The Equalizer
Encyclopedia
The Equalizer is an American television series that ran for four seasons, initially on CBS
, between 1985 and 1989. It starred Edward Woodward
as an aging New York
vigilante
with a mysterious past. The show mixed ingredients from popular spy films and private investigator shows with violent realism.
as Robert McCall, a former secret agent
of an unnamed organization, which was often referred to simply as "The Agency" or "The Company", 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, at first bitterly judgmental 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 performing assignments for "Control" (played by Robert Lansing
), the unnamed head 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
during the series. Robert Mitchum
also filled in for Woodward during that time. 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. There were a large number of cameo and occasional appearances by other known stars including Mark Margolis
(who played another friend of McCall's), but as a general rule 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.
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—the first time as an arsonist, and the second time as a mentally challenged young man, while William Converse-Roberts appeared twice, once as a murderer trying to save himself from prison by killing D'Onofrio's character 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
, 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 future stars who appeared on the show included 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
, 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 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.
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 cache is hidden behind the tool board on a wall of his apartment's workshop. 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. 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 accuracy work.
, 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.
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 Region 4, Umbrella Entertainment
released season 1 on DVD on March 9, 2011.
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.
Despite reasonable sales of the first season, there has been no word to date regarding DVD release of the remaining seasons.
was looking to bring The Equalizer to the big screen, with Crowe himself attached to play Robert McCall.
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, between 1985 and 1989. It starred Edward Woodward
Edward Woodward
Edward Albert Arthur Woodward, OBE was an English stage and screen actor and singer. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art , Woodward began his career on stage, and throughout his career he appeared in productions in both the West End in London and on Broadway in New York...
as an aging New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
vigilante
Vigilante
A vigilante is a private individual who legally or illegally punishes an alleged lawbreaker, or participates in a group which metes out extralegal punishment to an alleged lawbreaker....
with a mysterious past. The show mixed ingredients from popular spy films and private investigator shows with violent realism.
Overview
The series stars British actor Edward WoodwardEdward Woodward
Edward Albert Arthur Woodward, OBE was an English stage and screen actor and singer. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art , Woodward began his career on stage, and throughout his career he appeared in productions in both the West End in London and on Broadway in New York...
as Robert McCall, a former secret agent
Secret Agent
Secret Agent is a British film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, loosely based on two stories in Ashenden: Or the British Agent by W. Somerset Maugham. The film starred John Gielgud, Peter Lorre, Madeleine Carroll, and Robert Young...
of an unnamed organization, which was often referred to simply as "The Agency" or "The Company", 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
Jerry Stiller
Gerald Isaac "Jerry" Stiller is an American comedian and actor.He spent many years in the comedy team Stiller and Meara with his wife Anne Meara...
.
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
William Zabka
William Michael "Billy" Zabka is an American actor, screenwriter, director and producer. He is an Academy Award Nominee for Co-Writing and Producing the film, "MOST." Zabka is best known for his villain roles in several iconic 80s films, such as his role of Johnny Lawrence in 1984's The Karate...
from The Karate Kid). Scott comes back into his life as a young adult, at first bitterly judgmental 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 performing assignments for "Control" (played by Robert Lansing
Robert Lansing (actor)
Robert Lansing was an American stage, film and television actor.Born in San Diego, California as Robert Howell Brown, he reportedly took his acting surname from the state capital of Michigan. As a young actor in New York City, he was hired to join a stock company in Michigan, but was told he would...
), the unnamed head of the secret organization for which McCall used to work. In later episodes, Richard Jordan
Richard Jordan
Richard Jordan was an American stage, screen and film actor. A long-time member of the New York Shakespeare Festival, he performed in many Off Broadway and Broadway plays...
joined the cast as fellow "equalizer" Harley Gage, in order to reduce the workload on Edward Woodward, who suffered a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
during the series. Robert Mitchum
Robert Mitchum
Robert Charles Durman Mitchum was an American film actor, author, composer and singer and is #23 on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest male American screen legends of all time...
also filled in for Woodward during that time. Most of the time, McCall was aided by Mickey Kostmayer (Keith Szarabajka
Keith Szarabajka
Keith Szarabajka is an American actor and voice artist.-Early life:Szarabajka was born in Oak Park, Illinois, the son of Anne, a school teacher, and Edward Szarabajka, a savings and loan officer....
