Why the Equalizer?

The television show, The Equalizer (EQ), ran from September 1985 to August 1989 on CBS. When the show first aired, I did not watch because I thought the premise reactionary: A man with a gun helps people in New York solve their problems, and in almost every episode, people are killed. Sounds like a vigilante!

But then a funny thing happened: I finally did watch the show a few times and I was hooked. I thought of my enjoyment of the show like my enjoyment of football: it was (and is) a guilty pleasure. Given my personal and political philosophy, I should not like football, but the truth is, I love it.

And I loved EQ. Of course, I one big reason I loved it was the character Micki Kostmayer, played with sometimes over-the-top craziness by Keith Szarabajka. I thought he was really HOT! After those first few episodes, I taped many of the next 3 seasons of the show on VHS. It's amazing that I did not tape over these original tapes; I had long ago taped over my Miami Vice (another of my favorites) episodes. But for some reason I kept most (but not all) of the EQ tapes, despite the fact that some of them are almost impossible to see because of bad reception in my mountain home. After a few years, USA and A&E broadcast (sometimes terribly butchered versions of) EQ, and I added to my tape collection.

At the end of 2008, 20+ years later, I hauled them out and started watching, and I'm hooked again, party for similar reasons, partly for different reasons. I still think that Micki is hot, but I'm 20+ years older and am more attracted to the main character, 50-something Robert McCall. The unique aspect of this show is that McCall is 50-something, has gray hair, is a little pudgy, and looks and dresses like a banker, yet he is an ex-super spy whom other characters call one of the most dangerous men they know. What a sweet paradox!

Not to say he is hard on the eyes. Although he is 50-something (I won't say "old" because I'm 50-something!), he looks FINE in his fabulously tailored suits with perfectly matching tie, handkerchief, muffler and overcoat, not to mention that interesting little pin he wears on his lapel. (I remember when Edward Woodward, who played McCall, was questioned about the significance of the pin he said it meant nothing, but it was sure fun to speculate.) Back in the day I thought his clothes outdated; now I see them as wonderfully classic, especially in comparison with some of the "hip" clothes other characters wear. (I won't go into how AWFUL women's clothese were then -- eek, how did we WEAR them?)

The OTHER reason I'm watching is that I am fascinated how the show mirrors the political and culture wars of the 1980s. Plus, the writers managed to sneak in wonderfu little references that are fun to ferret out.

I'll soon be posting my thoughts about the show in general and about individual episodes soon.