Director: David Semel
Enjoyable unless you stop to think, "The Hummingbird" contained some interesting ideas and sequences, although the central Jekyll/Hyde premise is still incredibly awkward and unbelievable…A secret government agency called "Janus" (operating from the bowls of anagram cover firm "A.J Sun"), have a number of spies that have willingly agreed to spend half their lives as someone else (courtesy of a brain-chip that can be flipped to summon the emergence of a split personality). The tenuous reason? That having an artificially-created alter-ego will be perfect cover if the spy is ever captured and interrogated. I mean, really, talk about a heinous waste of resources!
Fortunately, this episode unspools at a fast enough rate to stop you sticking on its many impracticalities and problems -- like why are Janus still sending Edward (Christian Slater) out on field missions, when they're aware he's "broken" and will sometimes flip into the untrained and morally-forthright Henry (Slater again)? For some reason Mavis (Alfre Woodard) is even trying to hide the malfunctioning brain-chip from her own superiors, like company head Alistair Trumbull (James Cromwell, Woodard's co-star in Star Trek: First Contact).
Interestingly, the overused Id/Superego battle takes a slight backseat already, as the real focus of "The Hummingbird" is with everyman Henry trying to disprove Mavis' bombshell that he's the "fake" personality who was created 19 years ago. Henry starts a personal crusade to find tangible evidence that he knew and interacted with real people before that time. The obvious problem is keeping his investigation a secret from wife Lily (Mädchen Amick), the watchful eyes of Janus agents, and "himself".
And it's good fun, for the most part. Christian Slater is compelling enough to keep you watching, improving in his capacity to give both Henry and Edward distinct mannerisms and vocal cadences. This is best shown in an interrogation scene, where mild-mannered Henry has to pretend to be Edward and is shown by Mavis (via earpiece) how to extract information from a German villain using nasty-looking injections. We later return to the scene, but now with Edward restored, and the difference in attitude and temperament is very clear -- without simply making Edward a maniacal lunatic.
Good support from Afre Woodard also helps, although I'm not yet sold on Tom/Raymond (Mike O'Malley) as a character. The gorgeous Mädchen Amick also gets a few nice scenes, as her sex-life rapidly improves, but she's unaware she's sleeping with Edward. Indeed, it's rather strange how Edward seems to takeover whenever bedtime beckons -- although you can hardly blame him, if it's intentional.
At the moment, I'm enjoying the idea of a regular joe having to come to terms with the fact he's only existed for 19 years, while battling the dispiriting presence of a cleverer, stronger, faster, more sexually adventurous competitor for his wife's affections. It's this core idea that's definitely a lot of fun, even if the broader context is illogically written and very stupid.
Overall, "The Hummingbird" did a decent job of slightly widening the premise to include a falsified childhood, and I like the performances from Slater, Woodard and Amick. I'm not terribly excited about the humdrum espionage thrills (something that also affected Jason Smilovic's previous series, Bionic Woman), but this episode certainly showed evidence that My Own Worst Enemy has a few interesting angles to explore. They even visited London and avoided the clichés and stereotypes that stink up US dramas (with the London Eye replacing the standard Big Ben backdrop -- although seeing a red post-box in a street seems to be obligatory.)
I also like the subconscious compartmentalization of Henry (all offices are box-like "prisons" in design.) He even bounces a rubber ball against a wall in one scene, echoing Steve McQueen's famous incarceration pastime in The Great Escape. It's neat touches like those that help me forgive the bigger picture dumbness.
23 October 2008
NBC, 9/8c
Cast: Christian Slater (Henry Spivey/Edward Albright), Mädchen Amick (Lily Spivey), Alfre Woodard (Mavis Heller), Saffron Burrows (Dr. Skinner), Taylor Lautner (Jack Spivey), Bella Thorne (Ruthy Spivey), Mike O'Malley (Tom Grady/Raymond), Omid Abtahi (Tony), Jeanine Giovanni (David's Wife), Ryan Adkisson (David's Son) & James Cromwell (Alistair Trumbull)
