The The Equalizer



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The The Equalizer
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Robert McCall, one of the best covert operatives in the business became disenchanted with his work in a CIA-like organization known only as &quot;the Company.&quot; Seeking redemption for some of his darker exploits, McCall resigned, and offered his services through newspaper ads to people in trouble, who were beyond the help of official channels, like the police. McCall used his skills in espionage and frequently enlisted the help of former colleagues still in the Company to get the job done. He also continued to maintain contact with his friend and former boss, a man known only as Control.
Robert McCall (Woodward) is a tough-as-nails, no-BS private eye who went into business for himself after leaving the shadowy agency he once worked for. McCall works on behalf of those whose problems the police cannot - or will not - get involved in. His card reads, &#39;Got a problem? Odds against you? Need help? Call - The Equalizer&#39;. Through 4 seasons, Robert McCall went up against some of the worst elements that New York City had - including gangs, mobsters, crooked cops, vigilantes, stalkers and even psychopathic stockbrokers.
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&#39;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&#39;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.<br/><br/>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: &quot;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.&quot; 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&amp;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.<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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 &quot;quality&quot; (or lack of it) of the product.<br/><br/>Thomas J McKeon Indianapolis
A very strong series during its initial run and in the occasional burst of reruns that can be found occasionally.<br/><br/>Edward Woodward is a superb actor, and was a sharp contrast to most other private detectives of the day (and indeed, even today). The 80&#39;s might as well have been called the &quot;Era of the P.I.&quot; with so many series centered around them (Magnum P.I., Simon and Simon, Riptide, even Miami Vice and the other police shows). But Robert McCall was an entirely different kind of detective. He was a seemingly mild mannered Englishman, who dressed sharply and drove a cool Jaguar. He rarely engaged in any kind of physical struggles, yet was probably the most menacing of any television P.I. While the others were jumping onto the hoods of cars and duking it out with the bad guys, McCall&#39;s quiet presence and absolute lack of any fear whatsoever was thrilling. The fact that a middle aged man who looks more like a University professor than a detective could look so menacing and literally HARDCORE speaks volumes about Woodward&#39;s acting capability.<br/><br/>Probably the best theme music ever written, as well.

No, although they both served in the Malayan War. Callan was a working class former National Serviceman (a British conscripted soldier between 1945-1960) and karate expert who was blackmailed into working for the British intelligence services after being caught robbing banks. McCall was the upper class Anglo-American son of a British Intelligence officer and his American wife who worked for American Intelligence. Robert McCall was the son of a distinguished British Army officer and an American showgirl whom he was ostracized by his family after marrying. His father would later be murdered by a colleague during the Suez campaign whilst Robert McCall was at boarding school, McCall holding a lifelong resentment against his father for their detached relationship. McCall would later join The Agency/Company, a branch of American intelligence which operated both at home and abroad serving in the Malayan War, Vietnam War and the Angolan conflict as well as other Cold War battlegrounds. He is deeply disturbed by his past deeds especially collaborating with Apartheid South Africa and helping to install dictatorships in South and Central America in the fight against communism. He was briefly married and fathered a son, Scott and we later learn he also had an illegitimate daughter with a past lover. In 1985 he became disilluisioned with his profession and left to become a freelance troubleshooter/vigilante.  a5c7b9f00b