Pilot

Annoying to some. Klea Scott's character ends practically every sentence with the question "yeah?".

It seems like every new show on television is some crime-related, CSI-inspired, Oceans Eleven rip-off. I was thinking about this earlier today before I'd even heard about 'Intelligence'.

I just viewed the 2-hour pilot. As far as Canadian TV goes (actually as American TV, or even as far as movies go) this is good. Better than good. It's real. It's near-perfect. It's about time.

If the series continues to be anywhere near the calibre of the pilot, this show should have a good run, and find a dedicated audience in more than just Canada.

While there were "cliffhanger" moments at every turn, they weren't the unbelievable kind you find in most American shows (see Prison Break, CSI Wherever, Without A Trace). There were no far-fetched plot devices, no heavy-handed jingoistic elements, no "super-heroes", and no unrealistic special effects or sets (ex: the ridiculously blue-lit CSI work environment) to make up for a lack of substance.

The acting of the incarcerated brother was somewhat weak and annoying (yet maybe that just made it more "real"), but other than that, the cast was solid.

It's not often that TV (Canadian, American, or other) gets this good, if it ever has. Intelligence lives up to its name.

Not a bad film. It's nicely shot and well acted. But there's too much going on for a two hour film. I'm still not sure just who was ratting on whom. Nor was any dramatic purpose served by dwelling on the director's philandering husband or establishing the fact that he is black and his paramour is white. It just muddies the waters even more. Even as a Canadian I was confused by what was going on between the Organized Crime Unit (RCMP????) and CSIS. Does anybody outside Canada know what CSIS is and again, the political games between the two agencies do nothing to develop or enhance the plot. And the ending? What was THAT all about? There are some good characters here well portrayed. It's nice to see Vancouver as Vancouver. But the story line is just too cluttered, confusing and complicated.

"Intelligence" involves what happens when a Vancouver dope smuggler, Jimmy Reardon (played by Ian Tracey in his first leading role in years), gets his hands on the files of informants for the local Organized Crime Unit. The OCU's chief, Mary Spalding (played by Klea Scott), is being headhunted by CSIS. She is anxious to recruit Reardon as a high-level informant while also wanting the files back with no harm done to any of the informants. But her scuzzy second in command, Ted Altman (played by Matt Frewer), is equally anxious to bring her down and save his own job after losing said files to a car thief. His underhanded methods lead to ugly things even as Reardon and Spalding forge a tentative alliance.

While it's no secret that this is a potential TV-movie pilot for CBC, the final product is a full-fledged feature film that makes recent British and American cinema thriller offerings look pathetic. The usual subtle Canadian acting and cynical writing pair up nicely with better-than-usual production values. Vancouver, as itself and not some other city, looks great.

Since this comes from Haddock Entertainment, a huge number of actors and actresses from Da Vinci's Inquest show up. My favorite was a cameo by Alex Diakun as one of Reardon's employees. Matt Frewer struggles a bit with his role, though, since Altman is unfortunately the weak link in the chain, one of Haddock's now just about patented paper-thin bad guys with no realistic motivation. This makes the cliff-hangerish ending more annoying than necessary.

Ian Tracey and Klea Scott, however, both finally get the roles that they deserve as leads and not back-ups to pretty people who can't act. Reardon and Spalding have a fascinating, almost Renaissance Italian, relationship--two great magnates who are inherently good, but are trapped in a dark world that worships ruthlessness. Both of them have underlings who constantly urge them to commit cold and vicious acts, just to show that they aren't "soft". Yet, it's the tough refusal of each one to sink to that lowest moral level that establishes an immediate common ground between them as soon as they meet.

I sincerely hope that the film's makers get their funding for a series, because there is a great deal here to explore. As the Canadians like to say, "It's all good."