Pilot (9 Jun. 2000)

Facing life without parole for a crime he ultimately didn't commit, crook Darien Fawkes is offered a pardon if he'll agree to participate in his brother's medical experiment: the insertion ... See full summary »

Director:

Breck Eisner

Writers:

H.G. Wells (book), Matt Greenberg (teleplay)

Stars:

Vincent Ventresca, Paul Ben-Victor, Shannon Kenny

Cast

Episode credited cast:
Vincent Ventresca	...	Darien Fawkes
Paul Ben-Victor	...	Robert Albert Hobbes
Shannon Kenny	...	The Keeper / Claire Keeply
Joel Bissonnette	...	Arnaud de Thiel / Arnaud de Ferhn
David Burke	...	Kevin Fawkes
Eddie Jones	...	The Official / Charles Borden
Rebecca Chambers	...	Casey Meyer
Jon Polito	...	Eddie The Mammoth
Jeremy Roberts	...	Huiclov
Michael McCafferty	...	Albert Eberts
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jill Brown	...	Canadian Woman
LeAnna Campbell	...	Nurse Breckenridge
Michael S. Connolly	...	Judge
Chris Eckles	...	Lambert
Steven Ho

Storyline

Facing life without parole for a crime he ultimately didn't commit, crook Darien Fawkes is offered a pardon if he'll agree to participate in his brother's medical experiment: the insertion into his brain of a synthetic gland which secretes a light-bending substance called Quicksilver, which renders whoever or whatever is cloaked in it invisible. But Quicksilver also breaks down Darien's sanity without the regular injection of a counter-agent, and when terrorists gun down everyone involved in the project and steal all the relevant information, Darien is recruited by the experiment's backers, an ultra-secret and under-funded intelligence agency subsidized by the Department of Fish and Game, to stop the terrorists, avenge his brother's death, and get a fresh hit of the counter-agent.

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Plot Keywords:

based on novel

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Genres:

Comedy | Thriller | Sci-Fi

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 June 2000 (USA)

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Darien and his brother mention Mira Sorvino when his brother is trying to get Darien to turn invisible. Vincent Ventresca, who plays Darien, co-starred in the movie Romy and Michele's High School Reunion with Sorvino.

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Quotes

Darien Fawkes: Time flies when you're having fun, or in a coma. I'd been unconscious nearly three weeks. Just enough time for every muscle in my body to go on strike.

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Connections

References Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (1997)

User Reviews

Achieves more with less

Obviously on a shoestring budget, I-Man still took less than four episodes to capitalize on the all-too-rare chemistry between virtually all of its characters. All of the modern Star Trek series have taken three years apiece to get anywhere near this level. The crackling and hilarious dynamic between Ventresca and Ben-Victor as Fawkes and Hobbes is a prime example of what happens when good writing actually gets into the hands of good actors. When Fawkes and Hobbes team up and play a scene opposite The Official, The Keeper, Eberts, or Arnaud De Fehrn (AKA Da Phone), the result is ten times better than this show has any business being. This is not to knock the production team at all, but the cast and the writers definitely make this show.

The recurring character of Allianora (and her organization, Chrysalis) as both love interest AND principal opponent for Fawkes was handled better than many series of "greater" import and certainly of higher budgets have managed. All in all, the first season of I-Man was a terrific success.

The newly-introduced second season has a question mark on it, however. The introduction of uber-agent Alex Monroe left me wanting. While I am not yet willing to pronounce Brandy Ledford's efforts as pointless, a character with too much power has much bigger shoes to fill dramatically. Her serious and lonely quest to find her son separates her from the rest of The Agency even further than does her titanic skillset, and to hammer a point home again, it's the relationships that make the show.

This show's other great strength is its ability not to take itself too seriously, a precious gift in an all-too-serious world. If I-Man can keep it up, I might almost forgive the Sci-Fi Channel for dumping Good Versus Evil (just when it was getting REALLY good) after all.

Almost.

Check this show out for a couple weeks, especially if you're lucky enough to see the episodes, "Flowers for Hobbes" and "The Importance of Being Eberts". You'll be glad you did.

Shut up, Eberts!