Legend
((Tues. (18), 8-10 p.m., UPN))
Cast: Richard Dean Anderson, John de Lancie, Mark Adair Rios, Bob Balaban, Stephanie Beacham, Katherine Moffat, Jon Pennell, Douglas Rowe, Jarrad Paul, Tim Thomerson, Pete Schrum, Betsy Beard, Stephanie Copperman, Dick Bellerue, Forrie J. Smith, Monty Stuart, Kera Vieau, Savannah Morgan, Nicolas Glaeser, Jack Ong, Eddie Mui, Jerry Woods, Jennifer Wilson, Merik Woodmansee, Bob Sorenson, John Furlong.
Richard Dean Anderson, best known as MacGyver, returns to series TV and his signature theme: Justicefor the little guy is attainable as long as the heart is pure.
The two-hour bow (the hourlong segs start at 8 p.m. next Tuesday) deals with writer Ernest Pratt (Anderson), a novelist who has created Western hero Nicodemus Legend, but who is continually mistaken for the fictional
character as the tomes are written in a first-person narrative.
Seeking to set the record straight, Pratt ventures to Colorado, where he learns the real-life deeds of Legend have resulted in the issuance of an arrest warrant.
As Legend is pure fiction, and the warrant is clearly not, Pratt endeavors to convince the good townsfolk, and the local sheriff, that they are mistaken, as Pratt has only written about -- but never traveled to -- Colorado.
There he encounters eccentric scientist Janos Bartok (John de Lancie), who convinces Pratt to maintain the identity of Legend and insert himself in a feud between land baroness Vera Slaughter (Stephanie Beacham) and immigrant homesteaders, using Legend's powerful reputation to resolve a conflict over water rights.
Anderson is fun to watch as he transforms from Pratt, an incompetent rube, to Legend, a paladin of the prairie, yet one who still maintains a barely palpable air of vulnerability.
Though he's not making dynamite from kitchen cleanser, Anderson's character shows his ingenuity in other ways, foremost via Pratt's writer-based improvisational skills, which allow him to diffuse conflicts with prose instead of punches.
Anderson is also wisley givenleeway by the show's scribes to communicate with a wink and a smile rather than reams of dia- logue, adding immensely to the character's charm.
De Lancie is a hoot as the wiggy, albeit stylish inventor Bartok, functioning as the brains and the guts of Legend -- he supplies snappy retorts and bravado when Legend's unable -- while seemingly single-handedly advancing the Westernculture into the next century with products that viewers know are destined to become commonplace.
It is also through Bartok that the producers incorporate numerous special effects; while barely adding to the story, they will also likely help keep the short attention-spanners tuned in.
Writers Michael Piller and Bill Dial take the familar territory of land owners vs. settlers and creatively -- as well as entertainingly -- advance it to include superhuman feats all scientifically explainable and supported by well-scripted humor.
Director Charles Correll keeps the reins loose and lets the cast members use their skill to create a well-rounded show that is also an exemplar of how a show can be totally derivative yet seem fresh.
Camera, Steve Shaw; editor, Ron Binkowski; production designer, Okowita; sound, Carey Lindley; music, Ken Harrison.
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