lawrynh

It is my feeling that "Smith" could evolve into an absorbing crime drama. Its sparse dialog is neither tedious nor a turn-off, and the lack of 'treacly music' during the family scenes is decidedly a plus. In addition to stars Liotta and Madsen, one might single out Simon Baker, whose past credits include the gripping neonoir film L.A. Confidential (1997), and Jonny Lee Miller, who was cast in "Prime Suspect 3" (1993), arguably the best of that series. Although granted that early in "Smith" we still know little about the characters played by these and the other members of the cast, my prediction is that future episodes will, like the layers of an onion being peeled away, reveal their past misdeeds, almost surely to haunt them as things progress. The viewer might anticipate with some relish that a couple of the characters, who love fast living and fast cars, and flaunt both, are indeed cruising for a bruising.

Which is not to say there aren't certain aspects that don't ring true. Given that the heist which unfolds in the pilot, whose nature I shall not reveal, is not normally associated with violence, it doesn't seem likely there is not more anger, censure, and repercussion from the naughty persons on-high when things do go awry and assuredly cause law enforcement to be far more attentive and relentless in its pursuit of the crime.

Viewers and producers alike need to stay the course until "Smith" gets its stride. The network ought not lose its courage in presenting something different, as happened with other dark and delicious crime dramas, such as "EZ Streets" in the mid-1990s and "Dream Street" in the late 1980s, soon pulled from the fall line-up. There has to be something different out there than silly clichés, canned laughter, and predictable and soon shopworn series.