The Equalizer

The Equalizer
Genre	Action Crime Drama Spy fiction Mystery Thriller
Created by	Michael Sloan Richard Lindheim
Starring	Edward Woodward Keith Szarabajka
Opening theme	Stewart Copeland
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	4
No. of episodes	88 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time	48 minutes
Production company(s)	Universal Television
Release
Original network	CBS
Audio format	Monaural
Original release	September 18, 1985 – August 24, 1989

The Equalizer is an American crime drama television series, originally airing on CBS from fall 1985 until late-spring 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 featured English 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 tries to atone for his past by offering, usually free of charge, his services as a troubleshooter, a protector, and an investigator. People in need find him through a newspaper classified ad: "Got a problem? Odds against you? Call the Equalizer. 212 555 4200." When he begins this business in the pilot episode, it is revealed that the nickname "Equalizer" was bestowed on him by another operative by the name of "Brahms", played by 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, delivering justice upon bullies, corrupt police and politicians, hoodlums, mobsters, rapists, racists, murderers, kidnappers, drug dealers, and other "truly deserving" people.^[1] His contacts are also prone to human foibles, ranging from egotism to domestic problems.

Many episodes focus on McCall interacting with "Control" (played by Robert Lansing), the unnamed head of the Manhattan office of the secret organization for which McCall used to work. 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 feature significantly as elements in the plot.

Cast and characters

Notable guest stars

The show had quite a number of notable guest stars, many of whom became major stars within a few years of their appearances. Eight-year-old Macaulay Culkin appeared in one episode as a kidnap victim. Nine-year-old Melissa Joan Hart appeared as a young girl whom McCall protected from her ex-con father. Christian Slater appeared as a high-school student in the episode "Joyride". Kevin Spacey played a corrupt police officer. Ed O'Neill played a doctor in the first season episode "The Children's Song". John Goodman played a single father who was tricked by co-worker Joe Morton into taking part in a robbery. Goodman's frequent co-star Steve Buscemi appeared in the same episode, which marks the first time the two were onscreen together.

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 (unbeknownst to herself) 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, 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 (real-life mother of the aforementioned Ms. Plummer), 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 song was created by composer/performer Stewart Copeland.

Six episodes in the 1988 season were scored by Joseph Conlan.

Episode list

The show ran for four seasons of 22 episodes each. It was initially renewed for a fifth season (causing Keith Szarabajka to turn down a role on Midnight Caller). However the show was later cancelled due to a row between CBS and Universal Studios over the renewal of Murder, She Wrote.^[7]

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, PI 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".

DVD releases

On February 12, 2008, Universal Studios Home Entertainment released Season 1 of The Equalizer on DVD in Region 1 (US only).^[8]

On May 15, 2013, it was announced that Visual Entertainment had acquired the rights to the series in Region 1.^[9] They subsequently released season 2 on DVD on August 26, 2014.^[10][11] 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.^[12] The Equalizer Complete Collection Limited Edition set contains all 88 episodes plus 12 hours of bonus content including CI5: The New Professionals; the last film ever done by Edward Woodward, A Congregation of Ghosts; and The Story of The Equalizer featuring interviews with cast and crew.^[12]

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.^[13] On May 27, 2013, Fabulous Films released The Equalizer: The Complete Collection on DVD.^[14] 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 USA 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.^[15]

Film adaptations

A film starring Denzel Washington in the title role, very loosely based upon the series, was released in September 2014. A sequel film, The Equalizer 2, was released on July 20, 2018.

In other media

• The short-lived Saturday morning TV series Flip! featured The Get-Even Guy, a series of short films which spoofed The Equalizer. Each film starred a teenage boy sporting a trench coat, obviously dyed hair, and an affected British accent; he would lend an assist to hapless youngsters who were being treated less than fairly by various adults...including a high-school gym-class teacher and a video store-clerk. The Get-Even Guy never used a real weapon or seriously injured anyone, but rather employed whatever was at hand to humiliate his adversary...such as an ordinary videocassette, the tape from which was used to hopelessly entangle the dastardly clerk.
• The 2013 movie The Wolf of Wall Street shows opening credits for The Equalizer and a scene with Steve Buscemi when "Mad" Max Belfort (Rob Reiner) receives a phone call in the middle of the episode. Max gets angry because he is a hardcore fan of the show.

See also

• Callan—a TV spy series in which Woodward played a character similar to that of The Equalizer's Robert McCall.
• Man in a Suitcase—another television series about an ex-spy
• Person of Interest—a television show in which an ex–Special Forces soldier and a billionaire attempt to stop crimes before they happen. Shares many similarities to The Equalizer, including the New York setting and a recurring character simply known as Control.
• T.H.E. Cat—a forerunner of the "expert(s) help(s) people in trouble" genre
• Burn Notice—The series focuses on a burned American spy named Michael Westen. Each episode juggles two narratives: the overall series dealing with why he was burned, and individual episodes focusing on the cases he works for clients.
• Vengeance Unlimited—A mysterious stranger helps people in trouble and serves justice on those who are ignored by the law. His fee is $1,000,000 or a promise to do a favor at some time in the future—whatever, whenever, wherever and for however long he needed you—then your debt would be paid in full.
• Stingray—A man named Ray helps those in trouble. All that is known about him is that he advertises surreptitiously in newspapers, ostensibly offering a "'65 black Stingray, for Barter Only To Right Party" and including a telephone number (555-7687). Those wishing to enlist his services, presumably having learned the ad’s real meaning by word of mouth, can call him for help. It is not clear if "Ray" is even his real name, or simply a nickname he has taken on based on the car he drives, the same one described in the advertisement.
• Cobra—An undercover anti-crime agency that provides justice for victims who haven't benefited from the system.
• Sable—A former Olympian wanted for murder masquerades as a successful author while offering his freelance services to help those with insurmountable problems.

References

External links

• The Equalizer on IMDb