The Equalizer (1985)

Watchseries; Ed Woodward's portrayal of McCall is well above what the average viewer would be subject to on any given evening on any given program.

The episodes give one the sense of a short theatrical production as opposed to a half hearted, thrown together typical television program. The stories are thought out with substantial plot development. The background of the characters are nicely developed which allows the viewer to empathize with them and experience the drama fully as it unfolds.

The music, locations and the black Jaguar all contribute as well to making this series, undoubtedly, one of the best ever syndicated productions ever.

If you aren't familiar with the adventures of Robert McCall or haven't had the privilege of observing an Edward Woodward performance then get your wallet out and buy this series. I'm highly confident you won't regret doing so.

Ed Woodward's portrayal of McCall is well above what the average viewer would be subject to on any given evening on any given program.

The episodes give one the sense of a short theatrical production as opposed to a half hearted, thrown together typical television program. The stories are thought out with substantial plot development. The background of the characters are nicely developed which allows the viewer to empathize with them and experience the drama fully as it unfolds.

The music, locations and the black Jaguar all contribute as well to making this series, undoubtedly, one of the best ever syndicated productions ever.

If you aren't familiar with the adventures of Robert McCall or haven't had the privilege of observing an Edward Woodward performance then get your wallet out and buy this series. I'm highly confident you won't regret doing so.

The Equalizer watchseries. I doubt that I could call this an objectively excellent show, but I loved it. We all have worries and concerns in this world, and when The Equalizer would come on, it was as if someone showed up to take care of it all.

The violence was gratuitous, the hero flawed, the premises and execution over the top. Yet the team, headed by an effective if somewhat hammy Edward Woodward who is in turn flanked by Mickey Kostmayer, and Jimmy and Sterno, and the regulars - Control, Pete O'Phelan, Lt. Smalls, Scott, etc. - grew on us. So many budding actors, now famous, guested on this show.

In a key conversation, McCall tells Control how he wished the rain pouring outside could clear away all the human scum and filth that terrorizes society. McCall took it upon himself to do so.

I often wished that longer-term plot elements would take hold. At one point, McCall says to Saul Rubinek's character, "Jason, you set me up. I don't know why, but believe me, I will find out" - but nothing came of this. Some of today's shows, Alias for example, show the potential for twists and turns in long-term plot elements. So, while there were serial elements (ex. McCall's family tribulations), the episodes were largely stand-alone. The Equalizer had huge potential for groundbreaking storylines, but failed to realize it. Still, it provided me with my weekly dose of valued escapism.

Discovered The Equalizer on A&E. It had heart and I thoroughly enjoyed the interplay of the characters. I especially enjoyed the character of Jimmy played by Mark Margolis. You got glimpses into his life and wanted to know more. I wish someone would pick up the series again now that A&E has dropped it.

The consensus of the other reviewers is that this is an excellent detective/mystery series; certainly I agree with that and probably cannot add anything of substance to their comments. As to the program, all I will say is Edward Woodword's fine, convincing acting, the excellent plot development (in every episode, each of which usually stands on its own), the choice of a great supporting cast and Stewart Copeland's fine scores--what more could one want in a TV show. In fact, The Equalizer was and probably still is too good for television.

My real purpose in originally writing this was to attempt to prod the owner of the copyright, Universal, to make all the episodes (and possibly some that might be in the can and not yet shown) available on DVD. From the plethora of very positive comments it is obvious that this is not only an artistic success but something that likely would be commercially feasible. I first wrote: "Should it not be made available on DVD, I guess I will have to content myself to try to find all the episodes on VHS and dub them onto DVD-R." Since then I have obtained a set from TVDVDPlanet.com of (it claims) all the episodes on 22 DVD-Rs in boxes with no manufacturer on the label. I have viewed several and they were crudely taped from TV(some even say A&E on them). Video quality is very poor. Apparently this is region free. It seems all are DVD-R not DVD and quality is awful. Packages are shipped from Canada.

Since writing the above I learned that Season One would be officially released by Universal in the States and it has been. This is a region 1 DVD. It is a 5 disc set with all 22 episodes from the first season. It can be ordered at Amazon.com and other sellers. Technical quality is very good. I did notice that one episode was in stereo though the packaging says mono. Definitely worthwhile and I hope they follow through on the rest.

Since writing the above I have noted that the domain TVDVDPlanet.com has been taken away from one Alan Knight of Key West Florida by Planet Entertainment, Inc. The complaint alleged that the website may be offering unauthorized and infringing product to the public. See http://www.tvdvdplanet.com/tvdvdplanet.pdf. Nothing was said about the "quality" (or lack of it) of the product.

Thomas J McKeon Indianapolis

A former CIA spy (Edward Woodward) is now a private investigator that helps out clients with problems that are beyond the normal authorities in "The Equalizer", one of the better series of its type during the late-1980s. The show went on for five seasons on CBS and did fairly well in the ratings department. There is definitely a hard and dark edge to this series which has been somewhat forgotten over the years but still packs a punch with its adult themes and story lines. Woodward dominated here while others (son William Zabka in particular) came and went in a revolving door of regulars and guest stars. A heart attack suffered by Woodward in real life during the middle of the run looked like it might kill the concept for good, but "The Equalizer" quietly went on without a hitch until it was finally canceled by the network in 1989. 4 stars out of 5.

I like this show. Robert McCall was a company man with a guilty conscious who tried to find redemption through doing good works. Robert must have broken many cold war eggs to make many omletes. McCall's skills were now used to help the defenseless. This show like many other great 80 shows had a similar story lines. Where the Equalizer differed is with his method of intelligence. Like an intelligence officer Robert plotted, probed, planned, and visualized. Luck and the ability to out wit the opponent made for an interesting television show. Nice seeing this over the self centered tripe of todays TV. I never seen another show like this on TV. They should make this into a movie. I bet the old BBC show the Naturalizer was an influence for the shows producers. 8 out of 10 baby