Summer’s here, at least in terms of the TV season, and most of our favorite shows are gone. So how are you going to fill all that newly available free time? By revisiting old TV series, of course! And by staying inside, closing the blinds and watching more TV, you can avoid those pesky allergies, sunburn and insect bites. Really, you owe it to your body to stay safe and cool on the couch.
This is the first installment of a semi-regular (hopefully) feature, where I’ll give recommendations for defunct series that are well worth watching. Whether brilliant but canceled or just limited runs, these series all caught my interest but had an all too short lifespan.
Today’s pick: “Keen Eddie.”
The scoop: This was a short-lived series shabbily treated by Fox in 2003. Originally a mid-season replacement, it got bumped back to summer and got zero promotion. Then Fox ran episodes out of order and canceled it midway through its run. It deserved better than that, and it’s one of my all-time favorite semi-obscure shows.
The show: Mark Valley (“Fringe,” the upcoming “Human Target”) stars as Eddie Arlette, a
wisecracking New York narcotics detective who ends up working in London with
prim and proper Scotland Yard. The series was shot in London, which I’m sure drove production costs through the roof, but it really brings a strong sense of place; the city is almost its own character. It’s a light and breezy action/comedy shot in the frenetic style of Guy Ritchie, before he started sucking (think “Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels” and “Snatch”). Eddie’s partner is a wife-swapping sexual deviant of the most hilarious kind, and Eddie has vivid hallucinations of his boss’ hot receptionist. He shares a house with spoiled rich-girl Fiona, played by Sienna Miller (before she became tabloid fodder). Their adversarial love/hate relationship creates a few sparks and provides terrific banter between the crime-solving. The storytelling is offbeat, quirky and smart, the characters are never quite what you expect, the visual look is sleek and stylish, and it’s chock full of cool British accents. Great soundtrack too, though a lot of the original music didn’t make it onto the DVDs.
Who’d like it: Almost anyone. I’ve shared my copy with a bunch of friends and they’ve all loved it. Also, for fans of “Burn Notice,” “Chuck,” “Leverage,” “Psych,” “Pushing Daisies” and British accents.
Watch it: Entire 13-episode season available on DVD. Watch out though — the DVD lists the episodes in the order they aired, not as they were produced. That might make it difficult if you get discs one at a time from Netflix, because you really have to watch the episodes in proper order. The right order is listed on its Wikipedia page.
