November 26, 2008

Upcoming Life on the rez

NBC's Life is a TV show I watch regularly. Here's a bit on the show and an upcoming episode:

Life:  SummarySummary

Damian Lewis stars as a former police officer who, after years of false imprisonment, returns to the force with a decidedly different philosophy.

Next Episode

Evil...and his brother Ziggy
Airs: Wednesday December 3, 2008

A sheriff's deputy is found dead on an Indian reservation, Crews and Reese are in the middle of a turf war between Tribal police and the county sheriff's department. The team learns that the victim was not well-liked on the reservation. Meanwhile, Crews attends a fundraiser thrown by Mickey Rayborn, one of Crews suspect involved in the conspiracy against him.
Comment:  If you've been following events on the Soboba Reservation here in Southern California, you know this is a real issue. This episode seems to be a classic "ripped from the headlines" story.

I saw actor Zarn McClarnon in the preview, so at least it'll include some real Indians. If it accurately portrays the law enforcement conflict, I'll be impressed. If it does so without getting into gaming or casino corruption, I'll be even more impressed.

So we had August Schellenberg in Grey's Anatomy a couple weeks ago and a rez-based drama next week. If the networks did this every week, they'd meet their diversity quota and critics like me would have no reason to complain.

For more on the subject, see TV Shows Featuring Indians.

4 comments:

dmarks said...

This is the first time I'd heard of the show, and I think it is because it has such a generic-sounding name. I'll have to check it out.

Rob said...

Russell Bates and I briefly discussed Life last year. I think you were there. ;-)

The title actually has several layers of meaning. Here's the show's slogan and my interpretation of it:

Life was his sentence. [Charlie Crews served 12 years of a life sentence for a murder he didn't commit.] Life is what he got back. [He obviously got his freedom back. While in jail, he also learned to appreciate life more. But as a free man, he's still imprisoned by his past. He won't be free of his "life" sentence and able to enjoy his life until he finds out who framed him.]

So the title actually fits the show. But since non-viewers won't pick up on these nuances, it's not a great title. If NBC wanted to use the word "Life," it could've gone with something like "Life Sentence" or "Sentenced to Life."

dmarks said...

Is it an adaptation of that Eddie Murphy movie?

Rob said...

You mean the movie called Life? I didn't remember that one until I looked it up. No, it's not an adaptation, but the core idea--imprisoned for a crime they didn't commit--is similar.

I presume the movie title Life has the same multiple meanings as the TV title Life. Which is another reason the show's creators might've thought of a different title.