), a much younger agent who was more or less permanently lent to him by Control. There were a large number of cameo and occasional appearances by other known stars including Mark Margolis
Mark Margolis
Mark Margolis is an American actor who has been making films since 1976.Margolis went to Temple University briefly before moving to New York City, where he studied drama with Stella Adler and at the Actors Studio...
(who played another friend of McCall's), but as a general rule 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 CulkinMacaulay Culkin
Macaulay Carson Culkin is an American actor. He became widely known for his portrayal of Kevin McCallister in Home Alone and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. He is also known for his roles in Richie Rich, Uncle Buck, My Girl, The Pagemaster, and Party Monster...
appeared in one episode as a kidnap victim. Nine-year-old Melissa Joan Hart
Melissa Joan Hart
Melissa Joan Catherine Hart is an American actress, writer, television director, television producer, singer and businesswoman...
appeared as a young girl whom McCall protected from her ex-con father. Christian Slater
Christian Slater
Christian Michael Leonard Slater is an American actor. He made his film debut with a small role in The Postman Always Rings Twice before playing a leading role in the 1985 film The Legend of Billie Jean...
appeared as a high-school student in the episode "Joyride". Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey, CBE is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and crooner. He grew up in California, and began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, before being cast in supporting roles in film and television...
played a corrupt police officer. Reginald VelJohnson
Reginald VelJohnson
Reginald VelJohnson is an American actor of film, stage and television, well known for his role as Carl Winslow on the sitcom Family Matters, where he was the only cast member to appear in every single episode. He also portrayed LAPD Sgt...
appeared as a D.J. John Goodman
John Goodman
John Stephen Goodman is an American film, television, and stage actor. He is best known for his role as Dan Conner on the television series Roseanne for which he won a Best Actor Golden Globe Award in 1993, and for appearances in the films of the Coen brothers, with prominent roles in Raising...
played a single father who was tricked by co-worker Joe Morton
Joe Morton
Joseph Thomas "Joe" Morton, Jr. is an American stage, television, and film actor.-Early life:Morton was born in The Bronx, a borough of New York City, New York. He is the son of Evelyn, a secretary, and Joseph Thomas Morton, Sr., a U.S. army intelligence officer. Because of his father's...
into taking part in a robbery. Stewart Copeland
Stewart Copeland
Stewart Armstrong Copeland is an American musician, best known as the drummer for the band The Police. During the group's extended hiatus from the mid-1980s to 2007, he played in other bands and composed soundtracks...
, who composed the show's theme song and much of its music, made a cameo as a pickpocket. Vincent D'Onofrio
Vincent D'Onofrio
Vincent Phillip D'Onofrio is an American actor, director, film producer, writer, and singer. Often referred to as an actor's actor, his work as a character actor has earned him the nickname of "Human Chameleon"...
appeared twice in the series—the first time as an arsonist, and the second time as a mentally challenged young man, while William Converse-Roberts appeared twice, once as a murderer trying to save himself from prison by killing D'Onofrio's character and later as a widower out to silence a gun control
Gun control
Gun control is any law, policy, practice, or proposal designed to restrict or limit the possession, production, importation, shipment, sale, and/or use of guns or other firearms by private citizens...
advocate after his wife was raped and killed in front of him. Adam Ant
Adam Ant
Adam Ant is an English musician who gained popularity as the lead singer of New Wave/post-punk group Adam and the Ants and later as a solo artist, scoring ten UK top ten hits between 1980 and 1983, including three No.1s...
played a villain in an episode that also featured J. T. Walsh
J. T. Walsh
James Thomas Patrick "J. T." Walsh was an American character actor. He appeared in many well-known films, including Nixon, Hoffa, A Few Good Men, Backdraft, Miracle on 34th Street, Breakdown, and Good Morning, Vietnam.Walsh was known for his roles as "quietly sinister white-collar sleazeballs"...
, David Alan Grier
David Alan Grier
David Alan Grier , also known as "D.A.G." , is an American actor and comedian known for his work on the sketch comedy television show In Living Color.-Early life:...
