"Keen Eddie" is a thoroughly enjoyable sitcom cops & capers TV series about a square jawed NYC detective who is sent/banished to London to fight crime where he wrestles with his beautiful flat mate in a love/hate relationship and busts crooks with his sexaholic male partner while announcing..."Hi, I'm Eddie. How do you like me so far?". A fun, fresh, fast paced comedy cop romp with ample talent on both sides of the lens and punched up with Guy Ritchiesque A/V effects, this all too short lived TV series should make for an enjoyable DVD watch for anyone old enough for a little risqué humor and young enough to not be annoyed by the constant kinetics. (B+)
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=G=30 November 2004
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sts-2625 January 2009Remember when Fox started up? Remember the classy stuff in the early days - Tracy Ullman, Duet? Keen Eddie is a throw back to that time, and so begs the question "What was Fox thinking?".
It is not that Fox has not produced some good stuff since its early days. Married with Children and The Family Guy are examples of what we now think of as typical good Fox product - they are smart, well produced but are harsh and crass in their humor, constantly moving the bar that separates good and bad taste. So, why did Fox put Keen Eddie on TV in 2003 when its mission statement and the tastes of the American viewer were already acutely defined?
Keen Eddie had more in common with British series such as Class Act - it was slick, smart, witty, open and breezy - than with anything that has ever come out of Hollywood. Fox must have been trying something new, but then lost its nerve, and was not willing to stand by the series while a fan base developed. Too bad.
I am convinced that, if Keen Eddie had been given the treatment given most television projects years earlier(remember the initial low rating for Cheers?) it would have become iconic, and may very well have drastically changed American television. It would also have put Fox on the map for something other than gross-out gags and nut-ball right-wing news personalities. -
"Keen Eddie" was a sort-lived TV series, set in Britain and starring the hunky Mark Valley of Boston Legal and several other series. It also stars Sienna Miller, Julian Rhind-Tutt, and Colin Salmon, familiar to all fans of the Helen Mirren "Prime Suspect." Eddie (Valley) is an American detective assigned to Scotland Yard, where his out of the box maneuvers annoy his supervisor (Salmon). His partner (Rhind-Tutt) is a long-haired, solemn-faced guy who likes sex clubs; and Eddie's flatmate -- she's the landlady's daughter (Miller) is bothered by his presence and the presence of his dog, Pete.
This is such a terrific show -- I loved it when it was on the air, and now I'm enjoying it on Netflix since I didn't see all the episodes. I love the characters, the acting, the stories, the humor, and the British setting. Valley is such an attractive man and so good, I have no idea why the series didn't stay on the air.
There's a technique used in the editing - I'm sure there's a name for it - where there are split second images of something earlier in the episode, or something the character is thinking. Seeing it week to week, it's no problem, but watching it like I am, one after the other, it can give one a headache. That's my only complaint.
I have no idea why a series that was so well-done couldn't last on American television. In thinking about it, I guess that's the problem -- it was too well done and not dummied down enough, I guess. -
secrettohappy2 May 2004Yes, Fox execs are stupid. Yes they are tasteless. Yes, all they care about is saving money and shocking people with talentless personalities (kind of an oxymoron, huh?). This had to be one of the best shows put on television in a long time. It was part "Moonlighting", part "Threes Company", with funny dialogue, incredible photography direction, and with a bunch of likable (lovable) characters played with wit, charm and intelligence by its actors. But I'm not surprised it's gone. I'm just surprised lame Fox didn't pull it after just one episode. Should we give them credit for that? I miss Eddie and Pip.
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KoshNaranek14 November 2003Everything from the writing to the actors performances was great. Eddie's fencing with Fiona, his special way of looking at and hearing Carol, the misunderstandings, and the way things went to hell in funny ways but turned out OK in the end, I loved it all. It's too bad the show had the misfortune to air on FOX, the place that cancelled Strange Luck, Brimstone, The Tick, Firefly, John Doe, and now, Keen Eddie.
KoshN -
I cant add much more than has been added, only get my name in among the Keen Eddie fans.
