The Tube File

by Niko Baker with additional writing by John Mundazio

On A&E’s latest entry into the dramatic arena The Cleaner, Benjamin Bratt is doing some of his best acting since leaving Law & Order. After walking off the beat of NBC’s venerable cops and lawyers show, Bratt has tried to find substantive parts to sink his teeth into. The results have been a bit mixed, at best. So I approached The Cleaner with some trepidation. It appears that the years of searching for just the right role have finally paid off, landing Bratt right back on the small screen. On the show, Bratt brilliantly portrays William Banks, a recovering addict who, upon finally getting clean, took a vow with God to help other people kick their habits by using whatever tactics are necessary. Using a secretive team of rehab operatives, Banks and company literally yank people off the streets, go undercover, and get involved with high-speed car chases to help people get clean (at the request of at wits end loved ones). If this premise sounds a little preposterous, you should know that the series is based on the experiences of Warren Boyd, a drug counselor who not only enslaved his own demons, but used tactics similar to those shown in The Cleaner to help friends and complete strangers. Boyd serves as an executive producer on the show.

The Cleaner has the general feel of any procedural show: tracking down the dealers or addicts, doing surveillance, and then going in for the kill (or in this case, injecting the addict with some kind of tranquilizer, rendering them unconscious and carrying that person off in a van). This aspect of the show feels pretty familiar, and were it not for the charm and appeal of the actors in Banks’ team (Grace Park, Esteban Powell and Kevin Michael Richardson), it might not be worth watching each week. However, the other aspect of the show, Banks’ family life, if far more interesting and is what gives the show its soul. Banks is married with two good kids. His wife, Melissa, is a strong, smart working mother who binds the family together. Their two children, Ben (Brett Delano) and Lula (Liliana Mumy) are smart, eager to please, and coming into their own as individuals. This means plenty of questions about William’s past and rebellion because of it.

We asked Benjamin Bratt [one of our favorite actors since Blood In, Blood Out] about the unapologetic show, he explains, "I play a guy named William Banks, who's actually based on a real guy named Warren Boyd, who actually does this for a living. The back story on who William Banks is... he's a former junkie who, really at the bottom of the well, when his daughter was being born in the hospital, he had that moment of self-awareness and clarity... that he somehow needed to change his life. And so he made a pact with God. He said, 'Look, if you get me through this hard time, I will devote my life to helping other addicts— people just like myself.' And that's essentially what he did. That was about 15 years ago, and became the premise for the show. What's actually interesting on the show is that I would argue that we probably have one of the most ethnically diverse ensemble casts on television. Among the team of people that work with William Banks, the character I play, there is an African American, there is an Asian-American, there is myself, and what I find somewhat ironic and something I hope that will change a little bit as we go forward is that the people so far we've dealt with, the people who suffer from addiction that we've been helping have by and large been people from the White Upper Middle Class community, and typically having wealthy backgrounds."

What we found to be unique about The Cleaner is that at home, Banks is a complete screw up (he does things like forgetting to pick up his children from school and blowing off meetings with the principal). The fact that his family members tolerate his behavior shows just how much they really do care about him. Perhaps most impressive is his wife, Melissa, played perfectly by Amy Price-Francis. Melissa carries around the pain of her husband’s years of drug abuse and the effect it had on the family like a ball and chain. She is willing to forgive, but William is still trying to earn his way back into her heart. Thus, despite the deep connection these two have, William must sleep alone on a cot in the office and physical intimacy is limited to kissing. Here is a woman who obviously loves this man, but is making him work especially hard to redeem himself. This portrayal of a marriage trying to work through the problems is refreshing. And that William, the heroic leader with a mission to save addicts, is such an ass clown in his personal life really lends a nice dichotomy to The Cleaner. Like any new show, The Cleaner is finding its footing and developing its characters. While I have started with some new shows and eventually given up on them (like In Plain Sight), The Cleaner has surprised me and is only getting better. The show is definitely FAR better than the ‘D’ grade Entertainment Weekly gave it a couple of short weeks ago. Tomorrow, A&E will run the first three episodes in a row— the ideal way to judge for yourself.

Speaking of Entertainment Weekly and its scathing television reviews, the magazine recently gave the ABC Family smash hit The Secret Life of the American Teenager a ‘B-’ grade. What the F%@k? Have they even watched the show? Brenda Hampton, the show's creator, has created quite possibly the most painful hour of television since, hmmmmm... let's see now... ummmm... 7th Heaven (coincidentally also created by Hampton)? How this preachy dreck that takes itself so seriously has garnered any praise is beyond me. And yes, I did adhere to the three strike rule and sit through three full episodes. That I didn’t gouge my eyes out or smash my television is a miracle. In the finale episode, The Cleaner is hired by a man who wants to stop his son and daughter-in-law from drinking. His is concerned about the safety of his granddaughter. Both the husband and wife are alcoholics who enable each other. When confronted, the husband sees there is a problem, but thinks he can handle it on in his own, The wife starts drinking more aggressively, as if making a point. The husband eventually goes into treatment. The wife agrees to treatment, but then leaves. Guest stars in the season finale include Malcolm Jamal Wamer, Kim Fields, Tim DeKay, Kari Matchett and Ralph Waite. I definitely recommend checking it out. UB

Born on a shoestring budget in the sleepy little town of Bigfoot, Texas [and no, the town isn't named after the legendary creature] Niko Baker is an accomplished cranial assassin. He prides himself on his innate ability to become an "expert" on carnival folk and all things circus-like at parties and dinners. Legend has it Niko was born with a laptop attached to him via his umbilical cord… something his mother steadfastly refutes. She will, however, tell anybody who will listen that his head was the size of an NBA basketball that was over inflated.