On Call: A Gripping Ride Patrol Drama
The first series revolves around police officers played by Troian Bellisario and Brandon Larracuente of the show’s title On Call. The story revolves around their common patrol activities and emergency calls they encounter while patrolling their beats. Every episode comes with new cases they solve, which shows the raw side of work and crime.
Taking the audience through justice and responsibilities; partnership, the series portrays the ethics of police work. Overall, being an action and an emotionally driven drama series, the tone retains its youthful vibrancy as well as the engaging plotline.
[Troian Bellisario and Brandon Larracuente] manage to deliver the grave portrayal of the protagonists with cerebral realism. The actors share remarkable chemistry which makes their interactions quite realistic and interesting to watch. Filling in the rest of the cast are talented actors such as Eriq La Salle who is both an actor and a director in this series. Their experience guarantees that the audience will not be overwhelmed by consecutive action fragments or profound character scenes or that these elements will be overlaid with music. It is so discreet but really operates well.
The mise-en-scène reflects the human crowd of a city and a stressful job of policemen. The use of the handheld cameras also gives a sort of discipline-copping ‘docudrama’ feel that might sweep viewers into the proceedings.
The realist filming perfectly captures the grime of the streets as well as the interior of a police car. It adds verisimilitude to the series since the characters are playing themselves.
Special effects are well employed sparingly and when it comes to intense action sequences without bearing down heavily on the actual story line. Instead, the emphasis stays with characters and what they go through.
The show gets a clean, unobtrusive edit, with no significant slowdown in the pace of the seventh series. While handling one narrative and bringing another one is introduced with the same intensity, it successfully avoids confusion.
The pacing in the series is great and the audience stays interested until the very ending. Every episode builds blazing gunfight scenes with the pause for contemplation and concern for character’s personal life.
The language is very much realistic, capturing both professional and private lives of police officers. Regardless of dramatic liberties, it is refreshing to see sincere and realistic conversations in the series, as it provides insights into the characters’ personalities and the premise of the series.
Despite the fact that On Call stands out in numerous ways, at times the show does not deviate from the typical police TV drama cliches. However, the material has great and memorable characters and a different approach to one of the most popular TV formats – the crime drama. It boasts of well-developed characters and fascinating arcs guaranteeing viewers would enjoy this show especially those into action and crime thrillers.
