The Cleaner: Saving Lives One Episode at a Time
New Drama Targets the Dark Side
Tonight, Law & Order alum Benjamin Bratt will return to the tube on The Cleaner, the first new original series from basic cable’s A&E in six years. Was the wait worth it?
That’s a good question, and the answer is a vague “It depends…”
A&E has built a solid reputation in recent years as a destination for reality series both worthwhile (Intervention) and not (Dog The Bounty Hunter). If you’re looking forward to The Cleaner as a scripted version of the first Emmy-nominated show, you’d be wise to lower those great expectations right now.
Bratt plays William “The Cleaner” Banks, a character reportedly based on real-life former addict and current addiction counselor Warren Boyd. The fictional man promised God he would recover from his own drug addiction and help other addicts, as well, in exchange for a second chance at life. Apparently, his wish was granted because the television series focuses on what happens after that deal is struck.
Now clean as a whistle and a regular conversation partner for God, Banks heads a team of dedicated yet diverse members who assist him with his solemn work: street-smart rich girl Akani Cuesta (Battlestar Galactica’s Grace Park), lazy whiner Arnie Swenton (Level 9’s Esteban Powell), and steadfast Darnell McDowell (The Knights of Prosperity’s Kevin Michael Richardson).
But despite that support system, Banks’ life and work are complicated by his family, wife Melissa (Californication’s Amy Price-Francis) and children Ben (Brett DelBuono) and Lula (Liliana Mumy), who constantly make it clear they feel neglected.
A little tension in the home is only expected for someone with such an unconventional self-chosen calling, so I forgive the series for spending so much time on that aspect of his world. It’s how Banks’ area of expertise is handled that worries me.
The pilot introduces viewers to the methods used by Banks and his team when they take on the case of a high school student who has become a wasted meth addict. That bare-bones plot could be handled in many effective ways, yet the show boggles it down in an avalanche of dialogue and slowly paced, almost languid, scenes that can’t help but make one wonder how the word “extreme” got tacked onto the description of Banks as an “extreme interventionist.”
If you persist to the end of the episode, there is a little action to provide a little payoff. The key word is “little,” however. When you tease me by promising a character who does extreme work, you’ve got to deliver with extreme situations or drama.
Unfortunately, The Cleaner doesn’t meet that expectation anywhere in the pilot, which is why I’m going to have to catch a couple more episodes before deciding whether the series will be a must-see for me. I do have faith, though, because the cast is undeniably strong. I just hope the material catches up with them soon.
Related Post: The Cleaner: Enter to Win a Bratt Pack
The Cleaner will air Tuesdays on A&E at 10pm EST
Benjamin Bratt/The Cleaner photo courtesy of CBS Paramount Network Television
Will there be any new episodes in 2009?
I’m pretty sure there will be, Colleen. I don’t know exactly when the show returns, but unless something drastic happens, The Cleaner will be back before the end of 2009.
The Cleaner is entertaining, real in some areas, of course hollywood BS in others. But, I take time out of school, work, family to watch it. Hope it’s back. It’s not as predictable as other shows and I like that.
You’re in luck, Woman, because A&E renewed The Cleaner for a second season. It should return later this year, although exactly when, I don’t know.