Rob Price
On today’s television it is not unusual to have superheroes and technologically advanced detectives fighting crime on a weekly basis. But in the past, the public has not been so accepting of such shows. From time to time networks have tried to bring to the small screen heroes that were already widely known by the public, either from a movie, books or even a popular comic strip. In this weeks Forgotten Television, we will be looking at two unsold pilots that took characters from other media and attempted to bring them into our homes on a weekly basis, Darkman (1992) and Dick Tracy (1967).
Darkman (1992): In 1990, Sam Raimi gave us Darkman, a movie starring Liam Neeson as Dr. Peyton Westlake the scientist who is disfigured and seeks revenge for all who have wronged him. This was Liam’s first major action role and Sam Raimi’s first big Hollywood feature film. The financial and critical success of the film spawned two direct to video sequels (not starring Neeson) and in 1992 an unaired TV Pilot.
The television pilot kept the basic plot the same, Peyton Westlake (Christopher Bowen) is on the verge of discovering the secret to producing synthetic skin, when he is attacked and terribly disfigured by Robert Durant’s henchmen. Durant is played by Larry Drake reprising his role from the movies. Differing from the movie, Westlake’s wife is killed in the attack and a new female love interest is introduced in the form of Jenny, a good cop who is trying to take down Durant who has most of the city, including the police, under his control. Westlake’s synthetic skin allows him to take the identity of nearly anyone, but the process only lasts for 99 minutes while in the light. In addition, his injuries left him without the ability to feel pain which also affords him a bit of superstrength and stamina. Peyton, now known throughout the city as Darkman, finds an abandoned observatory in which he sets up his lab and becomes the headquarters in his search for revenge against Durant.
The pilot used a combination of footage from the original movie with newly created scenes. The overall production value wasn’t bad, but this pilot really felt like a series of scenes only put together to show what they could do, and not necessarily telling a good story. The pacing felt rush and didn’t adequately show how a normal episode would look and feel. But I think the main issue was Christopher Bowen’s performance elicited no emotional response and just seemed over the top without any of the complexity and subtlety that Liam Neeson used to portray Peyton Westlake. Darkman is one of those characters that would make a great television show and since it has been over 25 years since the last Darkman movie, now may be the best time.
Dick Tracy (1967): Dick Tracy started out as a comic strip in the Chicago Tribune in 1931. It became very popular and has been depicted in radio, books, comic books, cartoons, and television series. The 1990 movie starred Warren Beatty who has since reprised the role in 2010 and 2023 in television specials having the fictional Dick Tracy Character being interviewed by real life reporters. Although there was a television series that ran from 1950 to 1951, a pilot for a second series was produced by William Dozier who created the 1966 Batman television series and shared many of the same elements. Dick Tracy (Ray MacDonnell) is on the case when three ambassadors are kidnapped by supervillain, Mr. Memory,right before they are to attend a secret NATO conference and the entire western defense system is in jeopardy. Using good detective skills combined with his high-tech gadgetry, Dick Tracy and team are able to find the ambassadors and save the world.
Unlike the previously mentioned Darkman, this pilot was much more polished and put together and felt like an actual episode of what could have been a good series. It had some humor and the expected technology, including the two-way television wristwatch, which was actually done quite well for what they had as special effects in the sixties. The script was good, and the tempo and rhythm of the episode flowed nicely. I think one of the main issues was that this Dick Tracy was not the hardboiled cop we saw in the comic strips. He felt more like a scientist or professor than a streetwise detective fighting crime. Overall, it was well done, but lacked any complexity and may have been a bit too lighthearted and campy.
In both instances, heroes that the public came to know and love were brought to the small screen with the hopes that this would happen on a weekly basis and in both cases the studios declined. Maybe it is time to see modern versions of Darkman and Dick Tracy find their way back or will they forever live in obscurity on Forgotten Television.
Darkman Unsold Pilot & Dick Tracy 1967 Unsold Pilot can both be seen on You Tube.