I have never forgiven, nor have I forgotten, Fox for running Keen Eddie during the World Series. I can remember the baseball games ending and Keen Eddie would be halfway through. Of course it wasn't going to get good ratings. No one wants to watch half a show, especially if they don't know the premise of the show.
About a year later I was at Best Buy and contemplating which King of the Hill season I wanted to get. I had season 3 in my hand, then I caught Keen Eddie out of the corner of my eye, threw down KotH, and purchased Keen Eddie without even looking at the case. I thought "hell yes, and then I'll get season 2 when I'm done with this one" only to carefully read the phrase "Complete Series" on the case. Dammit.
I really do think that the humor in this series was past most American viewers. Not to sound like a pompous jerk, but movies this is based off, like Snatch and Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels, not to mention Layer Cake and Sexy Beast (just British cinema, not influencing the show) aren't nearly as popular on this side of the Atlantic.
Thats their loss. This is one of the best series I've ever seen, in terms of cinematography (is it called that when its a TV show?), creativity, and humor. I only have 3 TV shows on DVD, and this is one of them. And if my discs get scratched I'll buy it again.
The aforementioned creativity, humor, camera affects, replay value, and drama is what made me give this a 10/10. It isn't perfect, but it stuck with me. And when you can watch a series time after time and it doesn't get old, then its got something special.
Keen Eddie has that something special for me. And where the series leaves off..
Damn you Fox. -
Bookshelfish8 February 2008Absolutely one of the best written, smartest, funniest, most visually stimulating TV shows ever written. The camera work is great. The music is excellent. The laughs are constant. Yes, you do need a brain to follow the fast moving plots. The actors and acting is right on the money. You can't help but love the characters - both good and bad. The dog - is he great or what? Moneypenny, The Sticky Wicket, The Chemist -priceless. Mark Valley deserves more air time than he gets on Boston Legal. Where is Julian?! If you want intelligent laughs, Keen Eddie is for you. No wonder it didn't last. It's a treasure - not the usual TV garbage.
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sj_elliott18 November 2007Whenever I watch Mark Valley on Boston Legal, all I can think of is "WHY DIDN'T KEEN EDDIE GET RENEWED????" As a fan of Snatch and Lock, Stock it was very reminiscent of that genre (and I'm sure it was trying to be) but the acting was terrific, the dialogue amazingly funny and the plots were well thought out.
Keen Eddie is one of those GEMS that came and went and will wind up on the Brilliant but Canceled hit parade. From the first time that I saw it until it was prematurely canceled, I thought this was one of the best series to EVER be on television.
I LOVE Boston Legal though it's gotten a bit too quirky/crazy for me sometimes and I think Mark VAlley is absolutely wasted in his role there. If you watch Keen Eddie you will be astounded at how good he really is when not laboring under the Shatner/Spader dynamic.
Is it out on DVD yet? I LOVED this show!! -
Metallic-Sting18 November 2007This show should never have been canceled! It had the perfect mix of British and American comedy combined! From a cinematographic point of view this show was brilliant also. The way the viewer was taken from scene to scene was brilliant.
If I ever won a stupid amount of money on lotto, I would love to fund the remaking of this T.V. series it was that good. Many people I have shown this to will agree with me as I have since bought the series on DVD.
To all reading this, and are thinking about watching this show. Be prepared to laugh your socks off! It's a shame it wasn't advertised properly. The promo team should have been shot for letting this little gem get away! -
coolatheart23 August 2018It's mindblowing that this show was cancelled after 7 episodes. It's further unbelievable this gem is on DVD. I watched them on Fox when it first aired and loved every minute. Imagine my disappointment when it disappeared for no reason other than it was too good. This DVD is worth every penny. Sienna Miller is at her most darling and so so beautiful.
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Bwim17 September 2007Keen Eddie is the story of a NY detective working for the English police in London. Mercifully it doesn't hammer away at that weary old trope of 'You say taps, we say faucets'; cultural misunderstanding are kept to a minimum. It's interesting to see London caricatures represented for an American audience and again the production showed some restraint. I don't think that the English have ever got over Dick Van Dyke's performance as Bert the Cokernee chimney sweep in Mary Poppins.
