The Beast (2009 TV series)
Encyclopedia
The Beast is an American crime drama
series starring Patrick Swayze
and Travis Fimmel
. It debuted on the A&E Network
on Thursday, 15 January 2009 at 10 PM EST. On June 15, 2009, Entertainment Tonight
announced that the show was canceled due to Swayze's pancreatic cancer. The Beast was Swayze's final acting performance.
) is a veteran FBI agent, and an expert at going undercover
, gaining the confidence of criminals and setting them up for a long hard fall in prison.
As skilled an actor as he is a cop, Barker has a rookie agent under his wing, Ellis Dove, and Barker acts as Ellis's acting coach, trainer, and mentor. However, he also displays a limited patience for these roles, and his relationship with Ellis is a bludgeoning one.
Apparently a patriot whose loyalty should go unquestioned, and his superiors think he has been seduced by the dark side.
Ellis Dove (Travis Fimmel
) is a rookie FBI agent and Charles Barker's trainee in the undercover trade. Under intense pressure from Barker to become a chameleon, Ellis never knows when Barker will send him on some impossible little test, some on-the-spot improv that may or may not cost him his life. Stressed, tense, under impossible performance pressure, Ellis needs a break. However that's not the worst of it. An Internal Affairs team is trying to recruit Ellis to spy on his mentor Barker whom they feel has gone rogue.
Harry Conrad (Kevin J O'Connor) appears to be Barker's control agent at the FBI, and he's supervising Ellis as well. As a seasoned professional, he knows Barker well enough to speak to him in terse personal code—but for newbie Ellis, he needs to spell things out, including his deep respect for Barker's work.
Rose Lawrence (Lindsay Pulsipher
) is Ellis's neighbor, with whom he shares a romantic relationship. A law student, she is sharp enough to spot something odd about Ellis (who keeps his job a closely guarded secret) and takes the relationship slowly.
Ray Beaumont (Larry Gilliard) is a fellow FBI Agent who is investigating Charles Barker. Sly and sneaky in his ways, he attempts to use Ellis to get information to help make his case that Barker is dirty.
Suzan Young of RealNetworks stated that, "Patrick Swayze gives the performance of a lifetime as the hard-edged FBI agent Charles Barker in A&E's The Beast".
In his review, Ray Richmond of The Hollywood Reporter
stated that, "Beast has a far grittier feel and look than one would suspect from a show starring Swayze—not to mention one on A&E. The action often is energetic and intriguing but is sometimes brought down by Fimmel's uneven performance. …What's unmistakable is the killer work of the star. May the man somehow beat the odds and fight defiantly on".
Kelly West of Cinema Blend reported that, "For an original series, I think A&E has something great on their hands. The Beast is definitely drama series with an edge, showing the darker, grittier side to FBI undercover work".
Ken Tucker writes that the lines said by the "antihero" and main character "[were] old when Clint Eastwood
was Dirty Harry
". Tucker adds that the co-star (Travis Fimmel as Ellis Dove) gives "inexpressive line readings; he's here because he's young and pretty (Fimmel was a model), and he fits A&E's desired viewing demo. Ellis is the newbie who earns Barker's respect...". Overall, Tucker grades the program as a "C".
Police procedural
The police procedural is a subgenre of detective fiction which attempts to convincingly depict the activities of a police force as they investigate crimes. While traditional detective novels usually concentrate on a single crime, police procedurals frequently depict investigations into several...
series starring Patrick Swayze
Patrick Swayze
Patrick Wayne Swayze was an American actor, dancer and singer-songwriter. He was best known for his tough-guy roles, as romantic leading men in the hit films Dirty Dancing and Ghost, and as Orry Main in the North and South television miniseries. He was named by People magazine as its "Sexiest...
and Travis Fimmel
Travis Fimmel
Travis Fimmel is an Australian actor and former model who is currently based in the United States. He is best known for his high-profile Calvin Klein campaign and for co-starring with Patrick Swayze in TV series The Beast shortly before Swayze's death.- Early years :Fimmel was raised as the...
. It debuted on the A&E Network
A&E Network
The A&E Network is a United States-based cable and satellite television network with headquarters in New York City and offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, London, Los Angeles and Stamford. A&E also airs in Canada and Latin America. Initially named the Arts & Entertainment Network, A&E launched...
on Thursday, 15 January 2009 at 10 PM EST. On June 15, 2009, Entertainment Tonight
Entertainment Tonight
Entertainment Tonight is a daily tabloid television entertainment television news show that is syndicated by CBS Television Distribution throughout the United States, Canada and in many countries around the world. Linda Bell Blue is currently the program's executive producer...
announced that the show was canceled due to Swayze's pancreatic cancer. The Beast was Swayze's final acting performance.
