MovieChat Forums > The Equalizer (1985) Discussion > Who agrees? Watching this again just ma...

Who agrees? Watching this again just makes you grin ear to ear

posted 12 years ago by scott-1127
36 replies | jump to latest

I doubt with the popularity of the board here that I'm on my own, but the more I watch this programme, the more I love it each time. Don't get me wrong, I'm no tv addict or anything and I don't have the time to sit down and watch marathon runs of my favourite programmes (obviously The Equalizer is in the top 3) so the time I do spend has to be quality and enjoyable.

Most of my time watching "my" stuff, and not the soaps with my wife, is when I'm making dinners etc and I have it on in the background on the window sill, but having The Equalizer on is slowing me down more and more as I find it so captivating and addictive the Sunday dinner is taking longer to make as I find myself watching every scene despite this is probably the seventh time I've run through the four series.

It was lucky that the yorkshire puds didn't burn on Sunday as I started the two parter Blood and Wine and I just couldn't stop grinning. Edward Woodward's performance as Robert McCall is just so, well, I don't know what the word is but he makes acting seem effortless. Then Telly Savallas appears as the ex terrorist turned priest and you have two acting giants just swallowing up the screen time.

Last nights episode was Suspicion Of Innocence with the excellent Vincent D'Onofrio as Davy Baylor. What?!?!? This bloke was a gangsters son a few episodes ago and now he's mentally challenged. Everything about this programme is just so spot on. I was actually quite disappointed that it was a quick tea so I didn't get to see all of the episode! I think I might come up with something really creative as Mission McCall is coming up :) Granted there are weaker episodes but all in all, this is what the 80's were about.

For years I've had a 7.5 portable dvd in the kitchen but this run through of The Equalizer commanded more respect, so my new laptop that I hardly use is now on the kitchen window sill. It looks silly hanging over the edge but I think good old Edward deserves a 15.1 inch screen and some plug in speakers. McCall deserves no less.

[–] coffeygal_2000 10 years ago

Edward Woodward is one of my all time favorite actors. I never would have known about him if The Equalizer had not been made. I remember loving this series in the 80's when it was first run and then rediscovered it about a year ago watching all the seasons online http://www.primewire.ag/tv-769076-The-Equalizer. After that I wanted to watch everything I could get ahold of that had Edward Woodward in it. I have acquired a couple of seasons of Callan on dvd as well. My husband and I also enjoy his musical talent. What a beautiful singing voice he had. I have put his cassettes on cd now and we listen in the car. The Equalizer will always be one of my all time favorite series...because of Edward Woodward, a VERY underrated actor of his time.

[–] scott-1127 10 years ago

It's nice to see that people are still chipping in on this post from time to time. We all have fond memories of EW and The Equalizer.

I thought I knew quite a lot about the man but Coffeygal has surprised me about the singing. Did not know that ...

Oh, I must be planning on posting more if I've created this .....

[–] coffeygal_2000 10 years ago

Here just one YouTube clip of one of his songs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SRVyUo7VXM

[–] rbaylis 10 years ago

Here's another 'chip in'. I was talking with friends about actors in tough guy roles and one was saying how he couldn't enjoy a lot of TV and movies because so few really are all that tough. After reminding him that it is called 'acting' and it isn't actually necessary to be that tough in reality, I recalled how dangerous Robert McCall seemed to be in The Equalizer and how it was down to Edward Woodward's powerful presence.

Admittedly, time has paid tricks with my memory and I thought he did it all by his wits, intelligence and sheer force of personality and didn't need a gun. But of course he brandished a Walther a lot and used it to despatch the bad guys - I'd just forgotten.

But as it never seems to get repeated (odd really, considering the number of Time Warp TV channels broadcasting) I decided to get the complete four season DVD package and re-live some happy memories of this show.

[–] oldpunkwebzine 10 years ago

I just rented the first few episodes and my nostalgia for The Equalizer took a major hit. I'll continue to think fondly of it but tv in 1985 wasn't that great compared to what's out now. Person Of Interest is miles ahead.

[–] scott-1127 10 years ago

Agreed that Person of Interest is very, very good viewing and there's certainly room for both of them in my "high praise" cabinet. I don't think it's quite fair to compare 85 to modern day but then again, nostalgia does help the rose tinted glasses syndrome. Mind you, to keep everyone happy, isn't POI just a modern Equalizer using a PC instead of an ad in the paper? I'm in no way calling the Machine just a PC but you see what I'm getting at I hope ......

Oh, I must be planning on posting more if I've created this .....

[–] icyharris-539-169904 10 years ago

I finally watched 2/3 of The Equalizer with Denzel Washington (the other 1/3 I had my eyes closed because of the violence). Washington really knows how to play the smartest guy in the room. So I figured if the derivative was good, the source material had to be better. I tried a link someone on the board suggested, but it looked like it was a paid site. I figured I might have a chance on YouTube and there all the wonderful episodes are. (Watch, now that I said that, they'll probably take them down).

