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Matt Keeslar and Natalie Morales in "The Middleman"
courtesy of the ABC Family Channel
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“The Middleman” (ABC Family)
The ABC Family Channel has come up with a new original series for this season. It is titled “The Middleman” and it is a variation on the old “Men In Black” movie. That means there are aliens who might pop up from time to time in one of the episodes. The series stars the ultra-robotic like Matt Keeslar, and the highly entertaining Natalie Morales.
Morales plays Wendy Watson, a young woman working as a temp so she can spend her prime time painting. At one of her jobs there is a lab explosion and a monster breaks loose. Wendy is fighting it off when “the middleman” arrives and destroys the monster.
Later the middleman offers Wendy a job as his assistant of sorts. She takes it and they are soon off investigating the murder of several mob figures. This takes them to a high tech laboratory which is headed up by Dr. Griggs (Mary Lynn Rajskub). It seems she is experimenting on apes and making them smarter. Ominously one of the apes has escaped the lab.
This series is only okay so far. Keeslar plays his role perfectly but that means he is bland to the extreme. Morales is the spunky one in the series and she grows on you. Perhaps the chemistry between her and Keeslar will improve. Something needs to happen.
One asset that was underused in the first episode is Mary Pat Gleason. She plays Ida, the robot receptionist at the middleman’s office. Gleason has a knack for great delivery of funny lines. Plus her very being is humorous.
For the time being “The Middleman” is just a mildly pleasant way to spend an hour each week. It depends on the competition as to whether or not it will draw an audience.
“The Middleman” premieres Monday, June 16 at 8PM. It will run for thirteen one hour episodes. |
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©2008 Jackie K. Cooper |
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