‘Life’ Fall Finale: Zen Goes Out the Window
Charlie Crews Is The Man
Was Life‘s midseason finale “Fill It Up, Part 2” satisfying or what?
There’s a pivotal scene near the beginning of the episode where wronged policeman Charlie Crews (Damian Lewis) is riding along on a deserted highway, listening to a Zen tape. He’s just received a call from an inmate whose help he enlisted to track down the convict he thinks is responsible for the murders that sent him to prison for twelve years.
The meditative discourse on the tape unfolds:
The Buddha was asked if he ever felt anger.
“Of course,” said the Buddha.
The Buddha was asked if he ever felt the desire to strike another.
“Of course,” said the Buddha.
“But, if I am connected to all things,” said the Buddha, “hurting another is hurting myself. And how does that better me?”
Crews’ reply: “Because it just does.”
At that point, the police detective with a huge score to settle calmly ejects the tape from the deck and flings it out the window onto the dusty road. He drives away a few yards, and when the car stops for a few lingering seconds, it seems like he’s going to turn the car around and drive back to retrieve the tape. Yet, the moment passes when Crews continues onward to complete his mission.
That telling scene perfectly sums up the momentum of Life‘s first season thus far. Crews wanted his old cop job back after being released from jail thanks to DNA evidence that exonerated him. Still, that goal was tempered by his irrepressible though well-concealed urge to nail the bastards responsible for him having been imprisoned in the first place.
Yeah—Zen is a nice way of life and everything, but when it’s time to get down to business with the bad guys, the discipline of enlightenment must go. If anyone was doubting it before, now you know: fruit-loving, jovial, contemplative Crews can be bad to the bone when the need arises, which means watching him take down whoever set him up twelve years ago during the back half of the season will be as thrilling as it gets. Fans should be so glad NBC wisely renewed this keeper.
The Verdict: A
Life photo courtesy of NBC
The Zen of this show is the only thing that set it apart from every cop drama. Each season we see a new batch of copy cat cop shows. After the writer strike, it seems they lost the writer’s that worked the Zen in or the actor, (Nicholos Guest) that did the audio voice-over in the style of Alan Watts. Either way they are getting very close to “jumping the shark” without the unique angle of Zen and adding the unbelievable side romantic story line – as much as I enjoyed seeing Sarah Shahi in her panties…. There is a reason Law and Order has been around so long. – People dont really care to see romance in their crime shows. Just stick to the investigation, I’ll worry about not seeing Sarah prancing around.
The Zen of this show is the only thing that set it apart from every cop drama.
Oh, I disagree with that opinion, Hugh. I think the quirky storylines and the fantastic acting of the cast, especially star Damian Lewis as Charlie, are what set Life apart. I can understand why some viewers might not care for the whole affair distraction between Dani and the boss, but I personally don’t mind because I like all of the characters that much.
The show isn’t close to jumping the shark to me, but it probably is close to getting canceled because of the poor ratings. *sigh* I’ve no idea what NBC can do about that, though, except move the show to USA Network.
I surely hope they don’t cancel `life`. I became fascinated by the storyline, and the whole Zen concept.
You and me both, Steve. Life is truly one of the most entertaining shows on television these days and it definitely deserves another season. I’m holding my breath until NBC’s announcement about the show’s fate.