Matador

A soccer themed cop show? Yes please. I download the first episodes of most new shows that come out there and I saw one for a show called Matador. I thought it might be a reality television show about guys fighting actual bulls and getting stomped. As good as that idea is, this mash-up of all that makes a show a guilty pleasure are here from the start.

It's also a crackling soap opera with our hero and his blue collar family, an evil Soccer Baron (the always terrific Alfred Molina), his evil henchman, his spoiled brat of a daughter and his secrets about his one world order beliefs. Too much fun to pass up. This one plays it's goofiness with all the sincerity of a Mexican Telenovella. Just like it SHOULD be played.

 

I appreciate this attempt to maker soccer cool and the quick cuts certainly convey the fact that the game is exciting. It IS exciting to people who understand it at the micro level. But soccer is only the setting of the tale. There is so much going on here that is appealing to guys who don't like soccer, or cop shows, or soap operas, or the x-files. That is the audience that the show is hoping gets turned on by the storytelling. It's gonzo enough to work. As Calvin says. A high concept deserves a full retard execution.

Our hero is a normal man but he has one advantage over his soccer rivals. He can run fast as a cheetah. He almost has a superpower. They even give a cool reason for his nickname. Somebody has put a bit of thought into this story.

Of course it's not enough to have a guy try out for a soccer team. He is also a DEA Agent on an undercover mission for the CIA. I know - it just gets better and better. Nothing is predictable here and  it's entertaining as hell. What a nice surprise.