With the untimely death of one of the most underrated actors of our time, Bill Paxton, came the death of the television series “Training Day” that he was starring in at the time of his death. It was a follow-up to the film “Training Day”, which starred Denzel Washington in the Paxton role of a dirty cop and Ethan Hawke as his sidekick, a young impressionable rookie/trainee. The talented
Paxton will always be remembered for his iconic roles as a storm chaser in “Twister” and a polygamist in “Big Love”. But, he also appeared in “Agents of Shield”, “Aliens”, “Apollo 13”, “Edge of Tomorrow”, “Hatfields & McCoys”, “Nightcrawler”, “Predator 2”, “The Terminator”, “Titanic”, “True Lies”, and “Weird Science”. He lost his life at only 61 to complication”s from heart surgery and he will be sorely missed both on the big and the small screen. So, since “Training Day “was his last project, we chose five of the best moments from the series one and only season, Season 1:
1. Training Day Season 1 – Episode 1- Apocalypse Now
In the series, Bill Paxton played Detective Frank Roarke. He’s the head of the SIS unit for the LAPD and he’s always hard at work fighting crime on the streets of L.A. although sometimes not within the letter of the law. Justin Cornwell played his alleged trainee, Officer Kyle Craig. The reality is that the rookie cop is actually there for the purpose of keeping an eye on his new partner for the powers-that-be. In Episode 1, we get a good look into the life of the young Kyle Craig and get to see him save a little boy during a shootout.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QF8p-PZfXEo
2. Training Day Season 1 – Episode 4- Code of Honor
One of the many things that we liked about “Training Day” were the many well-staged aerial shots around L.A. They seem to make the show feel more like a movie than just a TV series. There are quite a few in this episode and they’re very compelling. The episode revolves around a long time friend of Frank Roarke’s who is also a CI who was murdered by Yakuza assassins. This, of course, sends Frank on a revenge-seeking quest against the famous Japanese mafia. Unfortunately, as usually happens on police dramas these days, he’s stepping on the very sensitive toes of the FBI, whose agents are after the same killing mob.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBHuN1UERus
3. Training Day Season 1 – Episode 6- Faultlines
This episode involves a weapons trafficking investigation. But, the whole thing becomes a personal issue for Kyle. An old friend of his turns out to be connected with the case. In addition, his boss is demanding some results from his investigation of Frank. In the end, the whole thing leads to the revelation of some shocking info coming from Frank.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0AAoumQFb0
4. Training Day Season 1 – Episode 3- Trigger Time
OK, by this episode, it’s quite clear that Frank and Kyle are not exactly besties, nor will they ever be. In fact, there seems to be a rapidly growing rift between the two “partners”, mainly because Kyle doesn’t agree with Frank’s methods, which are morally ambiguous at best. They have to put all of their differences aside, however, in order to pursue a notorious hitman who has been making certain Russian mobsters his targets. Kyle’s refusal to follow his partner’s lead results in one of Frank’s valuable CI’s being exposed. That means that they’re tasked with her protection. But, during that time, Frank also has to investigate the deaths of a group of drug dealers, one of whom is an undercover DEA agent. And, the truth is also exposed as to why the CI is such a loyal Frank fan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkKtXS7x2JI
5. Training Day Season 1- Finale
The ill-fated series ends with Kyle finding his father’s murderer. Better yet, it also ends with the hard-boiled Frank announcing that Kyle is no longer his trainee but his partner. It was a fitting ending and we’re all sad that it won’t be back for a second season.
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