Fastlane – The Complete Series (Warner DVD)

 

Picture: C+     Sound: C+     Extras: C-     Episodes: C-

 

 

Blame the bad syndicated TV of the 1980s, but the one thing the death of analog TV will end is bad action TV shows with an assumed hipness, pseudo-knowingness and assumption they are so smart when they are oh so smug.  The CBS Late Movie (which showed more TV episodes than feature films) began this when they threw on bad new TV shows to replace the great reruns of Universal classics they were showing.  Even shot on film, these shows always looked phony, so what producer could possibly imitate this sad phenomenon?

 

Music Video and sometimes feature film director McG!!!

 

Yes, proving that he will go “Full Throttle” with anything that he can sell to anyone, he co-produced the terrible Fastlane, a series that wanted to be Mod Squad meets Miami Vice meets 21 Jump Street, seeming like a very bad version of the laughable latter and now on DVD in all of its 22 hour-long instances of smug, would-be glory.  And what an odd trio cats, including Peter Facinelli, (appropriately from a Music Video director) former MTV VJ Bill Bellamy and Tiffani Thiessen as “the girl” no matter what independence is implied.  She’s not as much of an “Angel” as she could have been.

 

They make up a supposedly elite team cutting deals (rarely with a style or look change throughout the season) with real money to expose criminals of all kinds, but need real money to full those dumb drug and arms (et al) dealers as they could not possibly suspect the cops are setting up sting operations!

 

Try not to fall asleep.

 

Writer/Producer John McNamara has worked on duds like the TV revival of The Fugitive and problematic series Spy Game, but we’ll give him points for Jericho.  However, this might be the worst thing he’s made to date and he can only blame McG so much.  While the actors where just doing their job, there is not much to do but re-enforce stereotypes about the real world and make a cartoon out of them, which is insulting.  Audiences agreed and let this die quickly, though Warner fulfilled their contractual obligations and that is what we call a package deal, something McG apparently thrives on.

 

 

The 1.33 X 1 image can be soft at times, but after averaging out the episodes here, the playback is above average at best.  The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo is supposed to have Pro Logic surrounds, but they are weak and the overall recording of each show is only so good anyhow.  Extras include outtakes, bloopers, five featurettes and unaired/extended materials from the pilot.  If you look, you’ll actually see why.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo