I realize it is a bit strange to be reviewing this weeks after it came to its conclusion, particularly given that I was watching it faithfully on schedule for its entire run rather than bingeing it after the fact. But in retrospect, I want to provide an understanding of it to future bingers who were not able to follow it during its original broadcast run. A 10 year run makes it a cultural icon and touchstone that later generations should have an interest in becoming familiar with.
The Reddington character is obviously the driving force of most of the action in this series. James Spader was an established major star -- and pretty much the only one in the debut season regular cast -- that they signed to build the show around. And I had already very much liked a lot of his previous work, starting with "Sex, Lies and Videotape" (1989). But he was not why I got hooked on the show and stayed with it for a whole decade. In fact, he was almost the reason I stopped watching it. I hated the way his character was written, and I was revolted by the fact that he played it in a way that seemed to be an homage to the acting style of his "Boston Legal" costar William Shatner. He has a good enough style of his own that this could and should have been avoided. His demeanor with this style made his character far less sympathetic, and generally just annoying to hear droning out his otherwise interesting life experience stories.
What made this show work for me was everyone else they surrounded Red with. The members of the FBI task force were all interesting and far more human than Red, as were the group of recurring business assistants in his orbit, and most of all, there was the lovely Megan Boone as Agent Elizabeth Keen, the object of his purportedly parental affection and chief beneficiary of his very selective assistance to the task force. She was immediately engaging on her own, and she also had terrific chemistry with Ryan Eggold for as long as he lasted as her husband in the early seasons. Her complicated and confusing relationship with Red was also very well played.
The standout performances in this cast started with Hisham Tawfiq as Red's long loyal bodyguard, and also included Diego Klattenhoff who made an excellent first impression as Claire Danes' husband in "Homeland," Amir Arison and Mozhan Marno, Laura Sohn, and in the final season gorgeous Anya Banerjee, all as task force agents; Harry Lennix as their supervisor; Deirdre Lovejoy as Senator Panabaker; Stacey Keach Jr. As Red's occasional partner or rival in crime, "Robert Vesco" (Wikipedia this name and you'll find an interesting real-life reference); Laila Robins as Elizabeth Keen's apparent mother; Fisher Stevens as Red's far creepier lawyer; the late Clark Middleton as Red's amusingly odd info source at the DMV; Susan Blommaert as Red's "cleaner" (think of Harvey Keitel in "Pulp Fiction"); and teenager Sami Bray as Agent Keen's sweet daughter. Think of Spader as the Christmas tree in this show, and all these other players were the ornaments and gifts that made the tree look good.
I would be overdoing the praise if I did not point out that the plot of the show went completely off the rails for several of its later years when Agent Keen departed from the FBI and set out for personal interests in information and vengeance, and eventually was killed off and missing from the last 2 seasons for no good reason. Recurring villains during her outlaw years were interesting enough to keep my attention even while I considered these plot twists preposterous and horribly out of character for Keen. But the last few episodes that wrapped up Red's story were well constructed, well paced, and offered a satisfying denouement to a character I was admittedly sick and tired of, even though I couldn't take my eye off him. Even though several episodes 3 years back were devoted to trying to explain his backstory, I still don't feel like I know who he actually was, and whether he had any true familial relationship to Keen or not; that plotline was too cryptic and hard to follow for this old head.
But it was a stylish show executed with good production values, suspense and occasional humor, and showed me a lot characters and players that I greatly enjoyed. I especially look forward to what I might see Boone, Tawfig and Banerjee do in future.
The Reddington character is obviously the driving force of most of the action in this series. James Spader was an established major star -- and pretty much the only one in the debut season regular cast -- that they signed to build the show around. And I had already very much liked a lot of his previous work, starting with "Sex, Lies and Videotape" (1989). But he was not why I got hooked on the show and stayed with it for a whole decade. In fact, he was almost the reason I stopped watching it. I hated the way his character was written, and I was revolted by the fact that he played it in a way that seemed to be an homage to the acting style of his "Boston Legal" costar William Shatner. He has a good enough style of his own that this could and should have been avoided. His demeanor with this style made his character far less sympathetic, and generally just annoying to hear droning out his otherwise interesting life experience stories.
What made this show work for me was everyone else they surrounded Red with. The members of the FBI task force were all interesting and far more human than Red, as were the group of recurring business assistants in his orbit, and most of all, there was the lovely Megan Boone as Agent Elizabeth Keen, the object of his purportedly parental affection and chief beneficiary of his very selective assistance to the task force. She was immediately engaging on her own, and she also had terrific chemistry with Ryan Eggold for as long as he lasted as her husband in the early seasons. Her complicated and confusing relationship with Red was also very well played.
The standout performances in this cast started with Hisham Tawfiq as Red's long loyal bodyguard, and also included Diego Klattenhoff who made an excellent first impression as Claire Danes' husband in "Homeland," Amir Arison and Mozhan Marno, Laura Sohn, and in the final season gorgeous Anya Banerjee, all as task force agents; Harry Lennix as their supervisor; Deirdre Lovejoy as Senator Panabaker; Stacey Keach Jr. As Red's occasional partner or rival in crime, "Robert Vesco" (Wikipedia this name and you'll find an interesting real-life reference); Laila Robins as Elizabeth Keen's apparent mother; Fisher Stevens as Red's far creepier lawyer; the late Clark Middleton as Red's amusingly odd info source at the DMV; Susan Blommaert as Red's "cleaner" (think of Harvey Keitel in "Pulp Fiction"); and teenager Sami Bray as Agent Keen's sweet daughter. Think of Spader as the Christmas tree in this show, and all these other players were the ornaments and gifts that made the tree look good.
I would be overdoing the praise if I did not point out that the plot of the show went completely off the rails for several of its later years when Agent Keen departed from the FBI and set out for personal interests in information and vengeance, and eventually was killed off and missing from the last 2 seasons for no good reason. Recurring villains during her outlaw years were interesting enough to keep my attention even while I considered these plot twists preposterous and horribly out of character for Keen. But the last few episodes that wrapped up Red's story were well constructed, well paced, and offered a satisfying denouement to a character I was admittedly sick and tired of, even though I couldn't take my eye off him. Even though several episodes 3 years back were devoted to trying to explain his backstory, I still don't feel like I know who he actually was, and whether he had any true familial relationship to Keen or not; that plotline was too cryptic and hard to follow for this old head.
But it was a stylish show executed with good production values, suspense and occasional humor, and showed me a lot characters and players that I greatly enjoyed. I especially look forward to what I might see Boone, Tawfig and Banerjee do in future.