Miscellaneous Comments:    Wednesday, 13 January 1999 Michael Hayes was a short-lived cop show from the 1997-98 TV season. It ran 22 episodes. Was the highest rated new drama on CBS that year.

    And still got cancelled.

    That was the season Fitz, Nothing Sacred and C16-FBI all bit the dust.

    Not a good season for quality drama.

    Michael Hayes is probably my favourite show from that list. All because of it's central character.

    I loved Michael Hayes. From the get-go, I was really taken with the character, and what he stood for. He was a cop, promoted to the top of his profession (when his superior was targeted for assassination), and determined to do the right thing. No matter what toes got stepped on.

    He made a lot of enemies.

    And refused to play political games for his own gain.

    He was likable. Admirable. Idealistic. Principled.

    A Star Trek character transported to 1998 America.

    It's kind of a given thing, these days, that we live in an unfair, imbalanced world. Where there's one law for the rich, another for the poor. Where it matters not what you know, but rather who you know.

    You don't have to be in America to see that. Even in small town Ireland, things operate like that. In small towns like mine, there's an elite. A clique of "untouchables". Nothing on the grand-scale of New York law-breakers, of course, but a miniture version of the same kind of thing.

    So it’s there. We all see it. We all know it. We all live with it.

    But Michael Hayes was a TV drama series to remind us of the fact week after week. And give us a hero to fight that status quo, as well.

    Occasionally, other shows show this side of things. Homicide and Law & Order spring to mind. And when they set out to make this point, they make it well.

    And move on.

    A bit like the first season Tour Of Duty episode that dealt with racism. It dealt with it. For one week. After that it was as if it had never happened. Then in Season Two they had gotten into the swing of continuity. Martin Luther King was assassinated, and the racial tensions surfaced again. And stayed around. And the show was better for it.

    Michael Hayes was like that.

    Because that was the driving force behind it: Hayes going up against an unfair system.

    And I like that.

    He reminds me of Kolchak from Kolchak: The Night Stalker.

    The only one who cares.

    On top of that, the show had a lot going for it. David Caruso in the lead role. Scripts from writers like Paul Haggis. Some gripping story arcs. And, as if all that wasn't enough, Michael Hayes worked with two of the most gorgeous women to appear on television in the last couple of years.

    Type of Series: Cop Show. Courtroom drama,

    Similar Shows: The one show that always sprung to mind was Kojak. The incorruptible loner fighting crime, wearied at the injustice of the world and earning enormous respect from his colleagues. Besides that, the type of stories told and the way they were told had a certain hint of Law And Order about it all.

    Strengths: The central character. Hayes was, I think, one of the best-ever TV heroes.

    Next, of course, is Caruso himself. I never liked him in NYPD Blue (and I still don't like NYPD Blue) but he really blew me away here.

    I was also taken with the supporting cast; those at the office more than those at home.

    Weaknesses: The comparison to Law And Order makes the plots on Michael Hayes suffer. Compared to that show, some of these stories appear simplistic. Not all, but some. The episode with the politican's wife springs to mind as an example of by-the-book tv-plotting. Disappointing when everything else was so good.

    Impressive Characters: Michael Hayes. A great character.

    His side-kick Eddie Diaz (Ruben Santiago-Hudson) was a perfect partner for Hayes. If Hayes was walking in Kojak's shoes, and proving himself able for them, then Eddie was a worthy successor to the mantle of Crocker.

    Impressive Actors: Caruso. Absolutely stunning. It took me many, many years. But I finally believe the hype. He really is that good!

    Among the office staff were Hilary Danner and Rebecca Rigg, two of the most gorgeous actresses I've ever seen. There were many reasons to admire Michael Hayes: his integrity, his dedication to justice, his selflessness, his family loyalty, his way with kids, his way with co-workers, etc. But, there were some nights the factor I admired most were the beautiful women he worked with!

    Impressive Episodes: The opening episode (pre-pilot) is very impressive, as Hayes defies everybody around him to go after a mobster who killed a waitress many years ago. As a series opener it perfectly sets the tone for the series to follow, here is a man who cares about the cases, who will agonise over everything, and who will make enemies as he pursues the criminals.

    I also loved the episode featuring the oriental girl who should have been deported. But Hayes let her go free. As she left she gave a wonderful speech about her dreams of America and what it stood for, and how those dreams kept her going before she fled her homeland. Now, she said, she understood what all that meant, having met Mr. Hayes. Great speech. Great moment.

    Impressive Writers: Paul Haggis. I was never a fan of Due South so I never had reason to follow this man's name or care about what he did. Then came EZ Streets. Definitely one of the masterpieces of television. That show, even more than Michael Hayes, blew me away and when he came to Michael Hayes I learned to start paying attention.

    Less-Than-Impressive Characters: As a character, Danny's wife, Caitlin, failed to make much of an impression on me. She seems very one-dimensional. It was more down to the actress' performance than to anything else that allowed for us to believe that Hayes could be romantically drawn to his brother's wife. As written, there was nothing there. Mary B. Ward was wonderful in the role, though.

    Less-Than-Impressive Actors:

    Less-Than-Impressive Episodes:

    Less-Than-Impressive Writers:

    Continuity: Strong. While the actual episodes had self-contained stories that did not continue from week to week, the life of Michael Hayes, his brother and his ever increasing political difficulties, did advance soap-opera fashion from episode to episode.

    Episode Guide:

    Reviews: The Mining Co. Cop Show site reviewed the show.

    Other Info:

GRADE: A+

Comments are welcome: rikerdonegal@hotmail.com

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