Rubicon (tv series)
Encyclopedia
Rubicon is an American television series created by Jason Horwitch and produced by Henry Bromell
that was broadcast on the AMC television network. The series centers on an intelligence analyst at a national think tank
in New York City called the American Policy Institute (API) who discovers that he may be working with members of a secret society
that manipulates world events on a grand scale. The series stars James Badge Dale
, Jessica Collins, Miranda Richardson
, Dallas Roberts
, Christopher Evan Welch, Arliss Howard
, Michael Cristofer
and Peter Gerety
.
The series is influenced by conspiracy films of the 1970s
such as Three Days of the Condor
and The Parallax View
, in which an innocent character is caught up in, and slowly unraveling, a major conspiracy.
Rubicon debuted on AMC on August 1, 2010 as a two-hour, two episode block. With two million viewers, the August 1 premiere set a record as the most watched debut of an AMC original series at that time. However, after the two first weekends, the number of viewers dropped to 1.2 million, leaving a core of 1.0 - 1.3 million fans each weekend.
Due to low viewing figures, AMC cancelled Rubicon on November 11, 2010, stating that the show had been "an opportunity to tell a rich and compelling story, and we're proud of the series. This was not an easy decision, but we are grateful to have had the opportunity to work with such a phenomenally talented and dedicated team."
in north-eastern Italy
, more specifically to the famous idiom
"crossing the Rubicon", which means to pass a point of no return
, and refers to Julius Caesar
's crossing of the river in 49 BC, which was considered an act of war, because crossing it with an army was forbidden by the Roman Senate
(this connection is explained by Kale Ingram in a speech to Katherine Rhumor in episode #12 to help her understand why her husband killed himself). Executive producer, Henry Bromell
comments in press releases about the historic event, "They were always afraid that the Roman army would someday take over, which is exactly what happened," and continues "And that's when the republic ended and the empire—which is a dictatorship—began."
The narrative of the show involves the main protagonist, an intelligence analyst, during his investigation into the mysterious death of his mentor, which is later revealed to be an act of a larger conspiracy committed by a secret society
of war profiteers
in corporate America, whose members may include his employer.
Creator Jason Horwitch conceived the show based on conspiracy films of the 1970s such as All the President's Men
, Three Days of the Condor
, and The Parallax View
inspired by their slow-paced action and complex stories. After writing and producing the pilot, Horwitch left the show due to "creative differences." Henry Bromell was then promoted to show runner. With Horwitch off-board the production began on 29 March in New York City
.
on Sunday, June 13 and again after the season 4 premiere of Mad Men
on Sunday, July 25.
score of 69 out of 100, based on 28 critic reviews. Most of the critics praised the show's cast and atmosphere, but many have criticized the lack of action, humor and answers about the puzzles in every episode. The show has often been compared to AMC's other shows, Mad Men
and Breaking Bad
, because of their success and originality, Entertainment Weekly
' s Ken Tucker ended his review with such a comparison saying "Rubicon doesn't have the glossy panache of Mad Men or the in-your-face confrontations of Breaking Bad, but I think that's a good thing. It establishes Rubicon as its own distinct creation from AMC". About the lack of action on the show, Scott D. Pierce for the Deseret News wrote, "For a show that's supposed to be a spy thriller, there aren't a whole lot of thrills in "Rubicon", Maureen Ryan from the Chicago Tribune
commented on this, "This pleasantly low-key drama has little trouble creating an atmosphere, but the pace is sometimes slack in the first four episodes." However, some critics find the lack of action as smart and creative, as Entertainment Weeklys Ken Tucker wrote: "Rubicon does it by creating an eerily quiet world in which small moments can generate great suspense. The discovery of a spy's clues planted in crossword puzzles, or Will's insistence that a guy is following him while we are shown that two different men are tailing him—these carry more dramatic weight than a score of car chases or martial-arts fight scenes."
After the last episode had been aired, Adam Kirsch in The New Republic
highlighted that the series had two parallel stories that seemed 40 years apart: Will's unravelling of the conspiracy, which so much tries to recreate the 1970s conspiracy films in which nobody seems to know that emails, databases and USB sticks have been invented; and the work of the analysts, which is definitely set in our post 9/11 world.
