Can Christian Slater turn 'My Own Worst Enemy' into his own first Emmy?
No doubt Christian Slater was tempted to try TV when offered the chance to play two very different characters in the series "My Own Worst Enemy," which premieres tonight on NBC. While he and the spy show racked up some good reviews, there were enough pans among the 22 notices surveyed by Metacritic to bring the overall score down to 60 out of 100.
Among the more enthusiastic was Verne Gay of Newsday who said the series is "engaging, devious, head-gaming and genuinely fun." And Alessandra Stanley of the New York Times thought the show "has a convoluted premise that is cleverly wrought and holds up well, and Mr. Slater does a remarkable job of only subtly signaling each personality."
While Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times had reservations about the overall concept, she singled Slater out for praise: "Although his characters are different, they are also the same, opposing forces of a single psyche. An exploration of the emotional and psychological diversity that one human brain, and heart, can accumulate and contain during a lifetime is a high calling for a show that also plans to blow things up on a regular basis. But Slater, with a face full of Jack Nicholson-like mischief (not to mention the eyebrows) seems well up to the task."
But Matt Roush of TV Guide thought the series was "reminiscent at times of 'The Bourne Identity' or 'Face/Off,' to name a few movie influences it does not improve upon." And for Robert Bianco of USA Today, "badly conceived, badly executed, and woefully, ridiculously overcomplicated, 'Enemy' is precisely the show you'd expect from the writer behind NBC's similarly botched 'Bionic Woman,' which really makes you wonder about the network's learning curve."
That reference to the remake of "The Bionic Woman" is more telling than it appears, as Lindsay Wagner, the star of the original run of that series, won an Emmy Award in 1977 for playing two versions of herself –- both good and evil. By battling her own bionic self, she prevailed over, among others, past three-time winner Michael Learned ("The Waltons") and future winner Sada Thompson ("Family"). Like Wagner, Christian Slater has not been taken too seriously by various kudos in the past, winning only an MTV Movie Award as most desirable male back in 1993.
However, his on-screen boss, Alfre Woodard, is a favorite with the Emmys, with four wins out of 14 nominations. For each of her stints on series in the past, Woodard has earned at least an Emmy nod. She won her first Emmy for her three-episode arc on "Hill Street Blues" in 1984 and got nods for "St. Elsewhere" in 1986 and a return guest spot in 1988 and, most recently, for her single season on "Desperate Housewives" in 2006. Two of her other wins were for guesting on a drama series ("L.A. Law," 1987, and "The Practice," 2003) while the third was for starring in the 1997 telefilm "Miss Evers' Boys."
(NBC)
I thought it was great. The blend of action and psychological science-fiction works well. And while I may not be a big Christian Slater fan, he executes the role well enough to be convincing.
Posted by: Valdemarick | October 15, 2008 at 03:39 PM
I enjoyed the premiere, good story, premise, pace, characters, luv it!
Posted by: Nadine | October 14, 2008 at 02:54 PM
Loved the premiere and looking forward to the rest of the season!!!
Posted by: CSlaterFan | October 14, 2008 at 12:00 PM
My wife and i love acton movies and tv shows but this is horrible. we turned it off after the 1st half hour. you couldnt pay me to watch it again.
Posted by: chuchie62 | October 14, 2008 at 08:02 AM
I loved the premiere.
Obviously Robert Bianco of USA Today's IQ is too low to recognize a great show when he sees it.
Posted by: criticsdon'tknowsquat | October 13, 2008 at 10:28 PM