The series begins with its powerful and different events. When an angry gunman takes hostage in a public arena, the team must take radical action and deal with the consequences. On the other hand, a reformed drug addict visits a debtor with money, accidentally endangering his life in the middle of the SRU removal process.
To be sure, Flashpoint is a perfectly competent police procedural right down to its convincing weaponry and tactics. However, based on the pilot, it isn't particularly fresh or inventive.
If it had something truly new or provocative to say about such matters, the essential redundancy of Flashpoint could be overlooked--but it doesn't, and so it can't.
