The Cleaner: Rag Dolls
By fred | July 23, 2008
(S01E02) Last week we got introduced to “The Cleaner”, aka William Banks, and his crew. The deal is Banks used to be a drug addict, he knows everything about being a junkie and hitting rock bottom, but he got a second chance, he’s clean, and he’s helping people now, it’s his calling. To help him in his mission are a bunch of people, all ex-drug addicts as well, who got helped by Banks and are now working with him helping others.
Their whole purpose is to help people suffering from addiction, should it be drugs, gambling, sex, or anything else. At least, that’s what the press release said. Because last week that’s really really what the episode seemed to be about, but it was a pilot and we needed to have all characters introduced and that can sometimes get in the way. This week, no more such things, we’re diving right into the cases and yet, it’s still the same.
It’s not really a complaint, just a remark: call him “The Cleaner” is you feel like it, but at the end of the day Bank is simply a P.I.
Granted, one who used to be a drug addict, works with a crew of people who had their fair share of addiction troubles as well, and yes as a result they do have a liking for all thing relating to addictions and drugs. As a matter of fact, they don’t advertise their services but solely rely on mouth to mouth, that people in need will find a way to reach them.
It’s not a surprise then to see all their clients dealing with addictions, but as I said last week Banks and his crew aren’t the one helping them getting clean, they’re merely doing some P.I. work : last week it was tracking down the kid to send him to rehab, and this week everyone knew who the girl was all the time, what wasn’t known was what it is that she does.
It’s a little variation from the “my kid ran away, find him please” or “get me proof my husband is cheating on me” your classic P.I. would get, but the work remains basically the same, with a couple of exceptions : for starter, they’re dealing with fragile people, who often don’t want to be helped or admit they got a problem; and of course the bad guys are more dangerous and not afraid to kill whoever comes their way.
Again, I’m not complaining here, but what I would complain about are the secondary stories we get, those B-plots thrown in just to give Banks a background in addiction and show that he’s more than just a P.I., that he sticks with people he helps and follow through. This week we had this rock star who was clean, but on the verge of falling right back into his addiction. Of course, Banks showed up, prevented that from happening, all the while repeating how he knows about this because he used to be in the same situation himself… Yeah yeah, he was a junkie too, he’s talking from experience, blah blah blah… I really find that whole thing pretty boring and useless.
And so far I don’t see anything really good coming from Banks personal life either. He’s got kids with problems, a cute wife who loves him and that he loves, but they sleep in separate rooms, and it’s really nothing we haven’t seen so many times before, up to him showing up late and ditching the meeting about his kid the second he got a phone call.
As for this week’s case, it was alright. It’s nothing really exciting and it can get pretty predictable, but it’s well done - except for the whole “I’m talking to God” but that really annoy the Hell out of me. It’s good, but it’s nothing new, and I feel the only reason to keep watching is because there’s nothing else on, otherwise that wouldn’t even make it to my DVR…
Posted in Reviews
Shows: The Cleaner
