Tracker

Rather blah if otherwise well-made sci-fi vehicle for "Highlander" star Adrian Paul. He's in control here, and this series was seemingly constructed around his personal charm, but to this point he's evidently shooting for subtlety. The performances aren't really bad, but bland; if the cast is holding back some "oomph" to be revealed later, one can only hope the show isn't cancelled before they get the chance. The action and suspense are low-key as well. And leaving aside the set-up and a couple of gadgets, there's very little in the way of science fiction present. I can't really say I dislike the show, but the producers had better hope it's not scheduled against very strong competition (it comes on at 2AM Sunday here).

Though only one season in length, this Toronto-produced series tidied everything up in the end so viewers weren't left hanging waiting for a new season that never happened. Compared to The Highlander TV series, Adrian Paul is much different in this role as the energy sustained alien called a Cirronian. Interesting set of aliens which take the form of everyday human beings which AP's character Cole Hauser hunts down including ones that can disappear, others which need water to survive, and the most evil race called Vardians, one of which was played by Geraint Wyn Davies. An okay supporting cast of characters led by restauranteur Mel Porter and her side-kick Jess Brown, though the latter was written out midway through the season and replaced by a chatterbox yet comical alien named Nestov who was a Dessarian. Due to the cancellation of the series, the relationship between the two main leads didn't develop into anything more than just friendship. And isn't that a shame, since Cole was a fast learner. Good effort by Adrian Paul who combined a great sense of humour in his role of an alien learning to be human while battling aliens with the usual sci-fi stuff. And if you're lucky enough to be watching the series on Canadian TV, look for a behind-the-scenes featurette with commentary by some of the writers and director David Wu.

When I found this show, I thought it would be pretty good, since Adrian Paul had been The Highlander for many years, and his nemesis was Zin, played by Geraint Win Davis. Davis had been Detective Knight on one of my favorite shows, Forever Knight, about a vampire who is a police detective.

Highlander and Forever Knight were both good action, science fiction (and horror) shows. These were two good actors, what could go wrong? Unfortunately, Zin the evil alien (played by Davis) is not on very often. Usually he is shown making a phone call to one of his alien lackeys, and then the show centers around The Tracker (Adrian Paul) capturing the alien henchmen.

Adrian Paul is a tracker from another planet, sent to capture 218 escaped alien criminals. Paul's soul takes over a poster on the side of the road, and so he spends most of the first season acting like someone without a brain, because he is basically a piece of cardboard. Adrian Paul always has a dumb look on his face and his mouth open. He also walks around very awkwardly, because he does not know how to walk. All this stuff was funny in the first episode, but it needed to go away quickly, and it did not.

Paul has a couple of powers. One of them allows him to walk fast. That is a really dumb power, but it is only used occasionally, even though he is always chasing people. The other power allows him to freeze everyone and walk around them. That is useful for catching villains, but it is not used most of the time when he needs to catch a villain. What is the point of having any powers if you only use them occasionally?

The dynamics between Paul and the supporting characters are not explored very far. There is not much character development between Paul and the rest of the cast. His main supporting character is Mel, played by Amy Price Francis. For some reason, the writers kept them from having any meaningful relationship, so why was she supporting Cole/Daggon (Paul), giving him a place to live, and paying all his bills? Apparently they wanted Paul to stay in the man-child mode, and so Mel was attracted to him, but she treated him like a child or little brother who needed guidance. That was all kind of lame.

The alien-of-the week stories were sometimes pretty good. A lot of times way too much time was spent with Adrian Paul learning how to play a radio or do some other easy task. The writers that thought it was interesting to watch a forty year old man learning how to brush his teeth, really killed any momentum this show could get.

One minute it was interesting, then the next ten the pace stopped while Adrian Paul had a dumb conversation with someone (how do I eat corn? what is soccer?). We get that he is an alien soul who took over a cardboard underwear poster. It did not have to get hammered into every story.

This show had potential, but the focus on how dumb and innocent Adrian Paul was, really killed it. The dork walking, the silly facial expressions, the goofy remarks, it all got old very fast.

I am a fan of Adrian Paul, so when I started watching Tracker, it was because of Adrian. But each show got better and better, and I loved the way they developed the characters and the overall premise of the program. I was disappointed when it wasn't picked up for a second season, because there was so much promise! However, thankfully, we can still see the show in re runs!

I will admit that I am an Adrian Paul fan. I also love Science Fiction in books, film, and television. While this show may not be unique in idea, it does bring new things that haven't been utilized in other shows of its type.

Tracker starts out sort of rough, and doesn't answer many questions. But if you stick with it, those questions do get answered. Each episode explores Cole and Zin a little bit more than the week before.

The actors work well together. We all would love to see a show that feels like it is in its third season when it has really only just begun. Many television shows don't start out all that great, but then come into their own as they grow together as a cast and the story starts to unfold.

Give Tracker a shot. There are funny moments and great effects.