Monday, April 3, 2000
Falcone takes flight
Controversial mob drama finally airs
By BILL BRIOUX -- Toronto
It has taken almost a year for tonight's debut episode of Falcone to hit the small screen.
The intense mob drama, inspired by the real-life undercover adventures of Joe Pistone, which in turn inspired the Al Pacino flick Donnie Brasco, stars Jason Gedrick (Murder One) as an undercover FBI operative deep within the ranks of organized crime.
In an unusual bit of marathon scheduling, it will play out as a nightly miniseries over the next nine days. In case you have trouble finding Falcone, the two-hour debut airs tonight on ONtv and repeats tomorrow night on CBS. Following the two-hour premiere, the hour-long drama airs nightly from 10 to 11 p.m. on April 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11 and 12, on both ONtv and CBS.
The originating U.S. network was set to announce Falcone as part of its schedule last spring when the deadly shooting rampage at Columbine High School in Colorado led to a lot of finger pointing in Washington about TV and escalating violence. CBS entertainment president Les Moonves admitted to critics last summer that he personally put Falcone on the shelf until the heat was off.
"My disagreement with everybody, including the networks, is that you can't censor," says Titus Welliver, who plays Sonny, a murderous young mob prince who is unaware that his new pal Joey Falcone (Gedrick) is really an FBI plant.
"I don't think that our show is irresponsible with violence," he says. "Our show really depicts the immediacy of violence much in the way that (Martin) Scorsese films do it. It's not cool, it's not glamorous, it's not John Woo, it's not balletic at all. When it happens, it happens for a reason. It's very immediate and it takes you aback."
Welliver makes these comments while standing on a street corner in downtown Toronto, which doubles as New York for the series. He's just come away from the makeup trailer and his face is a mess, covered in fake blood, bruises and stitches.
After a few "shoulda seen the other guy" exchanges, Welliver explains the scene for today's shoot: His SUV has been blown up, killing a member of his family and seriously wounding both his wife and him.
The actual explosion rocks the Dufferin and Bloor area of West Toronto. Two local stunt people hurl themselves from the smoldering Ford Explorer, which has lost its hood and most of its windows. The heat from the carefully engineered blast can be felt 100 metres down the street, which has been blocked off. The fake snow that has been trucked in and spread around the street to match an earlier shot is covered in soot and debris.
After the director yells "cut" and the crew cleans up the set, Welliver continues. "Clearly, what we're saying is that no one is safe," he says. "We're not using violence to manipulate the audience. These people are killers, no question about it. But they're also portrayed as human beings. That's why the show works.
"This world clearly has violence in it, and what strikes me is that it's sudden and comes out of nowhere. It's shocking in that regard, but we probably have fewer acts of violence per episode than a lot of shows that are currently on television."
