Profit (TV series)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Profit | |
|---|---|
 The front cover of Profit DVD. |
|
| Genre | Drama |
| Starring | Adrian Pasdar Lisa Zane Keith Szarabajka Jack Gwaltney Allison Hossack Lisa Darr Lisa Blount Sherman Augustus Scott Paulin Jennifer Hetrick |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| No. of episodes | 8 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Jo Swerling David Greenwalt John McNamara |
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | FOX |
| Original run | 8 April 1996 – 29 April 1996 |
| Links | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
Profit is a short-lived American television series that aired on the Fox Broadcasting Company and grew to have a large cult following. The series was created by David Greenwalt and John McNamara, and starred Adrian Pasdar as the titular character, Jim Profit. A DVD compilation of aired and unaired episodes was released on August 9, 2005.
Considered by many to be ahead of its time, the show was a precursor to a cutting edge television genre that includes The Pretender and John Doe. Dark themes stemming from the villainy of the central character made the show uncomfortable and unfamiliar viewing for mainstream audiences, which ultimately lead to the demise of the series.
Contents |
[edit] Summary
Jim Profit is a new employee at Gracen & Gracen (G&G), a multinational corporation that is less than ethical with some of its business practices. That doesn't worry Profit, who has even fewer ethics and isn't above blackmail, bribery, extortion, or even murder to get ahead in the company. Joanne Meltzer, the security chief, Charles "Chaz" Gracen, the president of G&G, his brother Pete, Profit's secretary Gail, and Profit's stepmother (and former lover) Bobbi Stakowski, among others round out the cast of characters. At the end of each episode, Profit would directly address the audience, speaking to camera in an almost unblinking stare, almost a perversion of the last line of many '50's TV shows when the hero gives the "Moral of the Story". This trick left the home audience slightly unnerved, as it brought the immoral/amoral Profit through the Fourth Wall and left them feeling as though they'd been caught watching....
[edit] Characters and actors
[edit] Main characters
- Jim Profit (Adrian Pasdar) - born James Stakowski, he was raised in a G&G moving box with the television on at all hours by an abusive father in Tulsa, Oklahoma, until he set his father on fire and ran away. The experience left him with a complete hatred of TV and a desire to insinuate himself as part of the G&G family by any means necessary...but still sleeps in a G&G moving box in a secret room in his apartment
- Joanne Meltzer (Lisa Zane) - the chief of security for G&G, she is constantly trying to figure out Profit's motives and master plan.
- Charles Henry "Chaz" Gracen (Keith Szarabajka) - the president of G&G. Is known to take a different mistress each year.
- Pete Gracen (Jack Gwaltney) - Chaz's brother and a drunk.
- Nora Gracen (Alisson Hossack) - Pete's wife, she is initially attracted to Profit.
- Gail Koner (Lisa Darr) - Profit's secretary. She was originally Jack Walter's secretary, but Profit blackmailed, then had her made his secretary.
- Bobbi Stakowski (Lisa Blount) - Profit's stepmother, they used to be lovers as well. She initially tries to blackmail Profit with information about his father.
- Jeffrey Sykes (Sherman Augustus) - the newest member of the G&G team. Sykes takes a more antagonistic approach to Profit.
[edit] Recurring characters
- Jack Walters (Scott Paulin) - the former President of Acquisitions at G&G.
- Elizabeth Gracen Walters (Jennifer Hetrick) - Jack's wife.
- Constance Gracen (Teryl Rothery) - Chaz's wife, though she's separated from him.
[edit] Guest characters
- Dr. Jeremy Batewell (John Hawkes)
- Kelly Hunt/Carol McKenna (Jessica Tuck)
[edit] Episodes
| Episode | First airdate | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| "Pilot" (parts 1 and 2) | 8 April 1996 | Jim Profit joins the Gracen and Gracen team just as a scandal erupts from an unethical baby food decision - a leak that Profit orchestrated. |
| "Hero" | 15 April 1996 | Joanne Meltzer and Jack Walters search into Profit's past, while Profit sets up a key plan that eventually sends Jack to jail. |
| "Sykes" | 22 April 1996 | Jeffrey Sykes is hired by G&G, but his agenda has more to do with G&G and Profit's deal with a local mobster than actually helping the company. |
| "Healing" | 29 April 1996 | Joanne and Profit's rivalry comes to a head when Chaz announces that they will both take a lie detector test. Profit tries to mess with Joanne's mind by blackmailing her psychiatrist. |
| "Cupid" | Never aired in US. | G&G wants to acquire a company owned by a split couple, so Profit is charged with getting them back together - even though it appears the husband is a murderer. Bobbi sets her sights on Chaz. |
| "Chinese Box" | Never aired in US. | In order to break G&G's deal with the Chinese government, Profit needs to acquire a computer processor from Dr. Jeremy Batewell. This proves harder than it seems when it turns out Gail got him fired for sexual harassment. |
| "Security" | Never aired in US. | Profit is having an affair with the newest security personnel - Kelly Hunt. However, Ms. Hunt isn't who she appears to be and turns out to be an undercover reporter. |
| "Forgiveness" | Never aired in US. | Profit's manipulations come to a head: Pete and Nora's uncle are going to have a hostile takeover of G&G when Nora tells him that her uncle molested her. Joanne and Sykes come close to finding who the real Jim Profit was and Bobbi faces a near-death experience that makes her realize what she really wants. |
[edit] What would have happened
David Greenwalt gave details of plotlines from the second season in the commentaries on the DVD.
- Joanne would've died early in the first episode. The phone booth she was calling Sykes from explodes; a bomb planted by the Irish Republican Army. It is later revealed that this was done at the behest of Profit.
- Jim has stolen the identity of a "real" Jim Profit. The "real" Jim Profit is in a coma after he has been drowned by "our Jim Profit". Later "our Jim" will come back to finish killing his alias.
- Charles "Chaz" Gracen would've had a heart attack while running on his treadmill. Profit eventually convinces him that his father was trying to kill him.
- Pete Gracen could have been involved in politics as a senator thanks to Jim.
[edit] Trivia
- According to a documentary on the 2005 DVD, McNamara and Greenwalt came up with the concept for Profit while watching Sir Ian McKellen's modern-dress production of Richard III.
- In the commentary of the 2005 DVD, McNamara and Greenwalt indicated that Fox executives requested that the character of Bobbi Stakowski be revised from Profit's mother to the slightly less provoking role as Profit's stepmother.
