Crash (2008 TV series)
Crash is an American television drama series set in Los Angeles, California that starred Dennis Hopper and Eric Roberts. It is the first original series produced by the Starz network. The network ordered a 13 episode season which premiered on October 17, 2008. The series is based on the 2004 film of the same title. It was developed for television by Glen Mazzara. In Canada, Crash can be seen on Super Channel. Starz ordered a second season that premiered in September 2009 before concluding in December 2009.
| Crash | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Created by | Glen Mazzara |
| Starring | Dennis Hopper Arlene Tur Ross McCall Jocko Sims Moran Atias Tom Sizemore Dana Ashbrook Eric Roberts Jake McLaughlin Julie Warner Keith Carradine Linda Park Tess Harper Valerie Perrine |
| Composer(s) | Mark Isham |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 26 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Glen Mazzara Paul Haggis Robert Moresco Bob Yari |
| Production location(s) | Albuquerque, New Mexico |
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Starz Inc. Lionsgate Television Yari Film Group |
| Release | |
| Original network | Starz |
| Picture format | 1080i (HDTV) |
| Audio format | Dolby Digital 5.1 |
| Original release | October 17, 2008 – December 18, 2009 |
Production
Conception
Starz began looking to develop original television series after the success of series developed by its rivals Showtime and HBO and advertised funding and creative freedom for original programming projects. Crash is the network's first foray into original scripted drama and is based on the Academy Award-winning 2004 film of the same name. The writers of the film, Paul Haggis and Robert Moresco, were interested in developing a series based on the property. Lionsgate and Starz collaborated on developing the series for television.
Television writer and producer Glen Mazzara was brought in as an executive producer for the series. Mazzara has worked extensively as a writer and producer on The Shield and had developed new projects for the other networks including Life and Standoff.[1]
Crew
Glen Mazzara served as the series executive producer and showrunner.[1] The film's writers Paul Haggis and Robert Moresco and producer Bob Yari joined Mazzara as executive producers.[2] Thomas Becker, Mark R. Harris, Tom Nunan, and Jorg Westerkamp all worked as producers or production executives on the original film project and are credited as co-executive producers on the series.[2] Movie actor Don Cheadle, who was a star and producer of the 2004 film, is also on board as a co-executive producer.[1]
Mazzara hired a writing staff that he felt was used to coping with edgier material. Co-executive producer and writer Frank Renzulli had previously worked on HBO drama The Sopranos. Co-executive producer and writer Ted Mann worked on HBO drama Deadwood. Producer and writer Stacy Rukeyser worked with Mazzara on Standoff. Executive story editor Chris Collins came from the recently completed HBO drama The Wire. Executive story editor Randy Huggins had previously worked with Mazzara on The Shield.[1]
The pilot episode was directed by Sanford Bookstaver.[2]
Cast
The first season starred:
- Dennis Hopper as record producer Ben Cendars
- Ross McCall as police officer Kenny Battaglia
- Arlene Tur as actress-turned-police officer partner Bebe Arcel
- Clare Carey as Brentwood mother Christine Emory
- D. B. Sweeney as Peter Emory her real-estate developer husband
- Brian Tee as former gang member-turned-EMT Eddie Choi
- Jocko Sims as street-smart driver Anthony Adams
- Luis Chavez as undocumented Guatemalan immigrant Cesar Uman
- Moran Atias as Inez
- Nick E. Tarabay as a detective Axel Finet
- Trilby Glover as his wife Ann Finet
- Tom Sizemore as Detective Adrian Cooper.[2]
In season 2 new cast members:
- Eric Roberts plays as billionaire Seth Blanchard,
- Dana Ashbrook as LA crook Jimmy,
- Linda Park as Blanchard's wife and children's author Maggie, and
- Jake McLaughlin a former high school pitching ace now working for his diabetic mom (Tess Harper) in a hobby store.
Battaglia is a security guard and then begins working for Blanchard and some of the cast members from season 1, Tur, Carey, Sweeney, Tee, Chavez, Tarabay and Sizemore do not return for season 2. Jenny Mollen plays Tess, the new girlfriend to Kenny Battaglia.
