AaronCapenBanner Edward Woodward was fantastic as former "company" operative Robert McCall, who abruptly resigns from service and offers his skills and connections to help ordinary people in need, whether that be from street punks, gangsters, terrorists, stalkers, or corrupt corporations. Whatever the threat, McCall was up for the challenge, and he certainly wasn't a man you would want for an enemy! I marveled at how Edward Woodward imbued the role with such power and menace to the criminal element, who frequently underestimated this middle-aged Englishman the same way murderers would Culumbo, for instance. To see Woodward take on younger threats and beat them in his fearless style was a joy to watch; this was a man trying to make amends for his mysterious past, a man who has seen much evil, and isn't intimidated by it, and who likely doesn't fear his own death.Pity it was canceled after four years, but has recently received a full series DVD release, so now can be enjoyed once again by both old and new fans.

screenman Edward Woodward was more or less a spent force by the time this series appeared. As a worthy British actor and star of the cult movie 'The Whicker Man' he obviously had no trouble finding a role in American Television. And he would have been able to pad-out his pension fund with the sort of pay-cheques only ever dreamt of in Blighty.But he was an old man. He should have stuck to old man roles. Playing the tough guy he made so popular in 'Callan' was now past him. Time and again you could see that he was out of breath in action sequences and pulling his punches in fist-fights. Whilst at the same time, the script was never adept enough to carry an intellectual alternative to the use of force.I watched a few episodes at the time and even then winced at the implausibility of it all. The script was banal and wordy. The plots shallow and predictable. It featured Edward Woodward, great British actor, star of 'The Whicker Man'; and that was that.You could fall asleep otherwise.

marciakohring Series is very much enjoyed. I never got the opportunity to watch it when it was first aired in the 80's. Edward Woodward is an excellent actor and makes the character of Robert McCall real. In fact he seems to project that ability in all the various roles he has played in other movies as well. His range of acting ability is as diverse as the roles he plays. One review even called him Britain's answer to Sean Connery. The Equalizer should be aired - all four seasons. It is better that the fanciful detective tales being carried now. In addition to good scripts, the photography of New York and DC is excellent. The supporting cast for each episode is well planned.

Thomas_J_McKeon The consensus of the other reviewers is that this is an excellent detective/mystery series; certainly I agree with that and probably cannot add anything of substance to their comments. As to the program, all I will say is Edward Woodword's fine, convincing acting, the excellent plot development (in every episode, each of which usually stands on its own), the choice of a great supporting cast and Stewart Copeland's fine scores--what more could one want in a TV show. In fact, The Equalizer was and probably still is too good for television.My real purpose in originally writing this was to attempt to prod the owner of the copyright, Universal, to make all the episodes (and possibly some that might be in the can and not yet shown) available on DVD. From the plethora of very positive comments it is obvious that this is not only an artistic success but something that likely would be commercially feasible. I first wrote: "Should it not be made available on DVD, I guess I will have to content myself to try to find all the episodes on VHS and dub them onto DVD-R." Since then I have obtained a set from TVDVDPlanet.com of (it claims) all the episodes on 22 DVD-Rs in boxes with no manufacturer on the label. I have viewed several and they were crudely taped from TV(some even say A&E on them). Video quality is very poor. Apparently this is region free. It seems all are DVD-R not DVD and quality is awful. Packages are shipped from Canada.Since writing the above I learned that Season One would be officially released by Universal in the States and it has been. This is a region 1 DVD. It is a 5 disc set with all 22 episodes from the first season. It can be ordered at Amazon.com and other sellers. Technical quality is very good. I did notice that one episode was in stereo though the packaging says mono. Definitely worthwhile and I hope they follow through on the rest.Since writing the above I have noted that the domain TVDVDPlanet.com has been taken away from one Alan Knight of Key West Florida by Planet Entertainment, Inc. The complaint alleged that the website may be offering unauthorized and infringing product to the public. See http://www.tvdvdplanet.com/tvdvdplanet.pdf. Nothing was said about the "quality" (or lack of it) of the product.Thomas J McKeon Indianapolis