, Lori Petty
Lori Petty
Lori Petty is an American film and television actress best known for playing "Tyler Endicott" in Point Break in 1991, "Kit Keller" in A League of Their Own in 1992, and the title role in Tank Girl in 1995.-Early life:...
, and Luis Guzman
Luis Guzmán
Luis Guzmán is an actor from Puerto Rico. He is known for his character work. For much of his career, he has played roles largely as sidekicks, thugs, or policemen....
. Adam Horovitz of the Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys are an American hip hop trio from New York City. The group consists of Mike D who plays the drums, MCA who plays the bass, and Ad-Rock who plays the guitar....
made a rare acting appearance in an episode alongside Alex Winter
Alex Winter
Alexander Ross "Alex" Winter is an English-born American actor, film director, and film writer, best known for his role as Bill S. Preston Esq. in the 1989 film Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure and its 1991 sequel Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey...
. Bradley Whitford
Bradley Whitford
Bradley Whitford is an American film and television actor. He is best known for his roles as Deputy White House Chief of Staff Josh Lyman on the NBC television drama The West Wing, as Danny Tripp on Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, as Dan Stark in the Fox police buddy-comedy The Good Guys, as...
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
Melissa Sue Anderson
Melissa Sue Anderson is an American-Canadian actress. She played the role of Mary Ingalls on the NBC television series Little House on the Prairie. She starred on the show from 1974 until 1981, leaving after Season 7, but later appeared in 2 episodes of Season 8 in late 1981. She won an Emmy...
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
Giant Panda
The giant panda, or panda is a bear native to central-western and south western China. It is easily recognized by its large, distinctive black patches around the eyes, over the ears, and across its round body. Though it belongs to the order Carnivora, the panda's diet is 99% bamboo...
, ZhenZhen.
Other future stars who appeared on the show included Laurence Fishburne
Laurence Fishburne
Laurence John Fishburne III is an American film and stage actor, playwright, director, and producer. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Morpheus in the Matrix science fiction film trilogy, as Cowboy Curtis on the 1980's television show Pee-wee's Playhouse, and as singer-musician Ike Turner...
, Lauren Tom
Lauren Tom
Lauren Tom is an American actress and voice actress perhaps best known for her roles as Lena St Clair in The Joy Luck Club, Julie in the TV series Friends, and for providing the voices for both mother and daughter characters on two animated TV comedy series: on Futurama she voices Amy Wong and her...
, Patricia Clarkson
Patricia Clarkson
Patricia Davies Clarkson is an American actress. After studying drama on the East Coast, Clarkson launched her acting career in 1985, and has worked steadily in both film and television. She twice won the Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in Six Feet Under...
, Jennifer Grey
Jennifer Grey
Jennifer Elise Grey is an American actress. Her first major roles came in the 1984 war film Red Dawn and the 1986 comedy Ferris Bueller's Day Off. In 1987 she starred as Frances "Baby" Houseman in the hit film Dirty Dancing for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe. In the early 1990s, Grey...
, Laurie Metcalf
Laurie Metcalf
Lauren Elizabeth "Laurie" Metcalf is an American actress. She is widely known for her performance as Jackie Harris on the ABC sitcom Roseanne, Mary Cooper on The Big Bang Theory, the voice of Mrs. Davis in the Toy Story film series and as Debbie Salt in Scream 2...
, Oliver Platt
Oliver Platt
Oliver James Platt is a Canadian-American actor. He is currently starring in the Showtime original series, The Big C with Laura Linney.-Early life:...
, Patricia Richardson
Patricia Richardson
Patricia Castle Richardson is an American television and film actress best known for her portrayal of Jill Taylor on the sitcom Home Improvement.-Early life and education:...
, William H. Macy
William H. Macy
William Hall Macy, Jr. is an American actor and writer. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as Jerry Lundegaard in Fargo. He is also a teacher and director in theater, film and television. His film career has been built mostly on his appearances in small, independent films, though...
, Robin Curtis
Robin Curtis
Robin Curtis is an American actress, most notable for playing Vulcan Lieutenant Saavik in the Star Trek films.-Film & television work:...