Episodes
Season 1 (2008–09)
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Episode One" | Sanford Bookstaver | Glen Mazzara | October 17, 2008 |
| 2 | "The Doctor Is in" | Robert Moresco | Frank Renzulli | October 17, 2008 |
| 3 | "Panic" | Seith Mann | Stacy Rukeyser | October 24, 2008 |
| 4 | "Railroaded" | Allison Liddi | Sang Kyu Kim | October 31, 2008 |
| 5 | "Your Ass Belongs to the Gypsies" | Sanford Bookstaver | Ted Mann | November 7, 2008 |
| 6 | "Clusterfuck" | Guy Ferland | Randy Huggins | November 14, 2008 |
| 7 | "Los Muertos" | Robert Moresco | Chris Collins | November 21, 2008 |
| 8 | "Three Men and a Bebe" | Stefan Schwartz | Glen Mazzara | December 5, 2008 |
| 9 | "Pissing in the Sandbox" | Stefan Schwartz | Sang Kyu Kim | December 12, 2008 |
| 10 | "The Future Is Free" | David Barrett | Stacy Rukeyser | December 19, 2008 |
| 11 | "F-36, Sprint Left, T-4" | Phil Abraham | Michael Thomas | December 26, 2008 |
| 12 | "Ring Dings" | Stefan Schwartz | Frank Renzulli | January 2, 2009 |
| 13 | "The Pain Won't Stop" | Stefan Schwartz | Glen Mazzara | January 9, 2009 |
Season 2 (2009)
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | "You Set the Scene" | Andrew Bernstein | Ira Steven Behr | September 18, 2009 |
| 15 | "Always See Your Face" | Andrew Bernstein | James DeMonaco | September 25, 2009 |
| 16 | "The World's a Mess, It's in My Kiss" | Stefan Schwartz | Todd Harthan | October 3, 2009 |
| 17 | "Can't Explain" | Stefan Schwartz | Devon Shepard | October 9, 2009 |
| 18 | "You, I'll Be Following" | Bill Eagles | Elizabeth Benjamin | October 16, 2009 |
| 19 | "No Matter What You Do" | Vincent Misiano | Jennifer Schuur | October 30, 2009 |
| 20 | "Johnny Hit and Run Pauline" | John Behring | Adam Levy | November 6, 2009 |
| 21 | "Lovers in Captivity" | Stefan Schwartz | James DeMonaco | November 13, 2009 |
| 22 | "Endangered Species" | Colin Bucksey | Todd Harthan | November 20, 2009 |
| 23 | "Master of Puppets" | Peter Markle | Elizabeth Benjamin | November 27, 2009 |
| 24 | "Calm Like a Bomb" | Jerry Levine | Jennifer Schuur | December 4, 2009 |
| 25 | "Alone Again Or…" | Bill Eagles | Ira Steven Behr | December 11, 2009 |
| 26 | "Los Angeles" | Vincent Misiano | Ira Steven Behr | December 18, 2009 |
Reception
Reviews of the series have been mixed: Ginia Bellafante of The New York Times said "The show is hardly the most original depiction of Los Angeles, but has a noirish appeal, and ambitions to tell a big story".[3] On the other hand, Variety's Brian Lowry wrote: "There's not a whit of originality to it," and "The show possesses less substance than a brisk Santa Ana wind."[2] According to Matthew Gilbert of The Boston Globe, "None of the stories or characters is remotely interesting",[4]
Home media
The first season of Crash was released on DVD in the USA on September 15, 2009. The second season was released through Amazon.com on September 15, 2010.
References
- John Dempsey (2008-09-26). "Starz brakes for 'Crash'". Variety. Archived from the original on 2008-10-08. Retrieved 2008-10-12.
- Brian Lowry (2008-10-10). "Crash review". Variety. Retrieved 2008-10-12.
- Ginia Bellafante (2008-10-16). "Trafficking in Intimate Deceptions". The New York Times. Retrieved 2018-04-27.
- Matthew Gilbert (2008-10-17). "As a series, 'Crash' flails to be daring". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2008-10-17.