More from Hollywood North

Hand it to Haddock…He’s Got Intelligence

Intelligence, the new dramatic series from Vancouver’s Chris Haddock, proves definitively that Haddock has the goods to offer up a Canadian television drama and compete equally with the spectrum of the new fall television dramas produced north of the border.

His follow-up to the much-acclaimed Davinci’s Inquest reveals that his talents satisfy all existing standards for exciting drama. Those dictated by well-drawn characters coupled with intriguing, interesting and forward -moving storylines. These are things Haddock clearly knows how to accomplish.

He also knows how to cast his characters. Haddock’s Intelligence, casts Ian Tracey as likeable gangster Jimmy Reardon, whose business interests lie in the world of cocaine and heroin distribution with a storyline that, from the get-go, puts you in his corner in spite of perhaps disapproving of his business ethics. Actor Klea Scott aptly demonstrates his counterpoint, organized crime unit head Mary Spalding, through tightly woven doses of reserve for the work at hand and indulgent exposure to her own personal demons. Their relationship leads you to believe these two opposing forces have an underlying respect for one another in spite of being polar opposites on the bandwidth of right or wrong.

The one to watch out for is Jimmy’s brother Michael, played with exacting creepiness by Bernie Coulson. He promises to be the fly in the ointment. The screw-up who can’t help himself and will probably take down everyone around him in his quest to insert himself wherever he can in order to score the most points, irregardless of who he hurts along the way.

Vancouver’s Penthouse nightclub, built in the 1940’s, provides the backdrop for Reardon’s Chickadee strip club – not unlike the Soprano’s BADA BING.

This is the setting that allows for brother Michael’s Shakespearean-like character to fester and boil as he interferes with Reardon’s slowly crumbling empire. It’s the one business venue that Jimmy is willing to extend to his brother, wrongly believing that it allows for the least amount of intrusion by loose-cannon Michael into his business interests.

Et tu Brutus?

Watch it to find out.