The Equalizer

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The Equalizer
Equalizer Titles.
Genre	Action / Crime
Creator(s)	Michael Sloan Michael Lindhelm
Starring	Edward Woodward Robert Lansing Keith Szarabajka et al.
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	88
Production
Running time	60 minutes per episode
Broadcast
Original channel	CBS, Syndicated
Original run	September, 1985 – August, 1989
Links
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

The Equalizer is an American action-adventure television series which initially aired on the CBS Network between 1985 and 1989.

Contents 1 Overview 2 Notable Guest Stars 3 Weapons and gadgetry 4 Criticism 5 Music 6 Episode list 6.1 Season one 6.2 Season two 6.3 Season three 6.4 Season four 7 Trivia 8 Quotes 9 External links

[edit] Overview

The series stars British actor Edward Woodward as Robert McCall, a former CIA agent who tries to atone for past sins by offering, free of charge, his services as a troubleshooter (often literally), a protector, and an investigator. People in need find him through a newspaper ad: "Got a problem? Odds against you? Call the Equalizer." In the pilot episode (as he "opens for business"), we discover that the nickname "Equalizer" was bestowed on him by another operative, played by comedian Jerry Stiller.

Aided by a group of sometimes-mysterious contacts (some of whom date back to his spying days), McCall traverses the streets of New York City, bringing justice to hoodlums, racists, murderers, kidnappers, drug dealers and other truly deserving individuals. His contacts are also prone to human foibles, ranging from egotism to domestic problems.

McCall himself is divorced, a "lost dad" long estranged from his son, Scott (William Zabka from The Karate Kid). Scott comes back into his life as a young adult, at first bitterly judgemental of his father's world, but who becomes drawn into that world to the dismay of both of his parents. McCall also lost a woman he was in love with, and discovers that she had secretly given birth to a daughter by him.

Many episodes focus on McCall performing assignments for "Control" (played by Robert Lansing), the unnamed head of a secret organization for which McCall used to work. In later episodes, Richard Jordan joined the cast as fellow "equalizer" Harley Gage, in order to reduce the workload on Edward Woodward, who suffered a heart attack during production of the series; Robert Mitchum also filled in for Woodward during that time. Most of the time, McCall is aided by Mickey Kostmayer (Keith Szarabajka), who has been more-or-less permanently loaned to him by Control. There were a large number of cameo and occasional appearances by other known stars, but as a general rule the people answering the newspaper ad were unremarkable, average and unknown.

[edit] Notable Guest Stars

The show had quite a number of notable guest stars. 8-year-old Macaulay Culkin appeared in one episode as a kidnap victim, and Christian Slater appeared as a high school student in the episode 'Joyride'. Jon Polito played as a 'mobster' (if that is the closest term) named Carmack, Adam Ant played a villain, and Vincent D'Onofrio appeared twice in the series, the first time as an arsonist. Melissa Sue Anderson also played McCall's daughter by an old girlfriend. Shelby Anderson lended her singing abilities as a lounge singer in a very notable episode that also involved her Giant Panda, ZhenZhen. Additionally Adam Horovitz of the Beastie Boys, John Goodman, Laurence Fishburne, Michael Moriarty, Telly Savalas and many others.

[edit] Weapons and gadgetry

One of the notable weapons McCall uses is a ballistic knife that is capable of launching its blade. This is especially useful when he must surrender his gun to help a client or when his gun is lost in a fight. Other weapons range from pistols to machine guns. McCall's personal weapons cache is hidden behind the tool board on a wall of his apartment's workshop. He may be able to obtain more weapons through a variety of sources (pawn shops, gun shops, the agency, or various contacts).

One feature of "spy genre" shows which was blatantly missing was reliance on unusual gadgetry, disguises and similar diversions. In nearly every case, the hardware was off-the-shelf, commonly available on the open market. In this way, it was unlike most other spy series.

His main weapon however was a silver Walther PPK.

[edit] Criticism

The series was criticized for its level of violence, although the character of McCall was made out to be sympathetic, on more than one occasion expressing regret at having to kill villains. In this respect, combined with the fact that McCall still finds himself under the thumb of the organization he sought to leave, suggests that this series was also strongly influenced by Woodward's similarly-themed series Callan which ran from 1967 to 1972.

In 1987, writer David S. Jackson received an Edgar Award for his script for the second-season episode "The Cup".

[edit] Music

The show's distinctive theme song became a hit for composer/performer Stewart Copeland, founder and drummer of the famous pop/rock New Wave band The Police.