, Steve Buscemi
Steve Buscemi
Steven Vincent "Steve" Buscemi is an American actor, writer and film director. An associate member of the renowned experimental theater company The Wooster Group, Buscemi has starred and supported in successful Hollywood and indie films including New York Stories, Mystery Train, Reservoir Dogs,...
, Roma Maffia
Roma Maffia
Roma Maffia is an American actress.Maffia was born in Manhattan, New York of West Indian, English and German descent; her Italian surname derives from her stepfather....
, Olympia Dukakis
Olympia Dukakis
Olympia Dukakis is an American actress. In 1987, she won an Academy Award, BAFTA, and a Golden Globe for her performance in Moonstruck...
, Michael Moriarty
Michael Moriarty
Michael Moriarty is an American-Canadian actor of stage and screen, and a jazz musician. He played Benjamin Stone for four seasons on the TV series Law & Order.-Early life:...
, Chris Cooper
Chris Cooper (actor)
Christopher W. "Chris" Cooper is an American film actor. He became well known in the late 1990s. He has appeared in supporting performances in several major Hollywood films, including The Bourne Identity, American Beauty, Capote, The Town, The Kingdom, Syriana, October Sky, Seabiscuit, and...
, Michael Rooker
Michael Rooker
Michael Rooker is an American actor.-Early life:Rooker, who has eight brothers and sisters, was born in Jasper, Alabama and studied at the Goodman School of Drama in Chicago, where he moved with his mother and siblings at the age of thirteen, after his parents divorced.-Movie career:He made his...
, David Strathairn
David Strathairn
David Russell Strathairn is an American actor. He was nominated for an Academy Award for portraying journalist Edward R. Murrow in Good Night, and Good Luck...
, Charles S. Dutton
Charles S. Dutton
Charles Stanley Dutton is an American stage, film, and television actor and director. He is perhaps best known for his roles as "Fortune" in the film Rudy and "Dillon" in Alien 3...
, Cynthia Nixon
Cynthia Nixon
Cynthia Ellen Nixon is an American actress, known for her portrayal of Miranda Hobbes in the HBO series Sex and the City . She has received two Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, and a Grammy Award....
, Bruce Payne
Bruce Payne
Bruce Martyn Payne is an award winning English character actor and producer and was a member of the 1980's Brit Pack. Although he is best known for his villainous roles, Bruce Payne has played characters across the spectrum...
, Laura San Giacomo
Laura San Giacomo
Laura San Giacomo is an American actress known for playing the role of Maya Gallo on the NBC sitcom Just Shoot Me! and Kit De Luca in the film Pretty Woman, and Cynthia in sex, lies, and videotape as well as other work on television and in films...
, Kasi Lemmons
Kasi Lemmons
Kasi Lemmons is an American film director and actress, most notable for her work on the films Eve's Bayou, The Caveman's Valentine and Talk to Me....
, Al Leong
Al Leong
Albert "Al" Leong , aka Al 'Ka Bong', is an American stuntman and actor. Characterised by impressive martial arts skills, long wavy hair, and a prominent Fu Manchu moustache, he has had a number of small but memorable roles as the token long-haired Asian henchman in popular action films, that...
, Ving Rhames
Ving Rhames
Irving Rameses "Ving" Rhames is an American actor best known for his work in Bringing Out the Dead, Pulp Fiction, Baby Boy, Don King: Only in America, and the Mission: Impossible film series.-Early life and education:...
, Amanda Plummer, Daniel Davis
Daniel Davis
Daniel Davis is an American stage, screen, and television actor best known for portraying Niles the butler on the popular sitcom The Nanny and his guest appearances as Professor Moriarty on Star Trek: The Next Generation, affecting an upper class English accent for both roles.-Biography:Davis was...
, Jon Polito
Jon Polito
Jon Polito is an American actor and voice artist, who is known for working with the Coen Brothers, most notably in the major supporting role of Italian gangster Johnny Caspar in Miller's Crossing. He also appeared in the first two seasons of Homicide: Life on the Street and on the first season of...
, Jasmine Guy
Jasmine Guy
Jasmine Guy is an American actress, singer and dancer. She is best known for her starring role as Whitley Gilbert in the television sitcom A Different World.-Biography:...
