Life

Excellent plots, if you have missed it, catch up by watching the full episodes on line on NBC. This program deserves a strong following of viewers. Great character development and moments of humor and insights on humanity interspersed with drama, suspense and darkness. The program mixes single stories each week with on going meta stories about each of the characters pasts-especially the story of the main character Charlie Crews who was framed for a mass murder and spent twelve years in prison before he was exonerated. We learn a little more about the past stories each week as the crime of that episode is investigated and solved. Complex and captivating show.

Charlie Crews is a former cop turned inmate who has just gotten out of jail after 12 years for a crime he didn't commit. He becomes a detective again upon his release as part of a settlement with the city. I just watched the pilot, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's not some dumb action piece with big car chases and naked women. It also has a great relationship between the two lead characters, a man and a woman. They're detective partners, but there isn't any forced chemistry tacked on. You know, the whole they hate each other, but you can't deny the attraction...uggh. This avoids that perfectly. It also has some great actors, Damian Lewis is always great, since "Band of Brothers" he's displayed a remarkable talent for character roles. And this is most certainly a character drama. But unlike Shark or Monk or something where the character is the whole plot, there's also a great deal of other fantastic elements. The man was in jail from 1995-2007, so there's cute scenes about a sort of culture shock, mostly pertaining to technological advances. But there's also a darker side, as Crews was brutalized in prison (as a former cop) and has a vendetta against those who conspired to put him in jail. This is the overarching arc of the series, but smaller cases worked with his partner form the bulk of the story lines. I was really impressed and look forward to further episodes. I just hope that NBC manages to get this show enough ratings to keep it on the air. Kudos on a job well done. J.

Life is one of the best shows on television because it revives the old Detective shows where there was no "CSI" made-up procedures to catch people. Instead, it is straight detective work that keeps you on edge.

This show is great because it doesn't have the flashy-ness or unbelievable murders/events as Police shows on TV now. It could be about murders for the simplest and believable reasons. Jealous spouses, simple rapes and other, everyday events. The shows characters are down-to-earth and cast perfectly with the recovering-addict Detective and Damian Lewis' enthralling "Zen-Like" Detectiveness. The way the writers have him interviewing and connecting with people is unlike any other police show or movie I have ever seen.

To make things better, is the side story of how Damian Lewis is spending his money from his settlement. What at first seems like a series like "Bad Boys" is quickly proved incorrect with the lines "I am not attached to this car..." and you can see that he is.

But the best, very best part of this show is how Dt Crews is investigating his own case to find out who framed him during a triple homicide. Again, using basic, detective work.

I was starting to find CSI-style shows becoming boring, and lacking in depth and was excited to finally find a show that uses its characters to bring it to life, not scantly-clothed girls with almost no acting skill.

So if you want a believable show, with great characters and a great story line every week, watch Life and you'll become attached to the show!

Main character is great, I love the guy! His zen-philosophy is understandable to everyone, zen-or-not, even like some usual wisdom; and his not-so-zen seek for revenge is so Western... This is just the thing that crime series needed: fresh new character, interesting and funny. I also like his partner (she's beautiful, reminds me of Jo in Eureka), but I hope she will develop in a more interesting way soon - not just because of her past and drug abuse, but also like a character itself, with characteristic language and everything that a full character needs. Story is very promising, it could lead to many different ways; also the crimes that Charlie and Reese have to work on are interesting. Life is great, I hope it will continue for many seasons.

Life was such an underrated show. It was a shame that NBC barely advertised it while it was on. Damian Lewis and Sarah Shahi are both terrific actors and both are at their best in this one. I know that there are a million different cop shows out there to choose from but this one was such an original, it's a shame it only lasted 2 seasons but those 2 seasons were great. It's one of those rare shows where once you start watching it's hard to stop!