My Own Worst Enemy a Keeper

"Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
I am a split personality
And so am I."

So recites Henry Spivey when he discovers that he is, in fact, the dormant part of the brain of Edward, a super-spy. Both are played by Christian Slater in NBC's intriguing new show, "My Own Worst Enemy." I checked this one out on a short break I took from writing this week because it had Slater in it, a mainstay of some of my favourite 80s films. People were surprised he was moving to television, despite the fact he hasn't had a juicy movie role in a dog's age. But Slater has proved he's still got it: The entire show hinges on his performance, and he pulls it off brilliantly.

The second episode airs tonight, and I urge you to watch it just to take in what a fine actor he is in a very challenging role. The first episode opened with Edward, super-spy, jetting around the world with his stash of Uzis and taking out the bad guys like an American James Bond. He's got the trademark Slater sneer that comes off as a sleazy Jack Nicholson. He's a womanizer and a cad, and he gets the job done without any emotional ties. He returns to his home base where he steps into an elevator, goes over his "story" with his boss (that he was actually at a sales conference in Omaha) and they effectively put the Edward side of his brain to sleep and awaken Henry Spivey, office drone who has a happy life with a wife and two kids. The problem is, Henry is starting to feel funny and is seeing what Edward is doing as a dream. He's seeing a therapist and telling her he had a dream he was in France, and lo and behold woke up and there was a matchbook of French matches from the hotel in his pocket.

Things get worse when Edward is on the job, pointing a gun at the bad guys when poof, he turns off and Henry comes on, unaware of where he is, holding a gun, and freaking out. He runs, but is caught by the guys who have known Edward for years and see him as an evil badass with no weaknesses. Henry insists he's Henry and doesn't know who they are when suddenly a man runs in, extracts Henry, and takes the briefcase with him. In the car the man removes his mask and Henry recognizes him as Tom, fellow office drone. But he's not: he's Raymond, one of Edward's co-workers and clearly also someone with a split personality. Back at the headquarters, Mavis (played by the stunning Alfre Woodard: I LOVE HER) explains that despite what we at home might think, Edward is actually the real person, and he decided years ago to have Henry inserted into his brain, under the auspices of, "The only way I can prove I have free will is if someone takes it away," which is weird, and actually the only downside to the premiere. Who would actively do this to themselves? In other words, Henry was created and doesn't have the life he thought he did.

She puts Henry into Edward's personal apartment, which is decked out and fancy and has a wicked Ford Mustang (product placement!) in the garage below, and Henry wanders around, completely freaked out. Henry discovers in Edward's personal effects that he was in the army and was awarded medals of high honor, that his parents died when he was very young, and baby pictures of Edward. He decides to go on a joyride in Edward's car, but halfway through his ride he turns back into Edward. He decides to go to Henry's house and sleep with "his" wife, but wakes up the next morning as Henry (who is FURIOUS when he realizes the other guy -- who is in fact still him -- slept with his wife). He goes back to the office, things switch around on him again, and Mavis and her gang brainwash him to remove all memories of what has happened and return the two men to their separate lives.

Henry goes back to his house, gets a phone call, tells his wife he can't make it to soccer practice that night, and the doorbell rings. It's the two baddies from the Russian job gone wrong, and they beat him and he says he's not Edward, he's Henry, and they say but you don't know us? He says no, but of course, Henry met them a few days earlier. They say they want to know where Edward hid their briefcase and if he doesn't find it quickly, they'll kill his family. Henry goes out to the SUV, finds a GPS with a previous location on it, and heads out to the desert. He uncovers the briefcase and says Edward must have used that GPS, and it's got what they want in it. They hold up a gun to kill Henry, who pulls the GPS out of his back pocket and hits a button, detonating the case and killing them. HUH?

Turns out, he really was Henry, but when he'd been brainwashed he turned back into Edward, and the brainwashing hadn't worked. He had retained the memories, and sent a DVD to Henry telling him about the GPS and what he needed to do, and Henry carried out the mission. Henry gets home and records his own message for Edward, telling him he can't believe he's talking to himself, and feels weird he'll never get to meet him.

The best part of this episode is at the end, where we see Christian Slater as Edward watching Christian Slater as Henry. Henry is jittery and talks fast and is unsure of himself, and Edward is suave and cool. Slater exudes that with Edward, yet all he does is stand there watching the video, and it's only in his eyes that we know it's absolutely Edward. Slater manages to pull off this character by separating the two distinctly enough -- yet subtly, because neither one is over the top -- that we always know who is who.

I can't wait for this week's episode. Check it out!