August 26, 1994

Television
THE WEEK
A GUIDE TO NOTABLE PROGRAMS
by Bruce Fretts

Sci-Fi

Just how derivative of James Bond is Carlton Dial (Mark Frankel), a.k.a. Fortune Hunter (Fox, Sept. 4, 7-8 p.m.)? He’s a wise-cracking secret agent with a British accent, an eye for the ladies, and a pocketful of high-tech gadgets. And he introduces himself ad nauseam as “Dial. Carlton Dial.” Adding a ’90s twist to the formula, Dial also has a computer-nerd cohort (John Robert Hoffman), who monitors his actions on a video screen (clearly, this is the character with whom the target audience for this show will identify). Hunter may aspire to 007-level adventure, but its lackluster cast and cut-rate international locales make it seem more like a remnant of CBS’ Crimetime After Primetime.