The Equalizer
The Equalizer is an American crime drama television series, originally airing on CBS from September 18, 1985 to August 24, 1989. It starred Edward Woodward as a retired intelligence agent with a mysterious past, who uses the skills from his former career to exact justice on behalf of innocent people who are trapped in dangerous circumstances. The series combined elements of the spy, private investigator/police procedural, and vigilante genres.
Series plot elements
The series starred British actor Edward Woodward as Robert McCall, a former covert operations officer of an unnamed US government intelligence organization, which was often referred to simply as "The Agency" or "The Company", who tried to atone for his past by offering, usually free of charge, his services as a troubleshooter, a protector, and an investigator.People in need found him through a newspaper classified ad: "Got a problem? Odds against you? Call the Equalizer: 212 555 4200." When he began this business in the pilot episode, it was revealed the nickname "Equalizer" was bestowed on him by an operative named "Brahms", played by Jerry Stiller.
Aided by a group of sometimes-mysterious contacts, some of whom dated back to his spying days, McCall traversed the streets of New York City, delivered justice upon bullies, corrupt police and politicians, hoodlums, mobsters, rapists, racists, murderers, kidnappers, drug dealers, and other "truly deserving" people. "Please do not do anything you will never live to regret," he tells one villain.
His contacts were also prone to human foibles, that ranged from egoism to domestic problems.
Many episodes focused on McCall interacting with "Control", the unnamed head of the Manhattan office of the secret organization which McCall used to work for. As a general rule, however, the people answering the newspaper ad were unremarkable, average, and unknown.
McCall's car, weapons, and other gadgetry at times featured significantly as elements in the plot.
Cast and characters
Main
- Edward Woodward as Robert McCall: A veteran operative of The Company who becomes disillusioned with sacrificing ordinary people for the perceived greater good. He quits and takes out a newspaper advert offering his services to those who need it as The Equalizer. McCall himself is divorced, a "lost dad" long estranged from his son, Scott. Scott comes back into his life as a young adult who is at first bitterly critical of his father's world, but then becomes drawn into that world to the dismay of both of his parents. McCall also lost a woman he was in love with, a fellow operative named Manon Brevard, and discovers that she had secretly given birth to his daughter Yvette. McCall appears to be independently wealthy, as although he almost never takes payment for his work, he owns a high-end apartment, is always well dressed and drives a Jaguar XJ6 car. He enjoys classical music, fine wine and dining and is occasionally seen dating and trying to live a "normal" life, only for work or his past to get in the way. His father, William, was a British Army officer; he was killed in Egypt in 1952 when McCall was 19 and also an army officer. His mother was American, a working class entertainer and his father was disinherited by his family and shunned by his regiment for seen to be marrying beneath himself. McCall had a strained relationship with his father whom he blamed for remaining overseas and leaving him at boarding school whilst his mother was dying. He was also guilt-ridden at his various actions during the Cold War, notably helping to establish the dictatorship in Chile and working with South Africa's Apartheid regime in Angola. Woodward was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Actor in a Drama series four years in a row for his performance, but never won, and was also nominated in 1986 and 1987 for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama, winning in 1986.
- Keith Szarabajka as Mickey Kostmayer : A former Navy SEAL, who was in the brig for a crime he didn't commit until McCall cleared him and recommended he join The Company. Often seen surveilling suspects or protecting witnesses. Always laconic, he is from Houston, Texas of Polish/American origin and served in Cambodia during the Vietnam War, claiming to have stayed awake during one mission for 96 hours straight. He is seen to enjoy fishing in his free time, is a fan of the Knicks basketball team and bubble-gum and builds models out of matchsticks. His brother is a priest, also in the city, and needs the help of McCall and Mickey in one episode. While McCall is almost always dressed in a suit, Mickey is usually seen in jeans and wearing a watch cap and army overcoat. A black Dodge van is his usual mode of transport.
Recurring
- Robert Lansing as Control. A contemporary of McCall's in The Company who has risen to a senior rank; he and McCall are usually friendly, although at times Control's focus on the mission causes friction with McCall's desire to avoid collateral damage. Although McCall does not always agree with Control's methods, he usually helps his old friend when younger and even more ruthless agents try to force him out. For his part Control allows McCall to utilize Company men like Mickey, Jimmy and Sterno provided they are not on assignment. Known for his trademark bowties.
