Movies

Commentary: All hail ‘9-1-1’s’ ‘Bee-nado’ event and the power of network procedurals

BBG News

As a seasoned cinematic aficionado with a penchant for the extraordinary, I must say that the “Bee-nado” event of “9-1-1” Season 8 has undeniably caught my attention like a swarm of killer bees to a hive-less drone. Having grown up on the cheesy yet comforting disaster movies of the ’90s, this three-part spectacle has managed to strike a perfect balance between the absurd and the endearing.

The advertising worked.

Without having watched a single episode of “9-1-1” before its Season 8 debut, I found myself eagerly adding it to my list of must-watch shows after catching glimpses of its promotional “Bee-nado” event across various platforms, including television, online streaming sites, and even unaffiliated services. The three-part storyline culminates in the episode titled “Final Approach,” set to air on ABC this coming Thursday.

The first episode of the new season, named “Buzzkill,” starts off dramatically with a pilot losing command over his small aircraft due to a large group of bees he accidentally flew into. This sets up a potentially disastrous mid-air collision with a bigger commercial plane.

As a die-hard movie enthusiast, let me share this thrilling scene I recently encountered: In the narrative, it’s later disclosed that a colossal truck skidder on the 4th Street Bridge had released a horde of 22 million deadly bees into L.A., causing havoc. Upon my arrival at the chaotic traffic mishap, where two individuals with bee allergies found themselves in the grip of a swarming car, one firefighter gazed skyward and exclaimed, “This looks like a bee-induced tornado!

The extravagant happenings evoke the frenzy surrounding the “killer bee” panic of the 1990s, as well as the cheesy, old-school sci-fi disaster movies broadcast on television, which makes “Bee-nado” a touch eccentric yet oddly reassuring.

As the plot unfolds, it becomes increasingly bizarre – in a quintessentially Los Angeles fashion. To put it another way, “Buzzkill” cleverly incorporates Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Flight of the Bumblebee” as a standout musical moment. Without giving away too much, this is one detail you won’t forget.

However, detailing the intricacies of the plot isn’t essential for understanding how the “Bee-nado” episode showcases the distinctive advantages of traditional broadcast network television.

The hour-long drama series ‘9-1-1’, co-developed by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Tim Minear, revolves around the interconnected lives and emergencies faced by firefighters, police officers, and 911 operators. Since its debut in 2018, over a hundred episodes of this Los Angeles-based show have been broadcast, giving depth to the main characters through years of narrative development.

But “Buzzkill” is completely newcomer-friendly. Watching a swarm of killer bees cause a plane crash is easy to follow, whether you know a character’s name is Athena Grant or you refer to her as “the cop played by Angela Bassett.” It’s part of the reason the procedural format continues to thrive in an ever-changing television landscape. The success of shows like “Law & Order,” “CSI,” “Criminal Minds” and “NCIS” has birthed major TV franchises. Even “9-1-1” has its own spinoff.

Procedural TV shows remain popular due to their consistent structure, ease of understanding, and captivating nature. In many cases, each episode stands alone as a complete tale, rather than contributing to an ongoing narrative. This design makes it simpler for occasional viewers to tune in at any point without needing to follow every installment. Conversely, dedicated fans will appreciate the serialized elements, such as character growth and season-long storylines that unfold progressively.

In the second installment of the three-part series, “When the Boeing Hits a Rough Patch,” featured fewer bees, but the drama was no less intense and far-fetched. Following a midair collision that left a hole in the cockpit, causing the pilot to be pulled out, the passengers found themselves needing to care for one another with some emergency remote medical advice. One of the improvised lifesaving measures required medication typically used for erectile dysfunction to be administered via nebulizer.

Shows such as “9-1-1” draw viewers because they create scenarios that seem highly unlikely, if not entirely implausible, for their characters – situations that could keep a new viewer hooked even after eight seasons. These stories use friendship, romance, and everyday events to maintain interest between the disasters. Furthermore, extraordinary emergencies like dam collapses, earthquakes, tsunamis, and pirate attacks on cruise ships (as portrayed in this type of series) provide a means of escaping the routine difficulties of daily life.

In contrast to streaming services and premium cable channels dominating “prestige” dramas with their serialized narratives spread across fewer episodes and seasons, shows like “9-1-1” on broadcast networks serve as a refreshing change of pace.

I’m crossing my fingers that the end of the “Bee-nado” incident offers some clarity regarding the future of the deadly bee swarm. Let’s move on to the next crisis coming up next week.

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2024-10-11 01:01

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