US television program
Swift Justice
|
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Title card
|
Genre
| Detective drama
|
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Created by
| |
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Starring
| |
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Composer
| Rick Marotta
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Country of origin
| United States
|
---|
Original language
| English
|
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No.
of seasons
| 1
|
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No.
of episodes
| 13
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Executive producer
| Dick Wolf
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Production location
| New York City
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Camera setup
| Single-camera
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Running time
| 42 minutes
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Production companies
| |
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|
Network
| UPN
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Release
| March 13
(
1996-03-13
)
?
July 17, 1996
(
1996-07-17
)
|
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Swift Justice
is an American
detective drama
television series created by
Dick Wolf
and Richard Albarino. It aired for one season on
United Paramount Network
(UPN) from March 13 to July 17, 1996. It follows former
Navy SEAL
Mac Swift (
James McCaffrey
), a private investigator who was fired from the
New York City Police Department
. He receives support from his former partner Detective Randall Patterson (
Gary Dourdan
) and his father Al Swift (
Len Cariou
). Completed on a limited budget, episodes were filmed
on location
in New York.
Critics noted
Swift Justice
's emphasis on violence, specifically in the
pilot episode
's opening sequence, comparing it to the
crime drama
The Equalizer
(1985?1989) and the 1988 film
Die Hard
. UPN canceled the program after receiving complaints from viewers, advertisers, and critics of its violent scenes. Wolf considered the cancellation a mistake due to the show's good ratings. The series was praised for its visuals and McCaffrey's performance, but criticized as being either too violent or formulaic.
Premise and characters
[
edit
]
A
detective drama
,
Swift Justice
follows Mac Swift (
James McCaffrey
), a former
United States Navy SEAL
who joins the
New York City Police Department
(NYPD).
[1]
[2]
He is aided by his best friend and partner, Detective Randall Patterson (
Gary Dourdan
),
[1]
[3]
but is frequently reprimanded by his police sergeant father Al Swift (
Len Cariou
) and other superiors, including Andrew Coffin (
Giancarlo Esposito
).
[1]
[2]
[3]
The
pilot episode
focuses on Mac's attempts to arrest a man (
Skipp Sudduth
) who runs a
prostitution ring
as part of a
honey trap
involving
extortion
, drugs, and credit card information.
[1]
[3]
For the case, he collaborates with a prostitute, Annie (
Kim Dickens
), and becomes romantically involved with her. She turned to the profession to pay for her college tuition and her mother's nursing home bills.
[1]
When Annie is murdered, Mac's behavior becomes increasingly erratic and violent,
[3]
leading to his termination from the police department at the end of the pilot.
[1]
In subsequent episodes, Mac works as a
private investigator
who assists those "denied [help] because of the rules of conventional law enforcement".
[2]
He helps people by improving their chances against criminals in court, rather than by
vigilantism
.
[4]
Portrayed as experienced with computers,
[2]
Mac is financially stable due to
royalty payments
from software he has developed.
[1]
He sets up an email address to receive messages from his clients.
[2]
According to a publicity note from
United Paramount Network
(UPN), Mac relies on "technology, intellect, charisma[,] and muscle" to solve cases.
[5]
The network promoted the character as "a true crime fighter of the technology-driven 90's".
[3]
Throughout the season, Randall provides information about cases to Mac. Al is demoted from being a
beat officer
to working at a desk.
[2]
Storylines include a
rock
singer who is denied a divorce from her abusive husband, a woman whose son is kidnapped by her ex-husband, and a man who ties up and tortures his victims by
driving
them with golf balls.
[2]
[5]
Guest appearances
include
Jennifer Garner
,
[6]
Drea de Matteo
,
[7]
and
Ice-T
.
[8]
Many commentators noted the show's use of violence,
[3]
[9]
[10]
particularly that the pilot's opening sequence involves nine deaths.
[9]
Despite its frequent inclusion of violent scenes, the show does not show blood or gore.
[11]
Critics compared the violence in
Swift Justice
to the
crime drama
The Equalizer
and the 1988
action movie
Die Hard
,
[1]
[3]
[4]
and the
Orlando Sentinel
'
s Hal Boedeker identified it as an "urban
western
".
