Customer Reviews

The Equalizer - Season One

5 star:		(49)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The Equalizer, with its distinctive theme song, written by Stewart Copeland, founder and drummer of The Police, premiered in September of 1985. It was, almost certainly, one of the better shows to come out of the 1980s. The gritty, "street-smart" aura of the series, which ran for four seasons, in many ways encapsulated the "pulse" or the "feel" of life in New York City during this seminal decade. This said, those watching the show today will be impressed by how well it holds up and remains contemporary more than 20 years on.

Edward Woodward's "made-for-the role" presence as retired Cold War operative Robert McCall, "The Equalizer," infused a razor-sharp energy into the series, complemented by a regular supporting cast that included Robert Lansing as "Control," Keith Szarabajka as Mickey Kostmayer, Mark Margolis as Jimmy, William Zabka as son Scott McCall, and Richard Jordan as Harley Gage.

Many other well-known actors also made guest appearances on the show, including Jerry Stiller, Vincent D'Onofrio, Robert Mitchum, Adam Ant, Christian Slater, John Polito, Macauley Culkin, Melissa Sue Anderson, Adam Horovitz of the Beastie Boys, John Goodman, Laurence Fishburne, David Alan Grier, Michael Moriarty, Tony Shalhoub, Roma Maffia, Telly Savalas, Steve Buscemi, Kim Delaney, Sylvia Sidney, Quentin Crisp, Anthony Zerbe, Joe Morton, Lori Petty, Luis Guzman, Robert Davi, William Atherton, Frances Fisher, Patricia Clarkson, Dann Florek, Laurie Metcalf, Bradley Whitford, Ray Sharkey, Dana Barron, Jasmine Guy, Austin Pendleton, Saul Rubinek, Joe Maruzzo, Robert Joy, Burt Young, Mark Linn-Baker, Lauren Tom, Ilan Mitchell-Smith, Alex Winter, Meat Loaf, David Leisure, Christine Baranski, Charles Dutton, Dan Hedaya, Tovah Feldshuh, Marisa Berenson, Brad Dourif, Melissa Joan Hart, James Eckhouse and more.

The DVD set offers Season One's episodes, listed below, as well as commentary by the show's creator, Michael Sloan, and a bonus preview episode for Season Two entitled "Beyond Control."

1-01 Pilot Episode
1-02 China Rain
1-03 The Defector
1-04 The Lock Box
1-05 Lady Cop
1-06 The Confirmation Day
1-07 The Children's Song
1-08 The Distant Fire
1-09 Mama's Boy
1-10 Bump and Run
1-11 Desperately
1-12 Reign of Terror
1-13 Back Home
1-14 Out of the Past
1-15 Dead Drop
1-16 Wash Up
1-17 Torn
1-18 Unnatural Causes
1-19 Breakpoint
1-20 No Conscience
1-21 Unpunished Crimes
1-22 Pretenders

A new film re-make of "The Equalizer" is also being planned, with an anticipated release in 2009.

So.... "Got a problem? Odds against you? Call the Equalizer." Or, at least pop in a DVD, pull up a chair or flop on the couch and watch some great TV!

To Europeans and foreign film fans, Edward Woodward will always be remembered for playing the title role in "Breaker Morant." But to American television watchers, he will be remembered for playing Robert McCall, the wily and dangerous ex-covert operative in "The Equalizer."

McCall is a former CIA-type (and at least one episode hints at him being a former mercenary) who has devoted all he has to his career, losing his marriage and distancing himself from his young son in the process. He decides to quit the espionage business and work as a vigilante, helping people in distress. His occasional accomplice is Mickey Kostmayer, another covert operator and former Navy SEAL.

At one time or another, Woodward conveyed every emotion in the book playing McCall- menace, savagery, fear, doubt, loneliness, sadness, humor, joy, etc... The Elizabethan-trained actor had the talent to play such a complex role, and he did to the hilt, and the great supporting cast and numerous guest stars did nothing to hurt the appeal or attractiveness of the series.

Having The Equalizer come out on DVD whets one's appetite for the planned feature film, but whoever plays Robert McCall will have large shoes to fill, and many great memories to overcome.

As one of the writers and producers of The Equalizer, I'm very happy that what we did is finally coming out on DVD. The only sad note is that my friend, the legendary Jim McAdams, Executive Producer of the series, passed away in September of 07 and never saw it happen.

Coleman Luck

The eighties were full of series.Mainly Miami Vice dominated this era but The Equalizer was a series for people who liked good old fashioned stories.An Ex Agent tries to help people in different dangerous situations.Edward Woodward was cool as ice as the main character.But be warned if you buy this set.As i researched mainly because of right problems the Music in this box differs from the original episodes.It was changed for this release.So if you are not a hard core fan this set is for you to go.If you are it's better to stay away and look for the R2 set which was released in Europe.

