Classic Groundbreaking Series
The Equalizer of 80s TV fame is really a whole other experience from the Denzel Washington movies loosely based on it. Robert McCall is a British expatriate, now a US citizen who has illegally resigned from his contracted position with an American intelligence agency (the CIA seems to be indicated, but never outright named as such). He is disillusioned with the Agency’s tactics and now uses his expertise and clout to help the common, everyday person with problems the police are unable to help them with. He rarely charges for his services, apparently independently wealthy as a result of his moonlighting his services during his employment, as he only briefly related to son, Scott (The Karate Kid’s William Zabka), in season 2’s opening episode. Between jobs, he otherwise lives a quiet life, enjoying fine food, drink and music, and is always impeccably dressed. While he occasionally must use lethal force to defend his clients from harm, he doesn’t prefer to, more-often using clever, Mission Impossible-like trickery to undermine their efforts. He utilizes a small group of oddballs and misfits, both independent contractors and Agency operatives, who are still friendly to him to help him out on his humanitarian missions, many of whom are recurring characters with well-developed personalities and quirks; these are nearly as entertaining as McCall himself, and really enhance the show. Often, too, he not only helps his clients with the problems they call him for, but also has sage advice regarding their personal difficulties, providing a “moral to the story”, yet without this ever overshadowing the main thrust of the episode— so it never comes across as corny. But this McCall, for all his steely secret agent attitude and British sophistication, is a big-hearted, very human character who is easy to love and admire. The cinematography is groundbreaking here, not so polished and sunny like the Magnum P.I.-type shows of the time, but more closely resembling the “put you there” type production of today’s crime dramas, for a grittier realism— but still less-depressing. It’s from a time when escapism was just that- a way to forget about the despair that’s really out there, not immerse yourself in it. The packaging (see my pics) is a tad silly. You would expect a fat, DVD-proportioned box to contain plastic tray/leaves with the discs on them. But on opening, you’ll find a hollowed out little square with a flimsy booklet containing the discs. Seems somehow wasteful, but the case is at least sturdy and for a little over $30 for all four seasons and a documentary bonus, this is still a great value to own one of TVs most iconic series.
Bestätigter Kauf: JaArtikelzustand: Neu