User Reviews

Monday night is a prime television night for NBC. At least it is in my apartment. First is Chuck--the heir apparent to Get Smart. Next is Heroes--a show that is starting to feel a little dated. Last is My Own Worst Enemy--a very entertaining spy thriller. But, this is not too last because NBC sees fit to cancel it after nine episodes. I really don't understand this, since, from the start, this program has shown itself to be extremely well crafted.

First is the quality of the acting. Christian Slater, Alfre Woodard, James Cromwell, Saffron Burrows, and the guy who plays Raymond are all seasoned vets of both the big and small screen. And, in this show, they all deliver. Henry/Edward is portrayed well enough to be absolutely believable. When Alfre Woodward issues orders, she does it with such force I almost feel like I'm supposed to salute. James Cromwell oozes menace as the big boss not to be f-cked with. Saffron Burrows fits her role of a therapist/moll so very well, providing the intellectual depth and sexual energy her character needs. Even the guy who plays Raymond, who is usually cast as a working class schlomo, manages to come off as 100% bad ass. The writing probably makes this easy for them.

Some may harp on this show's overall storyline, but, as an aspiring writer, it rings true. The angst Henry Spivey feels over his other half and the disgust Edward has over his tamer counterpart rear themselves at exactly the right time to add depth and not boredom. Raymond manages to always pull Spivey's butt out of the fire without ever being made to feel like a crutch--even though that's what he's supposed to be. Mavis Heller's concern over the whole Henry/Edward debacle isn't due to some maternal obsession. Nope, it's all about covering her ass. This all rings true and is punctuated by some fairly high octane action.

Bullets are flying in some far off corner of the world and Edward is dealing with it. Then he shifts into Henry mode and doesn't know what to do. Does the action stop? Do things cease to be blown up all around him? No, we are instead treated to a CPA struggling to sty alive against the insanity his darker half swims in. It is so very enthralling to see him gather just enough of his wits to survive, but not quite enough to look stylish doing it. A lot of the action in this show is also cerebral in nature.

Henry leaving messages for Edward and vice versa should be boring as hell to watch. The thing is that they're not. I actually look forward to seeing what they have to say to each other and have not once come to look upon it as a cheap plot device. A lot of other people who watch this agree. Balancing drama, with action, with gallows humor, with a mind f-ck to beat the band is a hard thing to do and this program pulls it off nearly seamlessly.

All in all, My Own Worst Enemy has great acting by solid actors; really good writing that could be damn dumb but isn't and manages to boost the already remarkable abilities of the cast; well choreographed action scenes that never stray far from the plausible and keep things moving along; and some inner, psychological drama that fits so very well in a show about a man with a heavily pronounced DID.

So, back to my beginning point--PLEASE DO NOT CANCEL THIS SHOW, NBC! I get that these things cost money and times are definitely tight. But, this isn't the right one to yank. At the very least, give it a full season commitment. I'm willing to bet that, if you do, it will be pulling in Heroes' level Nielsens before it's all said and done because this show has substance. In the meantime, if you absolutely must clear something off your prime-time slate, make it Knight Rider. That piece of drivel has all the ear marks of a flash in the pan that is only riding high on product placement for Ford and nostalgia--neither of which can hope to last.

I understand that, across the board, your ratings are down this season, NBC. This being said, what do you really have to lose by giving this show a chance. Short term; if it is canceled prematurely, that's the end of it--plain and simple. Long term; if it is allowed to remain on just a while longer, it may very well yield the network a hell of a lot more leverage with advertisers and much sooner than later at that. Be the programming power-block you are and let this show be a major hit. It will increase your ratings and cement you as something of a rarity--a network with balls.

These are the words spoken by Henry, played by Christian Slater, the night he gets drunk, after learning the truth about himself. The truth is, he doesn't really exist. He is the result of an experiment performed on Edward Albright, a CIA Operative, where they implanted something in his brain to cause him to have a split personality. This results in the "creation" of Henry 19 years ago. Normally the chip puts Edward asleep and he becomes Henry, and vice versa. But the chip begins malfunctioning and he starts shifting from one to the other at the most inopportune times.

The premise is quite intriguing and I can see would lead to a lot of humorous moments. I haven't seen either movies that the previous reviewers claim were ripped off, so I can't comment to that effect. But I think, after just watching the 1st episode, it was very well done. The camera work was engaging and the pace kept me interested. I thought the location shots in Moscow and Paris looked very realistic - more movie quality than TV series.

Christian Slater is excellent as the 2 characters and seems to jump from one to the other very effortlessly. I look forward to more episodes. I just hope they focus mainly on the spy/action/thriller aspects and don't get raunchy with emphasis on sexual content.

As others before me have already pointed out, there are some flaws throughout the show. Mainly I have a hard time understanding the benefit of training a killer who is left completely vulnerable and unable to defend himself for more than half the time. I could get over this though if the writers started improving some of the dynamic between his two personalities. But keep in mind that this is a made for T.V. thriller. When are these things anything other than pure fantasy? People who enjoyed the premise of shows like 24 or Dexter, and who don't mind the serious gaps that come up in those stories will probably enjoy My Own Worst Enemy as well. I am interested to see where the show ends up going, and what with the serious lack of inspiration behind most scripts these days, I hope they can get it together and reach the potential that the really great premise has to offer.

