‘Black Lightning’ on the CW Network

The upcoming film ”Black Panther” has nothing to do with the revolutionary Black Panther Party of the Sixties, but it does seem timely in that its main character has enhanced powers of violent action in the role of ruler of a fictional African nation.

On the CW television, though it is not a companion piece, the new series “Black Lightning” features appealing high school Principal Jefferson Pierce (Cress Williams), the reluctant titular character, doing his best to keep his school and family in a safe zone.

The setting of fictional Freeland, could be a microcosm of Detroit circa 1968, but seems more like present-day violent Baltimore on steroids. Racial strife is boiling over and African-American Jefferson (aka Black Lightning) is in the thick of the turmoil.

Divorced but yearning to reunite with his ex-wife Lynn (Christine Adams), Jefferson is the father of two daughters, with the youngest Jennifer (China Anne McClain) a student at his school, while Anissa (Nafessa Williams) teaches some health classes while studying pre-med.

Having been caught up in a protest against violent street gang, The 100, Anissa is not only arrested but bailed out by her dad. On the way home, Jefferson is pulled over the local police who rough him up in a terrible case of racial profiling.

At this point, it’s clear that “Black Lightning” is involved in the social issues that have festered for a long time, and Jefferson has to keep in check the superior mighty force of his Black Lightning superpowers lest he be drawn back into the morass of vigilante vengeance.

His patience is soon tested, and contrary to his promise to Lynn to have retired his costume, he has to face the fact that his former student Lala (William Catlett) is a despicable trafficker in all things illegal.

When one of Lala’s street thugs kidnaps Anissa and Jennifer to provide prostitution at a seedy motel run by The 100, the doting Jefferson has no choice than to unleash his pent-up fury on assorted bad guys to liberate his daughters.

Of course, this is only the beginning of serious trouble, as an uneasy truce between the safe zone of Jefferson’s Garfield High and The 100 is soon violated, and street warfare threatens to resume.

Meanwhile, Jefferson reconnects with Peter Gambi (James Remar), a tailor with a shop full of bespoke suits (reminds me of the hideaway for “The Kingsman”), getting outfitted for a new latex superhero costume.

Black Lightning is a fallible superhero, too easily wounded, and the charismatic Cress Williams makes an interesting case for watching the end game of “Black Lightning.”




‘Private Eyes’ on ION Television

With hundreds of cable channels available, the television landscape is constantly evolving. Originally launched as PAX TV nearly twenty years ago, ION Television follows a programming strategy similar to many major cable networks.

That means that most of its schedule is filled with acquired broadcast and cable drama series, along with some original programs. ION is where you tune in for reruns of network series “Blood Bloods” and “Criminal Minds” or the cable offering of “Psych.”

“Private Eyes,” starring Canadian-born Jason Priestley, best known for the “Beverly Hills, 90210” series, is going to feel like original programming for American audiences even though it is a pickup of a Canadian series that first launched north of the border in 2016.

Comparisons to “Moonlighting” could be inevitable only because Priestly’s Matt Shade (sounds like a Mickey Spillane character), an ex-hockey player who finds a new career as a private detective, seems invested with the same carefree spirit Bruce Willis had in a similar role.

In “Private Eyes,” Shade, who is caring for his visually impaired teen daughter Jules (Jordyn Negri), teams up with intense private eye Angie Everett (Cindy Sampson) to form an unlikely partnership in a Toronto agency she inherited from her father.

Similar in ways that “Moonlighting” had the bickering couple of Willis paired with Cybill Shepherd, Shade is mismatched with Angie, with the crackling banter coming from Angie’s sharp mind and attention to details and Shade’s impulsive reliance on gut instinct.

Fittingly enough, “Private Eyes” rolls out its setup when Shade, still acting as a hockey scout, begrudgingly teams up with Angie to investigate how his hockey top pick for the pros ended up with a heart attack blamed on drug use that Shade believes to be an erroneous conclusion.

One could say that the core of “Private Eyes” is the “fire and ice” relationship between Shade and Angie. Working with Angie, Shade discovers a fantastic rush of adrenaline he once used to get from hockey.

Shade likes to think that his skills on the ice to read people and anticipate their moves are more than impulsive. On the other hand, Angie takes a plodding approach to planning and strategizing, dismissing her partner’s amateurish spontaneity.

As the ten-episode season moves along, just like in “Moonlighting,” there is bound to be some sexual tension between the adventurous achiever Shade and the driven, yet very attractive Angie.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.