and alleyways while challenging the police to guess his identity." But the crisis situation is over by the halfway point; the rest involves sorting out the aftermath as it affects Dillon's character -- he almost shot the wrong person, and it has him rattled (and under investigation).

The two-line scene in which Colantoni and Dillon discuss this, in a restaurant restroom, is typical of the show's (mostly) low-key approach.

"I'm fine."

"You may want to do the math one day on all the 'I'm fines.' "

It is also the rare Canadian-shot "American" series that might actually be set in Canada. The displayed Toronto skyline is distinctive, if not universally well known, and although no one has uttered the name "Toronto," neither has anyone called it Minneapolis or Seattle or any other U.S. city in which it is clearly not set. I find this kind of a relief.

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robert.lloyd@latimes.com

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'Flashpoint'

Where: CBS

When: 10 tonight

Rating: TV-14 (may be unsuitable for children younger than 14)