Life (American TV series)

Life
Life title screen
Genre	Drama/Police procedural
Created by	Rand Ravich
Starring	Damian Lewis Sarah Shahi Brent Sexton Donal Logue Adam Arkin Brooke Langton Robin Weigert
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	25 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Rand Ravich Far Shariat David Semel Daniel Sackheim
Producer	Loucas George
Running time	approx. 42 minutes per episode (without advertisements)
Production company	Universal Media Studios
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	September 26, 2007 – present

Life is a US television program created by Rand Ravich. The program airs on NBC, is produced by Universal Media Studios under the supervision of executive producers Rand Ravich, Far Shariat, David Semel, and Daniel Sackheim. Semel also directed the pilot.

Life premiered on September 26, 2007 on NBC and aired on Wednesday nights at 10 EST. The series stars Damian Lewis as Charlie Crews, a detective who was recently released from prison after serving twelve years for a crime he did not commit. NBC issued an order for a minimum of three additional episodes, on top of the original order for seven, the day "Let Her Go" aired, October 102007. On November 26 NBC announced that Life had received a full season. However, due to the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike only 11 of the 22 episodes were completed.

After the strike ended on February 13, 2008, NBC announced that Life had been picked up for a second season and will return for the Fall 2008/09 season on Friday nights at 10/9c. NBC decided not to film any more episodes for the 2007-08 season. The network released the first episode of season two, a week before its air date, online and via cable on demand.

The show is also broadcast on Tele5 in Spain, TV2 in Hungary, TV3+ in Denmark, RTL 5 in The Netherlands, Network Ten in Australia, ITV3/FX in the United Kingdom, Global, Showcase in Canada, italia 1 and Joi in Italy, TV3 in New Zealand, yes stars Action in Israel, TV3 in Norway , M-Net in South Africa, AXN in Portugal, Chile, Brazil, Mexico and Argentina, Star World in India, TVB Pearl in Hong Kong, VT4 in Belgium, MTV3 in Finland and on TVP2 in Poland.

On October 242008, NBC announced that Life would move to Wednesdays following Knight Rider, and leading into Law and Order.

On November 72008, NBC picked up Life for a full season.

Development

In an interview with seat42f.com Series creator Rand Ravich explained that Life came initially from Ravich's own long-standing interest in and desire to work on a police procedural show. Ravich first created the character of Charlie Crews as the basis for the show, for which he immediately considered actor Damian Lewis after finishing the script.

Life was conceived as a episodic television show in the vein of 24, where emotional closure is provided as new clues to the main mystery (the conspiracy that sent Charlie Crews to jail) are revealed every few episodes, with Ravich stating that he and the writers disliked the serial nature of some shows where it feels "like you’re kind of wandering in the desert".

Plot synopsis

See also: List of Life episodes

First season

Life centers around Detective Charlie Crews, who at the start of the first season (set in 2007) is released from Pelican Bay State Prison after serving twelve years of a life sentence. In 1995 he was wrongfully convicted of the triple murder of his business partner and the partner's family. Thanks to the efforts of his lawyer Constance Griffiths, DNA evidence exonerates him of the murders. Having lost his job, his wife, his friends, nearly all contact with the outside world and even his grip on reality for a time while in jail, he emerges enlightened by the philosophy of Zen, a fixation with fresh fruit and an obsession with solving the murder that nearly cost him his life and exposing the conspiracy that framed him for it. After successfully suing the city of Los Angeles and the LAPD, he is reinstated to the police department and receives an undisclosed but substantial monetary settlement. (Several hints throughout the series indicate that the amount was 50 million dollars)

Crews is partnered with Detective Dani Reese, previously an undercover narcotics agent and now a recovering drug addict and alcoholic. Crews is not well-received by Lieutenant Karen Davis, who, during the season, tries to force Reese into offering information that will see Crews suspended and eventually fired. Even though she herself is uncomfortable with her new partner, Reese backs Crews up on numerous occasions, and the two slowly develop a bond.

