Ten’s
publicity for its new cop series from the US, Life, tries to draw
a parallel between it and the show that immediately precedes it
in the Wednesday night line-up, House. While there’s an
undeniable similarity between Life lead actor Damian Lewis and
House’s Hugh Laurie, there the comparison just about dries
up. Indeed, for a more accurate comparator, Ten should have looked
back a few years to the comedy cop show, Monk.
In Monk, the lead character was an obsessive compulsive
cop who was pensioned off following a tragedy, but who manages
to inveigle himself into investigations because of his peculiar
talents. Lewis’s character in Life is a similar kind of
outsider, although the screenwriters have made his methods are
a little more refined than the “deus ex machina” endings
of many Monk episodes.
The only-in-America plot of the series sees Det.
Charlie Crews (Lewis) fitted up for a murder he didn’t commit.
After 12 years in jail, he’s exonerated and cleared to return
to his old job in the LAPD, where he’s teamed up with Det.
Dani Reese (Sarah Shahi) – who has a past of her own to
deal with. Of course, being California, he’s also received
a substantial payment (as in, many millions of dollars) for his
incarceration. This enables him to buy a large house and entertain
his lady friends in style. It also allows him the luxury of using
his significant resources to try to discover who framed him.
Charlie’s search for his oppressors underpins
the series, so don’t expect him to solve that particular
mystery anytime soon. Meanwhile, he has regular cases to solve
each week, providing the series’ more immediate emphasis.
There’s also the inherent tension in his situation –
the cops don’t really trust him because he was in jail,
while the crims don’t trust him because he’s a cop
to add interest; and of course the celebrity that only being on
Court TV can bring.
One rather clever aspect of the show is that Charlie
is a kind of technological Rip Van Winkle. The 12 years in jail
is significant, because it covers basically the period (1995 –
2007) of the Internet and personal technology revolutions. That
means that poor old Charlie has no idea that, for example, phones
can now take photographs. It’s an amusing sideline to the
main game, and one that works reasonably well.
Its
main problem however is that the “hook” of finding
out who’s behind Charlie’s imprisonment isn’t
particularly strong, and the regular weekly mysteries aren’t
especially intriguing. This doesn’t have the hard edge of
say a Criminal Minds; or the compelling plotting of a 24. It’s
cop-show-lite, a boon to those who think series like CSI are too
violent.
Damian Lewis tries hard in the lead role, but he
actually suffers by having Hugh Laurie precede him. The difference
in just sheer screen presence is palpable, making House a very
hard act for Life to follow. Sarah Shahi, previously seen on The
L Word, is all LA sass as Reese, and plays the supporting role
well.
Ten’s decision to run Life in the 9.30 Wednesday
time slot, where it has to compete with Nine’s far superior
Damages, is a gamble. I think there’s a huge risk this show
will be done like a dinner, the strong lead-in provided by House
notwithstanding. If you’ll pardon the pun, this show won’t
change your life, but could be worth a look if you were a fan
of Monk.
Phil James
To see a promo
for Life, click the play button below:
Ten’s
publicity for its new cop series from the US, Life, tries to draw
a parallel between it and the show that immediately precedes it
in the Wednesday night line-up, House. While there’s an
undeniable similarity between Life lead actor Damian Lewis and
House’s Hugh Laurie, there the comparison just about dries
up. Indeed, for a more accurate comparator, Ten should have looked
back a few years to the comedy cop show, Monk.
Its
main problem however is that the “hook” of finding
out who’s behind Charlie’s imprisonment isn’t
particularly strong, and the regular weekly mysteries aren’t
especially intriguing. This doesn’t have the hard edge of
say a Criminal Minds; or the compelling plotting of a 24. It’s
cop-show-lite, a boon to those who think series like CSI are too
violent.