GOOD VS. EVIL Back on Sci-Fi Channel

By: Anna L. Kaplan
Date: Friday, March 10, 2000

GOOD VS. EVIL gets a new name and a new home, starting March 10, 2000. The critically acclaimed, quirky mix of action, comedy and demon-chasers aired its first eleven episodes on USA Network under the title GvsE. Eleven new installments will begin on USA's sister network, the Sci-Fi Channel. Before the first new episode, the Sci-Fi Channel will show 'Good vs. Evil: The Evilution,' an hour long recap, highlighting moments from the original episodes to bring new viewers up to speed, at 5:00pm PST on Friday March 10th. After that, two new installments will air back-to-back, 'Nurse Evil' at 6:00pm and 'Renunciation' at 7:00pm.

For those who miss the recap, GOOD VS. EVIL tells the story of Chandler Smythe (Clayton Rohner) and Henry McNeil (Richard Brooks), two men who have met their death without accumulating enough credits to go to Heaven. They walk the streets again in human form, working for 'The Corps,' the agency whose job it is to stop evil. Specifically, the agents must try to stop people from making Faustian deals in which they sell their souls to the Devil for earthly favors. Once Faustians die, they become Morlocks, who in turn set up more deals. The Morlocks have magical powers, but Chandler, Henry, and the others working for the Corp do not. They must get Faustians to renounce their agreements voluntarily, and can only kill the Morlocks with weapons soaked in innocent blood. If an agent of the Corp dies, he or she then faces final judgment.

This sounds serious, maybe, but GOOD VS. EVIL looks like a cross between CHARLIE'S ANGELS and old Blaxploitation films. Executive producers Josh and Jonas Pate created a series full of humor, eccentricity, and an unusual way of looking at the evils of Hollywood, which is where Henry and Chandler do their work most of the time. Deacon Jones narrates the show, giving a play-by-play analysis when necessary. The series has featured many unusual celebrity cameos by actors ranging from Emanuel Lewis to Joseph Campanella.

Of the two new episodes, the first, 'Nurse Evil' turns out to be the funniest. Chandler finds out just what happens to members of the Corps who try and tell regular people the truth. In his case, he winds up at the 'Happy Acres' psychiatric facility with no escape in sight. Also introduced here is Kristin Minter, playing the sister of Ford (Marshall Bell), one of Chandler's bosses.

'Renunciation' features a very effective performance by Nichelle Nichols, STAR TREK's Uhura, as Henry's mother. In this episode, both Chandler and the audience find out how Henry died, and why he didn't make it all the way upstairs the first time.


STAR TREK writer-producer Ronald D. Moore recently signed on as a consulting producer for GOOD VS. EVIL. The Sci-Fi Channel promises nine more new episodes of the series.