- Mark Margolis as Jimmy. Another company veteran and an expert in surveillance. Usually brought in by McCall when high tech bugs or wiretaps are required. He is divorced and almost always has a story about his ex-wife to tell McCall. Abandoned by his father at age 6 Jimmy is part of the Big Brother project, mentoring troubled kids.
- William Zabka as Scott McCall. McCall's estranged son when the series begins, their growing relationship is one of the recurring themes throughout the series. Scott is an accomplished musician but is drawn more and more deeply in to his Father's world as the series progresses. Scott also knows of the kinship between himself, Yvette, and their father...although McCall has sworn him to secrecy.
- Chad Redding as Sgt. Alice Shepard. An NYPD detective who often assists McCall, recognizing that he can take action where she cannot.
- Richard Jordan as Harley Gage. Another disillusioned Company veteran, Gage was brought in by Richard Dyson to track down McCall when he goes missing in "Mission McCall", and ends up staying on and helping people with McCall. This was done to lighten the load on Woodward after he suffered a heart attack, although Keith Szarabajka was featured in only 5 of the episodes with Jordan.
- Maureen Anderman as Pete O'Phelan. The widow of a former colleague of McCall's, and a former operative herself. She owns a bar that McCall and Mickey frequent, and also helps out with their missions from time to time.
- Ron O'Neal as Lt. Isadore Smalls. An NYPD Detective who assists McCall.
- Irving Metzman as Sterno. Another Company man, specializing in computers and finance. He is often seen eating, particularly fast food, which generally annoys McCall's more refined tastes.
- Steven Williams as Lt. Jefferson Burnett. An NYPD detective in the first season, who is aware of McCall's past and is initially distrustful of him.
- Ray Baker as Dana, an agent of The Company who occasionally aids McCall in his investigations. Jovial, generous and good hearted he is nonetheless an expert in the seedier side of New York life with an comprehensive knowledge of the city's sex industry.
Notable guest stars
Stewart Copeland, who composed the show's theme song and much of its music, made a cameo as a pickpocket. Vincent D'Onofrio appeared twice in the series, playing the arsonist son of a mobster in his first appearance, and a mentally-challenged man falsely accused of murder in his second. Adam Ant played a villain in an episode that also featured J.T. Walsh, David Alan Grier, Lori Petty and Luis Guzman. Adam Horovitz of the Beastie Boys made a rare acting appearance in an episode alongside Alex Winter. Bradley Whitford appeared as a brutal young thug whose terrorizing of a hitch-hiking young couple leads to a siege of the weaponless McCall and his son who are away on a father-son weekend. Melissa Sue Anderson played McCall's daughter by an old girlfriend; in real life, Anderson was, and is the wife of series co-creator Michael Sloan. Frank Whaley, Sam Rockwell, and Jerry O'Connell appeared in the same episode as members of a teen robbery gang. Shelby Anderson lent her singing ability as a lounge singer in an episode that also involved her giant panda, ZhenZhen. Singer Vitamin C appeared in two episodes under her real name, Colleen Ann Fitzpatrick.
Other well-known stars at the time, as well as future stars, who appeared on the show included Robert Mitchum, Telly Savalas, Maureen Stapleton, E. G. Marshall, Laurence Fishburne, Jane Kaczmarek, Lauren Tom, Patricia Clarkson, Jennifer Grey, Reginald VelJohnson, Quentin Crisp, Laurie Metcalf, Frances Fisher, Oliver Platt, Patricia Richardson, William H. Macy, Robin Curtis, Roma Maffia, Olympia Dukakis, Michael Moriarty, Chris Cooper, Michael Rooker, David Strathairn, Charles S. Dutton, Cynthia Nixon, Bruce Payne, Laura San Giacomo, Kasi Lemmons, Al Leong, Ving Rhames, Amanda Plummer, Daniel Davis, Jon Polito, Jasmine Guy, Mark Linn-Baker, Meat Loaf, Lori Loughlin, Michael Wincott, Tony Shalhoub, Anthony Zerbe, Michael Cerveris, Giancarlo Esposito and the singing duo of Ashford and Simpson.
The series also made good use of its New York City filming location/setting by employing actors who were appearing on Broadway in the late 1980s as guest stars. These included Terrence Mann, Frances Ruffelle, Kevin Conway, J. Smith-Cameron, Philip Bosco, Caitlin Clarke, Josef Sommer, Jim Dale, Christine Baranski, and Anne Twomey.