[5]
Co-creator and executive producer
Dick Wolf
likened the series to "
Batman
without the mask",
[3]
and characterized its tone as
politically incorrect
.
[12]
He based Mac on the gunfighter Paladin from
Have Gun ? Will Travel
[13]
and compared his friendship with Randall to
Martin Riggs
' partnership with
Roger Murtaugh
in the
Lethal Weapon
films.
[14]
[15]
Production and broadcast history
[
edit
]
Produced by
Wolf Films
in association with
Universal Television
,
Swift Justice
was created by Wolf and Richard Albarino.
[1]
[16]
According to
New York
's Maureen Callahan, the episodes, shot
on location
in New York,
[1]
were low-budget productions.
[17]
During filming,
Jean-Claude La Marre
, who
guest starred
as a hustler, was nearly arrested by a police officer. La Marre accused him of
racial profiling
. Representatives from
Swift Justice
and the NYPD did not comment on the incident.
[17]
Rick Marotta
produced the music, which
Variety
's Todd Everett described as having a good synthesizer- and percussion-based sound.
[1]
Swift Justice
was the first time that
Gary Glasberg
wrote for an hour-long television program. Referring to the experience as his "big break", he would later be a
showrunner
for the
police procedural
NCIS
.
[18]
Swift Justice
was part of UPN's "aggressive new spring schedule" that expanded the network's programming to three nights per week.
[4]
Picked up as a
mid-season replacement
,
[19]
the series was broadcast on Wednesday nights at 9:00 pm
EST
.
[2]
Thirteen episodes aired between March and July 1996.
[20]
Rocky Mountain News
' Dusty Saunders cited the series as an example of the network shifting toward
action-adventure
programming.
[21]
Mediaweek
's Scotty Dupree wrote that
Swift Justice
and
The Sentinel
were meant to attract a male audience, saying they were the only shows, aside from
JAG
, marketed to men on Wednesday nights.
[22]
Wolf specified the target audiences of males as being aged 18 to 34.
[23]
Swift Justice
'
s pilot episode was shown with a viewer advisory regarding its violence.
[15]
During the show's broadcast,
watchdog organizations
and viewers were critical of the representation of violence on television.
[3]
[5]
[24]
UPN canceled
Swift Justice
,
Nowhere Man
,
Minor Adjustments
, and
The Paranormal Borderline
, in favor of
black sitcoms
.
[25]
The network decided to remove
Swift Justice
from its schedule following viewer and advertiser complaints about its violence.
[26]
[27]
During a 2013 interview with the
Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
, Wolf referred to the decision to end
Swift Justice
as a "cancellation error", particularly since UPN did not have a drama with comparable ratings at the time.
[12]
Following the show's cancellation, when Wolf was casting for the television productions
Players
and
Exiled: A Law & Order Movie
in the late 1990s, he again hired Ice-T, who has noted that Wolf often collaborated with the same actors.
[8]
Episodes
[
edit
]
Critical reception
[
edit
]
Critics praised
Swift Justice
for its visuals, although some criticized the storylines as unoriginal.
Variety
's Todd Everett and the
Chicago Tribune
'
s Steve Johnson found fault with the show for relying on cliches, but both enjoyed the look of the show.
[1]
[4]
Everett wrote that
Swift Justice
was the most visually attractive program on UPN,
[1]
and Johnson that it had "a visceral, close-to-the-streets feel".
[4]
Judy Nichols of
The Christian Science Monitor
likewise commented on the "fast-moving action" and "spurts of breakneck-pace camera work".
[15]
By contrast,
The Boston Globe
'
s Frederic M. Biddle felt the visuals alone could not carry the show,
[41]
[42]
saying that they did not justify the frequent violence scenes.
[42]
Biddle described the series as "utterly empty at its soul" underneath its "over the top in slick visuals".
[41]
James McCaffrey and his character received a positive response from critics.
The New York Times
'
John O'Connor praised the show for characterizing him as an
action hero
with a sensitive side.
[3]
People
's Tom Gliatto and
The Virginian-Pilot
's Larry Bonko singled out McCaffrey for his handsomeness.
