Customer Reviews

Steven Seagal Lawman: The Complete Season One

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4 star:		(4)
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Tonight I watched my first two episodes of Steven Seagal Lawman and I am hooked. Let me tell you what first grabbed me: Seagal is a REAL person. He has no fluff, no (apparent) plastic surgery, no entourage, and no arrogance. He's a real man, doing a tough job with a fair amount of (well-deserved) celebrity attached to his name. Watching Seagal go through the paces with his deputies is fulfilling and enjoyable, and you feel like you can connect with him.

The second fun part of the show for me is when the suspects recognize him. In one traffic stop in tonight's episode, the two suspects are drunk. The driver says to Steven as he is questioning him, "YOu remind me of Steven Seagal." Steven keeps talking, and the the driver says to his friend, "Doesn't he look just like Steven Seagal?" And then Steven says, "Yeah, I get that a lot." Then he goes back into explaining why they shouldn't drink and drive and what they need to do next. It just adds a little fun to your regular 'COPs' Type program.

And thirdly, Seagal is working in Jefferson Parrish, New Orleans so they cover a lot of ground devastated by Katrina. Seagal and his men were there during the clean-up and have first-hand knowledge to the rebuilding of the areas affected. And they care -- they really care. No fake speeches, just real caring.

Seagal has been a cop for 20 years, and only now is he making it public. He has the skills and his notoriety can be used to bring attention to this area that needs a helping hand and your prayers.

I recommend this program whole-heartedly.

Ellen C Maze, author
A Vampire Tale for the Discerning Reader

A full eight years since his face was last seen in theaters, Steven Seagal returns to the mainstream - not as the star of a high-octane action flick, but as a police officer in his own reality TV series. Needless to say, just about everybody was shocked at this news: critics gnashed their teeth in rage that the Buddhist Bonecrusher was making headlines again, casual viewers wondered how he could have gone from a strict DTV career to primetime TV, and even longtime fans scratched their heads and wondered why they had never heard anything to support their hero's claim that he'd been doing police work for the past twenty years. Counting myself among that last group, I approached the show with both interest and apprehension, hoping for the best but bracing myself for the worst...but luckily, "Lawman" delivered somewhere in the upper stratum of those two extremes. If you're not a fan of Seagal, his TV show won't convert you, but fans ought to line up to see this spectacle.

The premise of the show runs as such: Reserve Deputy Chief Seagal, a fully-sanctioned sheriff of Louisiana's Sheriff's Office, cruises the urban areas of Jefferson Parish after-hours with his team of four fellow officers, investigating reports of violence and drug-dealing while keeping an all-around eye out for law-breaking.

At worst, I expected the series to be a glorified rework of "Cops" - a bait & switch with Seagal getting in on minimal action to keep him out of harm's way. If you absolutely hate the show, it's possible to make a case on both accounts, but if nothing else, "Lawman" is a much more personal series than "Cops". While the majority of the limelight is on Seagal, you get to know his fellow officers enough to put real faces to the show. Extracurricular activities outside of police work take up about half of the screentime: the series also covers Seagal visiting a children's hospital, training his German shepherds, helping a family rebuild their home from hurricane damage, take an ailing officer to an acupuncture clinic, put on a charity concert with his blues band, etc. There's even a particularly insightful scene in the last episode where he discusses scenes of a then-upcoming Dangerous Man with his producer and stunt director. Yes, it's a very look-at-me show, but with Seagal's name in the title, what do you expect?

If you're hoping to see Steven Seagal get into gunfights with gangsters and break their wrists, you're going to be disappointed: that kind of stuff is restricted to his action movies, and Seagal remains professional while on the job. He's very good at pushing handcuffed suspects up against the police car and playing sideseat driver, but truth be told, he doesn't take many risks, and this will probably let down people who were expecting to see a real-life Out for Justice. That's not to say his unit doesn't get into dangerous situations, though: especially in later episodes, drug busts and chases on foot become common with Seagal getting into the mix, and there's even one particularly tense episode wherein he and his crew follow an armed suspect into a bystander's house with guns drawn. Cases of legitimate gravity are also undertaken, like drive-by shootings and an armed robbery that turns into murder. Disappointingly, not all suspects are apprehended...but, in a nice Seagalian touch, almost every suspect/arrestee's profile popup ends with the phrase "They are presumed innocent until guilty". Chuck Norris would never have approved such a disclaimer.

