The Equalizer (1985 TV series)

This article is about the TV show. For the professional wrestler, see Bill Dannenhauer. For the NFL Films song, see Sam Spence. For the pistol, see Colt Single Action Army.

The Equalizer
Equalizer Titles.
Created by	Michael Sloan Richard Lindheim
Starring	Edward Woodward Robert Lansing Keith Szarabajka
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	4
No. of episodes	88 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time	60 minutes per episode
Original release
Network	CBS
Release	September 18, 1985 – August 24, 1989

The Equalizer is an American television series that ran for four seasons, initially on CBS, between 1985 and 1989. It stars Edward Woodward as a middle aged retired intelligence officer with a mysterious past who helps people in trouble. The show mixes ingredients from popular spy films and private investigator shows with violent realism.

Overview

The series stars British actor Edward Woodward as Robert McCall, a former covert operations officer of an unnamed U.S. Government intelligence organization, which was often referred to simply as "The Agency" or "The Company" (it is implied that it is the CIA), who tries to atone for past sins by offering, free of charge, his services as a troubleshooter (often literally), a protector, and an investigator. People in need find him through a newspaper ad: "Got a problem? Odds against you? Call the Equalizer. 212 555 4200". In the pilot episode (as he "opens for business"), we discover that the nickname "Equalizer" was bestowed on him by another operative, played by American comedian Jerry Stiller.

Aided by a group of sometimes-mysterious contacts (some of whom date back to his spying days), McCall traverses the streets of New York City, visiting justice upon hoodlums, rapists, racists, murderers, kidnappers, drug dealers, and other "truly deserving" people. His contacts are also prone to human foibles, ranging from egotism to domestic problems.

McCall himself is divorced, a "lost dad" long estranged from his son, Scott (William Zabka from The Karate Kid). Scott comes back into his life as a young adult who is at first bitterly critical of his father's world, but who becomes drawn into that world to the dismay of both of his parents. McCall also lost a woman he was in love with named Manon Brevard and discovers that she had secretly given birth to his daughter.

Many episodes focus on McCall interacting with "Control" (played by Robert Lansing), the unnamed head of the New York office of the secret organization for which McCall used to work. In later episodes Richard Jordan joined the cast as fellow "equalizer" Harley Gage in order to reduce the workload on Edward Woodward, who suffered a heart attack in 1987. Gage is a "retired" intelligence operative and former colleague of McCall's. Robert Mitchum also filled in for Woodward during that time. Mitchum portrayed Richard Dyson a former assistant director of the Agency who retired but was a friend and colleague of McCall's. Most of the time, McCall was aided by Mickey Kostmayer (Keith Szarabajka), a much younger agent who was more or less permanently lent to him by Control when Kostmayer wasn't overseas on assignment, and by Jimmy (Mark Margolis), a former colleague of McCall's who was often called on to either get information on a suspect or to do various favors. As a general rule, however the people answering the newspaper ad were unremarkable, average, and unknown.

McCall's primary car was a Satin Black 1984 Jaguar XJ6 Series III. His car was upgraded to a 1986 model (third brake light) and later to the new 1988 body.

Notable guest stars

The show had quite a number of notable guest stars, many of whom became major stars within a few years of their appearances. Eight-year-old Macaulay Culkin appeared in one episode as a kidnap victim. Nine-year-old Melissa Joan Hart appeared as a young girl whom McCall protected from her ex-con father. Christian Slater appeared as a high-school student in the episode "Joyride". Kevin Spacey played a corrupt police officer. Reginald VelJohnson appeared as a D.J. John Goodman played a single father who was tricked by co-worker Joe Morton into taking part in a robbery. Stewart Copeland, who composed the show's theme song and much of its music, made a cameo as a pickpocket. Vincent D'Onofrio appeared twice in the series playing the arsonist son of a mobster in his first appearance and as a mentally-challenged man falsely accused of murder in his second. William Converse-Roberts appeared twice, first as the murderer in D'Onofrio's second appearance and later as a widower out to silence a gun control advocate after his wife was raped and killed in front of him. Adam Ant played a villain in an episode that also featured J. T. Walsh, Dermot Morgan, David Alan Grier, Lori Petty, and Luis Guzman. Adam Horovitz of the Beastie Boys made a rare acting appearance in an episode alongside Alex Winter. Bradley Whitford appeared as a brutal young thug whose terrorizing of a hitch-hiking couple leads to a siege of the weaponless McCall and his son who are away on a father-son weekend. Melissa Sue Anderson played McCall's daughter by an old girlfriend. Shelby Anderson lent her singing ability as a lounge singer in an episode that also involved her giant panda, ZhenZhen.

