blanche-2
Hack was a TV series starring David Morse that ran for two seasons. 2002-2004. Morse played Mike Olshansky, an ex-police officer who was caught Andre Braugher was with the show for two seasons as Mike's ex police partner, Marcellus. The first season included Donna Murphy as Mike's ex-wife and George Dzundza as a close priest friend of Mike's.In season 2, Dzunda disappeared, as did his family except an occasional appearance by Mike's son. Replacing them were Matt Czuchry as a needy young man and Jacqueline Torres as Mike's next door neighbor.The premise is that Olshansky was caught stealing money from a drug bust and lost his job as a police officer. He also refused to implicate his partner (Braugher). At the start of the series, he was still awaiting trial. His new profession is driving a cab and helping passengers who are in trouble. This often has him calling on Marcellus for help, and vice versa.The first thing is that David Morse is excellent, creating a full, complicated character with lots of problems. The character can be abrupt and grouchy - easygoing just isn't his thing. He's still in love with his soon to be ex-wife Heather. His relationship with Marcellus goes from terrific to rotten and back again.Filmed right in Philadelphia, Hack is a dark show with great locations - so often shows supposedly take place in a city - Provincetown, Boston -- and don't. This one does, and it really adds to the episodes.Some of the episodes are good; many are typical dramas that are predictable. What makes the sows interesting are the characters.You have to really allow for dramatic license here, as I don't think an ex-cop who left in disgrace would be able to just hang out at the police station and actually participate in cases. And don't ask me how he made a living as his cab driving was always being interrupted.Frankly I liked the first season better than the second because it was more focused on the people - Dzundza's conflicts with the priesthood, the tension between Mike and Heather, Marcellus' marital difficulties.I agree with other posters, it's disappointing that this has not yet been put on DVD. I just saw it on Netflix streaming. Maybe that's a sign that it will be available soon.
onehundredcentre
The premise of Hack is compelling, the acting breathtaking in scope and depth and the characters multidimensional and relatable. The realism provided by these flawed, admirable and inspiring characters is not,however, matched by the mechanics of how the plot is carried out.This first scene in the first episode where Olshansky tells the father of a kidnapped victim that he has rescued, 'You're going to cooperate with the police, you're going to testify at trial, you're going to make sure he goes to jail... And I was never here.' Implausibility undermines this gripping drama. A seasoned cop knows that once a victim/witness is caught in a lie, his credibility is finished, his testimony invalidated. Instructing the victims to lie is not consistent with the main character's personality either. This is one example of the implausibility of the way the "I was never here" theme is carried out. Normally, this kind of chasm between real-life and cop-drama is a deal- breaker for me. However, after just 4 episodes, I eagerly look forward to the rest of the series and rue their end --singularly due to the performance of David Morse, his co-stars and the characters they bring to life. "Stunning" is an overused word and it's a shame because it perfectly describes Morse in this role. He is a hero you root for, cry for, worry about. He is commanding, sensitive and can move a scene - and the viewer- with just a facial expression. In the final scene of one episode, when Oshanski goes to his ex-wife's house to apologize for the unnecessary roughness of their life together, his face is a world of pain. So big is his command of that scene, it eclipses the need or even the desire to see it happen. The supporting actors' "chemistry" with Morse are all poignant. They deserved a more realistic script to carry out a dramatic idea.We are hero-needy and where better than in the rawness of a cop- to-the-core driving a taxi? Even a decade later. Or, rather, especially a decade later.
Justin R
Not a bad show, and David Morse is good in his character. The only issue is that most of the episodes take about 20 minutes to rev-up, that's when they're not arcing a story line. Sometimes it's just ponderously slow. And when the plot does get going, it's suddenly solved. Boom. Like that. They go from figuring it out to the epilogue without busting the guy on camera - he's just suddenly nabbed. Okaaaaay. Run out of money much for the episode? And to the extra whining that his name is not in bold in the credits... when you're an A-Lister, maybe it will be ;)But like I said, it's a pretty decent show with an interesting premise.
kismit
Morse is better than this material as he has shown whenever he gets the chance. He can't carry the run of the mill writing-you have seen it all before. The producers need to take a look at CSI not for a format but for a good example of thinking outside the box. Either that or crank up the violence and move it to cable.