Rubicon made appearances in several 2010 top ten lists. Therese Odell, of The Houston Chronicle, listed Rubicon as the third best TV show of 2010, while Time Magazines James Poniewozik called Rubicon the ninth best show of the year. Rubicon also appears in Robert Lloyd's list, published in The Los Angeles Times
, of the 10 shows that "made TV worth watching" in 2010, as well as in Maureen Ryan's list for TV Squad of the best TV of 2010.
Henry Bromell
Henry Bromell is an American author, screenwriter, and director.Bromell attended Eaglebrook School and the United World College of the Atlantic . He graduated from Amherst College in 1970. He won the Houghton Mifflin Literary Award for his first novel, The Slightest Distance...
that was broadcast on the AMC television network. The series centers on an intelligence analyst at a national think tank
Think tank
A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...
in New York City called the American Policy Institute (API) who discovers that he may be working with members of a secret society
Secret society
A secret society is a club or organization whose activities and inner functioning are concealed from non-members. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence agencies or guerrilla insurgencies, which hide their...
that manipulates world events on a grand scale. The series stars James Badge Dale
James Badge Dale
James Badge Dale is an American actor who starred in the AMC drama series Rubicon. He is most famous for his role of Chase Edmunds in the third season of 24 and Robert Leckie in the HBO miniseries The Pacific.-Early years:...
, Jessica Collins, Miranda Richardson
Miranda Richardson
Miranda Jane Richardson is an English stage, film and television actor. She has been nominated for two Academy Awards, and has won two Golden Globes and a BAFTA during her career....
, Dallas Roberts
Dallas Roberts
Dallas Mark Roberts is an American stage and screen actor.Roberts was born in Houston, Texas. He is a graduate of Juilliard School. He is primarily based in New York City, where he regularly appears in theatrical productions...
, Christopher Evan Welch, Arliss Howard
Arliss Howard
Arliss Howard is an American actor, writer and film director.-Life and career:Howard was born in Independence, Missouri in 1954, and graduated from Truman High School and Columbia College at Columbia, Missouri. Howard established his career with stand-out roles in Full Metal Jacket and Ruby...
, Michael Cristofer
Michael Cristofer
Michael Ivan Cristofer is an American playwright, filmmaker and actor. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play for The Shadow Box in 1977....
and Peter Gerety
Peter Gerety
Peter Gerety is an American actor.Gerety began acting while a student at Boston University, participating in productions at the Charles Playhouse. In 1965, he joined the Trinity Square Repertory Company, a resident theater company in Providence, Rhode Island where he appeared in over 125...
.
The series is influenced by conspiracy films of the 1970s
1970s in film
The decade of the 1970s in film involved many significant films.----Contents1 World cinema2 Hollywood3 List of films: # A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z.4 Events-World cinema:...
such as Three Days of the Condor
Three Days of the Condor
Three Days of the Condor is a 1975 American action thriller film produced by Stanley Schneider and directed by Sydney Pollack. The screenplay, by Lorenzo Semple Jr...
and The Parallax View
The Parallax View
The Parallax View is a 1974 American thriller film directed by Alan J. Pakula and starring Warren Beatty, Paula Prentiss, Hume Cronyn and William Daniels. The film was adapted by David Giler, Lorenzo Semple Jr and an uncredited Robert Towne from the 1970 novel by Loren Singer...
, in which an innocent character is caught up in, and slowly unraveling, a major conspiracy.
Rubicon debuted on AMC on August 1, 2010 as a two-hour, two episode block. With two million viewers, the August 1 premiere set a record as the most watched debut of an AMC original series at that time. However, after the two first weekends, the number of viewers dropped to 1.2 million, leaving a core of 1.0 - 1.3 million fans each weekend.
Due to low viewing figures, AMC cancelled Rubicon on November 11, 2010, stating that the show had been "an opportunity to tell a rich and compelling story, and we're proud of the series. This was not an easy decision, but we are grateful to have had the opportunity to work with such a phenomenally talented and dedicated team."
Concept
The show's title refers to the river RubiconRubicon
The Rubicon is a shallow river in northeastern Italy, about 80 kilometres long, running from the Apennine Mountains to the Adriatic Sea through the southern Emilia-Romagna region, between the towns of Rimini and Cesena. The Latin word rubico comes from the adjective "rubeus", meaning "red"...
in north-eastern Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, more specifically to the famous idiom
Idiom
Idiom is an expression, word, or phrase that has a figurative meaning that is comprehended in regard to a common use of that expression that is separate from the literal meaning or definition of the words of which it is made...
