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 My Own Worst Enemy

(October 12th, 2008.  -  Editor)                Christian Slater (Bobby) stars in the one hour action thriller My Own Worst Enemy, airing Mondays on NBC.

          Henry Spivey (Slater) is an average guy. He has a beautiful wife, two kids, a house in the suburbs and a good job as a system analyst for a large firm. One might say he is living the American dream. Edward Albright (Slater), is a highly decorated American soldier, who speaks 13 languages, runs a 4 minute mile and has been trained to kill a man without remorse. He is a very effective and efficient government operative. One would think these two guys are so different that they would have nothing in common. But they do. A body. Each man is one half of a split personality that was created to protect Edward during down-times between missions, the personality of Henry was created and injected into his head as the perfect cover. Henry does not know that Edward exists. That is until one day when Henry awakens unexpectedly during one of Edward's missions. Suddenly Henry's safe and dull world is replaced by a world of assassins and fire-fights. Back at "The Office" Edward's superiors are concerned. They certainly don't want to terminate the best operative they have ever had, but this glitch in his cover could compromise their program and all of the other operatives in it. If they can't get the two worlds of Henry and Edward back where they are supposed to be, then something drastic will have to be done. 

          Christian Slater should be commended his brilliant portrayal of both sides of the split personality that is the pivotal plot point in this action series. I believe him when I see him on the screen as the average guy, Henry, who lives in suburbia with his loving wife and two children. I also believe him when he effortlessly transforms into Edward, a highly trained government operative who can kill a man with his teeth. As an actor, Slater has found has the role of a lifetime. Just so long as his writers keep him on the right track. In the hectic production schedule of series television, keeping the quality high while shooting a new episode each week is difficult, if not impossible. The challenging plot of this series will make that task even harder. Let's hope that movie actor Christian Slater can endure the long hours, stresses and deadlines of series television. And let's hope his writers can too.

          The co-stars all provide the support they were hired to deliver, but it absolutely the performance of the star that is going to make or break this series. Even the scripts, although they are important, are not going to determine the fate of this show. In the end, the deciding factor for most of the audience will be their ability to identify with this character. A good many viewers may find themselves identifying with Henry's calm and comfortable life. The key will be if his alter-ego, Edward, will appeal to their fantasies of fast cars, faster women, and a thrill a minute. If they succeed with that, this series will be around for a long time.

Executive Producers Jason Smilovic (Kidnapped) and David Semel (American Dreams) have found a very original idea in this series. And that is always welcome on television. If they manage to keep the rest of the episodes as good as the first one, this show will be a hit. But there is a saying in Hollywood. You have your whole life to create the pilot episode of a new series. You have a week to make the second. As long as they keep the bar high on every episode, this effort will find an audience.

 

  -  Editor  - 

   

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