EZ Streets

The difference between right and wrong isn't easily distinguishable on EZ Streets, a compelling and sophisticated crime drama that lasted just one season on CBS. As a former cop tells his son, "You can only be betrayed by the people you trust." Ken Olin stars as Detective Cameron Quinn. After his partner is gunned down with $10,000 missing, both of them are pegged as dirty cops. To clear his partner's name, Quinn infiltrates a crime gang led by the charismatic Jimmy Murtha (Joe Pantoliano), whose inner circle includes a masochistic lawyer/girlfriend (Debrah Farentino) and a conflicted recent parolee (Jason Gedrick) who had served time for Murtha's crime. Created, written, and produced by Paul Haggis (Crash, Million Dollar Baby), EZ Streets evokes a similar melancholy feel as The Sopranos, which it predates by three years. Thanks to the Brilliant But Cancelled series, fans get to see why this show was so critically acclaimed in its 1996 debut. If there's a fault to this DVD, which includes the pilot and two other episodes, it's that the viewer ends up frustrated with just a three-episode taste rather than the full-season meal. --Jae-Ha Kim