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If you have a chance to watch Flashpoint a production of the Canada's CTV Television Network that will be broadcast as a summer replacement on CBS (http://www.cbs.com/primetime/flashpoint/ - broken link) you are in for major case of culture shock. The show is about the Toronto PD's elite special weapons and tactics squad, but the portrayal isn't like any American treatment of a swat team that you have ever seen or likely ever will, because the this swat team would always rather talk than shoot.
Whether it is because the show was co-created by a woman or because it has at it is more in line with Canada's decidedly un-American sensibilities the show deals more with the emotions of the team, their subjects and more often than not perpetrators that they are sent to deal with. This isn't to say that there isn't enough gear head technology and weaponry to keep a '24' fan engrosses for an hour, but for most American viewers of traditional tough cop dramas, the show will seem either overly maudlin or deeply touching and refreshing. I'm of the latter school of thought. Either way, it is well worth a watch.
You can also watch the first three seasons on Netflicks.
Watch Flashpoint on CBS.com. Full Episodes, Clips and Behind the Scenes footage. (http://www.cbs.com/primetime/flashpoint/ - broken link)
Actually, the only thing I knew about the show was the original Pink Ranger from the Power Rangers is on that show...I thought it was interesting that she is still getting other gigs...
Interestingly I picked up on it being Canadian before my folks did, but even then it wasn't until I watched a few episodes. Sure there is preference for negotiation over violence that's rare on American TV, but I don't think that I would call that completely alien to us or "Non-American." Going back to Andy Taylor on "Andy Griffith" you've had American law men who eschew violence if possible.
What might be a bit different, to me, is that in American crime TV non-violence is often/generally taken because the character is not violent and does not want to be stained by violence. It's not so much about how violence against criminals affects the criminal. In "Flashpoint" they do seem to sympathize with the criminal in a way that I think is unusual to the point of not being like the US. Even in more thoughtful American crime shows, like Homicide, the criminals were often not sympathetic. In Flashpoint, as I recall, you can almost always feel for the criminal even if you hate what they're doing. (Granted in some cases this is done by having the criminal you focus on be a more decent individual than some loathsome character that orders them around) In US crime TV possibly "Batman: The Animated Series" comes closest to that (offhand) as his villains were often, but not always, people suffering or victimized in a way.
I'm hesitant to say this, but from an American cultural perspective "Flashpoint's" approach at times feels both refreshing and slightly naive in a way that I guess I associate to "Canadian" qualities. I'm not sure I buy criminals are generally people like you and me who are just having a bad day or exploited by the system or suffering from an illness or are intimidated by some boss-of-bosses who actually is bad. Even minor criminals often are destructive, stupid, and thoroughly unpleasant people. I don't know if Canadian TV really avoids focusing on characters that are truly unsympathetic and loathsome, but I guess to an extent I do associate that quality with the Canadian TV I've seen. That even villains have a humanity to them, that there are no total sociopaths or if there are they should never be the focus of a story. It's part of why Canada seems to produce a lot of great family stuff because in a way family audiences like the idea that no one is simply bad and that people should be treated right no matter what. And to be honest I do wonder if US TV's focus on sociopaths and gore is in some ways damaging or dispiriting.
we have been watching this show since it began. the first season, you didn't know it was canadian. this didn't show it as such. the second season, they did.
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