<table> </table> When NBC began promoting the Christian Slater action show “My Own Worst Enemy” during the Beijing Games, let’s just say I didn’t leap to set my DVR for the season.First, it appeared Slater would be playing two characters. As gimmicks go, that’s not quite in the league of casting an animal as a sidekick, but close. Next we learned from a second wave of ads that each of Slater’s alter egos would have his own custom-made GM ride.Henry, the mild-mannered traveling sales executive with a home and family in the Midwest, would be driving an SUV; Edward, the ruthless government spy that Henry morphs into, seemingly on demand, got a one-of-a-kind, tricked-out 2010 Camaro.Well, that screams high quality, doesn’t it? I was afraid that NBC was doubling down its “Knight Rider” bet with another schlocky show with a car as the star. Throw in Slater’s spotty acting record of late and my hopes weren’t very high for “My Own Worst Enemy.”Surprise! It’s not nearly as bad as I thought. How’s that for a recommendation?Monday’s episode opens with a nice little intrigue — a French spy, some romance, a well-placed bullet — before giving us the show’s premise with energy and style.The story: A government agency has figured out how to turn Edward into Henry so he can return to his domesticated life after getting his spook on. And it’s all done without his apparent knowledge: We see Henry getting zapped with radio waves, or something, and coming to in an office park.Why exactly the government would need a person to be toggled between two identities against his will isn’t clear (though I suppose it’s easy enough to guess why). But there’s so little dead time in this fast-paced first hour that the mind rarely has the chance to ponder such things.I got a kick out of watching Slater switch back and forth between Henry and Edward. A complex network TV role is probably something he only dreamed of while making those direct-to-video “films.”This is a slick sci-fi drama aimed at an audience roughly twice the age of the target viewer for “Knight Rider.” Oh, and about those cars: They really don’t get as much screen time as the commercials lead you to believe. Thank heavens for misleading ads.

HOME
- Columnists
- Blogs
- Obituaries
- Weather
- Local Traffic
- Featured
  - Ink
  - Mom2Mom
  - KC Pets
  - Info Central
  - Varsity Zone
- Community Faces
- Forums
- About The Star
- Video
- Post a Photo
NEWS
SPORTS
- Columnists
- Blogs
- Chiefs
- Royals
- Wizards
- KU
- K-State
- MU
- Stats
- Outdoors
- More Pro
  - Brigade
  - T-Bones
  - Motorsports
  - Golf
  - Tennis
  - NFL
  - MLB
  - NBA
  - NHL
- More Amateur
  - UMKC
  - Big 12
  - Colleges
  - Olympics
  - High Schools
BUSINESS
FYI/LIVING
- Columnists
- Blogs
- Food
- House & Home
- Faith
- Star Magazine
- Travel
  - Skiing
- Health
- Occasions
- Dear Abby
ENTERTAINMENT
- Columnists
- Blogs
  - Back to Rockville
  - TV Barn
- Ink
- Horoscopes
- Comics
- Games
- Preview Extra
- Movies
- Music
- Performing Arts
- Calendar
- Star TV
- More
OPINION
JOBS
CARS
REAL ESTATE
RENTALS
- Create an Ad
- apartments.com
CLASSIFIEDS
SHOPPING
EXTRAS

Posted on Fri, Oct. 10, 2008 10:15 PM

Buzz Up

Comment (0)

‘My Own Worst Enemy’: Double the pleasure I was expecting

More News

When NBC began promoting the Christian Slater action show “My Own Worst Enemy” during the Beijing Games, let’s just say I didn’t leap to set my DVR for the season.

First, it appeared Slater would be playing two characters. As gimmicks go, that’s not quite in the league of casting an animal as a sidekick, but close. Next we learned from a second wave of ads that each of Slater’s alter egos would have his own custom-made GM ride.

Henry, the mild-mannered traveling sales executive with a home and family in the Midwest, would be driving an SUV; Edward, the ruthless government spy that Henry morphs into, seemingly on demand, got a one-of-a-kind, tricked-out 2010 Camaro.

Well, that screams high quality, doesn’t it? I was afraid that NBC was doubling down its “Knight Rider” bet with another schlocky show with a car as the star. Throw in Slater’s spotty acting record of late and my hopes weren’t very high for “My Own Worst Enemy.”

Surprise! It’s not nearly as bad as I thought. How’s that for a recommendation?

Monday’s episode opens with a nice little intrigue — a French spy, some romance, a well-placed bullet — before giving us the show’s premise with energy and style.

The story: A government agency has figured out how to turn Edward into Henry so he can return to his domesticated life after getting his spook on. And it’s all done without his apparent knowledge: We see Henry getting zapped with radio waves, or something, and coming to in an office park.

Why exactly the government would need a person to be toggled between two identities against his will isn’t clear (though I suppose it’s easy enough to guess why). But there’s so little dead time in this fast-paced first hour that the mind rarely has the chance to ponder such things.

I got a kick out of watching Slater switch back and forth between Henry and Edward. A complex network TV role is probably something he only dreamed of while making those direct-to-video “films.”

This is a slick sci-fi drama aimed at an audience roughly twice the age of the target viewer for “Knight Rider.” Oh, and about those cars: They really don’t get as much screen time as the commercials lead you to believe. Thank heavens for misleading ads.

To read more from Aaron, go to our TV blog, TVBarn, on KansasCity.com.

Posted on Fri, Oct. 10, 2008 10:15 PM

Buzz Up

Comment (0)

Join the discussion

Share your observations and experiences about news. Lively, open, civil debate is the goal. Please refrain from personal attacks or comments that are racist, vulgar or otherwise inappropriate. If you see an inappropriate comment, please click the "Report as abuse" link.