There's a place for lunkhead heroes who take down the bad guys through sheer brute. I personally like my heroes to be smart and take anything and everything and use it as a weapon. That's why I love Liam Neeson in Taken and Matt Damon in the Bourne series and any of Jackie Chan's movies. What I like is that The Equalizer and those three guys are cool, calm and collected and they're always 3 steps ahead of the bad guys. I always say when you try to hunt someone down out of anger or run away out of fear, you get emotional and sloppy, but when you just calmly plan out your moves, it almost always works. That's why I never worry about The Equalizer. If anything, I worry about who he's after.

[–] activista 10 years ago

@scott-1127 & icyharris

Hmmmm---hadn't thought about Person Of Interest being similar to the original EQUALIZER show, but since POI has been one of my current faves for a while, you might have a point. Just saw the new EQUALIZER flick, and of course,since Denzel was in it, it was actually pretty good---he's near excellent as McCall. Cool to see him doing the a**-kicking action thing,tough,and playing a character who uses as much brain as he does brawn----makes characters like that a hell of a lot more interesting. I haven't seen the original show since it was on,years ago.

I have to admit, back then when I first heard about the EQUALIZER coming on, i thought it sounded ridiculous as hell----an old proper British white dude running around the streets doing things for people----it just sounded unrealistic to me at the time. However, once I actually started watching the show, I changed my mind after a while and got hooked on it. I liked the fact that the show was not only diverse (since it was set in New York) it also had all these eccentric characters, and for an American show, it definitely seemed to have this genuine European feel and look to it for some reason. Wouldn't mind seeing it again after all these years,either.

[–] patchofblue65 8 years ago

I watched the show when it aired in the 80's and loved it. Have not seen it since but I was at a local Thrift store and saw all four seasons still sealed for a fantastic price. I bought all of them and have started watching them again. It's as good as when I first watched it. I was in my 20's when it aired and now in my 50's! I love reliving the 80's with the fashion, the music and the shot on location scenes of NYC at the time before it was cleaned up.

[–] move_over_fatso 8 years ago

Yeah, I'm kinda crushed. I've been rewatching it because the local OTA subchannel "Get TV" has been running it. So I got through season 2, and in the middle of season 3. It may have been way beyond what typical TV procedurals were doing at the time, but the writing is pretty bad for today. I didn't remember it being so kitschy; I thought I was more discerning as a young adult. The show is dripping in bad 1980's TV tropes. TV drama, from Mad Men/Sopranos onwards, has apparently improved by magnitudes, not linearly.

Well, in my defense, I wasn't able to catch all the shows back then, and I couldn't remember the details of any particular episodes. I just remember being relatively impressed by "quality", which was all Woodward, Szarabajka, and to a lesser extent, Lansing's acting. The "spy" aspects of the show were more "modern" for the time. It leaned slightly more towards John LeCarre than "I, Spy". But it was still bad, and somewhat whitewashing Reagan's Contra B.S. at the time.

Its gotten to the point now where I watch half the episode, and if its too cheesy and doesn't seem to have future implications, I don't finish it. I kinda hope it gets better in season 4, but I think I'll probably stop watching if it doesn't.

[–] CorpseCandle 8 years ago

Always.

It's currently sitting in my DVD player and at certain points I do that "rock" sign with my hands when he puts down a bad guy or deleivers one of his speeches.

...yeah that's probably sad but I don't care at all. :)

[–] bobmccanless 8 years ago

This series came out when I was in college - GREAT stuff back in the day - I never missed it. Now I can watch it again in the afternoon on local GET TV.

I won't live long enough to see it, but in about 25 years, the perfect reboot would star... Benedict Cumberbatch. He's the only English actor I know of - who will be the right age THEN - and with powerful enough stage presence - to pull it off! 

[–] tonycarr 8 years ago

I just watched the first episode lat night. I'd forgotten how compelling Edward Woodward was. Just a grey-haired Englishmen but if I was a bad guy I'd rather go up against of dozen of the current action heroes than McCall any day

A sadly missed talent.

[–] Jones70 (6195) 5 years ago

So good to hear that!

[–] snepts (11123) 5 years ago

I hope everyone here has seen ... had to look it up ... Breaker Morant ! He's great in this, as are Bryan Brown and the other guy. It's almost as good as Paths of Glory and better than Gallipoli. Seriously, a great movie if any one here has not seen it.

[–] Mrmojo4700 (20778) 5 years ago

Wow! I will look it up.

[–] Skeletor543 (13) 5 years ago

I haven't seen this in a long time. Might have to find the dvd's