Christian Slater and My Own Worst Enemy Try to Jumpstart Fall TV Season

The Jekyll and Hyde story is so overused and used in so many contexts that it is hard to imagine any more versions. Movies, TV specials, novels and countless other formats have been used to tell the tale of a man with split personalities- one friendly, one deadly. Normally they take place in London and have the main character as a scientist who develops Mr. Hyde on his own. But this fall, NBC, which desperately needs a new hit, reworks the Jekyll and Hyde formula into a way that's almost new. My Own Worst Enemy, debuting tonight, puts Jekyll and Hyde in the context of a spy thriller.

Christian Slater is both Jekyll and Hyde this time around. In this case, Slater is Henry, an unassuming suburban dad with a healthy family life. But Slater's Hyde is not just a brutal killer in this version. In My Own Worst Enemy, the Hyde is Edward, an unstoppable government assassin formed by government experiments.

When government officials need Edward to kill, they flip a switch in Henry's brain to turn him back into Edward. But problems emerge when Henry becomes aware of it.

My Own Worst Enemy puts the Jekyll and Hyde formula into the James Bond/Jason Bourne spy genre. NBC places it right after Heroes and the less serious spy show Chuck, hoping to form an action packed slate of television for Monday nights.

NBC needs My Own Worst Enemy to help put their Monday night lineup back on track, as Heroes and Chuck are slipping in the ratings and critics continue to turn on Heroes more than ever.

Television as a whole needs My Own Worst Enemy to give a shot in the arm to the new fall season, as new show after new show this season has been either critically panned, suffered low ratings, or both

Only a select few shows like Fringe, Life on Mars and The Mentalist have been hits so far, as the writers strike greatly hampered last year's pilot season and the effects of it are showing.

My Own Worst Enemy is also needed as a shot in the arm for Christian Slater. The former A-list star has seen better days in his career, going from big stardom in the 80's and 90's to progressively poorer movies and off screen antics. Slater seeks to become the latest movie star to restart his career on television, a trend that started when Kiefer Sutherland did it with the similarly action packed 24.

My Own Worst Enemy, which stars the two Slaters, Alfre Woodard and Mike O'Malley, premieres tonight at 10 eastern on NBC.

Sources

Chicago Tribune- "Christian Slater, 'My Own Worst Enemy'" www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/tv/chi-christian-slater-081013-ht,0,2013433.story

Television Week- "Lackluster Start to Season" www.tvweek.com/news/2008/10/lackluster_start_to_season.php