There is some definite silliness to the show: Steven constantly refers to his "extensive background in the martial arts" as a qualification in any situation, gets asked by starstruck arrestees for autographs (this doesn't happen as often as it'd seem, though), wears his bulletproof vest even when it's completely unnecessary... Oh, and who can forget the classic "Seagal-O Vision", in which Steven "can see things for what they are" by having the camera go into slow motion and zoom in on some unsuspecting fellow on the street while the audio slows to a heartbeat; I used to consider this an alternative term for "racial profiling", but since he proves himself to be suspicious of people of all races, I don't have too much of a problem with it. Additionally, nearly all of the over-the-top episode titles are fit for a Seagal action film (e.g. "The Way of the Gun", "To Live or Die", "Ruthless Judgment"); I think that's a nice touch.

The question that ultimately needs answering is "Is he for real?" - is Steven Seagal truly a police officer or is this a big publicity stunt to get his name back in lights? Well, that depends on what you think a real police officer is...and if it's anything like what you've seen in Seagal's theatrical career, then not only are you going to be disappointed but are also seriously deluded. Yes, Steven Seagal does real police work like a real police officer, and sometimes, like life, it's not particularly exciting. It's here where the show spruces things up by having Steven visit local karate studios and feed alligators, therein creating an entertaining balance between a cop show and typical reality TV. Again, if you show up with the intent to bash, you're going to have your opportunities, but as far as real fans are concerned, this is the biggest cause for excitement in Seagal's career in almost a decade. Buy it.

Tonight I watched my first two episodes of Steven Seagal Lawman and I am hooked. Let me tell you what first grabbed me: Seagal is a REAL person. He has no fluff, no (apparent) plastic surgery, no entourage, and no arrogance. He's a real man, doing a tough job with a fair amount of (well-deserved) celebrity attached to his name. Watching Seagal go through the paces with his deputies is fulfilling and enjoyable, and you feel like you can connect with him.

The second fun part of the show for me is when the suspects recognize him. In one traffic stop in tonight's episode, the two suspects are drunk. The driver says to Steven as he is questioning him, "YOu remind me of Steven Seagal." Steven keeps talking, and the the driver says to his friend, "Doesn't he look just like Steven Seagal?" And then Steven says, "Yeah, I get that a lot." Then he goes back into explaining why they shouldn't drink and drive and what they need to do next. It just adds a little fun to your regular 'COPs' Type program.

And thirdly, Seagal is working in Jefferson Parrish, New Orleans so they cover a lot of ground devastated by Katrina. Seagal and his men were there during the clean-up and have first-hand knowledge to the rebuilding of the areas affected. And they care -- they really care. No fake speeches, just real caring.

Seagal has been a cop for 20 years, and only now is he making it public. He has the skills and his notoriety can be used to bring attention to this area that needs a helping hand and your prayers.

I recommend this program whole-heartedly.

It's early 2012 and his new season was supposed to be starting, so what happened since his show is not even listed on A&E's website anymore? Is it because of his new show on reelz channel, maybe but last month A&E's website said new season first week in January. Well, nonetheless season one was very interesting. He seems to bring the say type of style to law enforcement that he does in his movies. Appears to be a decent, fair cop as well since it seems every day on the news cops are getting into trouble for unnecessary force. If you can't trust the police, who can you trust.

Peter J. Miller
peterjoemiller@gmailcom

Great show, looking forward in buying the next season. Got my product in the mail within a matter of days.

I now have all ( I think ) of Steven Seagal's movies. But not untill I got and watched Lawman season one did I get to know Steven as a person . Very interisting . I enjoyed it all three times I watched it .

Didn't expect too much but this DVD / Series, although a great image platform for Steven, is worth watching. It's entertaining, fun, well done and not OTT.

REALLY LIKED LAWMAN WITH STEVEN SEAGAL. HEARD THERE IS A SEASON 2 COMING; CAN'T WAIT
TO SEE THAT! YOU GET TO SEE STEVEN AWAY FROM HIS MOVIE SCENE AND GET A LOOK AT SOME OF HIS PERSONAL LIFE, LIKE HIS HOME AND HIS FRIENDS AND WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT HIM.

DID HEAR THAT HE HAS RESIGNED THOUGH, WHICH REALLY STICKS, BECAUSE I REALLY
LIKED HIS SHOW.

Me and my wife watched the DVD and enjoyed it a lot. I think Steven makes a better actor than a cop. Still it was very interesting and very enjoyable. He is a down home good guy with a big heart. Yes, I would recommend this DVD to others. We did get very good shipping time also.

This is a great series showing you the man (Seagal) as a real life cop. Also an interesting look behind the scenes of the many talents of Steven Seagal and how he helps people in need. A bit slower paced than shows like 'COPS' but very enjoyable.
I hope there's a second season of this show.