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British series 'Callan' offers strong showing by Edward Woodward
By Rich Heldenfels
Beacon Journal popular culture writer
Published on Sunday, Jul 05, 2009
Before Edward Woodward was The Equalizer on U.S. TV, he was an action star in Great Britain in the series Callan.
The title character, played by Woodward, was an assassin and spy whose work for a shadowy British organization took a great physical and emotional toll on him. The series originally aired from 1967 to 1972 and has become a cult favorite, thanks to its intrigue, its morally complex characters and a good performance by Woodward.
While episodes have shown up on video before, the show can be hard to find (and old VHS copies fetch a sizable price on Amazon.com). So there will probably be some interest in Callan: Set 1 (Acorn, nine episodes, three discs, $49.99).
And it does have its merits, from a style that leans heavily on intense closeups to the complicated plotting. On the other hand, it often looks studio-bound and less natural than viewers have come to expect of crime shows.
In addition, Acorn's package includes the show's third season (the first in color), and it picks up after some events which — though alluded to — would have been more effective after seeing the earlier telecasts.
The DVD does include a biography of Woodward and Callan trivia. And local viewers may be amused to see that the character testing Callan's shooting skills is not only American, but also from Youngstown.
Speaking of local connections, Eagle Rock Entertainment on Tuesday offers Mr. Rock N Roll: The Alan Freed Story ($14.99), a 1999 TV movie about the disc jockey who — besides having ties to Cleveland and Akron — was one of the key figures in the spread of rock 'n' roll and rhythm and blues.
Judd Nelson plays Freed. When the movie premiered, I wrote that it ''rewrites or invents Freed's story, from the anachronistic use of songs to fictionalizing the names of radio stations. . . . Most of the effort in the movie seems to have gone into staging a few musical numbers where modern actors mime to vintage rock and roll tracks (by Jackie Wilson, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis and others). The rest of it looks hasty, sloppy and under-budgeted.''
In addition, it has Freed saying, ''Cleveland wasn't the big time but it was better than Akron.'' And Toronto stands in for Cleveland in the movie. No DVD extras.
Shaker Heights native Molly Shannon made a showy return to TV last season. Unfortunately, it was in a regrettable sitcom called Kath & Kim, which did not get renewed by NBC. But, since money still must be made, the series will be on DVD on Tuesday (Universal, 17 episodes, two discs, $19.98).
Based on a hit Australian series, it starred Shannon and Selma Blair as a weird mother and daughter dealing with life and love. There were funny moments and a lot of seemingly improvised scenes, but overall it was an unpleasant effort.
Extras include deleted scenes, bloopers and audio commentaries.
In stores now, and deserving your attention, is Parker Lewis Can't Lose: The Complete First Season (Shout! Factory, 26 episodes, four discs, $49.99). The series, which aired on Fox from 1990 to 1993, was part of a wave of high-school shows at the time (Beverly Hills, 90210, premiered a month after Parker) and one of two shows trying to recapture the hit magic of the big-screen Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
While the other show, NBC's single-season Ferris Bueller, was a more direct copy of the movie, Parker Lewis — with Corin Nemec as the smart, scheming kid — was a better show, both in comedy and its visual inventiveness. Indeed, looking at the show now, you can see a line from The Monkees before Parker to things like Scrubs and Arrested Development after.
Besides the episodes, the DVD includes a half-hour look back at the making of the show, with the producers and cast, and commentary on some episodes.
Down the DVD road: Fox will release The Paul Newman Tribute Collection, a set of 13 movies on 17 discs, on Sept. 22. It's reasonably priced at $89.98 but includes a good bit of previously released material.
Rich Heldenfels writes about popular culture for the Beacon Journal, in the HeldenFiles Online blog at http://heldenfels.ohio.com and on Twitter. He can be reached at 330-996-3582 and rheldenfels@thebeaconjournal.com.
Before Edward Woodward was The Equalizer on U.S. TV, he was an action star in Great Britain in the series Callan.
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