Thursday, September 08, 2005
The one who adapts his policy to the times prospers.
I used to watch a lot more TV than I do know, but I got tired of the networks killing the good series while the crap flourished. Yes, I know it is because Edna and Merle in Paducah, KY and every other polyester-loving couch ape can't get enough pablum like Everybody Blows Loves Raymond (stolen from George Carlin) while shows that actually require thought must depend on the 5% of the country that can actually read at a 6th grade level, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. I've gone as far as buying the first season of Millennium from a limited release in Japan years ago(now it's available here), and I can neither confirm or deny that I have every episode of Lone Gunmen (well before it came out "officially") and The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. tucked away in my top-secret Fortress of Stolid-tude.
Fortunately, the networks are reaching back into their vaults to put out DVD sets of complete series and seasons of some really cool shows, and I'm very excited to see that FOX is releasing one of the most interesting shows ever tackled, Profit. The show starred Adrian Pasdar, who was also in the cool flick Near Dark, and aired for a mere 7 episodes back in 1996. The concept was simple, the protagonist, Jim Profit, is a brilliant sociopath who sets our to climb the corporate ladder by any means necessary. I'm sure if Machiavelli had seen this show, he could have gone, "Dude, that guy's a dick!" Profit was the first show to combine the free-wheeling business model of the '80s with the nihilism of the '90s and it spawned a character who made Gordon Gekko look like Gordon Jump. Pasdar totally owned the role, always cold and calculating, but pretending to be just another corporate automaton in public. I have no idea who greenlighted this show back when, but I suspect the creator got the original idea by listening to his college-age hippie daughter talk about evil corporate looters or some such.
The series did film four additional episodes that were never shown in the US, but FOX has included them on the DVD. If you're interested in a show a bit off the beaten path, then you should give this a look. Believe me, it can't be any worse than most shows out there today.
Now, if I can only get them to release Strange Luck and Nowhere Man . . .
Fortunately, the networks are reaching back into their vaults to put out DVD sets of complete series and seasons of some really cool shows, and I'm very excited to see that FOX is releasing one of the most interesting shows ever tackled, Profit. The show starred Adrian Pasdar, who was also in the cool flick Near Dark, and aired for a mere 7 episodes back in 1996. The concept was simple, the protagonist, Jim Profit, is a brilliant sociopath who sets our to climb the corporate ladder by any means necessary. I'm sure if Machiavelli had seen this show, he could have gone, "Dude, that guy's a dick!" Profit was the first show to combine the free-wheeling business model of the '80s with the nihilism of the '90s and it spawned a character who made Gordon Gekko look like Gordon Jump. Pasdar totally owned the role, always cold and calculating, but pretending to be just another corporate automaton in public. I have no idea who greenlighted this show back when, but I suspect the creator got the original idea by listening to his college-age hippie daughter talk about evil corporate looters or some such.
The series did film four additional episodes that were never shown in the US, but FOX has included them on the DVD. If you're interested in a show a bit off the beaten path, then you should give this a look. Believe me, it can't be any worse than most shows out there today.
Now, if I can only get them to release Strange Luck and Nowhere Man . . .
Centinel 3:51 PM #