Be a Winner, Watch the Show Called Life (Life - Season 1 (DVD))

Member Name: samueltyler

Product:	Life - Season 1 (DVD)
Date:	21/07/09 (47 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Damian Lewis, nice story arc

Disadvantages: Cheesy, yet another cop drama

One of the main arguments against the death penalty is that the person who is executed may actually be innocent. News stories about people locked up for years, only to be found innocent at a later date, are numerous enough so that putting people to death may end up with some of the wrong people being punished. Being locked up for decades is not a much better prospect for an innocent person, but at least they are alive. Staying that way may prove extra difficult if you are a former police officer. You will probably spend a lot of your time in isolation to protect you from the the other inmates. Would an innocent man go insane is he was locked away on his own? Would that same man come out the other side quite so innocent?

Charlie Crews is the new Homicide Detective in the department. He comes with more baggage than most as he has just been released from jail after many years when he is found innocent of the murder of a family. Rather than take the millions of dollars of compensation and retire into a life of luxury, Crews wants back on the job. No one in the force trusts him so he is handed to misfit Detective Dani Reese who herself is dealing with issues of drugs and alcohol. Together they must learn to trust one another if they are to survive in a hostile department that wants to see them both fired. To add tension Crews is secretly investigating the murders he was once blamed for, can he keep his secret safe from his new partner and catch the real killer?

There is an abundance of cops shows that come out of America that look at the genre from all angles, CSI, Bones, Law and Order, Homicide, Hill Street Blues, Nash Bridges etc. Despite the number of shows that I have seen, that all have the essential same premise, I still go back for more. What happens in more recent cop dramas is that the main character needs some sort of quirk to make the show stand out; 'Medium' has a psychic, 'Mentalist' a mentalist and so on. 'Life' has Crews, a man on the edge of crazy who the police department have to treat with kid gloves or risk another costly law suit.

With the premise intact the rest of the show is classic crime drama. Each episode starts with some sort of killing and Crews and Reese must investigate. This is nothing special and will not attract any people from the plethora of other cop dramas. Therefore it is on the shoulders of Damian Lewis as Crews to carry the show - and he does.

In Crews, Lewis has created an extremely odd and appealing character. Due to his exceptional circumstances you can believe in what he does and why he gets away with it. Small quirks like his obsession with fruit and spiritualism adds a comedic tone to the show that balances well with the dark nature of the crimes. This is not a comedy show, but a drama that has light moments. It is perhaps the fact that Lewis is an Englishman playing an American that makes the eccentricity work. I cannot believe that an American actor would have been able to play Crews quite as well. I fear that some people will be put off by Crews' eccentricities as they do take a couple of episodes to get used to.

The rest of the cast are perhaps not as strong as Lewis and made him stand out as the one character who is not a stereotype. Sarah Shahi as the ballsy partner Reese is an able assistant, but just another female cop role. The rest of the cast is populated by talking heads that do not really matter, but it was nice to see the actress who played Calamity Jane in 'Deadwood' not swearing constantly!

With a generic cop story and only one unique character to speak of 'Life' could perhaps be written off as yet another cop drama to ignore. However, this would be a shame as Lewis' acting is worth the watch alone. I also think that the story arc of Crews finding the true killer is dealt with well and spans the entire first season without stopping the weekly case by case structure. It certainly helps if you are a cop drama fan like myself as the beats are very similar to many shows before. Of the type of show it is 'Life' is a stand out drama that is entertaining, fun and dramatic (if a little cheesy).


Year: 2004
Cert: 15
Starring: Damian Lewis
Price: Amazon uk £14.18
Play.com £16.99



Extras

The DVD box set does not have that many extras, but there are some featurettes telling you about the show and a blooper reel that once more highlights the fact that acting is too much fun and not a real job : )

Summary: A fun watch for fans of US cop dramas