"The Agency" (2001) TV series 2001-2003

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Creator:

Michael Frost Beckner

Seasons:

1 | 2

Release Date:

27 September 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Plot:

A look at the inner workings of the CIA.

Plot Keywords:

CIA | Espionage | Terrorism | Terrorist | Terrorism Prevention

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy.

Cast

Paige Turco	...	Terri Lowell (44 episodes, 2001-2003)
David Clennon	...	Joshua Nankin (44 episodes, 2001-2003)
Will Patton	...	Jackson Haisley (44 episodes, 2001-2003)
Richard Speight Jr.	...	Lex (35 episodes, 2001-2003)
Daniel Benzali	...	Robert Quinn (27 episodes, 2001-2003)
Rocky Carroll	...	Carl Reese (25 episodes, 2001-2002)
Beau Bridges	...	Sen. Tom Gage (22 episodes, 2002-2003)
Jason O'Mara	...	A. B. Stiles (22 episodes, 2002-2003)
Gil Bellows	...	Matt Callan (22 episodes, 2001-2002)
Gloria Reuben	...	Lisa Fabrizzi (22 episodes, 2001-2002)
Ronny Cox	...	Director Alex Pierce III (22 episodes, 2001-2002)

Runtime:

45 min (44 episodes) | USA:60 min (including commercials) (44 episodes) | Argentina:60 min

Country:

Canada | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Australia:M | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Radiant Productions

Trivia:

The cell phone used by agent Stiles is a Sony-Ericsson T68i.

Quotes:

A.B. Stiles: You know, my daddy told me "When you go to war, always carry an American gun. That way, if you're captured, you tell them 'When my grandfather went to Germany to fight the Nazis, he carried this pistol, and it never jammed on him once.' And then you tell them 'When my father went to Vietnam to fight the Cong, he carried this pistol, and it never jammed on him once.' And while you're telling them this
[pulls a Glock from an ankle holster]
A.B. Stiles: you shoot them with an Austrian gun and come home alive.

Movie Connections:

Follows The Agency (2001) (TV)

Incredibly well-researched and thought-provoking drama

I rarely watch network TV for anything more than an occasional graze, but since Daniel Benzali joined the cast, the Agency is my one unbreakable weekly appointment with a network show. The three-way relationship between Bridges, Carroll, and he has just the right edge. And, Carroll works so much better with both of them than he did with the holier-than-thou Pierce (insipidly played by Ronny Cox, a normally fine actor in the wrong role). In fact the series has improved markedly with every addition AND DELETION. The feckless Gil Bellows was the only agent who seemed not to belong, and he left in a fitting and dynamic demise. Speight gets better and better, and works well with Clennon and Turco.

But, what really rocks me is the even-handedness of the scripts, dealing head-on with terrorist issues more objectively and evenhandedly than our media dare to, and not a false note has been struck all year since this show came to be. Any show boasting Wolfgang Peterson and Shaun Cassidy as co-producers can be expected to be unusual, and the Agency succeeds in being anything BUT run-of-the-mill. Long may it run!