Jake 2.0

Jake Foley is a young, slightly geeky National Security Agency technician who harbours a secret desire to rise from his low-level position and become an agent himself. During a "freak accident" he is infected with nanites, which give him a dazzling array of superpowers, including "superhuman strength, lightning-fast speed, heightened hearing, razor sharp vision and the telepathic abilities to communicate with computers".

When Jake's newfound abilities are discovered, the National Security Agency places him at the centre of a new Special Ops team. But once he is thrust into his new role as a secret agent, Jake is forced to juggle his two lives as a superhero and a regular, twenty-something guy looking to enjoy life and find love.

I had never heard of this series until the SciFi channel began advertising it a couple of months ago. I thought it was a new show, and from the commercials I was not impressed. I started watching the show a few weeks ago (it airs at the same time as wrestling...), and I have to admit, it's grown on me. Tonight was the best I've seen, with Jake diving off of a bridge backwards to avoid returning to the NSA, and his superiors having to launch a man-hunt to find him. Turns out, it was a continuing episode.....sad thing? I missed the ending of that episode.

I am also impressed with Keegan Connor Tracy, who played Diane Hughes. She is typical of the "plain girl turned gorgeous" storyline, but the writers of this show don't focus on that unnecessarily, which allows her much more depth of character.

There is a LOT of garbage out there on television. This is one of the few shows that is not in that category. It is another take on The Million Dollar Man. Jake's character was good and would have been better if the show hadn't been cut. He had some discipline problems, but he would have learned to obey his superiors. The NSA isn't used too often in television shows. It was nice to have a few shows that don't focus on murder investigation. There were four episodes unaired that would have been interesting to see. The men on the show weren't bad to look at. The show is a good example of how a geeky technician can be turned into a hero. Now we won't get to see how Jake turns out. I WISH they could bring this show back.

Jake 2.0 is reminiscent of those 70s super-power TV shows that were typically so-so, but were at least sincere and in the case of a few, had some novel ideas, like the Six Million Dollar Man.

Jake 2.0 is derivative of the type and lacks a shred of originality, even "TV originality." Are they paying homage to the Lee Majors show by nearly duplicating the "bionic" sound effect whenever anything super is happening or are they just out of ideas?

The acting, with the possible exception of Miranda Frigon, is directionless and the characters are allowed to be dull. Christopher Gorham plays the Peter Parker geek role, though he gains his powers in the tradition of Captain America (you comic readers know what I mean). Perhaps the director doesn't understand the potential of "geeky" and so Gorham is limited to just a few reactions like "Huh, super powers; waddya know?" and "Still more super powers? Did I leave the stove on?"

And what are his super powers? They're a pinch of Captain America, a dash of Spiderman, a smidge of Superman and a sprinkling of, well, whatever he seems to need at the time. Yes, he's smorgasbord super.

I think his journey of discovery as he uncovers each power would be one of the show's highlights, but the show's makers don't share my interest. Not one of his powers is revealed in a particularly tantalizing or ingenious way. Is he strong? Listen bub, he hurls a ball at a young boy's tub! And that's about it. Oh and he can bend pipes in his apartment. Sort of. These are the kind of super powers one expects of California Governor Gray Davis: low wattage and unspectacular (though Davis has nicer hair).

As a kid's show, it's just about OK. But for adults in an adult time slot, it seems more like Jake 2.0 is already in need of an upgrade. And customer support. And a return policy.

Most superheros are real big on the big screen, like Blade, Spider-Man, DareDevil, and Neo from The Matrix. With the success of Smallville, and the not so successful Birds Of Prey on the smallscreen. I guess T.V. needs a new superhero. It starts out with Jake Foley(Christopher Gorham) a young twenty something repairman, who dreams of being a secret agent. One day gets exposed to some dangerous chemicals after a labortary accident. The chemicals give him amazing superpowers. Then he is asked to be a spy for the government. I hope this show will be around for a while. I hope it does not suffer like Birds Of Prey did. Christopher Gorham gives a good charmingly awkward performance as Jake. The show so far has great action and great effects. Keep it up.