EZ Streets

CBS was the death of this show. Paul Haggis demonstrated true genius in writing and directing this intense, thoughtful drama that came off like a motion picture in every episode. Whatever folks loved about "Wiseguy," Haggis took and raised to the next level, and always presented a thought-provoking portrait of crime, family, broken homes, betrayal, passion, despair, and hope. We were all blessed with the episodes that were made, but gypped forever by the bottom-line networks.

I loved this show when it was on TV 1996-97. Great photography, scripts, acting, music. The series had a movie quality & feel to it, that was rare for TV series of that time period. In summary, it had all that was needed for it to be canceled after a pilot and 9 regular shows. IMDb has listed some info on this program that is incorrect. For example, the pilot ran for two hours. All the other episodes were sixty minutes, except, for some reason, Episode #4 (called "St. Jude Took a Bullet"), which ran for ninety minutes (all including commercials). Please see my comment on the forum for this show, for more info about viewing the episodes, & hearing some of the songs.

OK, so when this show first aired in 2006, it blew me away harder than a pigeon feather at an airshow.

The writing, the acting, the mood created by the amazing cinematography and hypnotic soundtrack (comprised mostly of songs by Canadian artist Loreena McKennitt), everything works so well in this show to create the most amazing television experience ever had. It's better than most movies and the plot lasts for 10 hours! That is, it would have if CBS had actually allowed the show to run its full course!! But low ratings, a bad marketing strategy and short-sighted execs killed it before it had a chance to be recognized (by the public - most critics had already recognized its value, thankfully).

So now the first three episodes of EZ Streets is available in the "Brilliant But Cancelled" DVD series, which I just rented and watched and loved just as much as I did 10 years ago. I will buy this DVD and I suggest that everyone else do the same so that one day, with Paul Haggis' growing popularity, someone will bother releasing the ENTIRE series (only 9 episodes - come on, you can do it!). This gem needs to be appreciated for generations to come, as any such admiration would be well deserved.

There isn't much to say here, except that I agree with just about every user comment on here. This was an exceptional series that hooked me from the very beginning. It is a shame that we were given a taste of the brilliance of "EZ Streets," and then it was taken away from us in the blink of an eye. "What might have been" another comment says. Well quite possibly one of the greatest television series' ever. I am sure there would have been many Emmys, Golden Globes, etc....but we'll never know...we'll never know what might have been.

Updated on 9/15/08: There are a few more things I'd like to say about this series. First, I believe that this was still one of the finest television series' that never got to come to fruition. I also believe that it was ahead of it's time. I honestly believe that if this series had been brought to television today, it would have succeeded. I just don't think that, for whatever reason, people were ready for such gritty, dark, and violent material to occupy a spot in prime time television. Especially on the three main networks. Today Haggis would have had the opportunity to take this show to another network that isn't afraid to push the limits (i.e. FX, Spike T.V., or even HBO). I thought about purchasing the DVDs, but now that I know that there are episodes missing, I think, for the time being, I'll just continue to remember this show the way it was when it first aired. And I'll continue to think about what might have been.

Yeah, I bought my copy yesterday and as I was watching the Pilot, I was remembering the next line to be said, as if no time had passed since the original CBS airing. That's how often I think about this show.

Watched the first 5 minutes of the next episode on the DVD, then angrily ejected the disc... because there's THREE episodes missing!!

Whose BRILLIANT idea was it to place a 3-episode gap on an incomplete DVD compilation for a series with a running storyline, where discontinuity is LETHAL?

That's kinda like the game CBS played when they refused to re-air the first two episodes after an angry public forced them to resurrect EZ Streets from a four-month hiatus!

All the great moments we're missing...

• The "Illusion, Allusion" discussion between Jimmy and Fivers in the burned-out restaurant.

• The "Pop-Up" shower scene with Jimmy and Theresa.

• Theresa getting frisky at church.

• Theresa joyfully waking up, then retrieving her pager from under the covers and returning Jimmy's call... Jimmy: "Why won't you give me your home phone number?" Teresa: "Because I love it when you call me this way."

• The "Dog-face" discussion that ends with Jimmy heaving a glass at Mickey's head: "What kinda dog?"

I could go on...

Oh, and I really want the chance to see if there really IS a mailbox in Theresa's apartment building with the name "B. Fraser"!