Kingpin: Producer’s Cut (DVD)
Executive Producer: David Mills
Starring: Yancey Arias, Sheryl Lee, Bobby Cannavale, Brian Benben, Shay Roundtree, Angela Alvarado

What happens when good TV shows don’t get good ratings? Within a few short weeks, if a new show fails to catch on immediately, it is discarded and never heard from again.Just think of how many shows are introduced each year, only a handful of which ever make it through toa second season. What a horrible waste of energy that is. The situation is even more tragic when a show actually has potential but isn’t given a chance to develop. This is why I’m glad to see the advent of the DVD format has allowed some of these ill-fated TV shows to retain their dignity, and to have their memory live on beyond the airwave graves.

Kingpin is one such TV show that was introduced by NBC in mid-season 2002 and was never really given a chance to gather a following. I had been going out of my way to try and catch the show for the few weeks when it was airing and yet somehow I still managed to miss 2 out of the 6 episodes due to time slot changes. How annoying.

There’s no disputing the fact that Kingpin borrows a lot of ideas from The Sopranos; it mixes family drama with organized crime life, but with a Mexican cultural twist instead of the Italian theme we’re so used to seeing in mob movies. In a way, it is The Sopranos combined with the movie Traffic, because the story revolves around “La Corporación” and their attempts to move drugs across the Mexican border while the United States D.E.A. tries to stop them. The focus isn’t just on the D.E.A. though, there are disputes with other drug cartels as well as power struggles within their own family. The show also brings some of the street level drug dealers into the mix too. Kingpin sets itself apart from The Sopranos with a variety of unique characters, exotic locales, and some fresh new perspectives. For instance, one of the main characters is a D.E.A. officer, which brings occasional glimpses at the other side of the coin that was never there in The Sopranos. Another dynamic that was missing from the Sopranos world was the presence of a younger pre-teen kid in the family. While having the cute innocence of Joey Cadena could have taken the edge off a show like this, it doesn’t. It only amplifies the emotional impact of the routine killings and conflicts in the life of a drug lord.

Creator/executive producer David Mills previously worked on E.R. and NYPD Blue, so he has a firm grasp of what good TV is all about, but Kingpin is probably his most interesting work to date. It’s clearly an attempt at creating a high quality HBO-style drama within the confines of a major network. Many people would scoff at such an idea, but the show is actually well written and it proves that gratuitious violence and four-letter words aren’t absolutely necessary for a show about organized crime. This isn’t to say that Kingpin feels like it was toned down, but rather that the show’s intensity all depends on the writing and the performances.

Speaking of performances, the cast is solid. Yancey Arias (The Time Machine) anchors the show as Miguel Cadena, a man who is at the top of the food chain within his family’s cartel. He is more likeable and respectable than Tony Soprano in a lot of ways, and although he can be explosive when necessary he is always hesitant to deal out violence — a trait that has many people questioning his leadership. There is also his “gringo” lawyer and wife played by Sheryl Lee (Twin Peaks), yet another reason for him to be under constant suspicion. But that’s why he has his wild and ruthless older brother Chato (Bobby Cannavale – Third Watch) at his side. And for more comic relief there is also a shifty plastic surgeon caught up in the drug racket played by Brian Benben, and a mild mannered assassin played by Shay Roundtree, among others.

In only 6 episodes they packed a ton of stories all together into one package. Many of the character’s stories don’t overlap directly, but it all melds together so well thematically that you don’t even notice. The final episode ends abruptly but not on a cliffhanger — it can at least stand alone, although there were many possibilities left open for the future.

The DVD claims to be a “Producer’s Cut”, but it doesn’t really specify if any deleted footage has been restored. There are some bare boobs in a few scenes and I’m pretty sure they were previously edited out for television. The picture is crisp and clear (and shot in widescreen, which always speaks volumes about the intended quality of a show), and the sound is a decent Dolby 5.1 mix although it probably isn’t going to overwhelm the audiophiles out there. As a bonus, the 3rd disc contains interviews with the 6 main cast members and creator David Mills. The cast interviews are each 1 to 3 minutes in length and are not particularly enlightening, but the interview with Mills at least gives a bit more insight on his approach to combining various elements into a compelling series.

If only Kingpin had been given a chance, I think it could have become a success for NBC. It’s disappointing that the storyline will never get to progress any further, but I am at least happy to be able to revisit the show in style and finally see the episodes I had been missing. Having this 3-disc set in my collection is probably the next best thing to a full-blown continuing series anyways. Check it out if you enjoy television shows that tell a good story: the price is right and it’s well worth it. — Sean

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