Additionally, several former stage, and screen co-stars of Edward Woodward appeared on the show. These included Brian Bedford, Tammy Grimes, Gwen Verdon, Sandy Dennis, Jenny Agutter, Shirley Knight, and Sylvia Sidney. Harvard-educated Shakespearean theatre, Broadway stage, screen and film actor Richard Jordan appeared as the character Harley Gage in 10 episodes.
Woodward's second wife, Michele Dotrice, appeared as the central character in the season 2 episode, "Heartstrings". Her father, Roy Dotrice, also guest-starred on the show in season 4's "Trial By Ordeal". Edward Woodward's son, actor Tim Woodward, appeared as McCall's father in a flashback scene in the episode "Prisoners of Conscience", also in season 4.
Music
The show's theme music was created by composer/performer Stewart Copeland. The track is called ‘Busy Equalizing’. An extended version appears on his album The Equalizer and Other Cliff Hangers.Six episodes in the 1988 season were scored by Joseph Conlan and the final season was scored by Cameron Allan.
Episode list
The show ran for four seasons of 22 episodes each. It was initially renewed for a fifth season. However, the show was later canceled due to a row between CBS and Universal Studios over the renewal of Murder, She Wrote.In The Story of The Equalizer, created for the DVD box set, executive producer Coleman Luck also stated that Universal requested a script for a crossover episode with Magnum, P.I. despite the objections of the crew due to the vastly different tones of the two shows. Ultimately, the crossover did not happen and the episode was re-written as "Beyond Control".
Reception
After the broadcast of the first episode in September 1985, the show received mixed reviews. Critic Tom Shales wrote in The Washington Post that "to judge from this very attractively atmospheric premiere could become a welcome guest in many an American home". However, for People, Jeff Jarvis wrote "The plot’s confusing and the show’s as erratic as a pacemaker on low batteries".Home media
On February 12, 2008, Universal Studios released Season 1 of The Equalizer on DVD-Video in Region 1.On May 15, 2013, it was announced that Visual Entertainment had acquired the rights to the series in Region 1. They subsequently released season 2 on DVD on August 26, 2014. Season 3 was released on October 25, 2014, followed by season 4 on November 24, 2014.
Visual Entertainment also released a limited edition complete series set on DVD on August 19, 2014. The Equalizer Complete Collection Limited Edition set contains all 88 episodes plus 12 hours of bonus content including ; the last film ever done by Edward Woodward, A Congregation of Ghosts; and The Story of The Equalizer featuring interviews with cast and crew.
In Region 2, Universal Playback UK released season 1 on DVD on April 21, 2008. In late 2011, Fabulous Films announced that they had acquired the rights to the series. They have subsequently released seasons 2–4. On May 27, 2013, Fabulous Films released The Equalizer: The Complete Collection on DVD. This 24-disc box set contains all 88 episodes of the series as well as bonus content including an all-new documentary featuring interviews with cast and crew.
Many fans have noted that the Region 1 version has had several of the originally used songs replaced. In actual fact nearly 50 per cent of all music apart from the theme, and scoring by Stewart Copeland has been replaced by "covers" due to expired music licensing agreements, and the costs which would be incurred in the US to have the licensing renewed. In contrast, the Region 2 version contains all of the original music intact.
In Region 4, Umbrella Entertainment has released all four seasons on DVD in Australia.
Adaptations
Film
A film starring Denzel Washington in the title role, very loosely based upon the series, was released in September 2014. It was followed by a sequel, The Equalizer 2, which was released on July 20, 2018. Melissa Leo, who was a guest star in "The Defector," the third episode of the TV series, appears in both movies.2020 television series
On November 2019, CBS announced that a reboot is in development with Queen Latifah in the lead role as Robyn McCall. Andrew Marlowe and Terri Miller will serve as showrunners with Latifah herself as an executive producer. On January 27, 2020, CBS issued a pilot order for the new version.The series was among the 14 pilots ordered by CBS in February 2020 and was fast tracked to series the following March, as they are unable to film their pilots where Universal Television was shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
On May 8, 2020, CBS picked up the series and they added Chris Noth as William Bishop, a quirky ex-CIA director is the opposite of Latifah.