, Mark Linn-Baker
Mark Linn-Baker
Mark Linn-Baker is an American actor and director famous for his role as Larry Appleton on the television sitcom Perfect Strangers.-Early life and career:...
, Meat Loaf
Meat Loaf
Michael Lee Aday , better known by his stage name, Meat Loaf, is an American hard rock musician and actor...
, Lori Loughlin
Lori Loughlin
Lori Anne Loughlin is an American actress, best known for her role as Rebecca Donaldson-Katsopolis on the ABC sitcom Full House. As of 2011, she portrays the role of Debbie Wilson on 90210, the spin-off of Beverly Hills, 90210...
, Tony Shalhoub
Tony Shalhoub
Anthony Marcus "Tony" Shalhoub is an American actor of Lebanese descent. His television work includes the roles of Antonio Scarpacci on Wings and sleuth Adrian Monk on the TV series Monk. He has won three Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe for his work in Monk...
, Anthony Zerbe
Anthony Zerbe
Anthony Jared Zerbe is an American stage, film and Emmy-winning television actor. Notable film roles include the post-apocalyptic cult leader Matthias in The Omega Man, a 1971 film adaptation of Richard Matheson's 1954 novel, I Am Legend; Milton Krest in the 1989 James Bond film Licence to Kill;...
, and Stanley Tucci
Stanley Tucci
Stanley Tucci is an American actor, writer, film producer and film director. He has been nominated for several notable film awards, including an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, for his performance in The Lovely Bones...
.
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
Terrence Mann
Terrence Vaughan Mann is an American actor, director, singer, songwriter and dancer who has been prominent on the Broadway stage for the past three decades...
, Frances Ruffelle
Frances Ruffelle
Frances Ruffelle is an English musical theatre actress and recording artist. Her mother is Sylvia Young, the founder of the famous theatre school at which Frances trained, and her daughter is recording artist Eliza Doolittle. Her younger sister is actress Alison Ruffelle...
, Kevin Conway, J. Smith-Cameron
J. Smith-Cameron
J. Smith-Cameron is an American actress.Smith-Cameron was born Jean Isabel Smith in Louisville, Kentucky, the daughter of architect Richard Sharpe Smith. She was raised in Greenville, South Carolina, and attended Florida State University where she was enrolled in the School of Theatre...
, Philip Bosco
Philip Bosco
-Personal life:Bosco was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, the son of Margaret Raymond , a policewoman, and Philip Lupo Bosco, a carnival worker. Bosco went to high school at St. Peter's Preparatory School in Jersey City. He attended the Catholic University of Washington, D.C. Bosco married Nancy...
, Caitlin Clarke
Caitlin Clarke
Caitlin Clarke was an American theater and film actress best known for her role as Valerian in the 1981 fantasy film Dragonslayer and for her role as Charlotte Cardoza in the 1998–1999 Broadway musical Titanic....
, Josef Sommer
Josef Sommer
Josef Sommer is an American film actor.He was born Maximilian Josef Sommer in Greifswald, Germany and was raised in North Carolina, the son of Elisabeth and Clemons Sommer, a professor of art history at the University of North Carolina. He studied at the Carnegie Institute of Technology...
, Jim Dale
Jim Dale
Jim Dale, MBE is an English actor, voice artist, singer and songwriter. He is best known in the United Kingdom for his many appearances in the Carry On series of films and in the US for narrating the Harry Potter audiobook series, for which he received two Grammy Awards, and the ABC series Pushing...
, Christine Baranski
Christine Baranski
Christine Jane Baranski is an American stage and screen actress, and is perhaps best known for her Emmy Award winning portrayal as "Maryanne Thorpe" in the sitcom Cybill, and her Emmy nominated portrayal of "Diane Lockhart" in The Good Wife...
, and Anne Twomey
Anne Twomey
Anne Twomey is an American theatre, film, and television actress.-Career:Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Twomey earned critical acclaim for her performance in the 1980 play Nuts, for which she won the Theatre World Award and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress...
.
Additionally, several former stage and screen co-stars of Edward Woodward appeared on the show. These included Brian Bedford
Brian Bedford
Brian Bedford is an English actor. He has appeared on the stage and in film, and is known for both acting in and directing Shakespeare.-Life and career:...
