Players

I loved this show. And thanks to sharp eyed friends have managed now to record all of it for posterity!

I like my television to be the kick-off-your-shoes-chill-out-on-the-sofa kind. And Players fits the bill perfectly. Great fun, great deceptive plots, three wholly believable leads with great chemistry, a sense of humour. It couldn't have been more tailormade for my enjoyment if it tried.

I kind of like this show. I must admit that I rolled my eyes once or twice when I saw that Ice T was in the lead, knowing that rappers usually aren't the best actors in the business. But I soon noticed that this guy has a appealing quality: he's willing to abandon (partially) his tough-guy gangsta rapper routine and make a jerk of himself.

Something Ice Cube ought to do. Every time I see him, even as a comic relief (Anaconda), he always seems to frown and tough himself up like he's afraid he'll lose his rep in the hood or something. At least Ice T take a few risks, drops the bull, and looking appropriately goofy every know and then and I think that makes him more appealing to a wider range of people. This along with the series clever plots and direction, I can think of worse ways to spend my evening.

Players was gem of a program amongst a sea of muck. The writing was fabulous -- clever, well plotted out, intelligent. The three leads -- John, Ice-T, Costas -- had such superb on-screen chemistry. Despite their obvious physical and personality differences, it wasn't at all hard to believe that these three would have found each other and hooked-up. I especially liked the plotlines which conned the audience as well as the bad guys. There are far too many shows which condescend to the audience instead of drawing it in. Too many shows which assume the audience is either brain-dead or permanently stuck at age thirteen. This show could have been a stupendous hit if the people in charge had not done what they always seem to do -- not advertise, not promote, shift time slots, pre-empt.... Intelligent shows need an audience which can find it week after week. When will the tv execs realize that?

Players was a 90's update of the Sting-like con artist/scam series, which dates back to shows like Mission Impossible and

Switch. The three characters were an interesting mix, and the cons were both complex enough to be believable but simple enough that you didn't sit there later and go, "Huh?" NBC basically under-promoted it and subjected it to frequent pre-emptions in

its Friday time-slot. Boo.

I have to agree with my fellow player: Why did this show get cancelled? Players was the best thing that ever happened to "The Peacock" (NBC). Here we had the perfect blend of comedy and drama a la con...sure the premise has been used before, but this show had undeniable character.

My hats off to the cast and crew of the show. We miss you dearly :)