The overarching story of the first season concerns the murder for which Crews was wrongfully imprisoned, which leads him to confront various figures from his past such as his former partner, his ex-wife, and the detective that solved the case. Near the end of the season, Crews manages to uncover information that implicates Reese's father (also a retired cop and Lt. Davis's former partner) in the murder. In the finale, Crews is able to bring the true killer, Kyle Hollis, to justice, but he remains unaware of the reasons behind his having been framed.

Second season

The second season premiered on Monday, September 29, 2008. On July 21 2008, producers announced the second season would effectively re-launch the series with a new "pilot" episode. Earlier in March 2008, series creator and executive producer Rand Ravich explained that the second season will delve deeper into the conspiracy in the framing of Charlie Crews. Similarly, more of Dani Reese's past will be revealed.

Crews continues to investigate into the conspiracy to frame him and begins tracking some retired cops. He tracks down Rachel Seybolt and she moves in with him. Reese begins a relationship with the new captain after her father disappears. Ted starts teaching at a business school.

Cast & Characters

Original first-season main cast of Life. From left to right: Robin Weigert, Sarah Shahi, Damian Lewis, Adam Arkin and Melissa Sagemiller.

Main

• Det. Charles "Charlie" Crews Jr. (played by Damian Lewis) is the main character of Life. Crews was an ordinary police officer whose simple life came to an abrupt end when his business partner and friend, Tom Seybolt, as well as his wife and son, who Crews was on good terms with, were all brutally murdered. Crews was put on trial and convicted for the murders. Stripped of his badge and innocence, Crews was given a life sentence, where he suffered horribly (as whenever a police officer is sent to jail; the prisoners are eager to beat them regularly and brutally), and his depression worsened as his friends and loved ones turned on him, believing him guilty, and the world at large moved on without him. After 12 years, Crews' lawyer proves his innocence and he is exonerated and released, and is given a substantial settlement; he is given $50 million (which Ted Earley, his prison friend and housemate, manages and expands over the course of the series) and reinstatement to the LAPD as a detective. Currently, Crews works to put his life back together, reconnecting with his friends and loved ones, all alongside his police duties. Unknown to virtually anyone else except Ted, Crews is pursuing an unauthorized and illegal investigation into the conspiracy that led to his frame-up, which grows ever-deeper. Charlie was born in 1972, has an addiction to fruit (as nothing else is served in prison except a "meat-like paste"). Crews, to cope with his bleak prison life, took up The Path to Zen; gaining a new appreciation for the life he took for granted. While mostly appearing up-beat and often making dream-like remarks; Crews sometimes shows his humanity; which is still troubled; most notably with his estranged father; Charles Sr. Charlie completely despises his father (to the point he insists on being called "Charlie" to distinguish himself from him), as he was among the first to believe him guilty, to the point he forbade his mother from seeing him in prison; which would lead to her death. In one episode, Charlie was shot while answering his front door and almost died, having an out-of-body experience (or "rebirth"). Lewis chose to do the role after reading the script, in which he appreciated the character-driven nature of the story. Series Creator Rand Ravich immediately considered Damian Lewis for the part.
• Det. Dani Reese (played by Sarah Shahi) is the new partner and immediate superior officer of Charlie Crews. She is the daughter of Jack Reese, and is a recovering drug addict and alcoholic. Initially Reese doesn't think much of Crews, initially suspicious of him, and is often annoyed by his eccentricities, but with time she saw they made him an exceptional police investigator, and even became a friend to him, working together as a team very well. Reese's inner demons are what attracted Shahi to play the character (specifically she said "I like the fact that she has a dark side and she has some demons that she needs to overcome", and she related in another interview that she's had some of the same experiences as the character).
