Profit (FOX, 1996)IMDB LinkI’m not exactly sure how I came across the show, but I think it happened like this. I watched “Heroes” and was impressed by the actor playing Nathan Petrelli. It was almost like the actor, Adrian Pasdar, was playing among children. While everyone was overacting and huffing and puffing, Pasdar had a quiet intensity to him. I think it was in a thread or a review or something about him that someone mentioned that he was brilliant in a 90s show called “Profit”. (Also, I just learned that his father is Iranian, only of interest to me)
“When a crisis hits, the key is never be afraid to improvise.”The show was cancelled after only showing four episodes. It sounded interesting so I watched it.
“But the important to always remember in business is what may seem like a calamity, can often become an opportunity. And opportunity is what life is all about.”And, man, you have heard people saying things like “ahead of its time” and this time it is certainly true. American TV is one the few mediums that is actually better now than other times. We can’t really talk about “the good old days” of TV, because frankly, there are lots of excellent shows produced by the cable networks.
“No animal is so arrogant as to ever feel completely safe. Only humans believe they can find assured well being through design and technology. Some...even believe it with a vengeance.”This was not true in the 90s and this is probably why an exceptionally ,excellent show like “Profit” failed. Adrian Pasdar plays as Jim Profit. Charming, likable, helpful, and when he joins a new multinational company, he is instantly respected and admired by everyone. All good qualities, except Profit hides behind a mask. He is a psychopathic and has no moral compass at all. He is ready to do anything to move up the career ladder, but it is not even that is really ambitious, but something darker in him. It is not like his aim is to be rich, but to just grow in the company. I don’t want to mention all the reasons behind his intention, but you will learn as you watch the show, and it involves a dark, traumatic childhood.
“But in my experience, the worst way to get a straight answer, to ask an honest question.”Does this remind you of any other show? Well, with me, I instantly saw many similarities between this and “Dexter”. Both shows are about characters, liked by everyone, that are hiding behind a mask, hiding their insanity. Both have traumatic childhood, both are very smart and manipulative, and both shows have characters that know or guess their secret and are trying to oust them, but no one believes them.
“If you want someone to love you, open your heart. If you want someone to be obsessed with you, close it.”But there is one major difference. Dexter claims he does not feel at all, but he seems to, and does seem to want to improve as a person. Profit doesn’t. Like Dexter, Profit always breaks the fourth wall and talks to us, but he does not say he does not have any feeling, but he obviously doesn’t. He is cold and calculating, and really empty inside. It’s a credit to Pasdar’s acting that a character with so many flaws such as Profit is still LIKABLE. Maybe because we are attracted to confidence and intelligence, even when used for immoral ways.
“He’s calm, isn’t he?”
"Very. He lets others do the sweating."The show is nine episodes only, but don’t despair. It is almost a good thing, because the show might have overstayed its welcome. There are threads left hanging by the last episode, but it is not as bad as other cancelled shows. It actually has a fantastic final shot.
“The key to real success is to take all your fears and put them in a box and lock them away. Of course not every evil can be tied up in a neat little package.”
By the way, I was sold by the show’s uniqueness and bravery in a specific scene in the pilot. Jim Profit sees a sexy blonde in his office. This is the first time we see her, but Jim obviously knows her, because he moves towards her and they French kiss for a few seconds. They pull back, and Jim says,
“Hi, mom”.5/5
