the poor quality of this program really took away from the potential intensity this program could have offered.

as for the show, while it was not a mystery by any means, i found it to be a wonderful study of the actors themselves. everyone involved was in such unique and often disturbing roles. the story lured me in immediately, though i was left feeling a bit cheated at the end with a quick-way-out ending. i shouldn't complain as they fit all the drama they did into a 45 minute program.

but for me, the most alluring character was Dryden's. salty and honest, yet, morally exhausted. the one person a boxer should be able to be cornered by and succumb to seemingly had no control over the fate his "boy" was falling into, let alone the fate of himself.

this was a tragic tale on many levels. there was a deep current of pain and fear to the extreme that flowed below the surface, as for me, i kept finding myself thinking, "what an arse!" or "why don't you just leave him then?" only to be left with little resolve.

even though the ending became a somewhat "happy" ending of sorts, it just seemed to me there was an anvil hanging over all the characters and not one person was responsible for another.

and i think this kind of theme runs over into real life as well. whether work, friends, or family, even the most respectible, high profile figures are finding loopholes in simply taking responsibility for their own actions and leaving it all up to the lawyers to deal with. the media-created role models of our culture are teaching our youth that it is okay to bully, ignore, or take advantage of, because you can always "get off."

Gwynne's character, in the end, was not let off, but rather shaken down in a last minute breath which offered for me, at least a moments sigh of relief.

i rated the show itself a 3.8, but the quality of the file was just lousy and i apologize for that.