MY OWN WORST ENEMY

Full Name:	Edward Albright/Henry Spivey
Series Name:	My Own Worst Enemy
Nationality:	American
Organization:	American Intelligence
Occupation	Agent

Creator:	Jason Smilovic
Time Span:	2008 - 2008

ABOUT THE SERIES

Edward Albright is an agent with an ultra-secret American Intelligence organization.

Henry Spivey is not. He is an efficiency expert who lives a solid, totally unexciting life far from danger and excitement. He is happy doing just that, pleased to be married to his lovely and loved wife Angie who also is happy to married to him. They are both pleased to be the parents of Ruthy and Jack, their two young children.

The interesting fact behind those two statements is that Albright and Spivey are the same man. Albright knows about Spivey but Spivey has no idea that Albright exists. Spivey is not aware that Albright speaks over a dozen languages flawlessly, or that Albright can and has taken lives in the service of his agency, or that Albright is not only physically able to handle himself in a fight, he would likely enjoy the opportunity. Albright loves adventure and danger. Spivey does not.

So the drama that makes up the majority of the few recorded adventures starts when Spivey, who is not supposed to ever know about Albright, starts to see the truth. He is kept from knowing his alter-ego by means of a chip implanted in his brain which Albright's handlers have control of. When the super-spy skills of Albright are needed, a signal goes out and the chip does its flip and Albright takes over. When the mission is complete, the switch is again flipped and Spivey is back. It is a great system - until the chip malfunctions and Spivey starts to learn about Albright.

Why the chip exists and why Albright/Spivey has this strange duo personality are never, as far as I found out, explained very well. Why the subterfuge and the deception. When did Spivey meet his wife and get married and have children and where was Albright during all this? Those are some very valid questions which unfortunately never got a chance to be answered.

TELEVISION


Number of Episodes:	9
First Appearance:	2008
Last Appearance:	2008
Network:	NBC

REGULAR CAST
Christian Slater	Edward Albright [ 1 ]
Mike O'Malley	Raymond Carter [ 1 ]
Saffron Burrows	Dr. Norah Skinner [ 1 ]
Alfre Woodard	Mavis Heller [ 1 ]
Madchen Amick	Angie Spivey [ 1 ]

According to Wikipedia, while NBC went ahead and aired the 9 episodes they had available, the decision to cancel the show was made after the 4th was aired.


1	Breakdown Episode S1-1, first aired 10/13/2008 Director: David Semel Writer: Jason Smilovic Henry discovers his alter ego and tries to cope with his discovery, not knowing whether or not he should trust Mavis. Conflicts are resolved and the episode ends with Edward watching a thank you video from Henry. It is established that while the two can't meet, they can communicate.

2	The Hummingbird Episode S1-2, first aired 10/20/2008 Director: Felix Enríquez Alcalá Writer: Jason Smilovic Edward and Raymond must kidnap a German software engineer with information about a possible terrorist attack. Henry tries to deal with the fact that all his childhood memories were made up. With the help of Mavis, Henry must pretend to be Edward when he accidentally meets Edward's boss, Alistair Trumbull.

3	Hello, Henry Episode S1-3, first aired 10/27/2008 Director: Bryan Spicer Writer: Tyler Mitchell Edward is double crossed when he is in Mexico in search of Russia's new age nuclear bomb. Ruthy is accidentally put into a dangerous situation by Edward, which causes an FBI agent to look into the matter. Tom/Raymond's wife thinks there is more to the business trips he always takes, so she hires a private investigator to check it out for her.

4	That Is Not My Son Episode S1-4, first aired 11/10/2008 Director: Fred Keller Writers: Courtney Kemp Agboh, Kim Clements Henry awakens and finds himself in the midst of gunfire, while Edward was trying to save Raymond. He calls for help giving away his whereabouts and his identity. Mary Grady finds out the truth about Tom. He realised that his son, Jack, has got some of Edwards martial arts potential.

5	The Night Train to Moscow Episode S1-5, first aired 11/17/2008 Director: David Semel Writers: Rafe Judkins, Lauren LeFranc Henry starts to suspect that Angie is a spy planted by Janus, while Edward makes a dangerous deal with a KGB agent in exchange for information regarding his past.

6	High Crimes and Turducken Episode S1-6, first aired 11/24/2008 Director: Adam Kane Writer: Mark Rosner Edward puts national security in jeopardy in finding the culprit who murdered his parents. Angie braces herself in the arrival of her father. Tom gives his marriage a second chance. Henry gets to see first hand Edward's relationship with Dr. Norah Skinner.

7	Down Rio Way Episode S1-7, first aired 12/01/2008 Director: Michael Watkins Writers: Rafe Judkins, Daniel Knauf Edward commits treason, when asking about his parents' death. Raymond tries to reason with Tom and Mary to avoid any potential accidents.

8	Love In All the Wrong Places Episode S1-8, first aired 12/08/2008 Director: Gwyneth Horder-Payton Writer: Scott Murphy While on a mission in Angola, Edward and Raymond find long time American hostages. Mavis and Alistair Trumbull can't agree on exactly how they want to go about bringing them home.

9	Henry and the Terrible, Horrible No Good Very Bad Day Episode S1-9, first aired 12/15/2008 Director: David Straiton Writers: Rafe Judkins, Lauren LeFranc, Tyler Mitchell Edward thinks he may have found a reliable, yet dangerous way to activate the switch between himself and Henry.

MY COMMENTS

Not very many people continued to watch this show after the first episode or two. I was one of those who watched it, thought it mildly intriguing, stuck around for the second and then lost interest in it. And I am an admitted spy-fi nut.

Having said that, looking at the synopsis for a couple of the later episodes, I wonder if I had been too hasty and maybe I should schedule some time to give it another try.

For one thing it did have the terrific and always watchable Saffron Burrows, an actor that I have come to expect a lot of viewing pleasure no matter what she is on.

GRADE

My Grade: B-

Your Average Grade: B-

YOUR OPINIONS

	B-	2024-06-13	I love it when you bring to my attention a spy show I''ve never heard of before. Even though it is not as high concept as Dollhouse shown a year later I''m still digging the premise. Cheers.

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