The Job

After just two episodes, Denis Leary's "The Job" has become a must-see part of my Wednesday nights.

Perhaps the most remarkable element of the show is Leary's almost ego-free presence at the center. He co-produces, he co-writes, he stars, and yet the character he creates is, unquestionably, a jerk. He's a caustically funny and charismatic jerk, but he's a jerk nonetheless. Leary is quite aware of this, allowing the other characters to call him on his jerkiness; one actually slaps him.

In a strange way, this liberates the show. We know Leary as a star, and we already like him, so the show doesn't feel the need to prop him up as a fake hero. Leary finds all sorts of nuances, demonstrating that he's a much better actor than anyone gave him credit for being. He finds the laughs, of course -- many, many laughs -- but he also finds a measure of pathos and sympathy in this aggressively selfish and self-centered man.

If I have any complaint about the show, it's that it's too short. Half an hour isn't enough time to truly develop the policework, to set up and follow a complex, involving case. In this, the apotheosis of the television police program, "Homicide: Life on the Street," doesn't need to worry about being unseated from its throne as the best damn cop show ever. Leary's "The Job," though, has much of the same energy, the loosey-goosey character-centered approach and gritty realism of "Homicide," and that's high praise indeed.

That, of course, is ABC's cue to cancel the show as soon as possible, as they did with "Sports Night" and other quality programs. Tune into "The Job," and hope ABC lets it live.

It's 20 years since "The Job" aired on ABC and those dimwitted nitwits cancelled this unparalleled brilliant comedy series after 19 perfect pitched episodes. In my wisdom I bought the DVDs and find the show to be as funny and relevant today. Dennis Leary and Peter Tolan never compromised on their vision. The scripts and the jokes are sharp, fast, sophisticated and hilarious. The cast, oh the cast, so perfect, so completely comfortable with themselves in their characters, convey so much in a smirk, an ebrow raised, a flared nostril. This is one of the best comedies ever produced for American TV. An immediate classic. Subsequently, came Leary's "Rescue Me," but the characters did not have the same depth and most too adolescent for my taste. Nothing comes close to "The Job."

I saw the episodes in Austria and I must say that the German production company made a great job using the best dubbing voices for the different characters. It was a funny show with a lot of real-life stories - unfortunately broadcast in Austria after midnight. I also liked "It's Like, You Know..." which also had been canceled after two seasons. The question in both cases is why? But remember: "Star Trek" was a flop at the beginning and no public broadcaster was encouraged enough to buy "Sex and the City" ... So, what remains of "The Job" is a good memory, a couple of episodes on DVD+R and the hope for a future release on DVD.

This short lived half hour lasted for parts of two seasons. It has been called a Sitcom, but was it really? It had no added sound laugh track. It was not filmed in front of a live audience in order to get their reaction. All incidents portrayed, although some what exaggerated, could occur in one of our big cities.

The attitudes and interaction of characters were the greatest source of both the laughs and the heart of the stories. The characters ranged from being manic (Leary's character) to very lazy, as portrayed by the old,kinda paunchy detective. Whereas Leary was high strung and even overloaded in his life, the other guy would avoid work at all costs.

In our favourite episode, the older detective and his partner are wrapped up in trying to dump off a corpse that they think was dragged into their precinct by an equally lazy but highly conniving detective named Fennessey from an adjacent precinct.

Leary's Detective was burning the candle at both ends.He was high strung, edgy. It didn't take much to get his 'Irish' up.(loose his temper) He was married with family, but also had a girlfriend on the side. He exercised to keep in shape, yet was a chain smoker. It looked as though he was headed for a heart attack. It was only a matter of time.

But,alas! The network intervened and we can only wonder what was in store for this Detective Squad. "THE JOB" got the ax and has not been seen in re-runs or video since. It's too bad. A lot of cops* said the series was closer to real life than one would have thought.

* The author (now retired) is a 34 year veteran of the Chicago Police Department.He served his time in some of the most impoverished,crime ridden neighborhoods in the country, as well as in the Central Business District (The Loop). During his career he was assigned to Patrol Division, Traffic Division, Youth Division and The Missing Persons Bureau of The Detective Division.

I am EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED that ABC canceled this hilarious show!!!! This series was unique, funny, and had a wonderful cast which clicked. It was the only show I looked forward to watching whenever it was on the air. I can't believe that ABC, in yet another DUMB move, didn't consider moving the program to a different time slot, or advertised more!!! They really didn't give it a chance. I wish another network, would pick the show up. I hope that in the near future all episodes of "THE JOB" are on DVD. This show was a real classic, and will certainly be missed by myself and countless others!!!!!!