The Invisible Man
"Pilot"

Airdate: June 9, 2000

Fantastical leap in technology that is both a curse and a blessing. Check.
Cynical, wisecracking, street-smart hero on a quest. Check.
Dastardly villain of a thousand faces and nine lives. Check.
Beautiful, intelligent, complicated love interest. Check.
Shadowy government agency. Check.
Resourceful, off-kilter sidekick. Check.
Slightly moody lighting. Check.

Okay, I think The Invisible Man manages to cover all the genre bases, which in and of itself means nothing really. It is simply the starting point, much like the pilot, whose job it is to introduce all of these elements and give the audience a taste of the defining flavor of this show. Sure, you can make a few assumptions based on a pilot, but really, only time will tell.

That said...

The pilot operated knee-deep in cynicism, which I found refreshing. Normally we meet our anti-heroes after they've already decided against the Dark Side of the Force, but Darien Fawkes (Vincent Ventresca) actually enjoys his life. He loves being a thief, liar and con man. Clever and with a nose for self-preservation, he's really good at his job. Being far from noble, he usually only does the moral thing because there is something in it for him. Usually.

In the opening voice over, he repeats the old maxim, "No good deed goes unpunished." In fact, that could be the moral of the tale of the pilot as Fawkes, a graduate of the hard knocks school of life, is in his element when operating on the dark side. It is only when he listens to his still active conscience that he gets in trouble.

For example:
He stops to give a dying man CPR and gets sent to jail.
He helps his scientific genius brother out, half out of loyalty and half out of wanting to avoid the pen, and ends up with a talent that could drive him insane.
He attempts to rescue his ex-girlfriend from a conscience-less monster, only to lose the counteragent to his growing madness.

The poor guy can't seem to catch a break.

Which is probably why I'm apt to give this show a decent chance to find its rhythm. By creating a set of circumstances which, in conjunction with a strong sense of self-preservation, actually forces Fawkes into the role of hero, it makes him a hell of a lot more interesting than your average, everyday average good guy and provides enough conflict to keep the show from becoming too formulaic.

Another good decision was in the creation of Fawkes' archenemy Arnaud (who will hopefully pop up every few episodes). In "The Phon", the creators of The Invisible Man have opted for a mirror image of our protagonist, only without the troublesome conscience. This allows the hero and villain to understand each other on a very personal level. Now normally this gives the advantage to the baddie -- seeing as he knows the line which the good guy won't cross -- but with Fawkes' barely-controlled madness thrown into the equation, as well as his instinct for survival, every meeting should be a nail-biter.

If this first episode is any indicator, the series tone should be a lot like its hero Darien Fawkes's attitude toward life, more than a little obnoxious, and its humor will be less of the laugh out loud variety than it is of the knowing snort that most cynical people experience on a day to day basis. But you know, that just might be a nice change of pace.

-- Linda M. Najera

The Invisible Man airs at 8pm EST, Fridays on The Sci Fi Channel

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