Fumarama

So I know I said I was not going to watch this show again, but it was on while I was making dinner....

I stand by my assessment of the show from last week. The topic of the show is heartbreaking, and not in a cathartic, or thought-provoking way, just very sad. So this week, we have the story of an air traffic controller who one day messes up and causes a plane to crash and the death of 150 passengers. The air traffic controller (who we will call John), however, does not think that he is the one who caused the accident but that it was actually pilot error. The next day he shows up to work, but he is suspended due to his error. At this point, he goes nuts and attacks his boss screaming that he wants to work and it was not his fault. The security guard goes after him, they scuffle, and next thing we know he has shot the security guard, and has taken the gun, and we are now in a hostage situation. In the course of the episode, as our heroes, the negotiators, are trying to to talk him down, we find out that his wife was cheating on him with a man on the plane. The negotiators think that maybe he is under "a pressure cooker" and needs to talk this out. So Ron Livingson and him have a phone talk where the air traffic controller admits that he is terrified that some part of him did on purpose but he really thinks he did not mean to. Then, we find out about how he believes the affair was his fault because he was a bad husband who was obsessed with his job. He loved the high of saving lives every day and just did not pay enough attention to his wife. (in case you think this show is not fully cliched, this part parallels the lives of the two negotiators and their attempts to date). Anyway, the negotiators finally realize that what John needs is to save 180 people's lives. So they create a fake almost plane crash and John is forced to save the day. This causes him to allow all the other planes to land (he was also forcing all the planes to fly around LAX) and calm down. The episode ends with Livingston taking the gun away from him and our heroes looking at eachother meaningfully. (which, by the way, is how the last episode ended too.)

So i guess for critics who call tv passive, and mind numbing the story ends here. But think about it for a couple of minutes. Our heroes did a wonderful thing for this guy. They gave him the chance to talk out his emotions and then feel redeemed when he saved 180 people. But now, as soon as they get the gun out of his hand, they stop giving a shit about him. (i mean they have to look at eachother meaningfully). It is just so unbelievably manipulative of them, getting him to trust them in this way. And where are we left with this guy? He is about to go to jail for a whole lot of years. I am not even going to attempt to look it up this time, I am busy, but trust me, essentially hijacking hundreds of planes will keep you there for a while. But the poor man. He never intended to hurt anyone. He did not even go to work planning to do anything but get his job back. He had dedicated his life to ensuring the safety of thousands of travelers a day. And he has a daughter. This is a good man. And now his and his family's life are completely destroyed. Basically, after two episodes, this is a show about mostly good people who fuck up. But these good people, they don't get a second chance. We just forget about them as they rot in jail. As I have said repeatedly now, very very sad.