"My Own Worst Enemy": This GM vehicle is no lemon

When NBC began promoting the Christian Slater action show "My Own Worst Enemy" during the Beijing Games, let's just say I didn't leap to set a season pass on my DVR.

First, it appeared Slater would be playing two different characters. As gimmicks go, that's not quite in the league of casting an animal as a sidekick, but close. Next, we learned from a second wave of ads that each of Slater's alter egos would have his own custom-made GM ride. Henry, the mild-mannered traveling sales executive with a home and family in the Midwest, would be driving an SUV; Edward, the ruthless government spy that Henry morphs into, seemingly on demand, he got a one-of-a-kind, tricked-out 2010 Camaro.

Well, that screams quality, doesn't it? I was afraid that NBC was doubling down its "Knight Rider" bet with another shlocky show with a car as the star. Throw in Slater's spotty acting record of late and my hopes weren't very high for "My Own Worst Enemy."

Surprise! It's not nearly as bad as I thought. How's that for a recommendation?

Monday's pilot opens with a nice little intrigue -- a French spy, some romance, a well-placed bullet -- before giving us the show's premise with energy and style. The story: A government agency has figured out how to turn Edward into Henry, so he can return to his domesticated life after getting his spook on. And it's all done without his apparent knowledge: we see Henry getting zapped with radio waves, or something, and coming to in an office park.

Why exactly the government would need a person to be toggled between two identities against his will isn't clear (though I suppose it's easy enough to guess why). But there's so little dead time in this fast-paced first hour that the mind rarely has the chance to ponder such things.

I got a kick out of watching Slater switch back and forth between Henry and Edward and back again. A complex network TV role is probably something he only dreamed of while making those direct-to-video "films." This is a slick sci-fi drama aimed at an audience roughly twice the age of the target viewer for "Knight Rider." Oh, and about those cars: They really don't get as much screen time as the commercials lead you to believe. Thank heavens for misleading ads.

Previously on TV Barn, I feared the worst from "My Own Worst Enemy" based on its ads that presented those cars as costars.