• Ted Earley (played by Adam Arkin) is Crews' housemate and financial advisor. Ted met Crews in prison, having originally been a wealthy CEO of a powerful company but lost his job and was imprisoned for stealing money from the company's employees pensions, something he now regrets. Crews saved Ted's life in prison, something that has made them inseparable friends, and Ted was there to support Crews upon his release. Ted was eventually brought into the loop of Crews' unauthorized and illegal investigation behind the conspiracy that led to his frame-up. In Season 2, Ted started teaching at a business school, initially the class has virtually no one attending, but Olivia, Ted's love interest, spreads rumors of Ted doing impressive crimes that cause the class to be filled to capacity. Earley was sent back to prison by the corrupt FBI Special Agent Bodner, supposedly for repeatedly violating his parole, but Crews arranged for his prison friends, who he taught The Path to Zen, to protect and serve him, and is now working towards his release.
• Officer Robert "Bobby" Stark (played by Brent Sexton) is a regular police officer and former partner of Charlie Crews. When Crews was put on trial for the murder of the Seybolt family, Bobby was unable to support his friend in his hour of need as he was threatened with imprisonment if he testified for his defence. Twelve years later, after Crews' release, Bobby made successful attempts to reconnect with him, and the two are now friends again, and regularly aids him on cases. Bobby regularly clashes with Crews' new partner; Dani Reese, for a variety of reasons (e.g. for her being a female cop, for being the daughter of Jack Reese—a person he respects and admires but believes assists Dani whenever needed—for being his superior officer etc.) On a personal level, Bobby has a wife; Leslie, three kids, and a sister; Kathy, who is a "badge bunny" who made romantic advances on Crews.
• Lt./Sgt. Karen Davis (played by Robin Weigert) was the head of the LAPD homicide department and commanding officer of Charlie Crews and Dani Reese during Season 1. Davis is uptight, by-the-book and cares about enforcing the law, but nevertheless maintained a good friendship with Dani, regularly assisting Dani with her recovery program from addiction. With Crews, however, it was entirely opposite; Davis was distrustful of Crews and believed he didn't belong in the police force following his imprisonment. As a result, Davis regularly attempted to have Crews expelled from the department without success. In between Season 1 and Season 2, Davis, for reasons unknown, was demoted and returned to field work. Davis was originally a main character in Season 1, but became a recurring in Season 2.
• Cpt. Kevin Tidwell (played by Donal Logue) is the new head of the LAPD homicide department and Charlie Crews and Dani Reese's new commanding officer following Karen Davis' demotion. Originally from New York, Tidwell is portrayed as having a very easy-going attitude, but takes his work very seriously when need be. On a personal level, Tidwell has three ex-wives, who all still love him, and is extremely paranoid and afraid of earthquakes (due to the fact he doesn't actually understand them). Over the course of Season 2, Tidwell made subtle, yet growing, romantic advances on Dani. Initially she rebuffed him, but eventually the two began an intimate relationship. Logue was added to the cast in Season 2, as an effort to lighten Damian Lewis' workload.
• ADA Constance Griffiths (played by Brooke Langton) was Charlie Crews' attorney who was instrumental in finding and proving his innocence, leading to his release. As a result, Constance gained a considerable reputation and eventually was asked to become an Assistant District Attorney, which she accepted. Constance and Crews are seen to greatly care for one another; both, sometimes, make references to a potential relationship, if Constance had not been married. Constance was originally a main character in Season 1, but became a recurring in Season 2. Originally, Melissa Sagemiller was cast to play the role, but she was replaced by Langton in July 2007.

