CREDITS: Written by Alan Burnett and Stan Berkowitz; directed by Dan Riba.
REVIEW: Ian Peek is the gossip king of television (or in one piece of futurism Beyond actually got right, the Web), and his daily show is a combination of Candid Camera and a sex tape, catching famous people in some illegal act or sex scandal. But how does he do it? A stolen super-sci-fi belt allows him to become a man of static (a nice, thematic visual) who can walk through walls. Peek looks cool, and they find a LOT of cool tricks for him to do once he has to run from, or fight, Batman.
Bruce Wayne is a little nonchalant about this, not seeing it as a crime worthy of the Bat even after Peek puts a police/D.A. investigation in danger by outing a high-profile mob informant. So I kind of thing it serves him right when Peek using his powers to spy in the Bat-Cave and discover his connection to Batman, and Terry's secret identity. Obviously, as soon as someone bad knows the secret, you know they have to die. Peek's demise is very cool indeed, losing control of his powers and sinking to the center the Earth. Again, striking visuals of a man essentially drowning on dry land.
How Terry deals with the secret identity conundrum is important. First, he confesses to his family before they find out about it on the Web. They just don't believe it. Even so, it shows how things might have gone and how he could one day fess up, on his own terms. He also tries to make a deal with Peek to keep Bruce out of it, so it's all about selflessness. Bruce is comparatively cold, gladly accepting Peek's "death" if it means protecting his secret. The show doesn't shy away from it. He refuses to help, watches a man die, and only offers a Bondian death pun to comfort Terry. Do I have misgivings about that? Yes. Does it show a certain temerity from the show's production? That too.
SOUNDS LIKE: Spinal Tap's Michael McKean plays Ian Peek, with a British accent, no less.
REWATCHABILITY: Medium-High - A nice and topical idea for a secret identity story, with a cool-looking villain as well. I just wish Bruce Wayne had been a little smarter. Is he losing it?
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