TV Critic

"My Own Worst Enemy" is what was known as "high-concept" before pretty much everything became high-concept. Christian Slater plays dual roles within the same body - he's Henry Spivey, mild-mannered family man, as well as Edward Albright, womanizing superspy.

The government organization Edward works for (run by Alfre Woodard's Mavis) has some sort of electrode in his brain, so they can summon the Christian Slater character they need at any given time.

That implant is beginning to spaz out, landing Henry in the middle of delicate, dangerous missions where he's in over his head.

But here's the twist - superspy Edward is the original guy in Slater's body; the government inserted Everyguy Henry. So, basically, they domesticated a ruthlessly efficient operative, seemingly for no reason at all - they have other agents capable of leading double lives relatively effortlessly, so why manufacture a synthetic one?

The dangers of doing so, if not readily apparent, become so immediately tonight, when Edward/Henry experiences that unfortunately timed brain flatulence during an assassination attempt. And bad guys who do a little digging could turn up at Henry's home and confront his unsuspecting and innocent wife and children.

OK, so it doesn't make much sense. "My Own Worst Enemy" is one of the products of the writers strike, greenlit before a pilot was shot, and there's been tinkering on the project ever since. In tonight's episode (the only one made available for review this late into the launch of the new season), the producers are still too enamored of their nifty setup to convince anyone why it's necessary.

We can live with that, maybe, if there's something else to grab us. Maybe the dialogue? Nope; Edward says things like, "I don't like to sleep, not when I'm awake."

Perhaps the gratuitous sex scenes? Not really - Edward has a three-second tryst with a Russian agent, followed by a protracted scene where they share a cigarette; she ends up with a bullet in her head. And in a kind of icky moment, Edward seduces Henry's wife (Mädchen Amick); she, of course, is clueless.

No doubt it's the plot logic: Eh, not when the government leaves a bewildered but awakening Henry alone and declines to monitor him, allowing him plenty of opportunity to escape.

Tonight's premiere involves a Russian thug hell-bent on killing someone who looks like Christian Slater; he's not much hung up on which one he gets. That may be because Slater himself doesn't differentiate the two much: Ever since he channeled Jack Nicholson in "Heathers," he's allowed that impersonation to intermittently inform his other performances, and it crops up again here.

Perhaps NBC's own worst enemy is its inability to distinguish between a good show and one that allows for some prime product placement: "My Own Worst Enemy's" online home page offers three different links to a promotional shoot with the show's participating automaker. Good for NBC for finding another revenue stream; bad, though, for the viewer.

David Kronke (818) 713-3638 david.kronke@dailynews.com

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MY OWN WORST ENEMY

>What: Christian Slater stars as a government spy leading a double life – but his mild-mannered side doesn't know it.

>Where: NBC (Channel 4).

>When: Tuesdays @ 10 PM.

>In a nutshell: And the point behind the government scheme is ...?