It’s a comic sci-fi adventure about a computer geek who becomes a government agent after microscopic robots invade his body and give him superpowers, from writer-producers Gina Matthews (“Popular”), Grant Scharbo (“The Wishing Tree” ), Silvio Horta (“Urban Legend,” “The Chronicle”) and David Greenwalt (“Angel,” “Miracles”). “Jake 2.0” stars Christopher Gorham (“Popular,” “Odyssey 5”), Marina Black (“Six Feet Under”), Matt Czuchry (“Eight Legged Freaks”), Judith Scott (“CSI” ) and Keegan Connor Tracy (“40 Days and 40 Nights,” “Final Destination 2”).
Starting this fall, “Jake 2.0” airs 9 p.m. Wednesdays on UPN, opposite “Angel,” “The West Wing,” “The Bachelor,” “Bernie Mac” and “The King of Queens.”
“Hacker” says it’s “actually pretty good,” but of course will have a tough time in what may be the most brutal timeslot in primetime:
“Hacker” says it’s “actually pretty good,” but of course will have a tough time in what may be the most brutal timeslot in primetime:
Jake 2.0
Cast: Christopher Gorham, Marina Black, Matt Czuchry, Keegan Connor Tracy, Judith Scott, Philip Anthony-Rodriguez
Airs: Wednesdays 9PM ET/PT on UPN
Premise: Jake Foley (Gorham), a computer technician at the NSA accidentally gets injected with nanites, microscopic computers that provide him with superhuman abilities. In the pilot Jake works in technical support, but desperately wants to do more. Jake lives with his best friend, a slacker and fellow techie named Darin (Czuchry) who uses the fact that he works at the NSA to pick up women. Early in the pilot Jake bumps into Sarah (Black), his college crush who is now a Congressional intern. The rest of the pilot is your typical origins story, and is pretty similar to "Spider-Man" or even "My Secret Identity" in a lot of ways: Jake is just an average guy who becomes a superhero through a freak accident and gradually begins to become aware of his powers. Once the accident occurs and the NSA realizes they have a valuable asset on their hands, they create a Special Ops team around Jake. Working with Jake from now on are Senior Agents Kyle Duarte (Anthony-Rodriguez) and Louise Beckett (Scott) and research doctor Diane Hughes (Tracy).
Review: I'll be surprised if this show makes it. And that's too bad because it's actually pretty good. Christopher Gorham is extremely likable as the lead, and after "Buffy," "Alias," "Xena," "Dark Angel," etc. it's ironically refreshing to see a young guy kicking ass. The show also avoids the cliché of making Jake overly nerdy. Unlike Peter Parker in last year's "Spider-Man," Jake doesn't wear ridiculous Buddy Holly glasses or get picked on by bullies. And while he's not exactly a ladies man, it's Sarah who approaches him at a bar. As Sarah, Marina Black (niece of Shirley Temple-Black) is extremely well cast. She's really attractive, but looks intelligent and sophisticated enough to be a Georgetown graduate and Congressional intern. Everyone else does a good job with their roles, but the real stand-out in the pilot is Judith Scott as Agent Beckett. Before Jake's abilities are discovered, Beckett commends him on a job well done in dealing with the events that led to the accident. Then, looking into his file and discovering that he's applied for intel training twice, she takes the opportunity to...remind him of his confidentiality agreement. "Or what, you'll have to kill me," Jake laughs. Beckett's laughter which turns into a slow nod is absolutely priceless as played by Scott.
The scenes showing Jake discovering his powers are pretty familiar. He hits his head on the ceiling when he tries to jump for a pull-up bar, sends a small child flying when he tosses him a football, and uses his ability to directly interface with computers to change traffic lights. Despite the familiarity of these situations, Gorham manages to make it all fun to watch. I don't know that much about nanite technology so I'm not really sure how realistic his abilities are, but anyone tuning into a show like this should plan on suspending their disbelief anyway. The only scene that really came off as implausible was one in which Jake was locked inside a room at the NSA. Despite his newfound strength he's unable to break down the door. This being a high security government building there's no guard outside, and he gets the door open by...lighting a match under the sprinkler system??
The pilot also sets up several potentially interesting future storylines. Despite Jake's initial enjoyment over what the nanites do for him, he learns from Dr. Hughes that the lab mice have sometimes developed side effects: muscle spasms, blindness, and paralysis. Dr. Hughes then tells Jake that the nanites are fully integrated into his system and can't be removed. I once saw an episode of "The Outer Limits" in which a character injected with nanobots developed gills and other freakish traits. It's unlikely anything that drastic will happen to Jake (and I think nanites may be slightly different than nanobots), but the writers have the potential to do a lot with the ramifications of Jake being a human guinea pig. Hopefully they won't drop this storyline the way the "Dark Angel" writers did with a similar plotline a few years ago.
One area in which the show might have trouble is with integrating all of its characters into the storyline. Anyone who's seen "Alias" knows how much trouble the writers have had with balancing Sydney's spy life with her regular life. On that show her friends either had to join the CIA or become evil clones in order to have something to do. This show will probably get some mileage from having Jake hide his abilities from Darin, but how long can that go on for before it becomes tired? At least Darin already works for the NSA so the writers can easily have him get involved in Jake's Special Ops team if necessary. Working Sarah into the plot may prove more difficult. The writers avoid making her character a cliché by making her pretty without being dumb, bitchy, or even out of Jake's league. However, her interactions with Jake are pretty cliché, and in the pilot she's already a victim who requires Jake's rescuing. How many times can they do that before it also becomes tired? Still, the chemistry between the two is good, as is the chemistry between Jake and Dr. Hughes. I wouldn't be surprised to see a love triangle develop either with those three or with Sarah's possible boyfriend whom we also meet in the pilot. In the pilot we also learn that Sarah is investigating discrepancies in the Department of Defense budget and that her father disappeared during the Gulf War while testing weapons. Hopefully these elements of Sarah's character will be further explored and allow her to be worked into the storyline in a way that doesn't feel forced.
This show has plenty of potential, and I'm really interested to see what kind of missions the writers are able to come up with for Jake. The thing that has me the most excited, however, is the fact that former "Buffy"/"Angel"/"Miracles" producer David Greenwalt recently joined the show's creative team. Despite his brilliance and the quality I'm sure he'll bring to the show, I still think "Jake 2.0" will have a tough time making it. UPN is notoriously bad at launching new dramas, and with its young, attractive cast the show seems like it would be a better fit on the WB. It's also in a horrible timeslot, up against "The West Wing," "The Bachelor," and Greenwalt's former stomping grounds "Angel." I guess I'll have to plan on setting my VCR on Wednesday nights next year.
I am – Hercules!!