The principle cast were fine but story lines were highly truncated with little connective tissue between scenes. Nevermind, it's TV isn't it. Visually it owes something to Lock,Stock & 2SB's and Snatch and I found it more entertaining than either.
It's a shame that a second series was dropped. The show had charm; quirky camera work, recurring characters, loads of good gags and a non American location. Perhaps an American audience didn't take to all the English accents. Unsurprising as shows shot in US cities have to undergo audience testing to see how it will go down east coast - mid-west or east coast.
This show had loads of potential. I'm sad that I only have the one series on DVD. -
A very interesting show that combines a great mix of Action, Drama & Laughs! It's cool to see an American detective doing battle overseas in England. Kind of a U.S. James Bond to the small screen. Mark Valley as Eddie Arlette is real funny along with his dog, which brings back memories of Budweiser's Spuds McKenzie. Look for Ralph, played by Alexei Sayle of "The Young Ones" fame.
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zerogirl4217 October 2006I'm glad this show wasn't a waste and that other's enjoyed it, but honestly, I didn't care for it. I tried to enjoy it as a comedy, satire, mystery, even as a second-rate show to make fun of, but it didn't capture my interest. It just got more irritating.
I got through about 40 minutes of the pilot and had to turn it off. Usually I give shows/movies more time before judging it. After watching for 20 minutes, I wanted to turn the show off but didn't to see if it got any better; so watching it for 40 minutes was a stretch.
The lead character had little charisma and made stupid decisions (but not in a clever way). The plot was predictable. I found the culture clash to be offensive and not funny. The lead character's animosity towards his dog was annoying.
Sorry, I wanted to like it but it didn't do it for me. I don't think the show "went over my head." I got the jokes, It just didn't make me laugh. Eddie's cockiness and stupidity just wore on my nerves after awhile. -
oshram-323 September 2004Last summer I lucked into a new show that was a true rarity; funny, sharp, cleverly written, with engaging characters that were well cast and played off one another perfectly. It took me almost no time at all to get hooked on Keen Eddie, and it only took them seven weeks to yank it off the air. Now, there have been a lot of bad decisions made in the history of television, many, many good shows struck down before their time only so we could suffer through crap like The O.C. and the Swan. But after viewing the Keen Eddie boxed set, I'm convinced of two things: one, that never has anyone showed such poor judgment in canceling a show before, and two, whomever decided to release the series in a boxed set deserves sainthood right now.
Keen Eddie follows the story of Eddie Arlett (Mark Valley), a detective on the NYPD who botches a case and is sent to London to follow it up. There he is teamed up with the slightly neurotic but highly intelligent Inspector Monty Pippin (Julian Rhind-Tutt), and, under the direction of Superintendent Nathaniel Johnson (the always excellent Colin Salmon), he is turned loose on the greater London area, where his fish-out-of-water status actually becomes a strength. His home life is equally complicated; he is renting a flat from a woman whose daughter Fiona (Sienna Miller) is supposed to be at college but isn't; she and Eddie get on like oil and water.
But Keen Eddie is far from just another cop show; the humor is as important as the suspense, and both are executed flawlessly. Eddie's American ways sometimes cause friction with the English, but they also lead to his having excellent chemistry with each of the other people in his life. He and Pippin are opposites who work together flawlessly; he constantly irritates his boss, but also pleases the man because he's good at getting results; and he and Fiona verge on all-out roommate war, but you know underneath it they are simply made for one another.
The plots are heinously clever; Ediie must break up a fight-club type ring with the help of a well meaning but dim-witted young boxer and his white trash clan; Eddie must help the son of a famous pick-pocket stay out of much deeper trouble than his old man ever got in; he must enlist the aid of a former child prodigy who has fallen on hard times to help him nab a skilled safecracker; and so on. All of the plots have unexpected twists and turns, and all of them make deft use of humor. There are even tiny little devices in each show for the sharp-eyed; in one, Fiona and a co-worker square off, and at the party at the end of the show, Fiona wears a halo and her enemy a set of devil's horns as part of the celebration. In the episode with the child prodigy, who used to be on TV, every time he does something good, we hear a faint ripple of applause from a studio audience, and every time he does something bad, there is the faint hint of booing. One of the series best running gags involves Eddie and the Superintendent's secretary, Carol (Rachel Buckley); each time he greets her, she says something salacious to him that only he hears, and it throws him for a loop every time. Since no one else ever hears it, Eddie can't be sure if he's imagining it or not.