"crossing the Rubicon", which means to pass a point of no return
Point of no return
The point of no return is the point beyond which one must continue on his or her current course of action because turning back is physically impossible, prohibitively expensive or dangerous. It is also used when the distance or effort required to get back would be greater than the remainder of the...
, and refers to Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
's crossing of the river in 49 BC, which was considered an act of war, because crossing it with an army was forbidden by the Roman Senate
Roman Senate
The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...
(this connection is explained by Kale Ingram in a speech to Katherine Rhumor in episode #12 to help her understand why her husband killed himself). Executive producer, Henry Bromell
Henry Bromell
Henry Bromell is an American author, screenwriter, and director.Bromell attended Eaglebrook School and the United World College of the Atlantic . He graduated from Amherst College in 1970. He won the Houghton Mifflin Literary Award for his first novel, The Slightest Distance...
comments in press releases about the historic event, "They were always afraid that the Roman army would someday take over, which is exactly what happened," and continues "And that's when the republic ended and the empire—which is a dictatorship—began."
The narrative of the show involves the main protagonist, an intelligence analyst, during his investigation into the mysterious death of his mentor, which is later revealed to be an act of a larger conspiracy committed by a secret society
Secret society
A secret society is a club or organization whose activities and inner functioning are concealed from non-members. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence agencies or guerrilla insurgencies, which hide their...
of war profiteers
War profiteering
A war profiteer is any person or organization that profits from warfare or by selling weapons and other goods to parties at war. The term has strong negative connotations. General profiteering may also occur in peace time.-International arms dealers:...
in corporate America, whose members may include his employer.
Creator Jason Horwitch conceived the show based on conspiracy films of the 1970s such as All the President's Men
All the President's Men (film)
All the President's Men is a 1976 Academy Award-winning political thriller film based on the 1974 non-fiction book of the same name by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, the two journalists investigating the Watergate scandal for The Washington Post...
, Three Days of the Condor
Three Days of the Condor
Three Days of the Condor is a 1975 American action thriller film produced by Stanley Schneider and directed by Sydney Pollack. The screenplay, by Lorenzo Semple Jr...
, and The Parallax View
The Parallax View
The Parallax View is a 1974 American thriller film directed by Alan J. Pakula and starring Warren Beatty, Paula Prentiss, Hume Cronyn and William Daniels. The film was adapted by David Giler, Lorenzo Semple Jr and an uncredited Robert Towne from the 1970 novel by Loren Singer...
inspired by their slow-paced action and complex stories. After writing and producing the pilot, Horwitch left the show due to "creative differences." Henry Bromell was then promoted to show runner. With Horwitch off-board the production began on 29 March in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Characters
- James Badge DaleJames Badge DaleJames Badge Dale is an American actor who starred in the AMC drama series Rubicon. He is most famous for his role of Chase Edmunds in the third season of 24 and Robert Leckie in the HBO miniseries The Pacific.-Early years:...
as Will Travers – brilliant man with a knack for pattern recognition, he is the team leader for a group of API analysts the story follows. His wife and daughter were killed in the World Trade CenterWorld Trade CenterThe original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
during the September 11 attacks—an appointment Will was late for—and the tragedy keeps him distant from other characters. He discovers a pattern in a newspaper's crossword puzzle, which is dismissed as meaningless, but gains the attention of his supervisors at API. After the death of his mentor and father-in-law, David Hadas, he is promoted to David's old position as team leader and finds himself slowly unraveling a major conspiracy. - Miranda RichardsonMiranda RichardsonMiranda Jane Richardson is an English stage, film and television actor. She has been nominated for two Academy Awards, and has won two Golden Globes and a BAFTA during her career....
as Katherine Rhumor – the wife of businessman Tom Rhumor, she was left a widow following her husband's suicide. Determined to understand her husband's recent suicide, she turns to his best friend for help. Upon realizing that he cannot be trusted, she is forced to investigate her husband's death on her own. - Arliss HowardArliss HowardArliss Howard is an American actor, writer and film director.-Life and career:Howard was born in Independence, Missouri in 1954, and graduated from Truman High School and Columbia College at Columbia, Missouri. Howard established his career with stand-out roles in Full Metal Jacket and Ruby...
as Kale Ingram – Will's mysterious supervisor at API. He has tasked Maggie with reporting on Will and the rest of his team, and is in regular contact with Spangler. His actions are cryptic as he guides Will through his early days as team leader. Although it is hinted that he appears to be involved in the conspiracy, he also helps Will by providing him with leads in his investigation, and warning him that his home and office are bugged. Although he is very secretive about his personal life and past, he invites Will to have dinner with him and his apparently live-in boyfriend at home. He mentions on two occasions he was formerly CIA "black opsSpecial Activities DivisionThe Special Activities Division is a division in the United States Central Intelligence Agency's National Clandestine Service responsible for covert operations known as "special activities"...
