Reacher . . . My Boy is Back!

I just binge-watched all eight episodes of Reacher. It wasn’t my plan. I started watching at 7 pm, but I could NOT STOP. Finishing around 2 am, laughing and smiling with the last surprising scene of the amazing show, hubby George—who felt the same as me—turned off the lights and we went to sleep. Dreaming of Alan Ritchson wasn’t a bad way to pass the time either.

The show is based on Lee Child’s book Killing Floor. It was nice that I had trouble recollecting the plot because I’d probably read the hardback as soon as it hit the shelf way back in 1997. Yup, I’m a devoted Lee Child/Jack Reacher fan, and yup, I’ve read all the books. I’m one of those angry complainers who felt outrage when Tom Cruise was cast in the first film adaptation. I’d read that people who didn’t read the books didn’t have a problem with Tom Cruise cast as Jack Reacher—but those that did read the books felt like me, pissed and turned off.

But now I can relax, the world is once again spinning properly in its orbit. Jack Reacher, our wandering angel is roaming, huge and heavy-footed, ready—with a twinkle in his eye—to bring justice wherever it is needed. From start to finish, the show grabbed me by the lapels of my pajamas and kept me glued. The directors had fun with the visuals making Reacher look large and menacing.

Jack Reacher, a Hulk-like observer of life who likes nothing more than a quiet cup of black coffee and piece of pie, never, ever turns his back on a problem. All the little pea ants of villains gnashing around his ankles like gnats do not understand until too late that Reacher will destroy them. The viewer and reader are let in on the Reacher-is-invincible joke—and it’s part of the beauty of the ride. That said, the tension, the plotting, and the how-the-hell-is-he-going-to-get-out-of-this one, is smart, smart, smart.

Lee Child has never written a bad Reacher book and now that we got the ideal casting paired with the plots, I foresee a string of seasons. But with 26 Reacher books—and more coming, I presume, Mr. Child —Reacher will have to become a Bond-like or Batman thing, the main actor periodically recast. After all, the dedication and physicality of playing Reacher had to be an enormous challenge for Alan Ritchson. Reacher will do that to a guy.

But Alan did Reacher justice. He was Jack Reacher. He was my first Bond. And one doesn’t get over their first.

I can’t wait for more.

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