Recurring

• Arthur Tims (played by Jon Sklaroff) was a low-rate con artist who, in an attempt to con money out of Mark Rawls' son (claiming, falsely, to be a lawyer who knew something that could get his beloved father out of prison) killed him with a shot to the back when he wouldn't pay. Charlie Crews eventually tracked down and captured Tims. Tims initially boasted that, due to lack of evidence, he could only be held for a year (for violating parole), but as he was escorted by Crews and Dani Reese to prison, he noticed Rawls waiting for him, and immediately confessed so he could be sent to another prison. Given a life sentence, Tims escaped a year later, a more cunning and dangerous criminal due to things learned in prison, while out on work detail with two others during an earthquake. Tims manipulated Crews into leading him to the paroled Rawls, who he killed with a shot to the back of the head, and then successfully robbed an armored truck. Crews eventually tracked him down to the home of the manager of the armored truck company, where Tims was holding her, her husband, and her son and daughter hostage. A stand-off ensued until Crews was able to shoot Tims in the chest, killing him. As Tims died, he remarked to Crews "I'll see you later then Crews." Tims' ghost, complete with the bullet wound that killed him, appeared to Crews during his "rebirth", and he remarked how bullet wounds still hurt in the afterlife, and "that's just messed up".
• Cpt. (ret.) Jack Reese (played by Victor Rivers) is the father of Dani Reese and a member of the group of 6 ex-police officers. Reese is a retired S.W.A.T. captain, highly respected and admired, though unknown to most he was involved in the Bank of Los Angeles Shootout; where, officially, he led the SWAT team, but really stole the missing $18 million. Reese was a key orchestrator in the conspiracy of sending Crews to prison, and even now plays a cat-and-mouse game with him with unknown results.
• Det. (ret.) Carl Ames (played by Roger Aaron Brown) was the lead detective on the case that sent Charlie Crews to jail, and decided to retire right after Crews was given a life sentence. He was a friend of Jack Reese, and as such falsified certain details in the case to ensure Crews was convicted (most of all; obscuring the fact Rachel Seybolt was still in the house at the time). After Crews was released, Ames, despite all the evidence to the contrary, refused to believe it (due in part to the gruesomeness killing of the Seybolt family which apparently still haunted him). Crews, as a result, was driven to repeatedly seek Ames and confront him with the evidence, trying to prove his innocence, as well as force out any details leading to the conspiracy that led to his imprisonment; all against the advice of Constance Griffiths. Ames was found murdered with a shot to his head and heart in his car in the Los Angeles police station parking lot, as a result of his failed plan to further frame Crews. Crews was initially the leading suspect, but was eventually proven innocent. In the Season 1 finale, Crews recognizes the two henchmen seeking Kyle Hollis as the same standing beside Reese on the morning of Ames' death. Realizing Reese ordered Ames killed by the two men; Crews takes out his old service pistol and successfully shoots and kills the two men, avenging Ames.
• Jennifer Conover (played by Jennifer Siebel) is Charlie Crews' ex-wife who, not believing his innocence, divorced him when he was in prison, and in the 12 years he has been in prison, she has remarried and had a son and daughter. After Crews is released, he regularly approaches her, having never given up his feelings. Initially her viewpoint towards him is strained, but, in the middle of Season 2, Jennifer finally succumbed to his advances and the two began having an affair.
• Kyle Hollis, a.k.a. Reverand Orson Parker (played by Titus Welliver) is the true murderer of the Seybolt family, the crime that Crews went to prison for. Hollis, at the time, served as Jack Reese's confidential informant and street muscle, and was sent to Tom Seybolt, who was one of the money launderers of the missing $18 million from the Bank of Los Angeles Shootout, when it was found that he was stealing a portion of the money he was given. High on drugs, Hollis went out of control and murdered all three family members. Afterward, Hollis turned his life around and became a man of God, adopting Rachel as well. When Crews finally tracked him down, he initially wishes to kill him, but instead tricks him into confessing to the crime. Hollis was subsequently sent to prison. In Season 2, Crews visited him in prison to find out more about his connection to Reese, only for Hollis to strangely deny he ever knew him.
• Mark Rawls (played by Michael Cudlitz) is a criminal serving a 10-year prison sentence whose son was found murdered, but Charlie Crews solved the crime (with Rolls' unknowing assistance). As a thank-you, Rawls, at Crews' request, uses his contacts in the criminal underworld to finally locate Kyle Hollis, as well as his new name, profession and the fact others were after him. In Season 2, Rawls is parolled, and during the earthquake that strikes Los Angeles, Rawls planned to hunt down Arthur Tims, his son's killer, who he learned from his prison friends had escaped in the earthquake. Crews was legally forced to interfere with his plan, and in doing so, Tims was able to kills Rawls. Crews, in turn, killed Tims.
• Mickey Rayborn (played by William Atherton) is a retired police officer and is currently a highly-influential, famous and wealthy philanthropist. He is also a member of the group of 6 ex-police officers. Rayborn, having learned he is going to die from an unspecified form of cancer, is now willingly aiding Charlie Crews in his investigation of Jack Reese, another member of the group. Crews contacted Rayborn for details on three murdered Russians, suspecting Roman Nevikov's involvement. Crews found Rayborn deliberately un-helpful.
