Le justicier de l'ombre

WHY oh WHY! was this great programme cancelled?! Such a shame to see this winner pulled from our TV screens . . .

I had heard of the US show only after I had come across it on previous UK TV broadcasts, when I caught only 1 or 2 episodes. And I always wanted to watch it from the start, to get the full effect, plus an introduction to the lead character & a background to the tale. So when it recently arrived on the Freeview TV schedule over here in the UK I gladly started watching it. I am currently still on series 1, but am an avid fan. As yes, I was not let down: it is great.

David Morse is engaging as the quietly cool lead: the taxi driver with a heart of gold. Very warm & reliable. OK, there is nothing new there re the Hero To The Rescue: after all, how many guys have we seen in TV dramas who regularly "save the day"?! And this hero is the ubiquitous "damaged" ex-cop, to boot! ,-) . . .

But any repetition in charactererisation seems negligible. The programme is so well put together as a character-plus-story that any typecasting doesn't matter.

And the concept of a taxi driver as the lead character - the cabbie who sees all sides of the world pass through his cab - is so fresh an idea, that it works a treat.

Plus there is a new angle in the portrayal of the lead as an erstwhile cop who DID slide down onto the dark side, to the detriment of his career. This is is a new - and brave for network TV - twist to the old idea of a damaged-&-divorced ex-cop. This type of lead protagonist is all too often written as wrongly! charged with a crime, who thus - at the back of each episode in their tale - has a running storyline of the character having to prove his or her innocence. In 'Hack' our hero 'Mike Olshansky' is different: he is not only flawed but it was not - in what is a change to the backstory of many TV leads - innocent in this; he did indeed take what wasn't his to take, leading to his Philadelphia police career taking a tumble. A nice fresh tilt for a mainstream US TV drama.

So I was disappointed to find out here at IMDb that the programme only went on for 2 series. After all, we have seen loads of shows produced that are centred on cops, forensic teams, hospital staff, etc., but have never (to my knowledge!) had a show like this, centred upon an ex-cop taxi driver. It was a original & good premise for a long-running show, & could have run & run.

I haven't seen any of series 2 yet, so I don't know if it carries on in its strength or - uh-oh!! - worsens (as, sadly, too many US TV shows now seem to do) but I shall enjoy it in the meantime . . .

And as for the show being cancelled - sigh!! - after changes in the production team led to the ethos of the programme changing after series 1 ended: I maintain the well-known mantra: if it ain't broke don't mend it. I am getting tired of seeing too many good US TV programmes go downhill after a change of horses mid-programme. Changing any TV drama mid-stream ruins the characterisation & continuity. It's like changing a playwright mid-play, so that the theatregoer returns after the interval only to find that he is watching a completely different style of play! ,-D

I am currently on episode 10 . . . right, straight onto episode 11 . . . popcorn at the ready!! :-D

Not a bad show, and David Morse is good in his character. The only issue is that most of the episodes take about 20 minutes to rev-up, that's when they're not arcing a story line. Sometimes it's just ponderously slow. And when the plot does get going, it's suddenly solved. Boom. Like that. They go from figuring it out to the epilogue without busting the guy on camera - he's just suddenly nabbed. Okaaaaay. Run out of money much for the episode? And to the extra whining that his name is not in bold in the credits... when you're an A-Lister, maybe it will be ;)

But like I said, it's a pretty decent show with an interesting premise.

I've been watching this on Netflix streaming as of late. I don't even remember this show while it was on TV, and can't believe it only lasted 2 or 3 seasons. I found the premise to be intriguing and original. The characters are strong and likable. The chemistry between Morse and his son, Morse and his former partner, (Andre Braugher), and even Morse with his estranged wife, make for good sub-plot lines. Oh... and Morse and the Priest (Dzundza.) The main thrust of the show is his vigilante persona, which he pulls off well, with his passengers who are in need. There are some interesting twists at times, as occasionally the passengers in need turn out to be villains, and not the victims. He's human, has flaws... and wrestles with his inner demons, but at least he acknowledges his shortcomings and struggles to make things right. Great shots of Philly, by the way. The viewer can almost taste the flavor of this great city.

The show is now over and gone, but while it was on it was my favorite of all TV shows. I liked David Morse from his movie 'The Crossing Guard'. He plays a somewhat similar role here, in that of a person who has made a regrettable mistake in life and now is somewhat lost and trying Day By Day to find a role in the world and a way forward, a role many of us should be able to relate to. All the shows were wonderful stories of human interest and 'compassion' (Dict: Deep awareness of the suffering of another coupled with the wish to relieve it). I never understood why the show didn't receive better reviews, personally, I would much rather see a program, like this, about people interacting with others, struggling with their problems and trying to help one another, rather than continuous murder and action. I think the writers did an excellent job.

I've seen David Morse do a lot of good work in other movies, but I think the work he did in this series was his best. The character has so many complexities and he was so believable in this part that he was minute to minute uplifting and hopeless. This series must have been before it's time. The story, direction, and characters are outstanding, but it landed in an era that had not yet learned to appreciate these more complex transformational plots and the character David Morse portrayed.

Far from the old action-hero role, his character hangs out in the sinner-redeeming space that most of us identify with more easily. How do people who have suffered a monstrous failure in life and realized they've been a bad father too, recover and find meaning and a reason to go on?

I don't think Morse ever got the praise and acknowledgment he deserved for this work.

But the over-arching creator of this transformational tale is David Koepp. He's a master with a long history of blockbusters and many works that have garnered more acclaim than this TV series. The fact that he hasn't returned to TV that often speaks for the lack of praise and acknowledgement for his work in this medium. Hack was created as a palette for transformational tales for every character on the show - the priest, his wife, his ex-partner, and everyone else he had any meaningful interaction with were transformed by his singular commitment to helping (redemption).

There are certain things that someone like David Koepp just has to do to express the depth of his mastery of his art and I would argue that Hack better than any other work is a showcase for Koepp's mastery, creativity, and sensitivity. I would have easily gone 25 seasons on this masterpiece.