July 17, 1994

ENTERTAINMENT

TELEVISION

Here’s a new secret agent with a twist

Bob Blakey

Herald television columnist Bob Blakey is in Los Angeles for two weeks for the U.S, TV networks’ fall press previews. His reports on what’s new for fall in TV programming appear daily in the Herald.

A Jewish James Bond and a black superhero are part of Fox’s arsenal in this fall’s ratings battle.

But race and culture are being played up only in one instance, so we’re not likely to hear the spy discussing which wine goes with blintzes.

Fortune Hunter is one of the two weekly dramas new to Fox’s schedule, starring Mark Frankel as Carlton Dial, “master agent” with a global organization that recovers weapons systems, classified information and other high-stakes commodities.

Frankel most recently starred in the movie Leon the Pig Farmer, in which he’s a young jew who discovers he’s not really the son of a London salesman but in fact the offspring, through artificial insemination, of a Yorkshire farmer. A pig farmer, no less.

In his new role, British-born Frankel sees much more action. His first assignment in the pilot finds him inbound for Morocco to thwart a villain’s evil intentions. He’s assisted by high technology and a computer dweeb back at headquarters.

Harry Flack (John Robert Hoffman, best known as the Mad Hatter on Family Channel’s Adventure of Alice in Wonderland) follows Dial’s every move on a giant screen. Dial wears special contact lenses containing miniature TV cameras, and an audio hookup allows two-way communication so that Flack can, for example, help him cheat at cards during the inevitable casino scene.

The suave agent looks good in a tux, is handy with his fists and guns, and charms women straight to bed. This isn’t new turf for anybody, including longtime movie fan Frankel.

“Young Americans are brought up on Superman and Batman,” Frankel says

“I was brought up on Bond movies. So I guess that was part of my childhood and definitely had an influence on me.”

Despite 007 ripoffs, right down to a final love scene in a rubber dinghy adrift at sea, Fortune Hunter is good fun, tailored to a TV audience with limits on violence and brought up-to-date with computer gadgetry and special effects.

The tough challenge for producers Frank Lupo (Wiseguy, The A-Team) and Carlton Cuse (The Adventures of Brisco County Jr.) will be to produce episodes every week that match the quality of the pilot, which they had months to create.