• Olivia (played by Christina Hendricks) is the significantly younger fiance of Charles Crews Sr., the estranged father of Charlie Crews. Olivia has made repeated, and always rebuffed, attempts to make contact with Crews resulted in her spending a lot of time with Ted, who developed feelings for her. She gently turns down his romantic efforts while trying to maintain a friendship with him.
• Rachel Seybolt, a.k.a. Rachel Hollis (played by Jessy Schram) is the sole surviving member of the family murdered by Kyle Hollis and that Charlie Crews was framed for. Being only five years old at the time, Rachel was left deeply emotionally scarred and even now finds it difficult to socialize. Due to Jack Reese's efforts to protect her from the rest of his group, Crews had to spend a great deal of time and effort in Season 1 to find her, and eventually found she had been adopted by Hollis. After Hollis' arrest and imprisonment, in Season 2, Rachel moves in with Crews. Initially, Rachel's relationship with Crews was tense, but, as both were "wrecked" by the crime and went through a dark time in their respective lives, it eventually grew to bond them together, and they began caring about one another. Roman Nevikov, a ruthless Russian mobster Crews was investigating, subtlely threatened more than once to rape and kill Rachel if he investigated a triple murder too deeply, forcing Crews to send her away for her own safety.
• Roman Nevikov (played by Garret Dillahunt) is ruthless Russian mobster and human trafficker based in Los Angeles. Supposedly, Nevikov knows no fear, as he was born in prison, explaining his ruthless and sociopathic tendencies. Cool, calm and extremely confident, those who work for him fear him for being untouchable. This is proven as, when Nevikov murders one of his prostitutes, and is subsequently captured by Charlie Crews and Dani Reese, not only does he emotionally rock them with certain revelations (one of which led Crews, actively investigating the reason behind his imprisonment, to shift his attention towards the Bank of Los Angeles Shootout) but was subsequently released without charge as Nevikov apparently serves as a federal informant; granting him protection from the U.S. Government. In Season 2, however, it is revealed the agent who delivered this news, Bodner, was really corrupt and working for Nevikov. Nevikov brought a team of builders; two builders/mob enforcers and an engineering genius, over from Moscow to the United States illegally, and then had them monitor the site of the future new federal building in Los Angeles, copy details of the building's security system, and then installed it in Nevikov's club (under the guise of unknown renovation work), as well as underground vaults underneath the basement, all completely secure. Once the work was completed, Nevikov couldn't risk his secrets being exposed as the builders knew too much, Nevikov expertly executed all three of his fellow Russians. Crews and Reese investigated, and eventually approached Nevikov to ask about the killings. Nevikov denied any knowledge, but because they "asked nicely" (appealed to his ego), he agreed to ask around. Nevikov noticed the detectives continuing investigations on him, and subtlely threatened Rachel Seybolt's life if Crews investigated too deeply. The LAPD launched a search of Nevikov's club, hiding it from federal attention, but found nothing, and Bodner claimed jurisdiction over the case when it was suspected the engineer was involved in terrorism. Crews figured out by reading Russian history what Nevikov had done, as well as suspecting the engineer; Pavel, had left a "trapdoor" in Nevikov's security system for them to find. As such, Crews, Reese and a SWAT team stormed Nevikov's club, with Nevikov calmly waiting for them and gave himself up. Initially he remained calm and confident they wouldn't find anything yet again, but Crews used the personal laptop built by Pavel for Nevikov to unlock the "trapdoor" in the security system; really a video made and narrated by Pavel shortly before his death, explaining what transpired as well as revealing what he found was going on in the underground vaults beneath the club's basement; people being hidden and kept underground as slaves. The people were released and Nevikov finally brought to justice.
• SP Agent Paul Bodner (played by Shashawnee Hall) is an Special Agent of the FBI who is occasionally on loan to the Department of Homeland Security. Bodner originally encountered and came into conflict with Charlie Crews when he came into the LAPD to protect Roman Nevikov; explaining that Nevikov helped the U.S. Government as a federal informant, and as such was given government protection. In Season 2, Bodner, back with the FBI full-time, confronted Crews with his investigation into Jack Reese, and warned him not to investigate too deeply. Crews later found out Bodner was corrupt; he only came to Nevikov's defense because he was working for him. Bodner was responsible for sending Ted Earley back to prison, and he came to claim jurisdiction over the (fruitless) search of Roman Nevikov's club. Initially there was conflict between him and Cpt. Kevin Tidwell, but, when it was found the murdered engineer was monitoring the site of the future new federal building in Los Angeles, the Joint Terrorism Task Force was called by Tidwell, who in turn sent Bodner. Believing it a possible terrorist operation, Bodner claimed jurisdiction and warned Crews, Reese and Tidwell to stay away from Nevikov or, specifically yet subtlety to Crews, risk being killed. He may have had a hand in the attempt on Crews' life at the end of the episode.
• Tina & Gina are two young women who were among many random females attracted to Charlie Crews initially following his release from prison. The two were regularly mixed up by Crews and others. Crews invited the two to his mansion to use his pool, and did so after a night of drinking and sex with Crews.

