The Equalizers Clip Show Celebration! Before kicking off season four, Chris and Chuck dust off their matching tuxes, rent out the closest thing the Chicagoland area has to the Acadamy Awards' Dolby Theater (the Hyatt O'Hare in Rosemont), and host the first ever Equalizers podcast clip show! For the special occasion, your humble hosts have picked out a few clips from the most recent podcast season: from the highly acclaimed to fan favorites to personal picks to the most historically significant. It was a magical evening and thanks to everyone for coming out and celebrating... and for helping remind Frank Whaley not to fill up on appetizers!

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It happened first when the Eagles reunited and it's happening again: Hell freezing over. And in our case it's not because dumptruck full of money pulled up to our front door (ahem, Don Henley). No in our noble case it's a quest for truth, for perspective, and to not be Equalizer snobs. Of course we're talking about watching the 2021 reboot of The Equalizer starring Queen Latifah, now in its third season. We watched the first two episodes to get a feel of the premise and the structure of the show. Are we biased? Possibly, though we try to keep the "Woodward did it better" takes to a minimum. If anything it shows growth and maturity for the two of us, personally and as podcasters. Baby steps, it takes a village, we can be heroes, just for one day.

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The Equalizer Season 4 Episode 22: Suicide Squad Aired on CBS: August 24, 1989 Directed by: Marc Laub Written by : Jacqueline Zambrano Featuring: Ving Rhames, Adam Coleman Howard, Joe Morton

Ladies and gentelmen, we have arrived. The 88th and final episode of the hit 80s show The Equalizer, and the 94th and final episode of our podcast The Equalizers. The episode itself doesn't provide any closure for the original series, but at least it's one last bonkers plotline - Ving Rhames, playing what we assume is a first draft version of Marsellus Wallace, is a drug lord who employs specifcally injured athletes, and EQ has to protect a teenager Willy whose football is ending short because of a bad knee. But whereas the episode doesn't give any kind of grand sendoff to the series, Chris, Chuck, and Vince (yes Vince!) do their best to make up for it. We got together and MST3K'd this guy, having our own party and sending off our podcast in style. It's a different format and different sound because we wanted to go all out to celebrate The Equalizer. This episode was a blast as was this entire ride. Thank you to everyone who came along with us.

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Bonus Episode: Review a DVD Featurette: The Story of The Equalizer Featuring: Keith Szarabajka, William Zabka, Coleman Luck, Robert Eisele

We're between seasons now so it's a fun time to cover some different territory... but not that different. We watched a 45 minute featurette included in an Equalizer DVD set called The Story of The Equalizer. We all know the show deserves a sweeping documentary highlighting the impact of the show, how it fit into the late 80s culture, ideally with a realistic presentation of the strengths and endearing weaknesses of the show itself. This isn't quite that. This is four interviews plus clips of the show and that's about it. And even when Keith Szarabajka is containing his bitterness at being overlooked to carry the show while Edward Woodward was recovering from a heart attack, it's all a rather rose-tinted view of the show. Still there are some good stories about the show, some great stories about Robert Mitchum, and now we're even better poised to take on the final season.

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We did it before and we're doing it again. While some may rest while they're on season break, we take it as an opportunity - to expand our minds to other contributions to the Equalizer universe, to see what traits of Robert McCall have made it into the movie franchise, which traits from the first movie are strengthened, and overall to watch a great fun movie. From 2018 in all its major motion piction glory, it's The Equalizer 2. Denzel is back as Robert McCall, he's a Lyft driver now, Pedro Pascal has joined the story. The first movie's down, we got the world building and origin story taken care of, now it's just Denzel's McCall in his groove equalizing left and right big and small. Sometimes it's the folks in his Boston apartment complex, sometimes it's off in foreign countries. One thing's for sure, he's a force of good in the world, while also seeming to enjoy breaking people's fingers.

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Listen, we get it. When you think of the Equalizer, you may think of Queen Latifah but mostly you're thinking of Denzel Washington. Where we're coming from is methodically picking apart each episode of the original 80s TV show The Equalizer with Edward Woodward. Now that we're in a break between seasons, we thought we'd extend an olive branch and watch the first Denzel Equalizer movie (2014) with the same sharp eyes we will one day be known for. If you are a fan of the movie, you most likely have at least a passing curiosity what the original show was like. In a perfect world, you would invite three friends, who just happen to be experts on such things, for a movie night to hear several ties back to original series. Now you can do the next best thing and learn what it's like to watch this Equalizer from our eyes. This is how we grow.

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The Equalizer Season 2 Episode 22: Re-Entry Aired on CBS: May 27, 1987 Directed by: Aaron Lipstadt Story by : Dennis Manuel, Teleplay by : Scott Shepherd Featuring: John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, David Johansen (aka Buster Poindexter), Joe Morton, and Stewart Copeland himself!

Season 2 finale! And it's a doozy. The guest list is a veritable Coen brothers movie / Monsters Inc voice cast. Pre-Roseanne John Goodman is an honest down-on-his-luck unemployed father forced into a criminal conspiracy to steal plutonium. Pre-Mr. Pink Steve Buscemi is a sleazy guy working in a sleazy electronics store. Pre-Hot Hot Hot Buster Poindexter (released later in summer 87) is a henchman. And amidst his prolific career as Equalizer composer / Police drummer, Stewart Copeland cameos as a pickpocket-for-hire. And the original EQ isn't the only episode with esteemed guest stars - our own Vince Recupito is back to cover this momentous finale. It's safe to say we are not just podcasting about a TV show from the 80s; we are historians and we are making history.

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The Equalizer Season 3 Episode 22: Always a Lady Aired on CBS: May 4, 1988 Directed by: Marc Laub Story by : Scott Shepherd; Teleplay by : Peter McCabe Featuring: Anne Twomey, Joseph Mascolo, Lewis Van Bergen, Susan Gibney, and (possible stunt cast) Rita Jenrette

The Equalizer show packs a lot into their season finale: Agency intrigue, flashbacks, past romances, a casino with a back room for the mobsters that own the place and one of those secret buttons under the roulette table. Some episode superlatives: more female guest stars than usual, more gruesome crime scenes than we're used to, and a rare plot twist. And we, your fearless guides on this journey, reflect on this season finale and look hopefully towards the future (season four of The Equalizer).

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