The lousy economy is not only taking the jobs of lawyers, journalists and investment bankers. Actors are getting axed too. The latest to go is another one of our favorite television anti-heroes: FBI agent Jack Malone from "Without a Trace."
Tormented, with nothing to hang on to but his work and the emotional hostages he took [such as Sam], Malone constantly was slouching toward healing. Then, of course, he would relapse into his stuckness again. Last night in the season finale and what will be our last episode of "Without a Trace," Malone released Sam as his hostage. We had been keeping our fingers crossed that he could handle intimacy with an adult, especially after his mandatory therapy. But he couldn't pull it off. His excuse was that he needed to focus on restoring the relationship with his two daughters.
Of course, we fans, although we love Malone, exhaled. Sam was now freed to try to put together a normal life with the father of her son Brian. We feared, though, that Malone, who had played with Sam not once but twice, would be compelled to try again in the future.
In story line and the ability of the actors, "Without a Trace" was right up there with the best of "Boston Legal." Like Malone, Denny Crane and Alan Shore were complex anti-heroes. They tried to reach beyond their narcissistic emotional and social confines but could never pull it off. The last episode ended with Shore about to lose Crane to his accelerating dementia aka mad cow. That show also has been axed.
We probably love our anti-heroes more than the well-put-together types like Jim Anderson of "Father Knows Best," because we identify with their longing to connect, become a part of, yeah, maybe even be normal. Yet from our own struggles we realize that is probably impossible. Few of us wounded souls ever achieve emotional salvation. But, like Malone, Crane and Shore, we continue to try out intimacy, flee, and try again.
How we will miss Malone, along with Crane and Shore. Let's hope all the actors on these shows find other employment.
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