Production

Crew

The series was created by Rand Ravich, who also serves as executive producer alongside Far Shariat, David Semel, and Daniel Sackheim for Universal Media Studios. Semel also directed the pilot. Rafael Alvarez (The Wire) is a writer and producer for the show. Alvarez also wrote a pilot called Panic in Detroit for NBC. Based on this piece they hired him to work on Life as a writer and producer.

After the first season and the writers' strike was over, half of the writing staff of the show (originally made of 6 writers), who were all also producers, decided to quit and won't be returning for season 2, though according to creator/showrunner Rand Ravich, it wasn't either due to the strike or over creative disagreement: "I just think people went on to do what they want to."

One of the writers, Glen Mazzara, has moved on to a new series, Crash, starring Dennis Hopper, where he'll serve as writer, executive producer and showrunner.

Episodes

Main article: List of Life episodes

Life premiered on September 26, 2007, on NBC, aired on Wednesday. NBC initially ordered thirteen episodes of the show: an original order of seven episodes, and then on October 10, 2007 placed an order for at least three additional episodes, later pinned down as six episodes. In November 2008 NBC placed an order for the balance of a full season, nine additional episodes. This would've brought the show's first season to a standard 22 episodes, with NBC stating it was hitting its creative stride. However, due to the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, only 11 of the 22 episodes were completed.

The second season premiered on Monday, September 29, 2008, and a second episode aired Friday, October 3, 2008. Another episode aired Monday, October 6, 2008, after which it was moved to its regular time slot of Friday nights at 10/9c and then after 4 weeks the show was moved to Wednesday nights at 9/8c.

