"Line of Fire" is a real quality TV show about the FBI department in Richmont. The characters are very realistic and the cast is spot-on! The viewers get a look into the "everyday" life of normal federal agents, but also a very good sense of the life for an FBI agent who is deep undercover. It is a show that not only depicts the work lives of the agents, but also their private lives and how difficult it can be to keep those two things separate. I would like to give an example of another show in order to compare the two, but I cannot think of another show that comes even remotely close to this on! There are a lot of TV shows about different law enforcement agencies, however this one is one of the best and most gripping. It had me glued to the TV. The only thing keeping me from giving it 10 out of 10 is that there is only one season, which is a huge let-down when you get "addicted" to a show. However, I cannot blame the network for canceling the show if the audience were not big enough. I just have to wonder what else the viewers could want in a show...

Judging by the decline in ratings/shares after the first five shows, (from 6.2/10 on Dec. 2 to 4.1/7 on Dec. 30) I think "Line of Fire" needs an immediate change of direction in order to survive. For starters, I think the Lisa Cohen (Leslie Hope) character needs to go a near permanent hiatus. Her character in completely unbelievable, and she is about as qualified to lead the Richmond F.B.I. taskforce as I am to be the head of the U.N. She doesn't even 'fake smoke' in a convincing fashion. Secondly, the Jennifer Sampson character should migrate over to "Dr. Phil" for a nightly cameo so she can get Phil's homespun advice on how to raise her bratty kid. Frankly, I'm a bit tired of watching her mismanage her son for fifteen minutes of eash episode each week. And what happened to the Jeffrey D. Sams character? Has he been written out of the script completely? Maybe he's leading a groudswell effort to reform the cast of "Breaking News" so he'll have a replacement series to fall back on once "Line of Fire" reaches its inevitable demise.In order to save the series, the writers need to make Jonah (David Paymer) the main character and let his twistedness take over the direction of the show. He is the only character compelling enough to allow "Line of Fire" the luxury of a sustainable viewing audience. And from his secondary business, a little more brothel action would be nice, as well.There are two more episodes scheduled to air and five more in the can. I have a suspiously sneaky feeling that A.B.C. will bump this show for another lame 'Fake/Reality' series or counter program "The Simple Life" with something equally dubious. As Sam Cooke would say, "Somebody Have Mercy."

I tried to like this show but I just couldn't get into it. It's not for a lack of talent (Paymer and Bibb in particular are VERY good). It's just the same old mob family versus the Feds stuff that has been played 7 ways to Sunday by other shows. The scene where the FBI agent/Soccer Mom jumps out of her car to threaten an angry motorist (who's P.O.ed after getting into a fender-bender with Agent Mom's hubby) was a bit too much. Flashing her badge and screeching "FBI!" as she forces the motorist's face into the dirt to quell the situation was kind of an abuse of the badge and my believability. Strong female character? Yes! Over-the-top macho chick? Doesn't do any favours for anyone.Making her hubby feel like an impotent toad who can't even stand up for himself was sort of lame in itself.The cast is great but this premise already feels old and worn. Wish I could get into it but that's just not going to happen.

This could develop into an interesting program. The use of Richmond as a backdrop is refreshing. The city offers locations more interesting than the housing projects of Baltimore. So far, the location scenes and the references to Richmond have been accurate. I hope this continues.Believability suffers when you see an FBI killed while standing straight up in front of a bad guy with a gun instead of going for cover. And later when, a bunch of bad guys jump out of car with guns on what should be a busy dock, but there is no one to notice.Leslie Hope as the SAC, could become one of the best female police characters currently on TV if given the chance. The female trainee agent is made to hate. I hope she becomes a more believeable character.