, Tammy Grimes
Tammy Grimes
-Early life:Grimes was born in Lynn, Massachusetts, the daughter of Eola Willard , a naturalist and spiritualist, and Nicholas Luther Grimes, an innkeeper, country-club manager, and farmer. She attended high school at the then-all girls school, Beaver Country Day School, in Chestnut Hill,...
(real-life mother of the aforementioned Ms. Plummer), Gwen Verdon
Gwen Verdon
Gwenyth Evelyn “Gwen” Verdon was an actress and dancer who won four Tony awards for her musical comedy performances. With flaming red hair and an endearing quaver in her voice, Verdon was a critically acclaimed dancer on Broadway in the 1950s and 1960s...
, Sandy Dennis
Sandy Dennis
Sandra Dale “Sandy” Dennis was an American theater and film actress. In 1966, she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?.-Early life:...
, Jenny Agutter
Jenny Agutter
Jennifer Ann "Jenny" Agutter is an English film and television actress. She began her career as a child actress in the mid 1960s, starring in the BBC television series The Railway Children and the film adaptation of the same book, before moving on to adult roles and relocating to Hollywood.She...
, Shirley Knight
Shirley Knight
Shirley Enola Knight is an American stage, film and television actress. She has been nominated twice for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, in 1960 for The Dark at the Top of the Stairs and in 1962 for Sweet Bird of Youth....
, and Sylvia Sidney
Sylvia Sidney
Sylvia Sidney was an American actress who rose to prominence in the 1930s appearing in numerous crime dramas.-Early life:...
. Harvard-educated Shakespearean theatre, Broadway stage, screen, and film actor Richard Jordan
Richard Jordan
Richard Jordan was an American stage, screen and film actor. A long-time member of the New York Shakespeare Festival, he performed in many Off Broadway and Broadway plays...
appeared as character Harley Gage in 10 episodes.
Woodward's second wife, Michele Dotrice
Michele Dotrice
Michele Dotrice is an English actress best known for her portrayal of Betty, the long-suffering wife of Frank Spencer, played by Michael Crawford, in the BBC sitcom Some Mothers Do ’Ave ’Em, which ran from 1973 to 1978....
, appeared as the central character in the season 2 episode, "Heartstrings". Her father, Roy Dotrice
Roy Dotrice
Roy Dotrice, OBE is a British actor known for his Tony Award-winning Broadway performance in the revival of A Moon for the Misbegotten.-Life and career:...
, also guest starred on the show in season 4's "Trial By Ordeal". Edward Woodward's son, actor Tim Woodward
Tim Woodward
-Biography:Woodward was born in London, England, the son of actors Edward Woodward and Venetia Mary Barrett.He is probably best known for his roles in the 1970s BBC drama Wings, the 1990s ITV soap opera Families and the 2000s ITV police drama Murder City...
, 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 knifeBallistic knife
A ballistic knife is a specialized combat knife with a detachable gas- or spring-propelled blade that can be fired to a distance of several feet or meters by pressing a trigger or switch on the handle.-History and usage:...
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 cache is hidden behind the tool board on a wall of his apartment's workshop. 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
.380 ACP
The .380 ACP pistol cartridge is a rimless, straight-walled pistol cartridge developed by firearms designer John Browning. The cartridge headspaces on the mouth of the case. It was introduced in 1908 by Colt, and has been a popular self-defense cartridge ever since...
caliber. In some episodes, McCall used also a Desert Eagle
Desert Eagle
The Desert Eagle is a large-framed gas-operated semi-automatic pistol designed by Magnum Research in the U.S. and by IMI in Israel; the pistol is manufactured primarily in Israel by IMI...
pistol, as well as the venerable Colt M1911A1 pistol in .45 ACP
.45 ACP
The .45 ACP , also known as the .45 Auto by C.I.P., is a cartridge designed by John Browning in 1904, for use in his prototype Colt semi-automatic .45 pistol and eventually the M1911 pistol adopted by the United States Army in 1911.-Design and history:The U.S...