Themes and characteristics

Documentary

First introduced in the pilot episode, episodes of Life generally feature short segments of mock-documentary footage as interludes. These scenes feature the supporting cast being interviewed about their relationship to Charlie Crews and their response to his wrongful imprisonment and release. Appearing are: Bobby Starks (Brent Sexton), Jennifer Connover (Jennifer Siebel), Ted Earley (Adam Arkin), retired Detective Charles Ames (Roger Aaron Brown), Constance Griffiths (Brooke Langton) and in the first episode Dr. Alan Fay, surgeon at the Pelican Bay prison and two unnamed police officers. Segments were often repeated in following episodes. This technique was phased out during the second season, but has reappeared in the episode "Trapdoor."

Imprisonment

A prominent theme in Life is the effect of imprisonment, both physically and mentally, on ex-convicts, particularly on the characters of Charlie Crews and Ted Earley. Several episodes deal prominently with the effect on Crews, such as his possession of a knife which he is not permitted to carry ("Let Her Go"); his desire to keep his house as spacious as possible ("Let Her Go"); his insight into guards ("Serious Control Issues") and the connections existing between (ex-)convicts ("Fill It Up").

Several references are made during the course of the show to the time Crews spent in prison, which is 12 years. For example, in "Dig a Hole", characters recurrently ask the question "Who knows where they were ten years ago?", to which Crews continually responds that he does. Similarly, another recurrent theme is Crews' lack of knowledge concerning current technology because of his time incarcerated.

The episode "Serious Control Issues" focuses on a teenager that was abducted as a child and the similarities that exist between him and Crews.

The conspiracy wall

File:Life conspiracy wall.jpg

The conspiracy wall as shown in the pilot episode, "Merit Badge". The wall was recreated on the NBC website.

The 'conspiracy wall' is first introduced in the series' pilot episode and consists of photos and articles that the character of Charlie Crews has linked to his false imprisonment. New items were added to the wall during the first seven episodes as new clues were revealed. A digital reproduction of the conspiracy wall on the NBC website allowed visitors to view and speculate.

While the actual conspiracy wall was dismantled in the eighth episode, "Farthingale", the digital version is still available on NBC.com as of October 2008. In the second-season episode "Black Friday," the conspiracy wall was shown to be back in place.

Zen philosophy

The philosophy of Zen is featured heavily in Life, most prominently through Charlie Crews. Episodes usually feature Crews using Zen techniques to stay focused or, by the unique insight it gives him, use it to solve a case. Similarly, he often uses Zen Kōans (proverbs).

Crews' struggle with his beliefs are most prominently featured in the first season finale "Fill It Up", when he learns the identity of the real killer in the case that saw him wrongfully imprisoned. In anger, Crews throws out a tape on Zen, titled "The Path to Zen", which is featured in a previous episode, out of his car as his desire for revenge conflict with the inherently pacifist nature of Zen. In the final scene of the episode, when the killer is brought to justice, Crews picks up the discarded tape from the road.

Reception

Critical response

As of August 2008 Life has a 64% favorable rating for season 1 and a 72% rating for season 2 on Metacritic. Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly dubs the series "a very good new show that needs a more vivid title and more of NBC's promotional oomph" and praising the portrayal of Charlie Crews by the "beloved" Damian Lewis. In contrast, Gina Bellafante of The New York Times noted that the character of Detective Crews (and contemporary Adrian Monk of the series Monk) did not portray "law enforcers as believable soldiers of the working class", which she considered a negative. Tonally though, she described the show as "a musical version of a Thomas Harris novel" (Harris is a noted and acclaimed author of crime novels) and found the narrative to be "incredibly satisfying".

David Bianculli of the Daily News (New York) also likened the character of Crews to Adrian Monk, noting that "Lewis is commanding, and draws your attention without saying a word, almost as much as does Tony Shalhoub on Monk." He also praised Sarah Shahi for her performance as Dani Reese, stating that "it's easy to imagine her as the star of her own spinoff, taking her no-nonsense character front and center". Alan Sepinwall, reporter for The Star-Ledger instead cited a resemblance between Crews and main character Gregory House (played by British actor Hugh Laurie) of House, but noting that "where House's quirks and bad behavior are ceaselessly amusing, Crews' idiosyncrasies -- also including a bafflement at modern technology like camera phones and instant messaging -- are already tired by the end of the first episode".

