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New Sci-Fi Spoof 'The Middleman' Lands Viewers In Middle Of A Guilty Pleasure

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By WALT BELCHER

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 20, 2008

Add "The Middleman" to my summer guilty pleasures.

This cheerfully goofy and intentionally spoofy (if I can use that as a word) sci-fi action series debuted last week on ABC Family, a network I almost never watch.

But I'll be there at 8 p.m. Monday to see sexy slacker Wendy Watson and her boss, the square-jawed and obtuse-brained Middleman, try to keep the Terracotta Warrior from unleashing a hail of fire upon Earth.

Battling a clay villain that is based on real ancient statues from 210 B.C. that were discovered in the tomb of a Chinese emperor is a nice touch even if most viewers won't know that little bit of historical trivia.

"The Middleman" is all silly fun, like a low-budget "Men in Black" or a comic version of "The X-Files."

But in this case it's "Man and Woman in Gray."

When they are "Saving the World So You Don't Have To," Wendy and The Middleman wear matching uniforms that make them look like 1950s hotel bellhops.

Newcomer Natalie Morales, the 20-something actress, not the 35-year-old NBC newscaster, stars as Wendy.

She's a geekish-but-cute and often unemployed artist who is recruited to fight the forces of evil by the mysterious Middleman (Matt Keeslar).

The snarky Wendy was picked because she is so jaded that she is never fazed by the aliens, weird creatures and other supernatural beings that The Middleman deals with on a daily basis.

The Middleman is a cross between Dudley Do-Right and Tommy Lee Jones' by-the-book character in "Men in Black." He works for the O2STK (the Organization Too Secret to Know). He blissfully utters corny phrases such as "dog diggity" and "goshdarn-diculous" while blowing away the baddies.

The series is based on some Viper Comics graphic novels written by the show's executive producer, Javier Grillo-Marxuach. He also has penned scripts for "Medium," "Lost," "The Dead Zone," "Charmed," "The Pretender" and "SeaQuest DSV."

Another writer on the series, Andy Reaser, having written for "Charmed" and "Wildfire," is the story editor. His mother, Debbie Trolsen, lives in Sebring and is proud of her son, who has come a long way since he headed out to Hollywood in 2001.

Reaser says "The Middleman" isn't like anything else on television.

"It's a multigenre show that could play on any network," he says in a telephone interview.

He says it's not just about fighting the monster of the week. Episodes also will explore Wendy's personal life.

"She has her feet in two different worlds, and she's trying to sort things out," he says.

Brit Morgan plays Lacey, Wendy's roommate, a "confrontational spoken-word performance artist" and animal activist (when we meet her she is making a protest sign that reads "French Cuisine Kills Bunnies").

The characters are almost as glib and wordy as the Gilmore Girls, and the series is layered with clever pop culture references.

There are a lot of gags that are certain to fly over the heads of some of the ABC Family viewers. On the first episode, for example, there is an Italian restaurant named Mutande Grandissimo, which translates as the "really big underpants."

And the classic "Planet of the Apes" line, "Get your hands off me, you damn dirty ape!" is worked in. This episode repeats at 10:30 p.m. Sunday.

Reaser says it only gets better with each episode. Wendy will battle some really nasty fish people and an exiled alien cult that worships plastic surgery. The June 30 episode features a showdown with 100 masked Mexican wrestlers.

Oh, yeah, I'll be there for that.

TUNE IN TONIGHT

Daytime Emmy Awards, 8 p.m., ABC

Regis Philbin gets the Lifetime Achievement Award, and best soaps and talk shows are honored.

Planet of the Apes, 8 p.m., Fox

Mark Wahlberg stars as an astronaut who lands in a world where apes rule and humans drool in this 2001 remake of the 1968 classic.

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