I absolutely love watching this show every time it comes on Monday. This show gives me a break from reality which is a plus. I love how Edward/Henry go from one to another you never know what time Edward goes from Henry and vice versa, whether it be when Edward is on a mission and it risked exposing him that he is flawed from the design the company has when he is partnered up with a female agent or when Henry is with his family and Edward has to try to play the affectionate husband(by the way which helped save Henry's marriage). Both help out each other in some manner or other. Truly an enjoyable show to watch I just hope it pulls through to becoming one of TVs greatest shows.

This glossy NBC-TV character-driven thriller arrives about a year after the British Broadcasting Company revived Robert Lewis Stevenson's horror classic "Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde" as the basis for "Jekyll." The imaginative Brits updated the setting to contemporary society and tweaked the formula. For example, the protagonist no longer precipitated his change of character with narcotics as the catalyzing agent. In the BBC television mini-series, the protagonist knows that he suffers from a split personality. He has gained some measure of control over his other personality. Moreover, he suspects he may be an offspring of the infamous Mr. Hyde, despite the fact that Dr. Henry Jekyll died a virgin. The hero totes around a voice recorder and leaves messages for his alter ego. These messages consist of updates about daily changes and threats; updates about his activities and threats if his other self does them. The protagonist learns that a shadowy organization is monitoring him because of his unique condition. They hope that he can unlock the keys to many of life's mysteries. "Jekyll" constituted an imaginative spin on the venerable but jaded character.

Now, we Americans have contrived our own unofficial version of "Jekyll" and NBC has titled it aptly enough, "My Own Worst Enemy." As you might expect, NBC has tinkered with "Jekyll" and turned their variation into a conventional James Bond meets Jason Bourne knock-off. Actually, no link exists between the Stevenson story and this slick NBC-TV adventure opus about an anonymous secret agent organization. Nevertheless, you know where they got their idea!

"True Romance" star Christian Slater is perfectly cast as an individual who alternates between being an abrasive secret agent named Edward Albright and an meek efficiency expert, Henry Spivey, with a wife and two teenagers, one girl and one boy, cradled in domestic bliss in the suburbs. Altogether, "My Own Worst Enemy" lacks the edgy quality of "Jekyll" and its formula fueled fracases could wear out their welcome fast. Nevertheless, it's fun to see Slater back in the limelight instead of in another lame, straight-to-video thriller. The first episode boasts a couple of surprises that may catch you off-guard.

The first scene in "Breakdown" has our virile secret agent hero Edward (Christian Slater) in Paris wondering how he can attract the attention of the KGB. Edward arranges a rendezvous with an enemy babe agent that his stern boss Mavis Heller (Alfre Woodard of "Passion Fish") wants him to bring in for questioning. He has some wall banging sex with the enemy babe and then she tries to kill him and he puts a bullet in her forehead, like a western gunslinger. "She killed the bed," he defends himself to his boss. The opening shoot-out resembles a scene from the first James Bond movie "Dr. No" where Professor Dent shot a pillow masquerading as 007 in a bed. Bond caught Dent off guard and wound up killing in a controversial shooting because Dent had shot his pistol empty and couldn't defend himself. Slater's secret agent ices the villainess without a qualm. Later, after Mavis debriefs him, he enters an elevator, undergoes some kind of transformation and finds himself at his alter ego's day job.

The catch is that--as in "Jekyll"--the show's conflict grows out of the sudden, unanticipated changes in personality. During a political assassination attempt in Moscow, Edward reverts to Henry, and the Russians subject our hero to the most prime-time television can show in term of torture. Henry assures his captors that he knows no Edward. Suddenly, the cavalry arrives in the form of one of his fellow agents. The scene recalls Terry Gilliam's "Brazil" when Robert De Niro would show up out of the blue in full SWAT regalia to rescue the imperiled hero. Back in Mavis' office, an angry Henry demands to know what has happened to him. Was he brain washed, he asks. Mavis reveals that the company "manifested a divergent identity dormant in a sealed off portion of the medial temporal lobe creating a split-personality." Somehow, they have placed a micro chip in Edward's head that activates Henry, and there is a glitch in the system. When Henry complains that he never volunteered for such a procedure, Mavis informs him that Edward did! Moreover, Henry fears that he is being used in an experiment. Mavis surprises Henry when she reveals that he has been the experiment for 19 years!

Mavis tells Henry that Edward had his own secrets and she takes Henry to Edward's place. Alone, Henry discovers Edward's secret room concealed behind his big-screen television. Accidentally, he thumb printed himself on his remote control and it activated the mechanism. Henry learns that Edward was a Medal of Honor recipient. Henry borrows a jacket and peels off in Edward's sports car. During the drive, Henry mutates back into Edward; a freaked out Edward calls Mavis and wants to know what happened. She notifies him that they are working on a solution. Later, Edward sleeps with Henry's wife and she purrs like a cat after sex with him. Of course, there is no nudity to speak of.

