M.A.N.T.I.S.

I was a fan of M.A.N.T.I.S. for it's short run on Fox. Was it a great show? Was it life altering? Was it a deep and thorough examination of the human condition? No! I liked it more for what it was not rather than what it was. I got to see it because of its time slot just before the X-Files. Like the X-Files this was a show out of the ordinary. It wasn't about a bunch of gritty cops on the verge of divorce, nor was it about a bunch or evil back stabbing/wonderful gifted doctors/lawyers (take your pick). I don't even care about the sub text of the once brawny man overcoming his disability through the use of his mind. I just wanted something fun to watch on a Friday night waiting for the X-Files and this show filled the gap. I hope it comes out as a complete DVD Box like Firefly. Shows like this could help get a new section going at the store for failed TV shows with huge fan bases.

This is somewhat compared to Batman. Only thing Miles Hawkins(Carl Lumbly) is crippled, and the only way he can walk, when he puts on the exoskeleton. And when puts it on he has great powers. He is called the superhero named M.A.N.T.I.S. An enjoyable show that tried to be up there Lois and Clark,The New Adventures of Superman, and The Incredible Hulk, but it died trying. Although Carl Lumbly held it together has long has he could. But he just could not save the show from bad writing, and bad acting. But I'll give it credit for not being campy like some of the superhero shows where. Most of the episodes in the beginning did pretty well, My personal favorite episode was Gloves Off, but the worst was Solder of Fortune. It could have lasted more seasons if it could have had better written episode. But it was enjoyable most of the time.

Yes, it was a poor series. So poor, in fact, that I could tell you the entire plot of the episode within about two minutes of its start. Sam Raimi produced this nightmare I believe and boy was I surprised. I really thought it would turn out OK. It went on right before the X-files, a spot which became legendary for its cancelled shows. The acting was poor, not due to the talent of the actors I believe, it is just hard for people to buy into this stuff into the first place.

I can't remember much about the plots of the shows since its been almost ten years, however there was this one where this buff guy turned out to be a robot. The writing was so lame. In comic books a decent writer can make a super hero come to life and comic fans (like me) buy into it, here I just gasped at how uninteresting it was. I only watched because I wanted to watch a show about superheros.

On a positive note I was flipping around the channels when I saw the unaired final episode of Mantis on the Sci-Fi channel. And god bless Raimi's heart, the main character mercifuly dies at the hand at of an invisible Tyrannasaurus Rex, his main squeeze by his side. Quite lame, Quite appropriate.

After watching the first ep of Black Lightning on the CW I checked out it IMDB page and it lead me to this show that I never heard of. I tracked it down and watched it and who for a show so old it blow Black Lightning out of the water, this is the hero we need on the CW. This show was so much stronger, the actors were better and even for a cheesy superhero show from the 90's made some of the newer shows look like crap. If you like Black Lightning you will love this, and if you don't you still might as the show is put together so much better.

Now I have for the longest time had trouble understanding some people who have watched shows like this and come a way with a bad taste in their mouth. I just don't understand them. Carl Lumberly played the part excellently, and the storyline had an almost perfect premise, with almost unlimited possibilities for advancement. Like the Batman and The Shadow, MANTIS would have been a show you could count on for awesome gadgets, super heroics and knockout action, all with complicated and interesting story lines to boot. But, sadly, the show was cancelled, and some people say it was a good thing. I say, "You're crazy!" this show could have been great. Just like so many others, it was shut down before it had a chance. GO MANTIS GO