Well...man. That was unexpected. Smith, starring Ray Liotta, has gotten little media attention and middling reviews. I was expecting to see another run-of-the-mill action show with a lot of flash and production values. A show that was superficial and ultimately underwhelming. What I got instead was much, much more. CBS has publicized Smith well enough, airing a number of promos on its own network, but not to the degree in which, say, NBC has pushed Heroes or Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Smith should appeal to anyone who loves Tarantino-style action; Smith is far grittier and edgy than most anything on network television. Liotta stars as Bobby Stevens, a professional thief who “works� his days as paper cup salseman. His home life is complicated and dense. His wife is Hope Stevens (played by the great Virginia Madsen) and they have two kids. Hope is unaware of Bobby's dual life, but is suspicious of Bobby, but not overtly. It becomes clear that the two had recently split for an undetermined period of time, but are now doing better. Oh, and Hope is on parole for some sort of drug violation. Now, this is only a minor part of the pilot. The script is complex and layered, setting up a number of relationships and three-dimensional characters. Bobby's team is full of shady characters who are all set up in memorable ways. Did I say this show is gritty? Watch as two innocent thugs are mercilessly gunned down on a private beach. Watch as an innocent woman is tasered in the chest, in the name of a robbery. Watch as a security guard is peppered with a load of bullets to the chest. Liotta is playing a less over the top version of his Henry Hill character from "Goodfellas". He plays it easy and good-hearted for most of the episode, but we see his criminal side come out in brief, intense moments. Amy Smart plays her hardened member of the team with ruthless badass-ity and Simon Baker is ice cold (at one point drop kicking a cat for no apparent reason). I wonder if the epic scope Smith can be kept up through the season; the pilot is shot at a number of diverse locations, with tons of extras and lots of explosions. The heist itself is exciting, simple and smart, not caught up in unbelievable electronics gizmos, but with common sense. Smith has catapulted itself into my seasons pass and I hope the remainder of the season lives up to the precedent it set with it's awesome pilot. Four Stars. -Oscar Dahl