Every episode except one is very well done; the only less than exemplary one involves Eddie inheriting a Bentley, because it never really comes together. But the thirteen episode set is very impressive, and I found myself unable to stop watching them (I purchased the set two weeks ago and forced myself to watch one a day so I wouldn't cycle through them too quickly). Though it's hard to judge a show's overall impact on just thirteen episodes, I'd say that we really lost something by not having two or three seasons of Keen Eddie. It's possible that the high level of creativity would have been lost after a certain period of time, and all shows eventually run out of steam; but Keen Eddie had so much going on and was so cleverly done that it seems almost criminal that it was cut short so early in its run. At least we have the boxed set, which is a lot better than relying on third-generation VHS, but watching this show and seeing how artfully it was done, and then thinking about all the crap that's on TV now, it's hard not to feel cheated that we have only thirteen episodes instead of sixty or a hundred. Once in a great while a show comes along that's a little bit different, very clever, and almost flawlessly executed. So naturally it has to get cancelled early. But don't take my word for it; rent Keen Eddie, if you can, and see what you very likely missed the first time around. -
pnoz16 January 2009Amazing series.
Surprised and gutted they never made more of it.
Some great characters - Eddie himself, Pippin is hilarious etc shame the DVD didn't rocket this show to cult status and a comeback a la family guy!!
Love every episode of it and the acting is great throughout and there is some seriously funny dialogue and great little themes throughout - choppy camera shots here and there, Eddies relationship with the top dogs, the hornypenny/moneypenny thing etc etc.
If you missed it in 2003 be sure to check out the DVD. Also agree with the comments made earlier about Valley being a great actor and should be bigger than he is.
Sienna Miller is wonderful throughout too. -
sagrat4 September 2015I really loved this short-lived series, and have absolutely no idea why it was dropped after only one season. Mark Valley is a good actor, and the chemistry between him and Sienna Miller was great, as was the bromance with his Scotland Yard partner, played so well by Julian Rhind- Tutt. Was it timing that killed it? Who knows; but if you want to watch some terrific comedy that will leave you laughing until your sides split and tears pour from your eyes, this is the one!! Mark Valley has a super-cool, understated energy that makes me believe his characters. Wish this would be one that The Powers That Be would bring back, like is happening with Heroes, Twin Peaks and The X Files.
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khfan_299 July 2004Keen Eddie was one of the best shows ever to be aired. The whole plot was amazing. The characters were good: everyone from the roommate, to the partner (Pippin!), to the boss, (and Ms. Moneypenny). The actors were amazing and the story lines were extremely engaging. I loved the parts with the roommate, Fiona, and the little arguments that Eddie and her got into. The humor was hilarious and well written. The whole show was brilliant! Fox has to be one of the stupidest stations to have taken this show off without even giving it a chance. They had to get their hit and I guess they got it with the OC. (How many times can the OC's story line be done!?!) Anyway, I hope Fox is HAPPY! I think they lost a lot of viewers when they cancelled this show.
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TesaRants13 June 2012I found this series by accident when looking for a new action series to watch and I was totally surprised how good it was although short lived.
The choice of actors and quality of acting is great. The writing is fantastic and far fresher than much newer shows. The editing and choice of music are superb. A great director/creator put this together for sure.
I can't believe that they had canceled it. I loved it but had a hard time finding the episodes.
The stories are not very big but they are sharp and edgier than usual and surprises are introduced that add dept and humor. -
jestak23 July 2022I love this series. I hate that there was only one season. It's just so witty and funny. The actors/characters are awesome. And Sienna MIller is just the best. She's beautiful, funny, charming......and did I say beautiful? If you haven't watched this......you are deprived.
