Jolly, but careworn veteran police officer Cleaver (an excellent and engaging performance by the always dependable Ernest Borgnine) gets paired with eager and earnest, yet awkward new partner Haven (a solid and likable portrayal by Michael Shannon), who's actually an experimental android programmed by a police lab to fight crime.
Director Jud Taylor keeps the enjoyable and engrossing story moving along at a brisk pace, stages the action scenes with aplomb, and offers a nice blend of humor and drama. The smart script by Anthony Wilson and Allen C. Epstein handles the fantastic premise in an admirably low-key and reasonably realistic manner by depicting Haven as someone with a photographic memory and heightened senses, but fortunately isn't super strong or fast ala "The Six Million Dollar Man." Borgnine and Shannon display an utterly winning and even touching chemistry in the lead roles, with sturdy support from John Amos as Cleaver's whiny old partner Bill Bundy and John Larch as skeptical commissioner Foreman. Terry K. Meade's lively cinematography provides a neat crisp look. Only Billy Goldenberg's hopelessly dated spacey synthesizer score leaves something to be desired. An extremely entertaining affair.
Director Jud Taylor keeps the enjoyable and engrossing story moving along at a brisk pace, stages the action scenes with aplomb, and offers a nice blend of humor and drama. The smart script by Anthony Wilson and Allen C. Epstein handles the fantastic premise in an admirably low-key and reasonably realistic manner by depicting Haven as someone with a photographic memory and heightened senses, but fortunately isn't super strong or fast ala "The Six Million Dollar Man." Borgnine and Shannon display an utterly winning and even touching chemistry in the lead roles, with sturdy support from John Amos as Cleaver's whiny old partner Bill Bundy and John Larch as skeptical commissioner Foreman. Terry K. Meade's lively cinematography provides a neat crisp look. Only Billy Goldenberg's hopelessly dated spacey synthesizer score leaves something to be desired. An extremely entertaining affair.