Return of the Spy Bug

Commercial breaks during the new season of Heroes introduced me to the previews for My Own Worst Enemy, the show that now follows it. I wasn't impressed, for a number of reasons:

• I kind of hate Christian Slater. He wasn't even a very good Adso of Melk.
  
• I'm one of the few people who still liked the song used in the previews, and now it's indelibly associated with Christian Slater.
• Notwithstanding my first two points, I feel sorry that the camerawork in the previews made the poor guy look so short. I suspect Slater is no strapping Adonis, but there's no need to make it look like his character is a double agent of the Lollipop Guild.
  
• My Own Worst Enemy is taking over the slot occupied last season by the tepid abortion known as Journeyman. I still can't entirely explain my hatred for that show: the idea that when someone develops weird powers their loved ones actually NOTICE was refreshing, and though it did begin to fall apart after a few episodes, the fact is I despised it on sight yet continued to watch through Heroes-induced inertia.

Sadly for the integrity of my dislikes, Christian Slater is so far actually effective in this show about a spy with a lab-engineered split personality, portraying both superspy Edward and schlubby Henry as the divide between them starts to crumble. This week's episode introduced James Cromwell as Henry's boss, and I look forward to Cromwell scaring the hell out of me as he did in L.A. Confidential.*

I don't think My Own Worst Enemy is art, but thankfully it's no Journeyman either.

*I think it's the contrast between the farmer in Babe and a scary power-mad killer that does it... :-)