Cleaner: Season 2

I understand that although television programming is a major source of entertainment for the viewers it is an extremely serious business for the studios, distributors and cable providers. Like much of the world the entertainment industry is experiencing difficult economic times and some series are going to suffer as a result. My best friend and I have kept an informal list of series that despite being brilliant in their originality are quickly cancelled. We have recently instituted a secondary list for shows that can’t in all honesty be called brilliant but were cancelled before they had an opportunity to tap into its potential. Unfortunately both of these lists have been steadily growing in large part due to a greater number of original series popping up on the premium and basic cable networks. You might think that the plethora of cable network would permit some of the more off-best series time to discover its niche but sadly the cancellation announcements are a steady stream. One recent example of this lamentable trend is a dramatic series on A&E that lasted only two seasons; ‘The Cleaner’. Admittedly the first thing that caught my attention was the cast but after watching a couple of episodes I realized that the series had a lot of potential. Some series just require time to ramp up to speed and it was obvious from the start that this was that type of program. It was presented as based on a real person so that aspect has to be taken with a sizable grain of salt. The underlying theme of the series is overcoming addiction; a difficult plot point to use as the center of a weekly drama. It is extremely close to a reality based series ‘Intervention’ that does present people relating their own personal stories so audience members inclined to watch this type of drama may be more prone towards the reality rather than the dramatization.

The protagonist of the series is William Banks, soulfully played by ‘Law and Order prime’ alumnus Benjamin Bratt. He’s a serious man who spent many years of his life feeding his narcotics addition. When his daughter Lulu (Liliana Mumy) was born William made a deal with God; if He would help him get clean he would devote his life to helping others escape the prison of addiction. For close to a decade Banks has been keeping his word running a side business of capture the errant addict on behalf of their families and getting them into rehab. This is not the kind of intervention shown on that other series concerned with addiction. Williams is what is known as an extreme intervention expert. It’s a lot like kidnapping except the family request it and if they are unable to pay a pro bono arrangement can be made. Such activities are impossible to pull off alone so William depends heavily on his team; like himself all recovering addicts. Akani Cuesta (Grace Parks) came from a financially well off background but addiction brought her to the brink of personal destruction. She has a past relationship with Banks and demonstrates signs that she would be more than willing to pick things up and try being romantically involved him again. She is smart beautiful and often brash and can be unpredictable at times. Arnie Swenton (Esteban Powell frequently looks as if he is still on the streets with his gruff exterior. He appears to relish complaining about every little thing but he has a good heart and is trying to help himself by helping others. Part of the potential lost with the cancellation of this series was how the writers were just beginning to flesh out this character and permit him a degree of personal growth.

One of the main aspects of this series that was left hanging was the personal toll William’s calling has taken on his personal life. His marriage to Mellissa (Amy Price-Francis) has always been rocky but at the start of this season he was moving into his shop. The place used as his command center and ostensibly to sell and repair surf boards. Adding to the personal tumult his growing estrangement with his teenage son Ben (Brett DelBuono); there have been too many missed ball games and times his addiction pulled him away from home. Unlike his younger sister Ben can remember the bad days. This was just starting to gel by finding an emotional center until its untimely demise. William truly wants to make it work with Mellissa but he constantly finds himself pulled in too many directions. Mellissa wants to reconcile but realizes that William’s interventions will always take precedence in his life and she can’t always come in second place. One episode towards the end of the season was particularly poignant. Lulu idolizes one of the older girls at her ballet school. William faces a dilemma when he discovers the girl is using drugs. If he intervenes it may be at the expense of his relationship with his daughter. The first season concentrated too much on the mechanics of the intervention instead of fully exploring the emotional heart of the story. This season made great strides to correct this but apparently it came too late to turn things around with the studio executives. Another example of this is the first episode of the season where William faces part of his past. An old friend from the meetings, newscaster Davis Durham (Gary Cole), has relapsed after almost twenty years. His wife Michelle (Jayne Brook) id dying from cancer but will not take pain killers until she knows her husband is back on course. This episode demonstrates how the quality of writing was improving; moving towards humanistic examination. It would have been interesting to see what direction this show could have taken but at least through CBS Paramount has provided both seasons.

Posted 05/31/2010