Fastlane: The Complete Series

Product Description Fastlane:CSR (DVD)Van Ray and Deaq Hayes are cops, but they don’t carry badges. They’re more likely to carry a case full of Benjamins. Everything they need to fight high-end criminals, they get from the Candy Store – the armory of toys and bling confiscated from busted crime lords and used to help the cops pass as legit criminals. From creators Mc G (the Charlie’s Angels movies) and John McNamara (TV’s The Fugitive) comes the undercover overdrive of Fastlane. Tiffani Thiessen plays the hip Candy Store overseer. Peter Facinelli and Bill Bellamy are Van and Deaq, who may have different ’tudes about movies, tunes and hotties but who agree that what’s good is taking down the bad. Buckle up for their fast, 6-disc, 22-episode ride.]]> Amazon.com Fastlane's "Candy Store," with its way-cool cars, gadgets, and bling, is once again open for business. Peter Facinelli, on live-wire (Tom) Cruise control, and Bill Bellamy star as Van and Deaq, two cops; one white and one black; one from Los Angeles, the other New York. They become partners when Van's partner, Deaq's older brother, is killed. Saved by the Bell graduate Tiffani Thiessen costars as Billie, who recruits them to join an elite undercover unit that makes full use of the Candy Store, "the ultimate backstage pass," a stockpile of the spoils of the unit's busts. "What we seize we keep," she informs them. "What we keep, we use." According to one of the bonus segments, Fastlane's creators wanted to produce a weekly movie. Apparently, that movie was The Fast and the Furious, by way of the Miami Vice TV series. This one-season guilty pleasure has some "serious oversteer," which makes it great fun to take out for a spin. Each flashy episode pulsates to the stylistic sizzle that co-executive producer McG brought to his Charlie's Angels films. There is elliptical editing, split screens, extensive use of slo-mo, envelope-pushing sex, and explosive violence. We'll never know how much gas Fastlane had in its tank; the series was reportedly too expensive (but it is all on the screen) and its viewership too low. So why invest in a canceled series that leaves viewers with a cliffhanger that will never be resolved? Because, it's a non-stop thrill ride that consistently subverts cop show conventions. The pilot episode, with McG behind the wheel, offers a scene that echoes 48 Hrs., in which Deaq cools a hostile country bar by leading patrons in a line dance. As did Miami Vice, the series also makes effective use of guest stars, including Iggy Pop, Tommy Lee, Naomi Campbell, Jay Mohr, and, in pre-stardom appearances, Terrence Howard and Mischa Barton. Another memorable recurring character is Maxim fave Jennifer Sky as bad girl Cassidy Shaw. Best of all is an old pro, Robert Forster, who gives an Emmy-worthy performance as Ray Ray, Van's estranged convict father who is sprung from prison to help Van get the psycho-bad guy who murdered Ray Ray's partner and best friend. Unfortunately, much of the show's killer soundtrack was not cleared for DVD. Even so, Fastlane is a chrome-tastic gas. --Donald Liebenson