Robert Bianco similarly made the comparison between Life and House and Monk but noted that the character of Crews is covered "with so many quirks, foibles, and eccentricities you can hardly spot poor Lewis underneath", concluding with "strip away the abrasive flourishes and what's left is a standard issue TV mystery with cases that are too easy to solve and internal conflicts and conspiracies that make no sense".

Awards and nominations

The show won a 2008 AFI Award for best television series.

U.S. television ratings

Episode #	Title	Air date	Rating	Share	18–49	Viewers
1	"Pilot: Merit Badge"	September 26, 2007	6.5	11	4.1	10.15
2	"Tear Asunder"	October 3, 2007	5.7	10	3.0	8.80
3	"Let Her Go"	October 10, 2007	5.3	9	2.8	8.14
4	"What They Saw"	October 17, 2007	5.0	8	2.8	7.66
5	"The Fallen Woman"	October 24, 2007	4.7	9	2.5	6.85
6	"Powerless"	October 31, 2007	3.7	6	2.0	5.72
7	"A Civil War"	November 7, 2007	4.1	7	2.6	6.41
8	"Farthingale"	November 14, 2007	4.5	8	2.5	6.94
9	"Serious Control Issues"	November 28, 2007	4.1	7	2.2	6.27
10	"Dig a Hole: Part 1"	December 3, 2007	4.3	7	2.5	6.61
11	"Fill It Up"	December 5, 2007	5.0	8	2.5	7.64
12	"Find Your Happy Place"	September 29, 2008			2.8	6.92
13	"Everything. . . All the Time"	October 3, 2008			2.3	5.78
14	"The Business of Miracles"	October 6, 2008			1.7	5.44
15	"Not for Nothing"	October 10, 2008			1.4	4.92
16	"Crushed"	October 17, 2008			1.5	5.93
17	"Did You Feel That?"	October 24, 2008			1.5	5.49
18	"Jackpot"	November 5, 2008			2.0	5.82
19	"Black Friday"	November 12, 2008			1.8	5.83
20	"Badge Bunny"	November 19, 2008			1.7	5.32
21	"Evil...And His Brother Ziggy"	December 3, 2008			2.3	8.10
22	"Canyon Flowers"	December 10, 2008			1.8	5.46
23	"Trapdoor"	December 17, 2008			1.7	5.19

Season	Timeslot	Season Premiere	Season Finale	Episodes	TV Season	Ranking	Viewers (in millions)
1st	Wednesday 10:00PM	September 26, 2007	December 5, 2007	11	2007-2008	#63	8.1
2nd	Friday 10:00PM Wednesday 9:00PM	September 29, 2008	TBA, 2009	N/A	2008-2009	N/A	5.77

International ratings

The Australian TV ratings for the 1st episode of Life were 1.085 million viewers, making it one of the top programs viewed for that day and timeslot. The season finale shown in Australia (episode 8) on 21 November had the ratings of 908,000 viewers.

DVD release

DVD name	Release date	Ep #	Additional information
The Complete First Season	September 2, 2008	11	While the music selection plays an important role on the show, a process supervised by creator Rand Ravich who declared: "You have to be careful — music has to enhance; you don't want it to overwhelm. It's nice to see when it acts as one more component [in a scene]" in a recent Variety article about how such "music-driven television shows [demonstrated] how placements can play a pivotal role, either by drenching scenes in song or by very carefully placing just a song or two for lengthy stretches.", the DVDs do not include the original music selection but alternative songs (NBC's so-called "rewind version").

External links

• Official site at NBC.com
• Full episodes of Life free from NBC
• Global Television website
• Life at IMDb
• Template:Tvtome show