", and involved in a series of assassinations in Beirut in the 1980s. - Jessica Collins as Margaret "Maggie" Young – Will's assistant. She appears to be romantically interested in Will, but has been unable to break through his emotional distance and attract his interest. She has a daughter named Sophie, and is estranged from her husband, though he is attempting to reconcile with his daughter. She is trying to help Will, but also works for Kale delivering information about Will and his team. Eventually, Kale recognizes that her feelings for Will could compromise the information she provides, and he tells Will that she has been spying on him. Will, who was on the verge of asking her out, confronts Maggie and refuses to work with her any longer, though Kale assures Maggie she will remain at API.
- Dallas RobertsDallas RobertsDallas Mark Roberts is an American stage and screen actor.Roberts was born in Houston, Texas. He is a graduate of Juilliard School. He is primarily based in New York City, where he regularly appears in theatrical productions...
as Miles Fiedler – member of Will's team. While an MIT graduate with a genius-level IQ, he is the most distracted and anxious member of the team; his behavior is compounded by his recent estrangement and separation from his wife and children, a fact which he conceals from his co-workers, but affects the quality of his performance. An even-tempered and passive man, he respects Will as a boss, and clashes frequently with Grant. - Christopher Evan Welch as Grant Test – the oldest member of Will's team. Impatient, irritable, and self-important, he resents being passed over as team leader in favor of Will. He clashes frequently with Miles and Tanya, using his seniority to bully the two on occasion. He is married with two children; the marriage is heavily strained by the demands of his job and the aggressive personality of his ambitious wife.
- Lauren Hodges as Tanya MacGaffin – the newest member of Will's team. She is the least experienced and consequently the most insecure, but very intelligent and also the most ambitious. She appears to have a drinking problem, regularly coming to work hungover and keeping small bottles of vodka in her desk. Kale is made aware of the problem by Maggie, and he passes that information to Will. She also has problems with substance abuse which comes to the attention of Spangler, after she fails to pass a biweekly urine test. Instead of being fired, as she feared, Spangler reassures her that the agency takes care of its own and offers her the help of a special drug rehab facility set up for "the intelligence communityUnited States Intelligence CommunityThe United States Intelligence Community is a cooperative federation of 16 separate United States government agencies that work separately and together to conduct intelligence activities considered necessary for the conduct of foreign relations and the protection of the national security of the...
". - Roger RobinsonRoger Robinson (actor)Roger Robinson is an American actor who won the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play for the 2009 revival of Joe Turner's Come and Gone....
as Ed Bancroft – a geniusGeniusGenius is something or someone embodying exceptional intellectual ability, creativity, or originality, typically to a degree that is associated with the achievement of unprecedented insight....
and former API analyst whose intelligence and knack for pattern recognition exceeds that of Will. Prone to obsessive behavior, his compulsive drive to chart labyrinthine codes eventually caused an undisclosed nervous breakdownNervous breakdownMental breakdown is a non-medical term used to describe an acute, time-limited phase of a specific disorder that presents primarily with features of depression or anxiety.-Definition:...
, forcing him into retirement and a permanently fragile emotional state. He remained a long-time friend of David Hadas, who kept him updated about the events at API. After David's death he begins to help Will solve the mystery surrounding David's death, despite Will's concern for the effect of his exhaustive efforts on his psyche. - Michael CristoferMichael CristoferMichael Ivan Cristofer is an American playwright, filmmaker and actor. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play for The Shadow Box in 1977....
as Truxton Spangler – the head of API and an executive of industrial titan Atlas MacDowell. Spangler is an eccentric, awkward, but brilliant man with an unusual sense of humor and highly suspicious nature. He discovered Kale Ingram and his associate Donald Bloom during their operations in Syria, and uses their talents to his respective interests. He is zealously dedicated to maintaining API's independence from the government, and is initially fond of Will until he learns too much. Spangler is the brains of the conspiracy and uses the intelligence from API to anticipate or create international crises for profit as well as to monitor the participants in the field. - Peter GeretyPeter GeretyPeter Gerety is an American actor.Gerety began acting while a student at Boston University, participating in productions at the Charles Playhouse. In 1965, he joined the Trinity Square Repertory Company, a resident theater company in Providence, Rhode Island where he appeared in over 125...
