Profit

I dare you to remember this short-lived 1996 television series. Only 4 of the 8 episodes were shown in USA, despite critical acclaim. This mystery-drama…

by j. brotherlove

I dare you to remember this short-lived 1996 television series. Only 4 of the 8 episodes were shown in USA, despite critical acclaim.

This mystery-drama starred ruggedly handsome Adrian Pasdar as Jim Profit, a sociopathic executive who unscrupulously pursues taking control of Gracen & Gracen; a company who made the cardboard box in which he was raised by his father (until he tied his father to the bed and burned down the house at 15). How can you not like a plot that twisted?

Nix and I were hooked after viewing the scene where Profit walks down a hall and, as he encounters the head of security, forcibly grabs her around her neck and begins choking her. It was a fantasy sequence that delightfully took us off-guard and reminds me of a scene in Wild Palms where Angie Dickenson punches Dana Delany in the gut. Hilarious!

I was pleasantly surprised to find several fan sites (beware of copious popups and broken links) of varying depth. But the fact that there is anything on the web for a show with such a brief lifespan is remarkable (or perhaps, a good argument for a process to clear dead links).

Another creepy TV series, Millennium, also debuted in 1996. It fared better in the ratings (due to its connection to X-Files) but it depressed the hell out of me.

None of these innovative shows, however, hold a candle to my first love of twisted TV narrative, Twin Peaks. Ah…I’m feeling nostalgic. Now, to dig out my videotape episodes of Oh Madeline!

All 8 episodes of ‘Profit’ were shown in the UK