Amazing But True: 'Chronicle' Fizzles
By JOSÉ A. MARTÍNEZ -- Multichannel News, 7/1/2001 8:00:00 PM
The Chronicle, Sci Fi Channel's newest original series, has a solid concept to work from — tabloid reporter uncovers truth behind paranormal stories.
Alas, the finished product needs some editing.
Chad Willett (The Cape) stars as Tucker Burns, a J-school grad who, because of a scandal during his college days, can't find work at a "legitimate" newspaper. Desperate, he hires on with the Weekly World Chronicle, known for stories about alien abductions and demonic possessions ("Angry Siamese Triplets Tell Off Sister: Your Wobbly Leg Ruined Our Rockettes Audition"), only to discover the bogus-sounding stories are true.
Based on John Sumner's News from the Edge books, writer Silvio Horta (Urban Legends) originally sold this as a midseason pilot to NBC, which passed.
The first episode's plot centers on a creature called the Brooklyn bloodsucker, lately terrorizing the borough. Visually the creature is a throwback to rubber-suited monsters from Godzilla movies. This man/monster looks like a cross between the demon-god "Dagoth" from Conan the Destroyer and the star of 1987's Predator. Actually, he's an alien spiritual leader stranded on Earth.
The Chronicle strives to be a cross between Men in Black and The X Files, with a little Kolchak: The Night Stalker thrown in as leavening. Unfortunately, the yeast did not have enough time to rise. The pilot is neither witty nor scary enough to serve as an homage.
Which is too bad, because it has all the elements of an entertaining series. Willet plays the young hero with proper naivete, and he shares chemistry with soon-to-be-partner, true believer and ace reporter Grace Hall, played by Rena Sofer.
Sofer, who won an Emmy on General Hospital, plays Hall, a hard-charging reporter in the classic Lois Lane mode. The twist: she was an alien abductee as a teenager, making her a perfect fit for The Chronicle. They believe her. And where else would she get a chance to interview the Anti-Christ?
Veteran character actor Jon Polito is the curmudgeonly editor-in-chief who hires Burns despite his background. Reno Wilson is Wes Freewald the requisite streetwise staff photographer. Curtis Armstrong plays Pig Boy, the half-man, half-pig researcher who, as Wilson says, "is better heard than seen." You may recognize him as Booger from Revenge of the Nerds or Burt Viola from Moonlighting.
The Chronicle bows on July 14 on Sci Fi Channel.
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