as David Hadas – Will's father-in-law and the original head of Will's team. He is preoccupied with superstitions and numerology, particularly bad luck and the number 13. After showing the crossword puzzle to Kale, he is killed in a commuter rail accident, an accident Will suspects was arranged to murder David. - David RascheDavid Rasche-Early life and career:Rasche was born in St. Louis, Missouri. His father was a minister and farmer. Rasche started in theatre, but also has appeared on numerous movies and television series. He became a member of the Chicago Second City, after John Belushi moved on to Saturday Night Live...
as James Wheeler – a friend of Tom Rhumor and member of the conspiracy. He is initially sent to monitor Katherine Rhumor's actions following her husband's suicide, but his patronizing efforts backfire and prompt her to investigate Tom's death. Wheeler shows signs of remorse for his part in the conspiracy and lies about Katherine's activities to the conspirators out of guilt and romantic interest in her. Wheeler soon realizes that Spangler is having him monitored and he withdraws his contact with her.
Episodes
The series debuted on AMC on August 1, 2010 with a two hour broadcast of the pilot followed by episode 2. The pilot episode was given two preview showings; once after the season 3 finale of Breaking BadBreaking Bad
Breaking Bad is an American television drama series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. Set and produced in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Breaking Bad is the story of Walter White , a struggling high school chemistry teacher who is diagnosed with advanced lung cancer at the beginning of the series...
on Sunday, June 13 and again after the season 4 premiere of Mad Men
Mad Men
Mad Men is an American dramatic television series created and produced by Matthew Weiner. The series premiered on Sunday evenings on the American cable network AMC and are produced by Lionsgate Television. It premiered on July 19, 2007, and completed its fourth season on October 17, 2010. Each...
on Sunday, July 25.
Reception
Rubicon has received generally favorable reviews, with a MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
score of 69 out of 100, based on 28 critic reviews. Most of the critics praised the show's cast and atmosphere, but many have criticized the lack of action, humor and answers about the puzzles in every episode. The show has often been compared to AMC's other shows, Mad Men
Mad Men
Mad Men is an American dramatic television series created and produced by Matthew Weiner. The series premiered on Sunday evenings on the American cable network AMC and are produced by Lionsgate Television. It premiered on July 19, 2007, and completed its fourth season on October 17, 2010. Each...
and Breaking Bad
Breaking Bad
Breaking Bad is an American television drama series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. Set and produced in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Breaking Bad is the story of Walter White , a struggling high school chemistry teacher who is diagnosed with advanced lung cancer at the beginning of the series...
, because of their success and originality, Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
commented on this, "This pleasantly low-key drama has little trouble creating an atmosphere, but the pace is sometimes slack in the first four episodes." However, some critics find the lack of action as smart and creative, as Entertainment Weeklys Ken Tucker wrote: "Rubicon does it by creating an eerily quiet world in which small moments can generate great suspense. The discovery of a spy's clues planted in crossword puzzles, or Will's insistence that a guy is following him while we are shown that two different men are tailing him—these carry more dramatic weight than a score of car chases or martial-arts fight scenes."
After the last episode had been aired, Adam Kirsch in The New Republic
The New Republic
The magazine has also published two articles concerning income inequality, largely criticizing conservative economists for their attempts to deny the existence or negative effect increasing income inequality is having on the United States...
highlighted that the series had two parallel stories that seemed 40 years apart: Will's unravelling of the conspiracy, which so much tries to recreate the 1970s conspiracy films in which nobody seems to know that emails, databases and USB sticks have been invented; and the work of the analysts, which is definitely set in our post 9/11 world.
Rubicon made appearances in several 2010 top ten lists. Therese Odell, of The Houston Chronicle, listed Rubicon as the third best TV show of 2010, while Time Magazines James Poniewozik called Rubicon the ninth best show of the year. Rubicon also appears in Robert Lloyd's list, published in The Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, of the 10 shows that "made TV worth watching" in 2010, as well as in Maureen Ryan's list for TV Squad of the best TV of 2010.