My Own Worst Enemy

Far, far, far and away NBC's best new pilot of the season and one of the best new shows of the season, on any network -- commercial or cable.

Slater, whose career has gone pretty much downhill since "Heathers" (1989) and "Pump Up the Volume" (1990), is surprisingly perfect as both of them, adjusting not much more than the brow of an eye, the curl of a lip, and the hiss of a sibilant to indicate the seismic shift from James Bond to Willy Loman.

Worst Enemy has a convoluted premise that is cleverly wrought and holds up well, and Mr. Slater does a remarkable job of only subtly signaling each personality

The first episode of Enemy ended up being a relatively compelling hour of television. As competent as it is, though, it’s hard not to think that the premise contains some holes.

Reminiscent at times of "The Bourne Identity" or "Face/Off," to name a few movie influences it does not improve upon, the beyond-high-concept Enemy asks us to believe Christian Slater as a cold-blooded assassin named Edward who doubles, when a switch in his brain is flipped, as a milquetoast family man named Henry.

The show's success may depend on whether the public's fascination with Slater trumps its collective attention-deficit disorders.

My Own Worst Enemy can be recommended only to people who can imagine themselves saying, "I'm in the mood for a mediocre version of a fairly good spy movie."