. McCall was also seen using M1 Carbine
M1 Carbine
The M1 carbine is a lightweight, easy to use semi-automatic carbine that became a standard firearm for the U.S. military during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, and was produced in several variants. It was widely used by U.S...
and UZI-type weapons, such as the regular SMG and the pistol version. In three episodes, McCall was seen using an expensive Mauser
Mauser
Mauser was a German arms manufacturer of a line of bolt-action rifles and pistols from the 1870s to 1995. Mauser designs were built for the German armed forces...
660 bolt action rifle with a telescopic sight, for accuracy work.
Music
The show's distinctive theme song became a hit for composer/performer Stewart CopelandStewart Copeland
Stewart Armstrong Copeland is an American musician, best known as the drummer for the band The Police. During the group's extended hiatus from the mid-1980s to 2007, he played in other bands and composed soundtracks...
, founder and drummer of rock band The Police
The Police
The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For the vast majority of their history, the band consisted of Sting , Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland...
. He was an appropriate choice, as both of his parents had intelligence connections. His father, Miles Copeland, Jr.
Miles Copeland, Jr.
Miles Axe Copeland, Jr. was an American musician, businessman, and CIA officer who was closely involved in major foreign-policy operations from the 1950s to the 1980s...
was one of the founding members of the Office of Strategic Services
Office of Strategic Services
The Office of Strategic Services was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. It was the wartime intelligence agency, and it was a predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency...
, the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
, while his mother, Lorraine Copeland
Lorraine Copeland
Lorraine Copeland is an archaeologist specialising in the Palaeolithic period of the Near East. Her husband was Miles Axe Copeland Jr, and they had four children, all of whom have gone on to have notable careers: Miles Copeland III, Ian, Lorraine and Stewart Copeland.Lorraine Copeland was born in...
, worked with British military intelligence
Military intelligence
Military intelligence is a military discipline that exploits a number of information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to commanders in support of their decisions....
during that war.
In 1988, I.R.S. Records
I.R.S. Records
I.R.S. Records was a record label, started in the United States in 1979 by Miles Copeland III along with Jay Boberg and Carl Grasso. Miles was also the manager of Wishbone Ash, The Police, and later, Sting, as well as other bands. I.R.S. was the sister label of Copeland's Illegal Records .I.R.S...
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
Television's Greatest Hits
Television's Greatest Hits is a series of albums containing recordings of TV theme songs through the years. The series was first introduced in 1985 as the centerpiece of the then-new TVT Records. Each of the original 8 volumes contains 65 theme songs. The format of the original eight volume series...
Vol.7-Cable Ready CD.
DVD releases
On February 12, 2008, Universal Studios Home EntertainmentUniversal Studios Home Entertainment
Universal Studios Home Entertainment is the home video division of Universal Pictures...
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 Region 4, Umbrella Entertainment
Umbrella entertainment
Umbrella Entertainment is an Australian owned, independent all-rights feature film, documentary and television program distribution company that was set up in 2001 by Jeff Harrison...
released season 1 on DVD on March 9, 2011.
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.
Despite reasonable sales of the first season, there has been no word to date regarding DVD release of the remaining seasons.
Film adaptation
In June 2010 it was announced that Russell CroweRussell Crowe
Russell Ira Crowe is a New Zealander Australian actor , film producer and musician. He came to international attention for his role as Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius in the 2000 historical epic film Gladiator, directed by Ridley Scott, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor, a...
was looking to bring The Equalizer to the big screen, with Crowe himself attached to play Robert McCall.
See also
- Burn NoticeBurn noticeA burn notice is an official statement issued by one intelligence agency to other agencies. It states that an individual or a group is unreliable for one or more reasons...
—another television show in which an ex-spy helps those in need - Person of InterestPerson of Interest (TV series)Person of Interest is an American crime drama television series broadcasting on CBS. It is based on a screenplay developed by J. J. Abrams and Jonathan Nolan. The series was officially picked up by CBS on May 13, 2011, and debuted on September 22, 2011. On October 25, 2011 the show was picked up...
—a television show in which an ex-spy attempts to stop crimes before they happen
External links
- The Equalizer Intro at YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
- Coleman Luck—the official Web page of The Equalizers writer and producer