Customer Reviews

Life

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

"Life" is a curious rewrite of the detective show genre, with the potential to be either very good or very bad depending on what the writers do with it. The show itself is really 3 stars, but I'll give it 4 because of Damian Lewis dominating the screen, and will update this review once the series begins and we know more.

In a sentence, the series is about a cop framed for murder who gets exonerated of the crime, gets an awful lot of money for being framed, and goes back to work as a detective. Damian Lewis is a fine choice as the badly scarred Zen-spouting Detective Crews; his utterly quirky (if not bizarre) character may be his best acting job, and could easily replace D'Onofrio's Goren and Shalhoub's Monk as the most interesting cop on television. Lewis can do more with his facial expressions than most actors can shouting, and Crews is a wonderful vehicle for him.

The supporting cast is ok but not in the same league, and it looks like there's already been some recasting with Claudia Black likely replaced as Jennifer Conover, Crews' ex-wife (Jennifer Siebel seems to have taken over her line in the pilot). Sarah Shahi is just as stunningly gorgeous as you'd expect from a Maxim 100 girl as Crews' partner, but seems almost two-dimensional and overwhelmed by Lewis in their scenes together. (Her other scenes are better, and part of the problem is that the character isn't written all that well - the recovering addict set to watch and perhaps trip up Crews is hard to mesh with the straight shooting cop she's periodically asked to play against Lewis.) Adam Arkin has much better chemistry and is solid as Crews' financial advisor/best buddy ex-con. The remainder of the cast (his CO, various other cops, his attorney) don't really have enough scene time early on to tell one way or the other, although unsurprisingly the most solid sequence of the pilot comes with the help of Michael Cudlitz, Band of Brothers' Sergeant "Bull" Randleman, as a very angry inmate whose son's death is the first case for Crews.

The question here is whether or not the potentially interesting underlying frame job plot will get enough play so this doesn't become generic detective show #17193. There are certainly glimmers of hope in the pilot - how they nail the perp is funky, for instance - but there's also some below-average cop show writing here that if continued could easily sink this. It's going to be a very tricky job weaving between the hook of the conspiracy plot and the day-to-day detective work of Crews that could easily make this just another bad cop show.

I'll give it 4 stars in the meantime just for Lewis, and will at least watch a couple more episodes.

I hadn't heard too much about this show (I don't really watch NBC) and wouldn't have even given it a second look if not for the free downloads here on Amazon. I almost didn't bother watching it even with that because a couple of the others free downloads that I watched before were not worth the 43 minutes I invested in them. However, this show looks like it could be great.

The characters have superb potential (you never get 100% in a pilot) and the quirky main character, Charlie Crews, is so different and interesting from the run-of-the-mill cop show. He has the same loveable appeal (for different reasons, of course) as Greggory House, Bobby Goren, and Adrian Monk.

The plot is grabbing (if you enjoy this genre, which I usually do). It appears the writers will tease the viewers throughout the season with an occasional hint at a larger thread about the "conspiracy" that sent him away in the first place, while still showing strong stand alone episodes.

While this show is a drama, there are several humorous moments, mostly dealing with Charlie trying to adjust to the idea of modern technology. Aside from the obvious humor of someone trying to figure out their cell phone and learn internet jargon, there is also an ironic humor from Charlie's zen philosophy of living in the "now" when now is so alien to him. (Maybe I am looking at this too deep, but it struck me as clever.)

Again, I had no plans to tune in to this show before watching, thank you Amazon and NBC for introducing me to what promises to be a worthwhile program!

The pilot episode is pretty much an explanation of what has happened to Crews. However, by the end of the show you see that in addition to solving crimes there is something else going on. It was slow to start but I am looking forward to see where it is going. I really like Tad.

Despite the Monk-like, strange habits exhibited by the Cop-turned-Prisoner-turned-Detective, Charlie, the story provided an excellent synopsis for a cop trying to recapture what he had and then some, while secretly solving his past. I'll give a few more episodes before making any solid commentments, but LIFE is so far, so good.

Finally...a show with an interesting but not forced premise and a strong lead actor. The dynamic between the leads is fun and interesting, the story of why this man came to this horrible point in his life is visual and engaging and it steers far from the 'TV mediocre style' of so much TV. It is told in a straightforward, engaging way. I highly recommend ignoring CHUCK and BIONIC WOMAN...Life is the ticket.

Life is my favorite show of the season.

It is well acted, well written, with a fascinating and original premise.
The show is full of philosophy, i.e. mans search for meaning and justice.

Add to that a couple of beautiful actresses thrown into the mix, and "Life" is a thinking man's perfect show!

03/01/08
I just rewatched all the pre stike episodes this week...
And again, I think this is the best drama of the year and one of the best ever on TV. If you haven't seen this show yet, do yourself a favor and start at the beggining and get addicted like me.

At first I wasn't impressed with the actor playing the lead, but after watching the first ten minutes of the show, I was hooked! This was a great pilot and I cannot wait to see the rest of the series! It is a must watch!

interesting from the start. i am not typcially a fan of any sort of cop show, but this one was so good i cannot wait for the next episode. bought the season pass before it was even half over.

the writing here is particularly good for network tv. this show could easily have been on hbo. i just hope nbc doesnt drop the ball on this one. judging from the rest of the slate available so far, this is the only one that isnt insulting and stupid. indeed its grand, nuanced and wonderful. and as i said, very very smert.

When Amazon offered the free download of NBC shows I immediately focused on Bionic Woman. Yet, of the shows I saw, I like this the best. The premise was original (or felt like it anyway) the actors were great and the show has the potential to becoming one of the most engaging hours on television. I think the lead does a great of job of creating a character you know was damaged by his ordeal, but who is struggling to create a new life. The reality of course is that Charlie has old business that he can't let go of, a new partner with problems of her own, and enemies that don't want him to have a life. The supporting cast is great (Adam Arkin, Brooke Langton and others) and if the entire series can get the balance between Charlie trying to re-adjust (What's an IM?), working that week's case (Charlie's time in prison gives him a unique perspective), and finding out who framed him (the big wall of facts), this show could be a show to watch every week. The danger is that Life will stall, that Charlie will spend the entire series poking around the case of who framed him, never get anywhere and the show and viewers will suffer for it. Yet, I think the creators have a good sense of where they are going. Let hope Life get some time to live.

Though quirky detective has been done, I haven't seen it done like this. I thought it was a good opening. Damian Lewis brings a certain intensity to the main character that makes me wonder what the detective was like before he was convicted. He is interesting to watch. I saw him in Keane a few years ago and look forward to seeing him continue to develop this character. The supporting cast is strong and I see a lot of possibilities for something different. My only complaint was the crime solving was a little to easy and the criminal was not believable to me. If the characters unfold a bit more slowly than the crimes, and the progression to the solutions are a little less straight, I think you have a good series.