Although there are allusions to James Bond, "My Own Worst Enemy" seems like a mutation of the Jason Bourne movies. Bourne suffered from amnesia in the first movie. The split personality that Edward has that comes and goes at random affects him as much as Bourne's amnesia afflicted him. "My Own Worse Enemy" looks like it could be a lot of fun. I saw the free sneak preview of this program at Amazon.Com.

I would call this quite entertaining television popcorn fair. You really need to turn your brain off and I have serious questions about how long they can maintain this scenario, but for the time being it is a good way to waste an hour.

The story involves Edward, raised an orphan, who joined the army, served in the special forces and eventually joined a SUPER SECRET organization who works behind the scenes to save the world on a regular basis. This organization recruits people who are willing to have an alternate personality created for them (in Edward's case this is Henry) and live two lives - one 'normal Joe' type life and one superspy, each unaware of the other's existence. Whew! It's complicated just to write a quick synopsis! It's pretty entertaining, but suspension of disbelief is a requirement. I couldn't stop wondering why, when one agent displayed mental imbalance, they merely erased her spy identity and let her live her normal life, yet when they suspected the same of Edward they were going to kill him. Wouldn't they just have a universal policy? And then there's this whole conspiracy of folks around him who are helping to hide his condition. Why? It only endangers those around him. His civilian personality frequently pops up when he's supposed to be shooting down an airplane or torturing a suspect. The biggest question for me is what is the possible advantage of splitting a spy's personality in the first place? This is brought to a head in an episode concerning Edward's partner Raymond (or Tom, in civilian life). Someone from Ray's past recognizes 'Tom', and of course, he has no idea what's going on. This actually does lead to one of the more amusing episodes however, with Tom's wife witnessing Ray committing murder. I'm not sure how long I can keep my thoughts turned to 'off'.

Overall, this may be one of those shows that ultimately would have worked better as a mini series; I may be just one "we can torture because we're the good guys" speech away from giving this the boot.

I admit that I have never been a Christian Slater fan; never really noticed him save in "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves". I probably confused him with Kevin Bacon or some other "brat pack" actor. And then came this series! As both of his characters, named after Stevenson's "Dr Jeckel and Mr Hyde", Slater is brilliant. This is a reverse spin on the old book since Edward, not Henry, is the primary original person. It is difficult to decide which persona is the more surprising, the murderous psychopath decorated hero Edward or the Joe Average nice but bumbling Henry. The potential of this series is near infinite but I suspect will never come to fruition. I would like to be surprised and see "My Own Worst Enemy" succeed and play for many years but I am more than doubtful. The other actors are all more than respectable but Slater is a triumph. My wife hates the show. It is not a simple shoot-'em-up nor is it a soap opera. It is a very tense suspense series brilliantly delivered. No wonder I get uncomfortable watching it.

Well as of now people know the show has been canceled. The how and why can be discussed all day but for me I loved the show. It proved that Slater is an underrated actor. He's done a couple of bad stinkers like "Alone in The Dark" but he has redeemed himself.

This show was fun every week. Yeah a lot of was predictable but it's still done in such an entertaining way that I never missed an episode.

The acting by Slater as he slips into Edward then Henry was great and convincing. The secondary characters from his wife to his buddy or the psychologist are all well developed. Everyone harbors a secret in this show which made it interesting. You don't know whose playing who.

Likewise, Edward/Henry has an actual family to begin with so you do get all the dynamics and drama that comes with living two identities.

Stuff like the experiment or chip in Edward malfunction make the show less predictable as you don't quite know when one personality will take over. There's also a lot of humor with the rivalry that Edward and Henry against one another. They both hate each but also need one another.

It's hilarious to see then where their personality takes them in every episode. Again I will say that Christian Slater provides great acting here. You can tell when an actor is really into his role and that makes all the difference in the world. I will mention the rest of the cast which is great. There is Alfre Woodward who plays Edward's boss, Mavis Heller. She is also great and let's Henry/Edward know that he can be eliminated at any time. Bella Thorne as Henry's wife, Ruthy Spivey, is a capable actress. Omid Atayi as Tony (the technology dude keeping track of the experiment) is also good. Saffron Burrows as Henry's psychologist is great (not too mention beautiful). It's too bad that this died too soon.

I enjoyed the pilot and thought C. Slater acted the hell out of it - with genuine startled appearance when for example SpyGuy shifted to HomeBody in the middle of a fierce fire-fight. I enjoyed the snippets of mixed in humor when cool-hand Edward effortlessly solves flustered Henry's domestic issues.

However - the last few times I tuned in I found the smirking cold blooded killing (regardless of motivation) by Edward to be too disturbing to redeem the plot. If that does not change soon and Edward display a bit of remorse and humanity - I would consider the shark jumped on this one.