[4]
[43]
Gliatto described him as "handsome, but neither too impressed nor too pretty to buy as an action lead",
[4]
and Bonko called him attractively toughened.
[43]
The Virginian-Pilot
's Larry Bonko said casting him was a perfect choice.
[23]
The show's frequent use of violence was criticized.
[9]
[10]
Panning the premise as unrealistic, Scott D. Pierce of the
Deseret News
summed up the series as "full of violence, questionable messages, violence and more violence".
[9]
The
San Francisco Chronicle
'
s John Carman described
Swift Justice
as a "competent action show", but felt that "it isn't good enough to compensate for its excesses".
[10]
Some commentators criticized the series' plot as generic.
[1]
[4]
[44]
In their 2007 book
Season Finale: The Unexpected Rise and Fall of The WB and UPN
, Susanne Daniels and Cynthia Littleton dismissed
Swift Justice
as a "run-of-the-mill gumshoe drama".
[44]
Hal Boedeker of the
Orlando Sentinel
referred to the show as "an unpleasant throwback to the 1980s".
[5]
Howard Rosenberg
, writing for the
Los Angeles Times
, was critical of the pilot episode for its
plot holes
,
[11]
and Gliatto described the episodes as having "some of the dumbest villains in the annals of crime".
[43]
References
[
edit
]
Citations
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
Everett, Todd (March 12, 1996).
"Swift Justice"
.
Variety
.
Archived
from the original on August 25, 2018.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
Brooks & Marsh (2009)
: p 1344
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
O'Connor, John J. (March 13, 1996).
"Television Review: Sort of Like Batman, With Uzis and Laptops"
.
The New York Times
.
Archived
from the original on August 25, 2018.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
Johnson, Steve (March 13, 1996).
"The Formula: Debut Of UPN's 'Swift Justice' Built Around Several Conventional Ideas"
.
Chicago Tribune
.
Archived
from the original on August 25, 2018.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Boedeker, Hal (March 13, 1996).
"New Shows: Flat, Flashy And Lousy"
.
Orlando Sentinel
. Retrieved
August 24,
2018
.
- ^
Boardman, Madeline (June 22, 2016).
"Law & Order: 30 Best Guest Stars"
.
Entertainment Weekly
.
Archived
from the original on March 2, 2018.
- ^
Morales, Tatiana (January 28, 2005).
"Drea de Matteo's Sexy Bad Girl"
.
CBS News
.
Archived
from the original on August 2, 2017.
- ^
a
b
Ice-T & Century (2012)
: p 159
- ^
a
b
c
d
Pierce, Scott D. (March 13, 1996).
"
'Faculty' is Too Dumb, 'Swift' is Too Violent"
.
The Deseret News
.
Archived
from the original on August 25, 2018.
- ^
a
b
c
Carman, John (March 13, 1996).
"UPN's 'Justice' Arrives With A Splatter"
.
San Francisco Chronicle
.
Archived
from the original on August 25, 2018.
- ^
a
b
Rosenberg, Howard (March 13, 1996).
"
'Faculty' Short on Laughs; 'Justice' Is Long on Holes"
.
Los Angeles Times
.
Archived
from the original on August 25, 2018.
- ^
a
b
"Dick Wolf on producing Swift Justice"
.
Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
. January 10, 2013.
Archived
from the original on August 25, 2018.
- ^
Jicha, Tom (March 13, 1996).
"Shooting at the V-Chip"
.
Sun-Sentinel
. Retrieved
November 12,
2018
.
- ^
Mink, Eric (March 12, 1996).
"Cop Show 'Swift'-ly Sets Its Tone"
.
New York Daily News
.
Archived
from the original on August 25, 2018.
- ^
a
b
c
Nichols, Judy (March 12, 1996).
"Worth Noting on TV"
.
The Christian Science Monitor
.
Archived
from the original on August 25, 2018.
- ^
Spielmann, Guy (2014).
"The Necessity of Spectacle Events in the Legislative and Judicial Processes"
.
Georgetown University
.
Archived
from the original on November 28, 2015.
- ^
a
b
Callahan, Maureen (April 22, 1996).
"Life Intimidates Art"
.
New York
.
29
(16): 18.
