Welcome back to another week of TV or Not TV. My name is Will Wilkins, and I’m not my own worst enemy.
Speaking of worst enemies, last week I got to take in the new NBC show My Own Worst Enemy. I never feel very good about shows that NBC forces down our throats over the summer in their commercial spots (a trend that goes back to the Mike O’Malley show and Suddenly Susan to name a few), but I was looking forward to My Own Worst Enemy. There was only one real reason I was looking forward to it and that reason has a name: Christian Slater. I have long thought that Christian Slater was one of the unsung heroes of the acting community that has the chops to do big things. Why he seemed to vanish could be due to elements in his past that have made him truly his own worst enemy (even though looking at his IMDB page he has worked consistenly since 1996’s Broken Arrow which is the last real big movie I remember him being in). Regardless of his low profile, seeing that he was in My Own Worst Enemy made me anticipate the premiere of this show inspite of its premise.
In My Own Worst Enemy we meet Henry Spivey. Henry is a corporate efficiency consultant with a lovely wife, two kids, and he’s not home a lot because his job appears to require a lot of travel. We also find out that, unbeknownst to Henry, he is also Edward Albright, a highly effective, efficient and lethal spy for a top secret government agency (aren’t they all?). This change happens when someone flips a high tech switch and super spy headquarters, at least it is supposed to. In the pilot we see that it is also now starting to happen without the switch. First Edward comes around in Henry’s bed, and Henry comes around when Edward is on a mission with a target in his sites.
When I first heard the concept I was leary of it because it seems that on the surface after you tell this story once in the pilot you have told the story over all (based on what we were told before it aired). Instead what you get is a very involving story with elements of shock and surprise. In the pilot we learn that Edward actually volunteered for this program, Henry is actually the constructed life and didn’t even exist 19 years prior. We also learn that the company Henry works for is just a cover for the spy agency, allowing them the cover they need to dispatch (and control) their operatives. Naturally, some of Henry‘s friends and co-workers are also agenst, as we learn from seeing Tom Grady (played by the aforementioned Mike O’Malley) at the office and Raymond in the spy world.
We also learned that the spies know about their cover lives, and their cover lives know nothing about them, with Henry being the now only exception. Yes, they can reset Henry so that he knows nothing about Edward but until he is “fixed” from switching when he isn’t supposed to that won’t really matter now will it?
Christian Slater puts in a great performance as both characters (just as I predicted he would) and he easily makes you believe that he is this high tech Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde. I also have to mention that the head of this mysterious agency is played wonderfully by Alfre Woodard, but then again that woman probably is capable of great acting even in her sleep.
Even though it has only been one episode I have to say that this show is probably one of the more promising of the new season and I encourage you to catch the pilot on line at NBC.com and then take in the new episode this week to make up your own mind.
Now let’s move on to other business and take a look at the week ahead.
MONDAY
NBC – 8:00 PM: If you couldn’t hear the stunt casting alarm going off it was probably because the “You’re 15 minutes of fame is way over” alert  was ringing too loudly as Nicole Richie is cast as a former high school nemesis of Sarah. That’s hot.
VH1 – 9:00 PM: The failure train continues to chug along as the guys who weren’t able to win the heart of the New York, who is the girl who couldn’t win the heart of Flavor Flav, get their own show. It’s really like seeing the evolutionary chart in reverse, isn’t it?
NBC – 10:00 PM: Because I went on about it so much above I feel obligated to point out that if you were able to stomach your way through Heroes you should really stick around for My Own Worst Enemy.
TUESDAY
FOX – 9:00 PM: A woman brings illness and death to everyone she encounters on Fringe. I think this lady has been on every flight I’ve ever taken.
ANIMAL PLANET – 10:00 PM: Wolf expert Shaun Ellis, who infiltrated a pack of wolves and lived among them, takes his girlfriend Helen Jeffs into the wild as she attempts to become a part of the pack as well in Living with the Wolf Man. The things some people do for love.
ABC – 10:00 PM: Another careful choice of stunt casting puts Katie Holmes on Eli Stone. I’m still not going to watch.
WEDNESDAY
FOX – 8:00 PM E / 5:00 PM P: It’s Game 1 of the MLB World Series with the Philladelphia Phillies pitted against the Tampa Bay Rays. Seriously, who’s watching this if you live anywhere else in the US?
ABC – 8:00 PM: Wednesday’s stunt casting is done by David Arquette on tonight’s episode of Pushing Daisies. The show tries to balance it out by also having Debra Mooney in to play Emerson‘s famous mom.
CW – 9:00 PM: If you merged Devil Wears Prada with The Apprentice you still wouldn’t wind up with Stylista. Too bad The CW didn’t realize this because they are still airing the show. Oh well.
THURSDAY
FOX – 8:00 PM E / 5:00 PM P: It’s Game 2 of the MLB World Series and I could still care less about who wins.
NBC – 9:00 PM: Tonight The Office gets robbed, proving that crime truly is senseless. Hopefully it also proves funny, but my hopes aren’t high.
VH1 – 10:00 PM: The Season 2 premiere of Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew has the return of Jeff Conaway as he is joined by Rodney King, Tawney Kitaen, Amber Smith, Shawn Stewart, Steven Adler, and Nikki McKibbin. Sadly I bet no one under 20 recognizes more than two of those names.
FRIDAY
AMC – 8:00 PM: With less than two weeks until 10/31 you may want to get in the mood with the original Halloween. Triva note: the mask Michael Myers wears in the original is a Captain Kirk mask. Creepy huh?
FOX – 9:00 PM: American Idol alumni Constantine Maroulis appears on Don’t Forget the Lyrics for charity. The charity? Probably the Contstantine Maroulis Survival Fund.
NBC – 10:00 PM: A person put away last season escapes this week during an earthquake on Life. It’s nice of them to have a call back to previous season, and to see the show had a 21 percent surge in the ratings last week. Hopefully the momentum can continue because it is still one of my preferred shows.
SATURDAY
FOX – 8:00 PM E / 5:00 PM P: It’s Game 3 of the MLB World Series. I can only hope it ends with game 4.
HIST – 8:00 PM: It’s a four hour block of MonsterQuest tonight where they look for The Real Hobbit, Giant Killer Snakes, Boneless Horror and America’s Loch Ness Monster.
CARTOON NETWORK – 9:00 PM: Fans of The Batman animated series might enjoy tonights airing of The Batman vs. Dracula.
SUNDAY
FOX – 8:00 PM E / 5:00 PM P: It’s Game 4 of the MLB World Series. NBC‘s idea of counter programming is…
NBC – 8:00 PM: I can’t wait to see what the TV cut of The 40-Year-Old-Virgin is like.
AMC – 10:00 PM: Emmy Fave Mad Men has it’s second season finale tonight.
– Will Wilkins didn’t mention but is watching True Blood. Maybe you should to?
Comments: 3 Comments
3 Responses to “TV Or Not TV: 10/20 – 10/26”Leave a Reply |
October 21st, 2008 at 9:46 am
Constantine Maroulis happens to be starring in a brand new show in NYC called ROCK OF AGES. Google it; his reviews are great.
October 21st, 2008 at 1:24 pm
Constantine seems to be doing pretty good these days…staring in a hit show on Off Broadway. Do your homework buddy…you look like a fool.
October 21st, 2008 at 2:41 pm
Go see Constantine in Rock of Ages, and observe the number of people in the audience, listen to the applause and then read the reviews… AND then come back and write something believable. I doubt Constantine’s in need of any so-called “survival fund”.