Made in Melbourne, Australia, from 2008 to 2011, Rush is an action-drama series that revolves around the Tactical Response Team. Which itself is based on the real-life Critical Incident Response Team, a branch of the Victorian Police Force.
Starring a highly skilled squad who specialize in non-lethal policing, each member is highly trained to deal with high intensity situations with their ability to 'think laterally in the heat of a crisis' with the back up of comprehensive intelligence and modern technology to enable to be one step ahead of criminals and suspects without letting the Victorian Police resort to deploying the Special Operations Group. Tactical Response deal with all sorts of situations, even a few within one day. These include (and are not limited to) chasing offenders in high density traffic, defusing bombs and dealing with armed criminals. Even protecting politicians and witnesses.
Unlike most shows, the series is more character driven than most action series and brings a sense of realism and the consequences of ones actions. As well as dealing the stress of such a demanding job, we go into the lives of the characters and sometimes see them while they're off the beat. Either way we witness the tension, the drama and the run about ways of patrolling the streets of Melbourne.
Features the following tropes:[]
- Almost Kiss: Leon and Audrey. Ironically enough Leon was sending messages to an overseas supposed lover, and in the heat of the moment tried to kiss her, only for Audrey to back out and start laughing at him.
- Action Girl: Stella, Grace, Shannon.
- Actor Allusion: Rodger Corser, who plays Senior Sergeant Lawson Blake, has also played Detective Senior Sergeant Steve Owen and Detective Senior Constable George Newhouse. See the theme here?
- Catherine Mc Clements who plays Inspector Kerry Vincent also played Detective Senior Constable Rachel Goldstein. ironically enough, both Kerry and Rachel have ex-husbands.
- All There in the Manual: The Channel10 Website gives intel on the characters as well as their actors: [1]
- Bi the Way: Stella.
- Bittersweet Ending: Sure Lawson and the rest of the TR unit manages to save Australia from being targeted by a South Korean doomsday cult's plan by using nuclear materials from Russia to destroy Melbourne, but the team gets informed later that the police has found another dirty bomb somewhere in the city, which means that the citywide plans to end the curfew after the bomb's defused will have to be extended until the other one's taken care of. And there's Josh walking away while removing most of his tactical gear since he found out that Lawson "did it" with his doctor girlfriend.
- By-The-Book Cop: Most of them qualify, but the one who stands out the most is Lawson.
- Convenient Miscarriage: Subverted with Stella, who didn't even know she was pregnant until she started getting stomach pains so severe she passed out.
- Da Chief: Inspector Kerry Vincent.
- Deadpan Snarker: All of them have their moments, but especially Michael and Stella.
- Dark and Troubled Past: The Official Website tells us that Lawson once did drugs as a teenager and stopped when they found the dealer dead in his bathroom.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: Surely you were thinking about Aum Shirikyo with the dirty bomb plot in Season 4?
- Find the Cure: Done in the 4th Season's last episode after a South Korean terrorist was injected with poison by a FSB officer. Lawson and some of the other TR officers think that it was done to prevent him from telling the world about acquiring the dirty bomb materials from Russian soil.
- Five-Man Band:
- The Hero: Lawson
- The Lancer / The Big Guy: Josh
- The Chick: Stella, Grace, Shannon, though she could possibly identify as part Lancer
- The Smart Guy: Leon, Audrey
- Tagalong Kid: Michael, at times.
- The Sixth Ranger: Christian, then Charlie.
- Team Mom: Kerry
- Geek: Leon
- Grey and Gray Morality: Sometimes done by TRT operatives to secure evidence and such. Some of the armed suspects the officers face are in this boundary too.
- Happily Married: Christian
- Hot Dad: Dom, Christian
- Hot Mom: Kerry
- His Heart Will Go On: Josh Takes him time to get over her death, but the ends up pining over her replacement.
- The Inspector: Kerry obviously.
- Justified Criminal: A lot them make these excuses, especially the soldier in 3.19.
- Killed Off for Real: Grace in 'R.I.P.' and Dom, Michael too.
- Love Dodecahedron: Dear god. Josh wants Grace, who is married. Grace dies. Josh wants her replacement, Shannon. Eventually Shannon and Lawson want each other, but there is tension between Shannon and Michael, who wants Stella, but Michael dated Audrey, who Leon wants.
- Mama Bear: Kerry.
- Meaningful Name: Senior Sergeant Lawson Blake. Don't know whether that's intentional. You could possibly say Christian as well, as a believer of God.
- Lampshaded by Amber
Amber:Is Christian, Christian? |
- Police Are Useless: Sometimes. But justified as regular policemen can't handle certain situations like bombers, kidnappers and assassins, which is why the TRT is deployed. But their deployment is done without the needed deployment of the SOG. At least most of the time.
- Real Life Writes the Plot: Considering Michael's death, since he's in Terra Nova.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Josh after Michael dies.
- The Scrappy: Charlie is this in-universe.
- Unresolved Sexual Tension: Being a high octane job, there's bound to be this. Currently, it's Shannon and Lawson. Judging from the previews from 3.20, it looks like it might be resolved.
- Why Don't Ya Just Shoot Him: Suggested by Josh in the 1st episode in the 4th season.