Archived
from the original on August 25, 2018.
- ^
Guthrie, Marisa (October 3, 2012).
"Showrunners 2012 'NCIS' Gary Glasberg and 'NCIS Los Angeles' Shane Brennan"
.
The Hollywood Reporter
.
Archived
from the original on March 30, 2016.
- ^
Coe, Steve (August 28, 1995).
"From fighting cavities to fighting V-chips.(Richard Wolf goes from advertising copywriter to screenwriter)"
.
Broadcasting & Cable
. Archived from
the original
on August 25, 2018.
(subscription required)
- ^
a
b
"Episode Guide"
.
TV Guide
. Archived from
the original
on August 25, 2018.
- ^
Saunders, Dusty (March 20, 1996).
"Quasi-Network UPN Moving into Action-Adventure Arena"
.
Rocky Mountain News
. Archived from
the original
on August 25, 2018.
(subscription required)
- ^
Dupree, Scotty (March 4, 1996).
"UPN aims for boys' night in; Wednesday now a six-way race"
.
Mediaweek
.
v6
(n10): 8(1). Archived from
the original
on August 25, 2018
. Retrieved
August 25,
2018
.
- ^
a
b
Bonko, Larry (March 13, 1996).
"UPN's Cool Rogue Cop Beats Laughable 'JAG'
"
.
The Virginian-Pilot
. Retrieved
February 1,
2019
.
- ^
Graham, Renee (May 21, 1996).
"Reader Feedback: Would you let your child watch this? A naughty 'Nanny' may be fine, but parents prefer to X out 'Files'
"
.
The Boston Globe
. Archived from
the original
on August 25, 2018.
(subscription required)
- ^
Lowry, Brian (May 17, 1996).
"UPN Tries to Lure African Americans"
.
Los Angeles Times
.
Archived
from the original on August 25, 2018.
- ^
Heldenfels, R.D. (September 18, 1996).
"Network TV is supposed to be getting more family-friendly, but…"
.
Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service
. Archived from
the original
on August 25, 2018.
(subscription required)
- ^
Rice, Lynette (October 21, 1996).
"TV reduces violence. (UCLA study of television violence during 1995-96 season)"
.
Broadcasting & Cable
. Archived from
the original
on August 25, 2018.
(subscription required)
- ^
"Nielsen Ratings".
USA Today
. March 20, 1996. p. 3D.
- ^
"Nielsen Ratings".
USA Today
. March 27, 1996. p. 3D.
- ^
"Nielsen Ratings".
USA Today
. April 3, 1996. p. 3D.
- ^
"Nielsen Ratings".
USA Today
. April 10, 1996. p. 3D.
- ^
"Nielsen Ratings".
USA Today
. April 17, 1996. p. 3D.
- ^
"Nielsen Ratings".
USA Today
. May 1, 1996. p. 3D.
- ^
"Nielsen Ratings".
USA Today
. May 8, 1996. p. 3D.
- ^
"Nielsen Ratings".
USA Today
. May 15, 1996. p. 3D.
- ^
"Nielsen Ratings".
USA Today
. May 22, 1996. p. 3D.
- ^
"Nielsen Ratings".
USA Today
. May 29, 1996. p. 3D.
- ^
"Nielsen Ratings".
USA Today
. July 10, 1996. p. 3D.
- ^
"Nielsen Ratings".
USA Today
. July 17, 1996. p. 3D.
- ^
"Nielsen Ratings".
USA Today
. July 24, 1996. p. 3D.
- ^
a
b
Biddle, Frederic M. (March 13, 1996).
"A 'Swift' kick at the V-chip"
.
The Boston Globe
. Archived from
the original
on August 25, 2018.
(subscription required)
- ^
a
b
Biddle, Frederic M. (March 22, 1996).
"
'Sentinel' packs some heat"
.
The Boston Globe
. Archived from
the original
on August 25, 2018.
(subscription required)
- ^
a
b
c
Gliatto, Tom (April 22, 1996).
"Picks and Pans Review: Swift Justice"
.
People
.
Archived
from the original on February 1, 2019.
- ^
a
b
Daniels & Littleton (2007)
: p 95
Book sources
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]