Other well-known stars at the time, as well as future stars, who appeared on the show included E.G. Marshall, Laurence Fishburne, Lauren Tom, Patricia Clarkson, Jennifer Grey, Laurie Metcalf, Oliver Platt, Patricia Richardson, William H. Macy, Robin Curtis, Steve Buscemi, Roma Maffia, Olympia Dukakis, Michael Moriarty, Chris Cooper, Michael Rooker, David Strathairn, Charles S. Dutton, Cynthia Nixon, Bruce Payne, Laura San Giacomo, Kasi Lemmons, Al Leong, Ving Rhames, Amanda Plummer, Daniel Davis, Jon Polito, Jasmine Guy, Mark Linn-Baker, Meat Loaf, Lori Loughlin, Michael Wincott, Tony Shalhoub, Anthony Zerbe, and Stanley Tucci.

The series also made good use of its New York City setting by employing actors who were appearing on Broadway in the late 1980s as guest stars. These included Terrence Mann, Frances Ruffelle, Kevin Conway, J. Smith-Cameron, Philip Bosco, Caitlin Clarke, Josef Sommer, Jim Dale, Christine Baranski, and Anne Twomey.

Additionally, several former stage and screen co-stars of Edward Woodward appeared on the show. These included Brian Bedford, Tammy Grimes (real-life mother of the aforementioned Ms. Plummer), Gwen Verdon, Sandy Dennis, Jenny Agutter, Shirley Knight, and Sylvia Sidney. Harvard-educated Shakespearean theatre, Broadway stage, screen, and film actor Richard Jordan appeared as the character Harley Gage in 10 episodes.

Woodward's second wife, Michele Dotrice, appeared as the central character in the season 2 episode, "Heartstrings". Her father, Roy Dotrice, also guest starred on the show in season 4's "Trial By Ordeal". Edward Woodward's son, actor Tim Woodward, appeared as McCall's father in a flashback scene in "Prisoners of Conscience", also in season 4.

Weapons and gadgetry

One of the notable weapons McCall uses is a ballistic knife that is capable of launching its blade. This is especially useful when he must surrender his gun to help a client or when his gun is lost in a fight. Other weapons range from pistols to machine guns. McCall's personal weapons cabinet is hidden behind the tool board on a false wall of his apartment's workshop / photography studio. He may be able to obtain more weapons through a variety of sources (pawn shops, gun shops, the Agency, or various contacts).

McCall's main weapon was a stainless steel Walther PPK/S with rubberized Pachmayr grips in .380 ACP caliber, an overt link to the spy genre and Ian Fleming's James Bond. In some episodes, McCall used also a Desert Eagle pistol, as well as the venerable Colt M1911A1 pistol in .45 ACP. McCall was also seen using M1 Carbine and UZI-type weapons, such as the regular SMG and the pistol version. In three episodes, McCall was seen using an expensive Mauser 660 bolt action rifle with a telescopic sight, for more accurate work.

Music

The show's distinctive theme song became a hit for composer/performer Stewart Copeland, founder and drummer of rock band The Police. He was an appropriate choice, as both of his parents had intelligence connections. His father, Miles Copeland, Jr. was one of the founding members of the Office of Strategic Services, the World War II predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency, while his mother, Lorraine Copeland, worked with British military intelligence during that war.

In 1988, I.R.S. Records released the Stewart Copeland album The Equalizer & Other Cliff Hangers, which featured some of Copeland's Equalizer score. The fourth track, "The Equalizer Busy Equalizing", is an extended version of the show's main theme.

The original theme can be found on Television's Greatest Hits Vol.7-Cable Ready CD.

Episode list

Main article: List of The Equalizer episodes

DVD releases

On February 12, 2008, Universal Studios Home Entertainment released Season 1 of The Equalizer on DVD in Region 1 (US only).

In Region 2, Universal Playback UK released season 1 on DVD on April 21, 2008. In late 2011, Fabulous Films announced that they had acquired the rights to the series. They subsequently released season 2 & 3 on DVD during 2012. Season 4 was released on October 29, 2012.

Many fans have noted that the Region 1 version has had several of the originally used songs replaced. The Region 2 version, however, contains all of the original music uncut and intact.

In Region 4, Umbrella Entertainment has now released all four seasons on DVD in Australia. The fourth and final season was released on November 7, 2012.

DVD Name	Ep#	Release dates
		Region 1	Region 2	Region 4
The First Season	22	February 12, 2008	April 21, 2008	March 9, 2011
The Second Season	22	N/A	March 26, 2012	April 4, 2012
The Third Season	22	N/A	October 1, 2012	August 1, 2012
The Fourth Season	22	N/A	October 29, 2012	November 7, 2012

Film adaptation

In June 2010 it was announced that Russell Crowe was looking to bring The Equalizer to the big screen, with Crowe himself attached to play Robert McCall.

In December 2011, it was reported that Denzel Washington is set to star in the title role of the film version, to be financed by Sony Pictures Entertainment and Escape Artists. Director Antoine Fuqua came on board to direct on March 21, 2013, reuniting the two from their successful collaboration on their 2001 Oscar-winning film Training Day.

See also

• Burn Notice—another television show in which an ex-spy helps those in need
• Person of Interest—a television show in which an ex-spy attempts to stop crimes before they happen

External links

• The Equalizer at IMDb
• Template:Tv.com show
• The Equalizer Intro at YouTube
• Coleman Luck—the official Web page of The Equalizer's writer and producer