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THE
EQUALIZER: SEASON ONE
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U.S.A.
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1985-86
Created by Michael Sloan
Starring
Edward Woodward, Keith Szarabajka
Robert Lansing, Mark Margolis
22 Episodes + 1 Bonus Episode
Color
|47
min. per episode (+/-)
Format:
DVD (R1 - NTSC |
5-disc set)
Universal Home Video
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Music
from the series
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Series
Title Theme
MP3 format - 1.0 MB
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9
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7 |
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10
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Guest
Review by Troy
Howarth |
| EDITOR'S
NOTE The focus of this
website is and remains motion pictures. Occasionally,
however, we like to bring readers' attention to
"cult" telefilms and TV shows which they
may find interesting and worthwhile. |
Robert
McCall (Edward Woodward) decides to call it quits
with the CIA, and begins working for the public,
helping those who need him to "equalize" the scales
of justice...
On
the surface, The Equalizer is pretty standard
mid-'80s TV fare. Thriller shows of this nature
have always had an audience, and in terms of its
basic outline the show didn't promise to deliver
anything particularly original or creative. The
stroke of genius that set it above others of its
ilk rests in the casting of British stage and
screen veteran Edward Woodward in the lead role.
With his stolid demeanor and atypical appearance,
he was certainly a risky casting choice. Rumor
has it that the executive at Universal were putting
the pressure on series creator Michael Sloan to
cast a familiar name like Robert Culp or Ben Gazarra
in the role, and while they were both fine actors
in their own right, its a certainty that their
presence would have made it just another TV crime
thriller. Woodward's film credits were sparse
— the cult hit The
Wicker Man (1973) and the critically acclaimed
Australian military drama Breaker
Morant (1979) being his most substantial
film roles — and
his name certainly didn't inspire a great deal
of faith in Universal, but Sloan persisted and
eventually got his way. Woodward may well have
been an unlikely choice, but his intense performance
and subtly sardonic flashes of humor made the
character well and truly his own.
Throughout four seasons,
McCall would find himself immersed in a variety
of situations. The show sometimes stumbled where
it tried to get too involved in government level
cloak and dagger intrigue, for it was in the gritty
streets of New York that the show found its true
identity. The notion of McCall as a sort of grim
avenging angel for all the casualties of the red
tape of bureaucracy struck a nerve with audiences,
but the show was often more thoughtful than the
typical Dirty Harry
or Death Wish level
of revenge fantasy. McCall is a fascinating character
— one part jaded and bitter, one part hopeful
and altruistic — and Woodward's precise diction
and economical physicality lends him an air of
mystery and menace that overcomes his apparent
miscasting as a man of action. McCall relies more
on his wits than his fists, anyway, and it is
in this that Woodward is particularly successful.
On a more human level, his attempts to reestablish
a relationship with his estranged son (William
Zabka) or his rage over the shady tactics of his
former employers help to round out the character
in a fully three-dimensional way.
Season One includes a number
of standout episodes. While it would be self-defeating
to go into all 22 of them in detail, it will suffice
to point out a couple of particularly memorable
installments. "The
Children's Song",
which highlights McCall's relationship
with his son, runs the risk of being a typically
silly excuse to change location (this one is set
in McCall's rural getaway cabin as opposed to
the city) while still enabling the character to
ply his trade, it works beautifully as an exercise
in character and suspense. True, there is never
any doubt that McCall will outwit his inexperienced
would-be assassins, but the episode is well paced
and intense throughout. "Mama's Boy" allows Woodward
to go undercover as a singularly unlikely drug
dealer, and it's quite a lot of fun. Even more
delirious is "Reign of Terror," which pits McCall
against a violent, vaguely futuristic street gang
in the ghetto. Guest appearances from Fred Williamson
(Take
a Hard Ride) and Euro-Cult favorite Tomas
Milian (Compañeros),
in a nicely understated performance as one of
McCall's former colleagues, are icing on the cake.
"Pretenders" finishes the debut season on a solid
note, with Tony Musante (The
Bird with the Crystal Plumage) excelling as
a sleazeball whose connections with the Agency
surprise even McCall. While the season has its
occasional misstep, overall it's done with a refreshingly
serious and adult approach. The presence of some
first rate character actors (including a young
Tony Shalhoub as an Arab terrorist!) adds to the
series' appeal, but at the end of the day, it's
very much Woodward's showcase.
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Universal's long-overdue release of Season One
of The Equalizer is most welcome. The fullframe
image quality is very good.
Colors are accurately rendered, detail is sharp
and authoring defects are never evident. The show
was shot on film, not video, and the cinematography
is sometimes of a very fine standard —
this is very much the New York of yesteryear,
and one can readily believe that a prospective
menace lurks in every shadow. The stereo soundtrack
is crisp and clean —
Stuart Copeland's excellent score is particularly
well served here; once heard, Copeland's catchy
signature theme is bound to be in your head for
days. (NOTE: Fans retaining old videotape dubs
of the original network broadcasts claim that
Universal has replaced certain songs in a handful
of episodes with generic stock music, as a means
to avoid the re-negotiation of licensing fees.
This indeed seems to be the case. Therefore, a
point is being deducted from our DVD Rating of
the set.)
Extras
include a commentary by Sloan on the pilot episode
(there
are a few too many dead patches, but he makes
for an agreeable and enthusiastic commentator,
rightfully proud of his coup in securing Woodward
for the show) and a bonus episode from Season
Two, "Beyond Control". Presumably, the
future availability of the remaining three seasons
is dependent on how well this set sells. Here's
hoping it does very well indeed.
3/24/08
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