Plot
FBI agent Charles Barker applies controversial techniques in his attempts to bring criminals to justice, which often border on illegal and unsettle his uninitiated partner, Ellis Dove. Over the course of the first season, Barker is investigated by fellow FBI agents for alleged misconduct. Dove's loyalty to his partner is challenged when internal affairs agent Ray Beaumont (Larry Gilliard) approaches him to gain information. Shortly thereafter, Dove learns of darker secrets in Barker's past.Main characters
Charles Barker (Patrick SwayzePatrick Swayze
Patrick Wayne Swayze was an American actor, dancer and singer-songwriter. He was best known for his tough-guy roles, as romantic leading men in the hit films Dirty Dancing and Ghost, and as Orry Main in the North and South television miniseries. He was named by People magazine as its "Sexiest...
) is a veteran FBI agent, and an expert at going undercover
Undercover
Being undercover is disguising one's own identity or using an assumed identity for the purposes of gaining the trust of an individual or organization to learn secret information or to gain the trust of targeted individuals in order to gain information or evidence...
, gaining the confidence of criminals and setting them up for a long hard fall in prison.
As skilled an actor as he is a cop, Barker has a rookie agent under his wing, Ellis Dove, and Barker acts as Ellis's acting coach, trainer, and mentor. However, he also displays a limited patience for these roles, and his relationship with Ellis is a bludgeoning one.
Apparently a patriot whose loyalty should go unquestioned, and his superiors think he has been seduced by the dark side.
Ellis Dove (Travis Fimmel
Travis Fimmel
Travis Fimmel is an Australian actor and former model who is currently based in the United States. He is best known for his high-profile Calvin Klein campaign and for co-starring with Patrick Swayze in TV series The Beast shortly before Swayze's death.- Early years :Fimmel was raised as the...
) is a rookie FBI agent and Charles Barker's trainee in the undercover trade. Under intense pressure from Barker to become a chameleon, Ellis never knows when Barker will send him on some impossible little test, some on-the-spot improv that may or may not cost him his life. Stressed, tense, under impossible performance pressure, Ellis needs a break. However that's not the worst of it. An Internal Affairs team is trying to recruit Ellis to spy on his mentor Barker whom they feel has gone rogue.
Harry Conrad (Kevin J O'Connor) appears to be Barker's control agent at the FBI, and he's supervising Ellis as well. As a seasoned professional, he knows Barker well enough to speak to him in terse personal code—but for newbie Ellis, he needs to spell things out, including his deep respect for Barker's work.
Rose Lawrence (Lindsay Pulsipher
Lindsay Pulsipher
Lindsay Pulsipher is an American actress. She has had several roles in film and television, and is known for her recurring role as Rose Lawrence on A&E Network's The Beast...
) is Ellis's neighbor, with whom he shares a romantic relationship. A law student, she is sharp enough to spot something odd about Ellis (who keeps his job a closely guarded secret) and takes the relationship slowly.
Ray Beaumont (Larry Gilliard) is a fellow FBI Agent who is investigating Charles Barker. Sly and sneaky in his ways, he attempts to use Ellis to get information to help make his case that Barker is dirty.
Reception
Alan Sepinwall writes "... you watch Swayze in The Beast, and you realize that this is the best performance of his career—that the opportunity to play a part like this, and to play it as well as he is, may be fueling his ability to keep fighting against the cancer. And you realize, in an odd silver lining, that the cancer may, in turn, be fueling the performance". The New York Times reported that "Patrick Swayze's performance... is impressive for its resistance to cliché...".Suzan Young of RealNetworks stated that, "Patrick Swayze gives the performance of a lifetime as the hard-edged FBI agent Charles Barker in A&E's The Beast".
In his review, Ray Richmond of The Hollywood Reporter
The Hollywood Reporter
Formerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
stated that, "Beast has a far grittier feel and look than one would suspect from a show starring Swayze—not to mention one on A&E. The action often is energetic and intriguing but is sometimes brought down by Fimmel's uneven performance. …What's unmistakable is the killer work of the star. May the man somehow beat the odds and fight defiantly on".
Kelly West of Cinema Blend reported that, "For an original series, I think A&E has something great on their hands. The Beast is definitely drama series with an edge, showing the darker, grittier side to FBI undercover work".
Ken Tucker writes that the lines said by the "antihero" and main character "[were] old when Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
was Dirty Harry
Dirty Harry
Dirty Harry is a 1971 American crime thriller produced and directed by Don Siegel, the first in the Dirty Harry series. Clint Eastwood plays the title role, in his first outing as San Francisco Police Department Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan....
". Tucker adds that the co-star (Travis Fimmel as Ellis Dove) gives "inexpressive line readings; he's here because he's young and pretty (Fimmel was a model), and he fits A&E's desired viewing demo. Ellis is the newbie who earns Barker's respect...". Overall, Tucker grades the program as a "C".
DVD release
Sony Pictures released the series on Region 1 DVD in the United States on August 18, 2009.External links
- The Beast at AETV.comA&E NetworkThe A&E Network is a United States-based cable and satellite television network with headquarters in New York City and offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, London, Los Angeles and Stamford. A&E also airs in Canada and Latin America. Initially named the Arts & Entertainment Network, A&E launched...