Fall TV Preview: Life on NBC
Damian Lewis and Adam Arkin Star in This New Police Drama
After serving 12 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit, a dedicated former police officer returns to the force
Instead of people with unusual powers (“Heroes”) or enhanced abilities (“The Bionic Woman”), NBC’s “Life” focuses instead on a police officer who returns to work after serving 12 years of a life sentence.
“Band of Brothers” Star Damian Lewis Plays Officer Charlie Crews
The pilot episode opens with a mock documentary about Crews, a police officer convicted of a triple murder and sentenced to life inside Pelican Bay Penitentiary. According to Charlie’s friends on the force, the “killer cop” became a human punching bag for the other convicts and, after suffering numerous broken bones and knife wounds, the guards placed him in solitary confinement for his own safety.
New Evidence and a New Life
After more than a decade behind bars, Charlie’s lawyer reopens the case and, based on some irregularities in the evidence, the courts finally set him free. His wife and the good life that he once loved are now lost to him, though
A Return to the LAPD
Upon his release, Crews sues the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and the city of Los Angeles for wrongful imprisonment, receiving an undisclosed sum of money in the settlement. The LAPD also must reinstate Crews and promote him to full detective, but with all the money that he received, his friend and co-workers wonder why he wanted to return to work so badly.
Zen and the Art of Detective Work
Crews still is the by-the-book officer that he once was, but instead of standard police procedures, he draws upon the Zen philosophy books that kept him sane in solitary. His unusual investigative methods annoy his new partner Dani Reese (Sarah Shahi), but he does manage to get the job done.
Charlie Crews’ Hidden Agenda
Though he’s building a brand-new life for himself, complete with a fancy sports car and an expensive home, as the pilot episode ends, the audience learns the real reason why Crews insisted on returning to the LAPD instead of merely taking the money that was offered to him.
“Life” Has Some Unusual Qualities
Police dramas literally are a dime-a-dozen these days, but “Life” is a mixture of drama and mock documentary footage. Damian Lewis also gives Charlie Crews some interesting traits, such as a passion for eating fresh fruit with a knife.
Adam Arkin and Sarah Shahi Provide Good Backup
Sarah Shahi (“The L Word”) provides more than adequate backup for Lewis as Charlie’s new partner who has some skeletons in her own closet, but the real breakout star of this series is Adam Arkin (“Chicago Hope”) as convicted embezzler Ted Earley. Sent to jail for his white collar crime, Ted met Charlie in prison and, now bankrupt, he lives in a room above Charlie’s new garage.
The “Life” Sentence
Mixed in with all the other one-hour heroic dramas, “Life” has a quirky quality that just might set it apart from the rest of the primetime pack. It’s broadcast on NBC on Wednesday evenings at 10 p.m. EST
