The Equalizer is an American crime drama series that aired on CBS from September 18, 1985 to August 24, 1989. It starred Edward Woodward as Robert McCall, using his experience as a previous intelligence agent to save lives.
The series spawned more entries inspired by the universe, including movies in The Equalizer and The Equalizer 2, as well as a 2021 TV series.
Premise[]
The series centers about Robert McCall, a former covert operations officer of an unnamed US government intelligence organization, which was often referred to simply as "The Agency" or "The Company", who tried to atone for his past by offering, usually free of charge, his services as a troubleshooter, a protector, and an investigator.
People in need found him through a newspaper classified ad: "Got a problem? Odds against you? Call the Equalizer: 212 555 4200." When he began this business in the pilot episode, it was revealed the nickname "Equalizer" was bestowed on him by an operative named "Brahms", played by Jerry Stiller.
Aided by a group of sometimes-mysterious contacts, some of whom dated back to his spying days, McCall traversed the streets of New York City, delivered justice upon bullies, corrupt police and politicians, hoodlums, mobsters, rapists, racists, murderers, kidnappers, drug dealers, and other "truly deserving" people. "Please do not do anything you will never live to regret," he tells one villain.
His contacts were also prone to human foibles, that ranged from egoism to domestic problems.
Many episodes focused on McCall interacting with "Control" (played by Robert Lansing), the unnamed head of the Manhattan office of the secret organization which McCall used to work for. As a general rule, however, the people answering the newspaper ad were unremarkable, average, and unknown.
McCall's car, weapons, and other gadgetry at times featured significantly as elements in the plot.
Cast and characters[]
- Edward Woodward as Robert McCall
- Keith Szarabajka as Mickey Kostmayer
- Robert Lansing as Control
- Mark Margolis as Jimmy
- William Zabka as Scott McCall
- Chad Redding as Alice Shepard
Seasons[]
Reception[]
After the broadcast of the first episode in September 1985, the show received mixed reviews. Critic Tom Shales wrote in The Washington Post that "to judge from this very attractively atmospheric premiere [the show] could become a welcome guest in many an American home". However, for People, Jeff Jarvis wrote "The plot’s confusing and the show’s as erratic as a pacemaker on low batteries".
Home media[]
On February 12, 2008, Universal Studios released Season 1 of The Equalizer on DVD-Video in Region 1 (US only).
On May 15, 2013, it was announced that Visual Entertainment had acquired the rights to the series in Region 1. They subsequently released season 2 on DVD on August 26, 2014. Season 3 was released on October 25, 2014, followed by season 4 on November 24, 2014.
Visual Entertainment also released a limited edition complete series set on DVD on August 19, 2014. The Equalizer Complete Collection Limited Edition set contains all 88 episodes plus 12 hours of bonus content including CI5: The New Professionals; the last film ever done by Edward Woodward, A Congregation of Ghosts; and The Story of The Equalizer featuring interviews with cast and crew.
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 have subsequently released seasons 2–4. On May 27, 2013, Fabulous Films released The Equalizer: The Complete Collection on DVD. This 24-disc box set contains all 88 episodes of the series as well as bonus content including an all-new documentary featuring interviews with cast and crew.
Many fans have noted that the Region 1 version has had several of the originally used songs replaced. In actual fact nearly 50 per cent of all music apart from the theme, and scoring by Stewart Copeland has been replaced by "covers" due to expired music licensing agreements, and the costs which would be incurred in the US to have the licensing renewed. In contrast, the Region 2 version contains all of the original music intact.
In Region 4, Umbrella Entertainment has released all four seasons on DVD in Australia.
Film adaptation[]
A film starring Denzel Washington in the title role, very loosely based upon the series, was released in September 2014.
A sequel film, The Equalizer 2, was released on July 20, 2018.
Melissa Leo, who was a guest star in "The Defector," the third episode of the TV series, appears in both movies.
Another sequel, The Equalizer 3, was released in 2023.
2020 Reboot[]
On November 2019, CBS announced that a reboot is in development with Queen Latifah in the lead role as Robyn McCall. Andrew Marlowe and Terri Miller will serve as showrunners with Latifah herself as an executive producer. On January 27, 2020, CBS issued a pilot order for the new version.
The series was among the 14 pilots ordered by CBS in February 2020 and was fast tracked to series the following March, as they are unable to film their pilots where Universal Television was shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
On May 8, 2020, CBS picked up the series and they added Chris Noth as William Bishop, a quirky ex-CIA director is the opposite of Latifah.
Literature[]
A collection of novels featuring Robert McCall have been written by the original co-creator Michael Sloan. The first is simply entitled The Equalizer published in 2014, followed by Killed in Action: An Equalizer Novel, which was released in 2018. The novels are a modern re-imagining of the original series and focus on McCall leaving The Company and eventually becoming a private investigator in New York. It also features a number of original recurring characters from the television series such as Mickey Kostmayer, Control and Scott McCall. A third novel, Requiem: An Equalizer Novel is currently in the works.
Parody[]
The Equalizer was spoofed by the short-lived Saturday morning TV series Flip! with a series of short films titled The Get-Even Guy. These starred a teenage boy in a trench coat who sported obviously-dyed hair and an affected UK accent. He would regularly come to the aid of peers who were being treated in an unfair manner by various authority figures, including a middle-school gym-teacher and a video store-clerk.
The Get-Even Guy never used a real weapon or seriously injured anyone, but rather used whatever was on hand to humiliate his adversary...such as ordinary athletic equipment, or an ordinary VHS cassette (the tape from which was used to entangle the dastardly clerk).
External links[]
- The Equalizer on Wikipedia
- The Equalizer on Television Fandom