Intelligence

I recently stumbled on this show by accident while doing an IMDb search on an actor. Being your typical insular American I had never heard of 'Intelligence' or even the CBC, but I have to say that after watching the first two seasons I am very impressed. Sadly, rumors are that the show has been canceled so I suppose some things about Americans and Canadians are the same; 'The Wire' was never appreciated by viewers here either. The show is an extremely smart (or intelligent; get it? hah hah hah) approach to the world of espionage and organized crime. Shows that I've seen in the past dealing with these topics were most often disappointing in their shallowness and over-simplification of a complex and difficult world. As an example, one of my pet peeves is that often when you watch a show about the CIA you would think that there are exactly 10 people working for the agency. 5 covert operatives and 5 analysts/technical operators. Studio execs will tell you they compress the number of characters so that audiences don't get confused, but to me the whole thing usually just comes off fake. "Meet Joe, he's our computer/linguistic/explosives expert who joined the Navy Seals after getting his Phd's from Harvard and is now a US senator." Fake.

Not so with 'Intelligence'. The show has a large and diverse cast, allowing the show to explore the facets of characters in a more organic way. Of course, a large cast also means some characters you would like to see more of just can't get the screen time you would like but that's the trade off and, in my opinion, it's well worth it.

I've always been fascinated with the spy world, all those secrets within secrets makes for fascinating mental games, and the back story of Canada attempting to create their own international spy ring provides great opportunities for story lines. Add to that the very realistic portrayal of life in a drug kingpin syndicate and there is always plenty of interesting plots developing, often independently, in each episode.

Ian Tracey plays Jimmy Reardon, a weed drug smuggler who has built quite the little empire in Canada. Jimmy has done quite well for his "family", but the difficulties of success are beginning to make his life difficult. His life plays out like that of any successful business exec; constant meetings all day, inept employees, and logistical nightmares of running an organization with hundreds of employees. Contrary to popular images of drug dealers Jimmy is quiet, reasoned, not prone to fits of anger, and prefers to make well informed decisions that avoid violence whenever possible. Eventually, circumstances conspire to bring Jimmy into contact with Mary Spalding, played by Klea Scott.

Mary is, in basic personality, much like Jimmy. Quiet, tough, and highly capable, she is currently running the Canadian Organized Crime Unit, but is being tapped for a leadership position in the newly forming (or organizing, I'm not really sure which) Canadian intelligence service CSIS. Working in an old-boys network along side some of the worst vipers you've ever seen, Mary is a human intelligence specialist. She recruits confidential informants and, soon, spies. Events unfold that allow Mary to recruit Jimmy as what may possibly be the agencies most valuable asset. Occasionally their interests merge and Jimmy and Mary can help one another, though they maintain a careful cat and mouse routine between the two of them, not really trusting the other.

The truly fascinating thing (for me) to watch is how the CSIS agency builds itself into a real force to be reckoned with, and the ethical dilemmas that begin to unfold as they succeed. At first many of Mary's recruits approach her, or are in situations where they can help one another, but as soon as her higher-ups realize she's making it happen specific requests start pouring in and the decisions get harder. The agency begins to resort to blackmail and extortion to accomplish it's tasks. It raises interesting points. The CIA has (often rightly) taken a lot of heat here in the states for its actions in the past, but those same critics want intelligence agencies to be affective in preventing the next domestic attack on our nation. There is a definite moral and ethical trade-off that takes place with effectiveness at some point, and the show does a great job of highlighting that.

I won't bother going into the other characters on the show. As I said, there are a lot of them, but I'll say that most are well created and interesting. The show has enough action to keep the pace up in most episodes and the filming quality is decent though a bit of a step down if you are used to American production values. Definitely worth watching if you get the opportunity.

I taped this show each week, and if I made the mistake of starting to watch the tape when I had other things to do, thinking "I'll just watch the first few minutes", there was no way I could stop. I had to watch the whole thing.

When the credits rolled on the season finale I swore loudly at the screen. I didn't want it to end, especially not at the point that they left it dangling at! Next season promises to be explosive.

"Intelligence" isn't just great character-driven storytelling, it's a fascinating view into the machinery of domestic intelligence-gathering in both Canada and the U.S. as well as the politicking and maneuvering within and between the variou intel organizations and the criminal organizations they're supposed to be monitoring.

But it's not all wiretaps and whispers, it's robberies, assassinations, and gang warfare. Make no mistake, this is exciting crime drama.

The characters are vividly drawn and so believable that I expect to run into them in the street on my next trip to Vancouver. They are textured with flaws and weaknesses, exhibiting flashes of decency and kindness one moment, ruthlessness and cruelty the next. There are no clear heroes or villains. There are sympathetic and repugnant characters on both sides of the law. Sometimes I felt sorry for those I had despised, or I felt betrayed by characters I had trusted. I'm invested in all their stories, and I'm dying to know how they resolve next season!

Hopefully season one goes to DVD shortly. As a tightly-paced serial it will be good to watch all of the episodes back-to-back unbroken by commercials. It would also be an opportunity for many, many more people to get hooked on this show!

I demand an explanation. This show is a winner in every way. A veritable needle in the haystack. Superb character development, convincingly acted, and plausible story lines.I was stunned when I discovered it was cancelled. Such a waste of cinematic acumen. Maybe it got a little too close to the truth.

I will admit that I initially began to watch Intelligence because it starred Ian Tracey but even Tracey wouldn't be able to keep me watching if I didn't like the show. And I haven't missed an episode yet.

Jimmy Reardon (Tracey) is loyal to his family and long time friends while battling an ex-wife for custody of his daughter and business competitors for control of his business. He is hard working man and a loving father. He just happens to be in a different business.

The show is full of twists and turns. I like the way people have ulterior motives - just like in real life. You never who is going to do what next. Or where their actions are going to lead.

Chris Haddock has again served us with an intriguing drama. Even though I am Canadian, it matters less to me that this is Canadian and more that it is a great show.

I came across this old favourite of mine on late night TV today and once again found it a wonderful change from the usual drivel. The plots are well written and character driven; the writer Chris Haddock assumes that viewers have intelligence themselves and writes to entertain adults, not juveniles. I had not intended to stay up so late but could not help myself after just a few minutes into the episode. The acting is excellent and understated and it is that plus the brilliantly complex story lines which drive the show, not bombs, guns and fighting that are so common in most shows. Having said that, when there is action but it is used to drive the plot line, not hide the fact that there isn't one.

It has always puzzled me why this sort of show along with others such as The Border are cancelled prematurely while so much lesser crud survives. Maybe they are just too real and to the point ? Meanwhile Clint Eastwood seems to have found Haddock and uses him to make great movies, so maybe this is more of our Canadian inferiority complex once again asserting itself ? Like Joni Mitchell said "Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got 'til its gone....."