Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Lethal Weapon: Season 1

 

Lethal Weapon is a TV adaptation of the movies which, as most know, starred Mel Gibson and Danny Glover. The series is led by Damon Wayans taking over the role of Roger Murtaugh, a veteran detective who is not on the brink of retirement as the character was in the movies, but trying to lead a less stressful life because of a recently diagnosed heart condition. That plan is upset when he is partnered with Martin Riggs, played by Clayne Crawford (who had been a character actor up to this point), a recently widowed ex-Navy Seal who has little regard for rule, or safety, especially his own. 

The show follows a pretty standard procedural buddy-cop show format. It has a case-of-the-week format, but toward the end of the season does introduce a serial arc that stretches into the second season. The show has a strong supporting cast including Jordana Brewster, who plays the department psychologist, Maureen Cahil, Keesha Sharp as Roger's wife Trish, Kevin Rahm as the police captain Avery Brooks, and also has a very strong recurring cast including Thomas Lennon who plays Leo Getz (a version of the character Joe Pesci played in the movies), Hillarie Burton as DEA agent Karen Palmer, and Floriana Lima, who plays Rigg's late wife, Miranda in flashbacks.

If you get the blu-ray set, the A/V quality is good, about the same as the other Warner blu-ray releases, but not outstanding. There are some extras including an extended version of the pilot episode that adds less than a minute to the version that aired, about 25 minutes, give or take, worth of deleted scenes spread across the three discs, and a short (under three minutes) gag reel. The most extensive extra is a 15-minute making-of featurette that includes cast and showrunner interviews that goes over how the show came to be, how they tried to tie things in with the movies (like using some of the same locations) but also trying to make the show their own entity (by putting twists on characters such as having Leo be an ambulance chasing lawyer as opposed to a mob accountant). 

I think the first season did a good job of putting a twist on the story. Both Crawford and Wayans did a great job honoring the characters as Gibson and Glover played them without being carbon copies of either of them, which would not work. As most fans of the series are aware, Crawford would eventually be fired from the show because of behavioral issues, including tension with Wayans that reportedly turned into outright hatred. But, during the first season, if any of that had started it did not bleed over into what made it on screen. The show is pretty solidly TV-13 as it does have some violence and as much bad language and sexual content as can be aired on network TV. I cannot say that everyone will love it, but if you liked the movies I do think it is worth checking out.