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Does A&E’s THE CLEANER Deserve To Be Scrubbed??
I am – Hercules!!
A drama about an ex-junkie who becomes an “extreme interventionist” to help strangers overcome their addictions, “The Cleaner” was created by Jonathan Prince ("Cane," "American Dreams") and longtime cable-TV-movie writer Robert Munic (Lifetime’s “Dawn Anna,” Showtime’s “In A Class Of His Own” and “They Call Me Sirr”). It stars Benjamin Bratt (“E-Ring”), Amy Price-Francis (“K-Ville”), Grace Park (“Battlestar Galactica”) and Gil Bellows (“Ally McBeal”). It’s A&E’s first original drama in six years!
None of the critics seems very excited about it.
USA Today gives it one and a half stars (out of four) and says:
… "precious" is only one of the problems with The Cleaner, a hacky drama … Inevitably, the bad monologues give way to bad dialogue …
The New York Times says:
… The writing doesn’t dissuade Mr. Bratt from his inclination toward overstatement. He is forced to sound like a report from the Centers for Disease Control while administering CPR. …
The Los Angeles Times says:
… slightly exasperating … It's a mix of the professionally done, the professionally overdone, the reasonably convincing, the surprisingly hackneyed and the occasionally absurd. …
The Chicago Tribune says:
… The most interesting part of "Intervention" is seeing the painful and dysfunctional personal relationships that can contribute to an addict's downward spiral. So far, "The Cleaner" has little of that drama and none of that pathos. …
The Washington Post says:
… might be exciting if there were a soupcon of substance to the show. If not a soupcon, maybe a tidbit. A dollop. A morsel? …
The San Francisco Chronicle says:
… Though "The Cleaner" in no way approaches the top-notch fare of AMC or FX, it competes well in the arena of TNT and USA series. That is, "The Cleaner" is a solid drama with true grit but several more obviously telegraphed moments or twists than you'll find in the upper tier of cable. …
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says:
… all these elements don't add up to much more than a predictable franchise drama featuring an intervention of the week with a little bit of character development thrown in for good measure.…
The Boston Globe says:
… a concept that begs for - but doesn't altogether get - sophisticated treatment. … good intentions do not a successful drama make. …
Variety says:
… feels painfully slight in the premiere, despite Benjamin Bratt's stoic performance …
The Hollywood Reporter says:
… a visit to the Cleaner is only slightly more cheerful than a meeting with an undertaker. … Without more skillful dialogue and lively stories, this won't help A&E kick the reality habit. …
10 p.m. Tuesday. A&E.
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I'd do Grace Park FIRST...
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...did you know she ate a dead pigeon from a men's urinal as a kid?
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I don't know. It looks pretty good. I was going to watch it.
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I liked Benjamin Bratt (and Dennis Hopper) in E-Ring, a good show that didn't deserve to get cancelled.
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she/they should be on the galactica & the baseship.
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That should have been the headline, surely.
Pity this seems to blow chunks.
Hopefully this will tank hard and fast and she'll be swept up to join her non-toaster husband in Dollhouse. -
stephen king short story about the ultimate intervention program run by the mob...and translated to film with james woods as the smoker, was totally brilliant
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...well not exactly lying.
It was actually an owl.
http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,288920,00.html
Fucking DISGUSTING! -
... as far as WE know ...
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WTF is Grace Park doing in this sack of emo shit?!?
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those were the people that told us Desperate housewives was gunna change TV Forever. They told us before the show went on air that Reaper wasnt gunna have a single fan...until they saw the show themselves and changed thier mind...This show looks absolutely awesome...and im not even much of a critic
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I really like the promo where Ben picks up the junky while we hear a woman (former love?) berating him for saving others when he should have saved himself a long time ago. Suddenly, the junky in his arms is him. All the while, "Clean" by Depeche Mode is playing. Very good and effective promo. It sounds like it's too bad that the people who made the promo didn't make the series.
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...is this some Jesusy shit?
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