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 ith the mammoth (and I think unexpected) success of TV
Tech Cop show "C.S.I." and its 20 other imitators spread across the 4
networks, it was inevitable that some clever writer would pitch this idea:
"It's C.S.I. but in the Wild West!" That, in a nutshell, is the
premise of "Peacemakers", an original USA Network TV series. Set in
the 1880s, when the West was still wild -- although not too wild, since phones
are available (?) -- "Peacemakers" stars Tom Berenger ("Sniper
2") as Stone, a Marshal in the booming mine town of Silver City,
Colorado.
After a murder involving a land baron, Stone gets unwanted
help from Pinkerton agent Finch (Peter O'Meara, "Band
of Brothers"). Also helping out with all the latest and greatest
forensics science (at least "latest and greatest" in the 1880s) is
town mortician Katie Owen (Amy Carlson, TV's "Third Watch"), a medical
school dropout. Other regular cast members include Bellamy Young as Twyla
Gentry, the town's intrepid Lois Lane-type, and Barbara Tyson as the local
prostitute with a heart of gold. The other fiery smart woman in the pilot is Fay
Masterson as the wife of the dead land baron.
I should say right now that I'm not a big fan of Tech Cop
shows. I have seen about 30 minutes worth of "C.S.I." in all the time
it has been on, and I have not bothered to watch any second of the imitators.
What can I say, I don't find watching "cops" clicking on computers or
peering into microscopes to be all that exhilarating. So with that in mind,
you'll forgive me if I don't find the idea behind "Peacemakers", with
its ancient recreation of forensics science, to be anything to get excited
about.
In truth, we don't really see all that much -- at least not
in the pilot. It remains to be seen if the writers can keep coming up with
"roll back" versions of what we know today as forensics. And although
the pilot involves a murder investigation -- the often-used crime in all the
Tech Cop shows, I believe -- what about future episodes? Surely they can't keep
throwing out bodies to be investigated. After all, this is just a small Wild
West town with what amounts to half a "block" worth of citizens. Which
probably means future episodes will involve other types of crimes. I hear horse
thievery was big back then. Obviously there's more than a little revisionist
history going on, but that's to be expected.
Best of all, it's good to see Tom Berenger back in the
saddle as a hardened ex-Civil War hero who takes his job seriously, but not too
seriously. Although slightly bigger around the midsection (if you know what I
mean), Berenger still makes a terrific leading man. I also liked that Stone is
smart enough to take advantage of Finch's clearly superior science. As Finch,
Peter O'Meara looks the part of the egghead, but his character is
stereotypically Stuffy and Snobbish -- i.e. British. Always ready with an insult
directed at Stone or the town, the Finch character needs to mellow out a lot
more or he's going to be very dislikeable.
Supporting player Amy Carlson isn't in the pilot episode
long enough for her performance to have any impact. Bellamy Young, on the other
hand, makes an impression in her brief scenes with potential love interest
Stone. There's also a black character that keeps following Stone around,
apparently trying to watch his back. No mention is made of who he is, or why
he's so concern with Stone's safety. I guess that's what future episodes are
for.
There are a number of other things to like about the
90-minute pilot episode. Condescending Englishman Finch turns out to be more
physically capable than he looks. And as mentioned, after some initial head
butting, Stone and Finch ends up working pretty well together -- probably too
well, in fact. There is also some humor to be found, like when Finch calls Stone
by way of a primitive telephone system, then telling Stone to hurry over to his
lab instead of just telling him over the new fandangle invention. Things like
that will give audiences bits and pieces of "inside" entertainment
only possible with hindsight.
On the negative side, "Peacemakers" will probably
end every episode (as it did with the pilot) with one of those "wrap up
scenes" where the heroes gather with the villains in one location and
explain how this or that crime was committed. Via flashback we'll see the crime
happening, how, and why ala "C.S.I." Really, I could have done without
that. Then again, fans of "C.S.I." probably love that stuff, and this
show is definitely aimed at them.
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