One of my alltime favorite shows:
The Equalizer
The Robert McCall File:
DESCRIPTION: Height: 5'10"; Weight: 175 lbs; Hair: Grey; Eyes: Hazel; Age mid-fifties; Marital status: Divorced; Children: Son, Scott; Daughter, Kathy (deceased); Daughter, Yvette (from liaison with agent Manon); Generally well-dressed in expensive suits, silk shirts, Italian shoes.
HISTORY: Senior operative for Federal agency known as "The Company," specializing in international espionage and intelligence assignments, including terrorist activities for over 30 years. Disillusioned with espionage, and disgusted with what he had done and been required to do, he had a desire to change his life ("start with a clean slate and
feeling good") and to make amends for acts committed in the name of "Country." He retired voluntarily in 1985, leaving a job that no one was allowed to leave, despite warnings that The Company believed him to be a most dangerous man and would not allow him to live. His rivals and enemies, though many, appear generally unwilling to challenge him.
CURRENTLY: In an effort to atone for what he perceives as his "sins" in the past, he has taken up residence in Manhattan, offering his services as "The Equalizer, "attempting to equalize the odds, helping the individual achieve justice. He fields phone calls from desperate, persecuted people, who are unable or unwilling to contact local
authorities. Based on information they provide, he develops a plan of action to relieve their situation, calling on personal resources and occasionally enlisting the aid of former associates such as Mickey, Jimmy, Sterno, Dana, and Control. Financially secure, with abundant private resources, an expensive auto (a black Jaguar), enough on-hand cash to buy a bar in New York City to help out a former agent/friend, and multiple bank accounts secured throughout the world, he rarely requires fees for his help. He still does an occasional job for The Company, usually as a favor out of friendship rather than fear or obligation.
Robert McCall has a surprisingly rich personal life. Although a marriage to an American citizen, Kay, ended in divorce, due to his dedication to his work, he has reconciled with his son, Scott, and their relationship continues to grow. Since he learned of his daughter, Yvette, by agent Manon, their relationship is also growing. He has friends both within the espionage community and on the outside. His friends within The Company are willing to risk their careers and lives to help him. His romantic life seems successful, though tragic at times because of his unwillingness to draw others into the life he has chosen for himself.
ANALYSIS: Robert McCall is a man driven by demons. When having decided that there is good reason for it, he seems to have no qualms about killing, but later suffers tremendous guilt over the act of "taking a human life." He is working out the debt he feels he owes humanity, and is plagued by nightmares of the faces of the people he has killed. He is also plagued by the realization that much of life passed him by as he focused on his work. One need only look at his relationship with his son, Scott--a constant battle to make up for a missed childhood--to understand McCall's torment.
He is competent and confident in his ability to succeed in his work, and quick to threaten or punish those who betray him or refuse to cooperate. He is ruthless when he feels the cause is just. He is inventive and adaptive, able to turn almost any situation to his advantage.
According to Edward Woodward, the man who knows him best, "McCall is a fascinating enigma, a man who never tells a lie, yet lies to himself constantly, because he immerses himself in the problems of others to avoid facing his own. In truth, he is at heart, a strong-minded pacifist--one who has proven to be extremely adept at violence but only after all other options have been exhausted and force is the only recourse."
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