Failure Drill

Episode aired Mar 1, 2011
TV-MA
42m

IMDb RATING

8.3/10

280

YOUR RATING

Crime Drama Thriller

Back pain and excessive painkillers render Cooper insufferable even for Ben and a danger to the public, as is an ancient driver. Sammy is back on the job and forced to color-coordinate a nur... Read allBack pain and excessive painkillers render Cooper insufferable even for Ben and a danger to the public, as is an ancient driver. Sammy is back on the job and forced to color-coordinate a nursery if he wants to see his unborn child. Mr. Estrada is arrested prime murder suspect wit... Read allBack pain and excessive painkillers render Cooper insufferable even for Ben and a danger to the public, as is an ancient driver. Sammy is back on the job and forced to color-coordinate a nursery if he wants to see his unborn child. Mr. Estrada is arrested prime murder suspect without proof but his dying wife's last words, but they were bitterly divorced and his firstb... Read all

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

8.3/10

280

YOUR RATING

2User reviews

See production info at IMDbPro

Photos

User reviews2

8.3280

Featured reviews

9Mr-Fusion

Heroism and self-destruction

'Failure Drill' features one of the series' finest shootouts (not that the show relies on them), chiefly because it makes exceptional use of the show's documentary style camera-work; ad it's Lydia in full hero cop mode. Prior to that, she and Josie are saddled with a case of a murdered mother and the broken home she leaves behind. It's decent material, but tends to drag on.

What really makes this episode hard to stomach is its portrait of Officer Cooper spiraling out. The man's literally useless, zonked out on painkillers with his trainee left to handle the day's watch. It's hard to fathom his situation getting any worse - it will - but it's not easy to watch his life heading towards certain doom.

Yet it's undeniably engrossing.

9/10

Trivia
The title for the episode is derived from a handgun range course of fire taught in the police academy and in tactical firearms training courses. The shooter fires two shots to center mass and a third to the head of the target. This is for scenarios where the suspect may be wearing a ballistic vest. The logic behind the drill is that if the shots to the body don't stop the threat, firing a third shot at the head should by incapacitating the brain and central nervous system. Some firearms instructors refer to this drill as "The Mozambique" which originated from a Rhodesian mercenary's encounter with a FRELIMO fighter at an airport during the Mozambican War for Independence.

Goofs
When the detectives are going into the factory for the employer check near the end of the episode, there is a Whelen siren control box under the dash of the unmarked cruiser, with the PA mic hooked to the dash. When the shooting starts, the detective uses the PA mic for a radio, to advise dispatch of their location.