November 10, 2006
After the highly-charged, fantastic new show Smith was canceled by CBS after only three episodes hit the air, fans wondered if CBS would ever air the four other episodes that had been produced. As it turns out, CBS isn't going to air them on the network, but they are now streaming the episodes, free-of-charge on CBS Innertube, which is on the CBS website.
This is a fair enough compromise, I suppose, but it can't make up for the anger that Smith fans still feel towards CBS for giving up on the show so early on in the season.
October 23, 2006
TVGuide has an insider account as to why intoxicating heist drama Smith was canceled after only three episodes. Smith was, by all accounts, an excellent and promising show. Yet, after the ratings dipped from week one to week three, CBS pulled the plug and gave no reason for the abrupt decision. Well, now it looks like we have a couple of definitive reasons for Smith's exit.
October 13, 2006
This is the first time I've come across this. Our friends over at TMZ.com have broken the news on what shows will replace the departed Kidnapped on NBC and the newly-shelved Smith on CBS. You can check out the article by clicking here.
October 6, 2006
It was announced today that CBS has “shelved� it's prime-time drama Smith and halted the show's production. Smith has not performed well in it's Tuesday 10PM timeslot and CBS took this to mean that Smith was not worth airing. Although the official statement is that Smith is only “shelved� production has been shut down and it is unlikely that any of us will ever see another episode again.
September 28, 2006
The premise of Smith is completely ridiculous: A family man (Ray Liotta) is actually a master thief, who travels around the country pulling off grand heists. He has a team of specialists who assist him, and none are redeeming characters. So, we are supposed to root for a guy who deceives his wife and son, is a mercenary, and is a man who witnesses the death of a team member and walks away with no remorse? On paper, this all seems a tad unpleasant, doesn't it? Well, somehow, it's not. With Smith, CBS has created one of the most entertaining and gleefully evil shows televison has seen in a long time.
Smith is a derivative of the type of cinema currently embodied by the works of Tarantino. Hardened anti-heroes who do bad things, yet still remain in the viewer's good graces. Like characters on “The Sopranos�, we would not be friends with these people in real life. We wouldn't like them and, in all likelihood, we'd be scared of them. However, in the context of their own, specific universe, we can root for them and become caught up in their plight. Why? I don't think it's over-simplifying it to say that it's just entertaining. Smith focuses on Bobby Steven's team pulling off high-stakes robberies. As long as these robberies are exciting (which they have been so far) the viewers will be tuning in.
Viewers can forgive a lot when it comes to their protagonists. People identify with flawed characters because they themselves are flawed. When Simon Baker's character on Smith mercilessly guns down two thugs, simply because they kicked him off their private beach, we identify with him. We don't agree with harshness of his reaction and would never consider doing what he did (I don't own a sniper rifle, anyway) but we respect that he stood up for himself and would like to believe that we'd stand for oursleves in the same situation. Anti-heroes take reality and accentuate to a degree that the layman will never know.
Smith is good only because it's characters are the bad people they are. I've heard complaints that the characters on Smith are so totally unredeemable that they just can't watch Smith. Well, how would the show work if Ray Liotta played Bobby Stevens as a nice, warm-hearted, respectful, stand-up guy? It would seem wildly improbable for a guy like that to be involved in the world of high-stakes robberies. Of course, this seems obvious, but it's a key issue to ponder over when discussing the premise of any show. When creating a TV show, you typically begin with the premise. I'm sure that was the genesis of Smith. Creator Jon Wells probably thought, “Hmm, you know what'd be cool? If there was a show where a team of thieves pulled off a different heist every week.� From there, what kind of a main character do you create? There aren't a lot of options. Sticking to a take-no-prisoners bad ass is usually the best choice.
Smith is still early in it's run and it could easily drop off in quality as the season goes along. I hope not, because CBS has created a show that is fun, full of action and uncompromising in it's vision.
-Oscar Dahl, BuddyTV Senior Writer
September 20, 2006
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
September 14, 2006
Fall 2006 New Shows Rank: #2
Gist of the Show:
Smith is about a group of thieves who travel the country and keep their “thieving� lives and “personal� lives separate. Each episode of Smith portrays a different heist.
Cast Member Looking To Reclaim Former Glory:
Ray Liotta.
Similar in Theme to:
"True Lies", "Mr. And Mrs. Smith".
Time Slot Competition:
Boston Legal, Law & Order: SVU
Likelihood of Second Season:
65%
Final Word:
Maybe I shouldn't have ranked Smith this high, it's buzz is minimal, but it looks pretty darn cool to me. The cast is great (I'm a big Amy Smart fan) and Ray Liotta is a bad ass. If Smith makes the different heists look cool, I'll be watching.
(True Story: A few years back I was going to school in LA, and my roommate and I decided to go see a movie. It was around noon, mid-week, in the winter. We're in the air-conditioned theater, waiting for Martin Scorsese's “The Aviator� to start. There are roughly eight people in this large theater, so I decide to drape my legs over the seat in front of me. All of a sudden, a contingent of 12 or so elderly people meander into the theater. As I said, the theater is empty. However, a couple of these aforementioned elderly individuals decide that their seats of choice are the seats over which my legs are draped. Reluctantly, I move my legs, but remain mildly offended. Without notice, a man, roughly eight seats to our left, lets out a large grunt towards us.
“F!@#$ing old people!� he says, semi-loudly.
We look over at the man. It's Ray Liotta, sitting alone, munching on popcorn.)
-Oscar Dahl
<< Return to 2006 Fall Preview: New Shows 1-10
September 1, 2006
Everyone loves heist movies that are weaved with elements of drama – think of Ocean’s Eleven, The Italian Job, and Entrapment. CBS is attempting to bring those elements to the TV screen with Ray Liotta starring as Bobby Stevens in Smith. For good measure, Smith also includes doses of a wife at home with a semi “ignorance is blissâ€? attitude as Bobby Stevens hustles to bring home a few big deals before getting caught by the FBI. It’s difficult not to root for him as he struggles with his epic work-life balance issues.
In the end, the success or failure of Smith will be determined by how well each of the cast members and their own expertise (like guns, logistics, etc.) mix together, like they did so well in Ocean’s Eleven and The Italian Job. If so, then I believe CBS may have these heist action – drama fans watching every Tuesday this Fall.