I'm a big fan of Edward Woodward and "The Equalizer." I received the first season on DVD for Christmas in 2008. I couldn't wait to see more shows. So I searched the whole internet for the complete series and AMAZON referred me to clickdvd.com.
BEWARE! DO NOT BUY the EQUALIZER from this source!
First they don't deliver what they promise. I was promised superb packaging with episode title and info. Each disk has a great Equalizer label on it with a hand written number in a VHS box each DVD in a plastic CD sleeve. They said that all these were brand new. They had all been PIRATED off of A&E, USA, and PLUS cable channels complete with BAD reception, flipping pictures, and an occasional commerial, plus the announcements over the closing credits to stay tuned to A&E for the next great program. There are some episodes that are just perfect it must have been a good reception day in China. (That's were the DVD were sent from.) I'm going to keep this set because it took me so long to get them and I love this show. PLEASE BE WARNED about clickdvd.com, if the price sounds too good it's probably PIRATED!

Terrific news....The Equalizer is out on DVD!
This series was just terrific and touched a nerve when it originally ran. What isn't to like? An older gentleman trying to get his karma correct by offering to help those in society who can't seem to get the police to listen or fall through the cracks one way or another. Who hasn't needed a big brother to help us at one time in our life? The pilot suffers from less than stellar acting and production but by the time the actual episodes came out the acting was terrific , the production values great and the stories wonderful.

The DVD set review. First off...to those unhappy with the packaging I'd like to say that in the past Universal has demonstrated their ability to make sexy packages and terrible product so the reverse is welcome. The fairly nondescript package hold 5 single sided dual layer DVDs...and this is great news to all of us who know of Universals penchant for double sided flipper discs that freeze and skip! The episodes look great as well. This series seems to have been filmed rather than video taped which many of that era sadly were...so they look good. Did I mention that the show also featured some fun gunplay? Yeah...its all good
an interview with Edward Woodward would have been terrific but I'm just glad to have a solid DVD set of the first year and looking for more!
order without worries..

OOOPS..I almost forgot. This show also featured arguably one of the all time best opening sequences highlighted by the brilliant theme music composed by Stewart Copeland (The Police), guaranteed to be pulse quickkening!

Edward Woodward starred in a television show in Britain long before the Equalizer hit the streets of New York. The show was called 'Callan' and in many ways established his reputation. His character was a no nonsense assassin for the British government with psychological problems who was the best at what he did. While the drama series was less than well funded it was extremely realistic and cold blooded. Callous would have been an appropriate name.

Having said this by way of pertinent background, we see a revamped secret agent, retired, living in New York and trying, at his own expense, to compensate for his deadly dealings in the past.

This, stylish thriller, finally seeing the light of day in it's DVD release, is an accurate portrayal of New York in the eighties. In many ways it is a sad commentary on life in the Big Apple, if not a cry from the heart on behalf of the suffering citizenry.

It is my understanding too that the sleek Jaguar which carries the agent, McCall, around town sparked a wave of buying of the marque as the show took hold, a much better buy than today's model.

However, I digress. These stories are excellent and remind us of situations which will not be missed. The acting, and plots are generally of extremely high standard in the main although personally, I find the stories involving the son more than a little tedious. All in all though an excellent addition to anyone's collection. Hopefully the powers that be will see fit to add Callan to the future release list.

This was a genuinely enjoyable TV series, far better than the rather unreal 'reality' shows and the over-hyped showcases for mediocre talent that seem to be most of what is being shown today. In particular, the acting was a good step above the usual TV standard, and some real issues were addressed.

Yes, they did change the internal music, generally for the worse--but it's still a good show, and the theme music is still excellent.

Season 1 has been available for two years now. There are enough reviews here for me to assume that quite a few people have bought it, and certainly enough time has passed for the DVD release of at least some of the others to happen in the normal course of things.

So why are the other three seasons not on DVD yet?

Contrary to what a few reviewers have said, in my sample the transfer was well done; the DVDs played flawlessly, and both picture and audio were clear.

If they release it, I will buy.

Great clarity of picture and all-round excellent product.

This product needs better advertising as it is one of the best series ever on TV and many of the issues remain current.

Hope to see the rest of the seasons available soon.

After 20 years, this still remains my favorite show. In many ways, it's hard to see how CBS ever bought into this concept-they certainly wouldn't today. Ex-spy, past 50, overweight, quasi-vigilante, shown in plots with multiple weaves in them and a superb, avant-garde sountrack. Impossible. With all that though, what truly made the show was Robert Lansing. His character, Control, gave the show such a spooky(ok, pun intended) realism with his very intense, yet off-hand outlandishness that it made the whole concept plausible or, at the very least, great fun. I do hope that the entire series gets done and that we might hear from Edward Woodward on some future commentary tracks.