In 1988, I.R.S. Records released the Stewart Copeland album "The Equalizer & Other Cliff Hangers," which featured some of Copeland's Equalizer score. The fourth track, "The Equalizer Busy Equalizing," is an extended version of the show's main theme.

[edit] Episode list

[edit] Season one

#	Title	Initial Broadcast	Synopsis
1	"The Equalizer"	18 September 1985
2	"China Rain"	25 September 1985
3	"The Defector"	2 October 1985
4	"The Lock Box"	9 October 1985
5	"Lady Cop"	16 October 1985
6	"The Confirmation Day"	23 October 1985
7	"The Children's Song"	30 October 1985
8	"The Distant Fire"	6 November 1985
9	"Mama's Boy"	13 November 1985
10	"Bump and Run"	20 November 1985
11	"Desperately"	4 December 1985
12	"Reign of Terror"	11 December 1985
13	"Back Home"	18 December 1985
14	"Out of the Past"	15 January 1986
15	"Dead Drop"	22 January 1986
16	"Wash Up"	29 January 1986
17	"Torn"	5 February 1986
18	"Unnatural Causes"	12 February 1986
19	"Breakpoint"	19 February 1986
20	"No Conscience"	5 March 1986
21	"Unpunished Crimes"	1 April 1986
22	"Pretenders"	8 April 1986

[edit] Season two

1. Prelude
2. Nocturne
3. A community of civilized men
4. Joyride
5. Shades of darkness
6. Nightscape
7. Counterfire
8. The line
9. Tip on a sure thing
10. The cup
11. Heartstrings
12. High performance
13. Beyond control
14. Carnal persuasion
15. Memories of Manon - part 1
16. Memories of Manon - part 2
17. Solo
18. A place to stay
19. Coal black soul
20. First light
21. Hand and glove
22. Re-entry

[edit] Season three

1. Blood and wine - Part 1
2. Blood and wine - Part 2
3. Suspicion of innocence
4. In the money
5. Encounter in a closed room
6. Mission: McCall - Part 1
7. Mission: McCall - Part 2
8. Shadow play
9. Inner view
10. The rehearsal
11. Christmas presence
12. A dance on the dark side
13. The child broker
14. Video games
15. Something green
16. The mystery of Manon - Part 1
17. The mystery of Manon - Part 2
18. No place like home
19. Last call
20. Regrets only
21. Target of choice
22. Always a lady

[edit] Season four

1. The last campaign
2. Sea of fire
3. Riding the elephant
4. Eighteen with a bullet
5. The day of the covenant
6. Splinters
7. The making of a martyr
8. The sins of the father
9. The visitation
10. Past imperfect
11. Trial by ordeal
12. Silent fury
13. Lullaby of darkness
14. 17 Zebra
15. Starfire
16. Time present, time past
17. Prisoners of conscience
18. The caper
19. Heart of justice
20. Race traitors
21. Endgame
22. Suicide squad

[edit] Trivia

• The series was parodied on the popular but short-lived Saturday-morning kids' show Flip! (TV series) with "The Get-Even Guy," an otherwise-nameless teenager in a trench coat with a British accent (affected, of course) who regularly defends hapless youngsters from obnoxious gym-teachers, unscrupulous video-store clerks, and the like.

• In an example of life imitating art: the filming of an episode about wedding reception guests being held hostage had to be paused because there was police action across the street... at a wedding reception.

• During the height of the show's popularity, actor Edward Woodward was often approached on the street by people in need, with situations similar to those depicted in the show. He began carrying flyers with the phone numbers of social services organizations and legal clinics for them to contact. [1]

• McCall is seen to have a dog in the pilot episode, but not in the regular series.

• A monologue from the episode "Sea of Fire" was later used as the premise of the Canadian-made action-adventure series "Matrix". In the episode, McCall scares a gang straight by taking them to the morgue. He introduces them to a hitman, from McCall's old life, who tells of a near-death experience he had where he woke up on a beach next to a sea of fire, surrounded by all the people he had killed and one other who the hitman believes to be God. The pilot episode of "Matrix" dramatized that monologue and used it as its premise.

• Eddie Jones plays Lt. Brannigan, sharing the name with the "antagonist" from the musical Guys and Dolls.

• McCall has a British father and an American mother. Prior to being recruited by the CIA he served with the Special Air Service (SAS) elite special forces of the Royal Navy. (Note that this is a factual error, as the SAS is part of the British Army, not the Royal Navy).

[edit] Quotes

“

When the scales of justice become unbalanced; only one man can set them straight. Edward Woodward is "The Equalizer" - Tag line from the USA Network.

”

[edit] External links

• [2] -A direct link to the theme tune at YouTube.com