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rube24242 May 2004KEEN EDDIE is a delightful series, filled with excellent writing, tongue
in cheek editing, brisk directing and, most of all, terric characters
all excellently played.
In this one Mark Valley is a disgraced New York cop who is reassigned to
London. Valley is a wonderful, naturalistic actor who should be a much
bigger name than he is. Here he plays the part of a tough guy cop with a
humanistic twinkle giving the series, populated with eccentic British
characters, its center. It's a terrifuc star turn, one I wish had been
seen more and appreciated.
KEEN EDDIE, originally cancelled by FOX after only a few episodes, (but
what do you expect from them-they also cancelled BOSTON PUBLIC!), has
been picked up by Bravo. Try to catch this terrific underrated show
before it disappears altogther. Believe me, if you see it, you will
always remember it fo -
bananacha2224 July 2004When I flip through the channels and see nothing but crap, I wonder what's so wrong with people that makes them ignore such great shows like Fox's "Keen Eddie". When it first aired, I was happy to discover that maybe TV could actually become intelligent again. The acting was well done, the plot clever, and altogether the show was very enjoyable. However, 90% percent of America chose to ignore Eddie and his crew because they were either too dumb or too lazy to deal with thinking and laying on the couch at the same time. OH GOD! NOT THAT! So, of course, they smothered the bright light of Keen Eddie and replaced it with awful shows like "Stupid Behavior Caught on Tape" (quite funny, really - it showed a day in the lives of Fox executives). Bravo mercifully picked it up, but didn't continue with a second season. It's a shame that a funny, smart, original (kiss my a**, o retard who called it a copycat show) program like this ended up so badly off. At least we've got the DVDs to look forward to - but until then, don't expect anything more. We've just been let down too many times.
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ielle3 February 2004Thank God for the Bravo, which has just picked up Keen Eddie. I had seen previews for it when it was on Fox, but never got around to watching it. Now that it's on Bravo, I've had the chance, and I'm glad I did. It's funny, and clever. (Also, Moneypenny is a very cute bit character. Makes me think of Bond, of course.)
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tomulrich2495 January 2005I agree that Keen Eddie was amazing. The sophistication, Eddie's ability or lack to coalesce with this coworkers. He just keeps irritating people in a most amiable way. His relationship with Fiona was too funny. The hate/hate/love/hate relationship between then along with the occasional sexual tension and never to be realized unrequited love aspect was quite amusing.
FOX has to cancel anything that they don't have the hutzpah to promote. Keen Eddie would have been a blockbuster on nearly any other network. Though I must admit, I felt like I was the only one watching at times. Keen Eddie was full of so many things that I enjoy watching in the American blockhead on the English soil. -
kataste21 April 2005I have no idea if this does contain spoilers or not?
This is one of my all time favorite shows. I just love everything about it, I love the actors, the director, everything. I hate Fox, they ruin every show they deal with. Everyone who I have shown this too has loved it. I was so excited to see that it came out on DVD, because I was so sad when I found out that it was canceled. I must say the writers of this show are fantastic I love every episode. I am also excited to see Sienna Miller doing so well. I am sad that Mr. Mark Valley, is not getting such good Parts...
HELLO DIRECTORS OR CASTING PEOPLE THIS ACTOR IS FANTASTIC I WANT TO HIM IN MANY MORE PARTS, HIS DELIVERY IS FANTASTIC. WAKE UP AND FIND HIM.
but basically anyone who was associated with this I highly recommend. As a costume designer myself, I loved the whole thing. I hope that many more people can enjoy this show as much as I have. -
avalondrift-18 April 2004This program is the best on Television.. It's Guy Ritchie meets Damon Runyon.. I have waited a very long time for something this good.. It's inspiring and always leaves you wanting more. The ensemble cast is profound.. The writing is genius! If Bravo chooses not to film NEW episodes of Keen Eddie, Shame on them!! Watch it and spread the word! We do not want to lose this gem!! "So how are you liking me so far"? I am liking you just fine, Eddie..