On the flip side of the coin, Jimmy Reardon (Ian Tracey) is a career criminal. His hands are dirty and bloody. Reardon is a fair-minded man for a crook and has his own code of honor. But he will also kill anyone or destroy anything that menaces his family. But, as it turns out, his family is also his Achilles’ heel. His brother Michael is a drug user who just can’t quite kick the habit. His ex-wife Francine is also a coke user and falls off into the deep end on a regular basis. There’s also a lot of friction with Jimmy’s business partner, Ronnie, who gets increasingly unhappy with the deal Jimmy’s struck with the police. Jimmy feels like the real deal to me. He’s quick and vicious when he needs to be, but he takes his time when he can. I think his character is deep and layered, and I really love watching him get squeezed by family, the police, or the other gangs trying to take over his turf.

The ensemble cast provides a constant draw that I enjoy a lot. The odds and alliances continually shift throughout this first season. Spaulding and Reardon end up having to depend on each other during times when each comes under fire, but they don’t trust each other, and they resent the fact that they need each other. I like the fact that both of them are plagued by family problems because it gives them common ground to play on and earn my sympathies.

As this first season progresses, Reardon has to fight through family problems as well as increasing opposition from a local motorcycle gang (the Disciples) that is trying to take over his drug business. Spaulding continually gets whipsawed by CSIS as well as Altman and other police agents that don’t like her or want her out of the way because she’s a woman.

One of the amusing things for me as an American was the presentation of American intelligence agencies and the DEA being presented in a somewhat negative light. We like to think of ourselves as superheroes out to rid the world of evil. We often forget that outside of our country we’re often viewed as interfering busybodies or opportunists.

If you haven’t seen or heard of Intelligence, the first season is out on DVD now. Hopefully the second season will be along soon. If you want a smart, savvy show, Intelligence fits the bill quite nicely and will deliver hours of viewing pleasure.